We had a great time yesterday morning at the staff photo shoot. We usually do our annual shoot in December, but I was in the States and the staff didn’t want to do the pictures without me. Very thoughtful. (Click the image for the Flickr version.)

Of course we have to have a little goofiness with pictures each year, and yesterday was no different as you can see by Bayaraa’s approach to dealing with upper management.

As for other activity…today I’m picking up vistiors from Calvary Chapel of Albuquerque. One of them is my new friend, Servey, who will be moving to Mongolia to start a Calvary Chapel movement. He’ll be here learning about Mongolia life, visiting with Mongolian believers, and getting the lay of the land before moving his family here.

I was part of Calvary ABQ for four years when I lived in New Mexico during my KLYT days. Since last year we’ve been airing The Connection with Skip Heitzig. The program is very well received and the Calvary style of strong expositional teaching seems to work here, which is good, because expositional teaching is a bit of a rarity in Mongolia.

After the visit we all head back to the States together. They head home and I head to Board meetings and time with my doctor before returning home to Mongolia in March.

My regular readers may remember some months ago that Eagle TV contributed to a project to build toilet facilities at Maanit Prison, about 100 kilometers from Ulaanbaatar. We were approached by a young man, Erdenbayar, who operates a thriving prison ministry. One of the images he showed me was this one of the toilet facilities at the prison. Nothing more than a large open hole in the ground with loose lumber lain across for the men to balance themselves on. Over the years the holes had been filled with human waste, covered over, then a new hole dug elsewhere in the main yard. After many years of this every square meter of the prison yard had been used up. In addition, the cold would make the lumber slippery with ice which often facilitated many of the men falling into the holes, with many becoming very ill. To say the situation was unsanitary is putting it mildly.

Building proper facilities was not a small task, and not inexpensive. Nearly $13,000 was need for the project, but Erdenbayar was committed to his task. He came to see me for help last year. He had a heart of love for the men in the prison, a great vision, and a drawn plan, but empty pockets.

I knew this was something we should be involved with. Jesus cares for the prisoner. So we donated $1,000 of matching funds to help get him started with fund raising and sent him to several people we thought might be able to help. It wasn’t long until the Mongolian Christian community in Ulaanbaatar and Seoul began pitching in. By October the new toilet facilities were finished—including proper showers, which the men never had before.

The toilet and shower facilities have made a major difference in the lives of the men incarcerated at Maanit. But the positive effects didn’t stop there. The authorities were so impressed and grateful to Erdenbayar and the love shown to the men, that they gave permission for a church facility to be established at another prison. Eagle TV is also coming alongside that project, funding the remodeling of the room that will be used to house the prison church.

Your prayer and support are being used to do more than keep our TV and field ministry operating. Whenever we can we try to partner with locals who are also making a difference in people’s lives, like our friend Erdenbayar.

The live video of Ben and Rochele’s wedding went great. Thanks to everyone who participated.

One of the coolest things they did was have a photo/reception line for the invited guests. It made everyone feel special and like part of the family. Of course, everyone here is like part of the family!

Since I played the “Father of the Bride” instead of photographer like I usually do for events, I only snagged one picture myself, with my iPhone. Shot this of Rochele while we waited for our cue to walk down the isle.

Rochele, you make your pappy proud. I love ya to tears.

Eagle TV faced strong opposition in the All-TV Basketball compeitition today. Their stiffest competitor seems to be TV9, which the guys handily beat this afternoon. There are a couple more matches left to determine which teams had to the championship tomorrow morning. If our guys keep playing the way they have they should be in the final match-up.

Great job guys!

UPDATE: Our game Friday morning against Education TV was tight, but our opponent was just a bit too aggressive for us. Education TV managed to sqeak out a win, 35-33.  More match-ups take place this afternoon but I won’t be able to attend since the practice for my daughter’s wedding ceremony is at the same time.

An unusual sunrise in Ulaanbaatar this morning. Color! It was -21 F and about 8:35am when I took the shot from the balcony of our apartment. This image has been tweaked to rid the effects of the usual air pollution, which surprisingly, was far less than normal. Also welcome!

Click the image for the larger version on my Flickr page.

There’s an important page in your Bible that, if you are like most people, goes completely unread. Chances are, you are like most Christians who rip past this page without a moment’s thought. In fact, in all of the Bible this page might be described by some as the most irrelevant, unnecessary, useless page between its soft leather covers. Virtually no one earmarks it, thumbnails it, highlights it, or contemplates what it represents in God’s grand scheme. Yet I’ve found this page to be one of the most important reminders to me that God is always sovereignly at work, performing his will in the world and in my life. Before I tell you where to find this page in your Bible, allow me to share a story.

Craig was an up and coming political star, somewhat controversial, but completely dedicated to his mission. He passionately wanted to represent righteousness in the political system but often found himself frustrated. We were on the phone one day, discussing his latest machinations with his political party and race for power when he pulled a big question out of his hat that was probably the most important question he’d ever asked me.

“Tom, why don’t I hear God speak?”

“What do you mean Craig?” I asked.

“When I go to church I hear about God speaking to so-and-so, or impressing someone with something. It’s like it’s normal for God to speak to someone. But to be honest, I’ve never heard God speak to me. I want him to speak to me. But he doesn’t and I don’t know why.”

Very quickly I silently prayed for wisdom then decided to answer Craig’s question with a question of my own. “How much time to you spend reading the scriptures?”

Craig hesitated for a moment. It was the kind of hesitation that was an answer in itself. “Uh, well, things are so busy I haven’t really had a lot of time to read the Bible. There’s just so much to do.”

“Craig,” I said, “If you’re not listening to what God’s already said in his word, why would he have anything else to say to you?”

There was a long moment of silence on the other end followed by, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Since that conversation so many years ago Craig poured himself into God’s word, making himself a student of its precious pages. The more he paid attention to what God said, the more God had to say to him.

There are times in our lives when God is virtually silent. In my experience God is usually silent for two reasons. First, God is silent because we aren’t giving attention to his word. We often fill our time with things to do, entertainment, and other relationships, but we relegate God’s word to a corner bookshelf. This is nothing less than a form of idolatry. Like God’s rebuke of Jerusalem in Jeremiah 6:10 we “cannot listen,” because when it comes to the scriptures we “take no pleasure in it.” When we keep God on the bookshelf rather than at the table we find that even what we may already know from the scriptures can illude us. To my friend Craig, God seemed far away. But once he began to apply himself to the scriptures things changed. Not only did he become a student of the scriptures, God began giving him influence with his party and peers that he had never before enjoyed.

The second reason for God’s silence comes when God is at work. There are times when we are listening to the Lord, keeping Christ at the table instead of the bookshelf, and yet it seems that God is not speaking to us. The heavens seem shut and God is silent. We wonder if we’ve done something wrong, if God has rejected us, or if there is unconfessed sin in our lives. Israel faced a time like this when God was silent. It was a period of 400 years represented by that single empty page in your Bible between the Old and New Testaments.

During this silent period of Israeli history no prophet walked the land. But remarkable things happened that prepared the way for Christ. The Roman Empire was being built. Instead of abandoning God for idolatry once again Israel responded by deepening its religious commitment. A group of dedicated Jews formed the Pharisaical order, dedicating themselves to God’s law (the Pharisees didn’t start out as bad guys). Israel finally abandoned the idol worship that had plagued them from Moses to the Exile. The temple of God was being restored. And the family line of David quietly lived their lives, passing on their dedication to God until it finally reach a young virgin willing to carry the Christ. God was silent during that 400 year period, but he was at work, laying the foundations of kingdoms and roads that would carry Christ to the ends of the earth. He would finally speak again through his Son.

So why is God silent with you? Is it because your ears are tuned elsewhere or because he is at work, preparing you and those around you for the next horizon he will take you?

When you spend time giving attention to God’s word, take a little extra time with that empty page between the Testaments. Contemplate the history it represents and what God was doing to prepare the world for the coming of Jesus. Let God’s silence speak to you.

Just returned from the airport picking up Stefani. The drive home was filled with conversations on documentaries and snakes. That’s Stef!

It’s good to have her back in Mongolia for a little while.

We were warned before returning home that the pollution level in Ulaanbaatar this year seems worse than ever. After getting home I can testify that that’s true. Telltale evidence of this is the effect it has on the sunrise and sunset, as pictured here. Yeah, the sun looks great but when you consider what it takes to get the sun to look this way the romanticism of it burns away.

This is what I call a dirty sun. The color change is not caused by normal dust particles and cloud density like you find in an Arizona sunset. This is pure pollution. At times visibility is barely 100 meters. Click the image for the larger version on my Flickr site. By the way, this images was artificially adjusted to allow you to see the details more clearly. Without the adjustment, well, let’s just say it would be a lot muddier.

The effect on the moon has been the same. I’ll try to upload a moon shot later.

UPDATE: There’s way too much smoke outside to even see the moon.

B. Bairsaikhan holding Eagle TV's Golden Falcon Award

Now that I’m back in my Mongolian saddle I’m getting better updates of all that went on with Eagle TV while I was in the States for 5 months. You may remember that on December 30th I wrote about a series of awards Eagle TV won for its work in 2008. The most important of those was the Golden Falcon Award for Best Newscast. Today I got my first look at the award, seen here with our Station Manager, B. Bairsaikhan. It’s designed a bit like an Oscar, isn’t it?

To give you the idea of the importance of the award, the Golden Falcon is the equivalent of the Golden Globes in the U.S. But there’s something even more significant to me about the award.

Following the July 1st riots Eagle TV came under tremendous attack for its live coverage of the event. We were even accorded partial blame for the riots. Yet five months later our staff was able to take pride in their accomplishments as the Golden Falcon award was presented by none other than President Nambaryn Enkhbayar of Mongolia. Of course, this wasn’t the only award presented to Eagle TV, but definitely the one that speaks the most.

It’s good to return home and see the fruit of wonderful work done by our Station Manager and staff.

I’ve been back for two days now. Coming home is good therapy. So is getting back to work. My first day in the office yesterday was primarily a day to be greeted by the staff, and it was wonderful. Having time away is a good thing. But being received back with such great joy is emotionally overwhelming. Of course, there are so many people working for Eagle TV that not everyone could be on hand my first day back. So this morning when I came in for a weekend meeting I popped my head into the Studio Control room. That gal working graphics was so excited to see me, it felt great.

My deep thanks to all the Eagle TV staff for making me feel so welcome and loved. You’re the reason why I love coming home.

Regarding my weekend meeting, I had a great time today with a couple from Erdenet discussing a new program we will release in September. The program will feature testimonies of Mongolians who have committed themselves to Jesus Christ. Unlike previous testimony programs we’ve done that featured Mongolian believers from Ulaanbaatar, this program will primarily feature men and women from the countryside including a former Buddhist monk who abandoned Buddhism in favor of Jesus Christ.

The new 10-episode program will be produced in Mongolian with English subtitles in a magazine style format. And it will do more than just present the testimony of Mongolian believers. It will also address some of Mongolia’s most pressing social issues—alcoholism, family abuse, and domestic human trafficking. Though testimonies of men and women who have overcome these personal issues in their lives, the relevance of Christ will be demonstrated in a unique and powerful way. One of the testimonies will feature a young woman who was sold into slavery, and how Christ redeemed her. Once the programs are complete expect to see them online as well as on Eagle TV.