Inside Story: Toogii’s Triumph
My friends call me Toogii (TAW-gee). I live in the capital city of Mongolia.
My family isn’t Christian, so I grew up not knowing much about Jesus. One day a friend of my grandmother gave her an invitation to meetings at the Adventist church, where a missionary was speaking. Grandmother gave the invitation to my aunt who asked me to go with her to the meetings. I wasn’t really interested, but I went out of respect for her. And I was curious about Christians.
I was surprised that I enjoyed the meetings. The people were kind, and the pastor spoke about the kingdom of God. I decided to return to the church again. Before too long, I asked to join the church.
I am the only member of my family who is a believer, and this creates some problems for me. My father tries to keep me from attending church by giving me work to do on Sabbath. But my mother lets me go because what she’s heard about Jesus and His teachings is good.
My friends teased me about becoming a Christian, and I felt ostracized by them. Some of them were bad influence, so when I became a Christian, I quit hanging out with them. Some kids thought I was bad before I became a Christian, and when I became a Christian, they thought I was becoming something even worse. I didn’t know how to explain my faith to them. There aren’t that many Adventists in Mongolia, so I felt alone.
The pastor invited me to camp meeting that summer. I was so excited! I made lots of new friends and had lots of fun playing sports and learning about God. It was a great experience. Being with other Christian young people has helped me mature in my faith.
I was shy and didn’t talk a lot before, but I’m learning to speak in front of people and express myself. Christ and my new friends in church have given me confidence. Now I can talk to people easily and can express myself better. When my classmates see the changes in me, they realize that God has made a difference in my life and that Christianity isn’t a bad thing.
It’s difficult to be the only believer in the family, but the friends I’ve made in church are like my family. They help me stay faithful to God when I feel weak. I’m especially grateful for the youth ministries the church offers. The youth camp was established in part with a recent Thirteenth Sabbath Offering. Thank you for caring.
Munkhtogtokh Nyamdavaa is a teenager living in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
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Out of respect to an older lady, Toogii learns he was being led to respect God. Indeed, the Lord we serve works in mighty ways
Toogii, love your God with all your heart, with all your mind and with all your strength. He will carry you when the road is rough, He will protect when the arrows are hurled in your direction, He will cover you against strong winds, He will feed you in times of hunger and ultimately, He is preparing for you a place in Heaven so that where He is you may also be there.
God bless you.
Am also facing almost a similar problem like Toogii's , my dad is polygamous with Four wives including mom, When I joined SDA church, last year, I didnt face any hindrances from my parents as by then I was already married but still in the same house with them! But trouble came when mom learned the truth and wanted to change to SDA from anglican but Dad stoped her! So pray for mom so that she can change coz she loves to Sda but dad is a problem!
Am from Uganda!
God is good, your family also will be converted especially your father who tries to keep you from attending just pray for him you will see.
Toogii thanks for sharing your story.God is a God of the impossible, lets trust Him to work out all the impossibilities.
Majanama you are in my prayers and I know other persons are praying for you God bless.
Many of our brothers and sisters are facing similar problems. I see two main needs: 1st the need for prayer. Prayer changes things if we believe and have faith. God works in and through the impossibilities. He will make a way when there is no way.
2nd, the need for money. While prayer is good and has its place, the need for money is as important in these cases. Jesus never presented the message before he took care of the physical needs of the people. I strongly believe God had given to his church the means to take the gospel forward and to help our less fortunate brethren. See what we can do for the upcoming 13th Sabbath no matter how small.