January 3, 2012
By Jeremy Bergevin, serving in Mongolia
Jeremy and his family live in the town of Darhan, northwest of Mongolia’s capital city, Ulaanbaatar; the following is an adapted excerpt from Jeremy’s blog.
Recently, I went to the Darhan prison with a team from the Alliance Compassion and Mercy Associates (CAMA) Project Center. Dr. Pham and his team taught about heart health, and they asked me to give an inspirational talk about the heart’s function in matters of faith.
The prisoners especially enjoyed the board game “Healthy Heart.” Dr. Pham divided the group into two teams; players took turns rolling dice, with the goal being to advance to the top of a ladder imprinted on the board. Some rungs were labeled, “You quit smoking—advance three spaces.” Others had cautionary notes such as “Heart surgery” and “Eating too much grease;” players who landed on those spaces had to retreat a rung or two down the ladder.
Believing with the Heart
My part in the outreach was to teach about, and demonstrate, praying from the heart. The Bible says “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved” (Romans 10:10).
Mongolians have a similar concept in their culture—they understand belief is a matter of the heart. So I prayed for the prisoners that the Father and Creator of Heaven would give them faith to believe in Jesus and join the family of God. After all, no one in the group had ever seen Mongolia’s founder Genghis Khan, but they all agreed that they believed in him fervently—heart and soul.
The visit ended with the prisoners promising to invite us back to prison soon—something to rejoice about!
What You Can Do
- • Praise God for the Darhan prisoners’ openness to the good news; pray for them to come to faith. Join in praying for Alliance workersaround the world, many of whom are ministering to those who have never heard the good news.
- • Donate to the Great Commission Fund—partner in Living the Call together with Alliance workers like our Alliance team in Mongolia.
- • Learn more about our work in Mongolia.