Source: GodReports, March 11, 2016
The temperatures in parts of Mongolia are below freezing from November to March, and -40 is common. (-40 degrees happens to be the point where the temperature is the same for both Fahrenheit and Celsius.) Many of the people still live in heavily insulated “yurts,” locally known as “gers” … round structures covered with tarps and animal skins with thick carpets inside and an oil or wood stove as the heat source.
Nazarene missionaries Sunny and Lisa Um moved to Darkhan, Mongolia, in 2012. In 2014, they obtained a long-term lease on property in a poor community outside of Darkhan. Sunny and Lisa observed that many people in that community were sick since their water sources were shallow wells or dirty streams.
In the dry, cold grasslands of Mongolia, water is a precious commodity. So one of their first projects was to drill a deep well on the property that would help provide water for the community. During the week, they charge a minimal fee for the water to help maintain the equipment. But on Sunday, the water is free to everyone! What a beautiful expression of the gospel message. “On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink’” (John 7:37).
» Read full story from GodReports, or go right to the article in Engage, the global missions magazine of the Church of the Nazarene.