Mongolia, a large country of mountains in the north and deserts in the south, nestles between China and Russia in one of the colder climates of our world, where winter lasts for 10 months. The capital, Ulaanbaatar is considered the coldest capital on earth. Some of the five Quiet Hour teams who helped bring the gospel to Mongolia in early September even experienced snowfall during their time there.

Pastor Michael Porter, The Quiet Hour’s CEO, along with his wife, Karen, led a team in Bulgan, Mongolia. Deborah Rodman, receptionist and administrative assistant for international evangelism at The Quiet Hour, with her mother, Donalea Strunk, also joined that team. Additionally, there were four other teams.

“We chose Bulgan because of The Quiet Hour’s involvement in constructing a church building and residence for the pastor. I had originally planned to be present for the opening and dedication of the church building, but then decided it would only make sense to stay on another couple of weeks to help fill up the building,” Porter says.

Quiet Hour supporters financed more than $43,500 in construction costs for the Bulgan church project, as well as thousands more in direct evangelism expenses. More churches are needed in Mongolia, and The Quiet Hour has a fundraising strategy in place for 2007 toward that goal.

As a result of the five Quiet Hour’s evangelism meetings, the Mongolia teams had the privilege of seeing 46 people baptized, and other people are still preparing for baptism. Those 46 people became part of the Mongolian Adventist church’s living history, as these baptisms helped the church cross the 1,000-member mark.

“Before The Quiet Hour’s meetings, the total membership of the Seventh-day Adventist church in Mongolia was just below 1,000. With help from The Quiet Hour participants, it broke 1,000,” said Porter.

This was especially exciting for the Bulgan team’s translator, Enkehe, to see. She had been baptized in 1993, and was one of the three church members baptized that year as the work in Mongolia started to gain momentum. When The Quiet Hour’s Bulgan team arrived at the church, which was to be dedicated their first weekend in Bulgan, they found construction still underway. The church’s ceiling was only half completed; construction supplies littered the church grounds; and a big stack of lumber occupied part of the interior of the church. The team quickly volunteered to help. The church looked much different by the weekend and the dedication took place as planned. During the rest of the mission trip, the team assisted with the construction wherever possible, as the pastor’s residence still needed completion. By the time the team left, the pastor’s family had moved in.

All 10 of the church members participated in the construction whenever possible, and the evangelism meetings as well. Each evening, members offered free back and shoulder massages and blood pressure screening. They attended the evening meetings faithfully to encourage the attendees. At the end of the meetings, seven people were baptized, and a number of others made decisions to follow Jesus and continue to study the Bible.

One gentleman who attended the meetings wanted to give his heart to God, but he struggled with his confused and mixed-up life. As he listened to the meetings, however, he realized that God could help him, and he decided to take his stand and follow Jesus and continue growing in the Lord. Even before he made his decision to be baptized, each day found him helping with the church construction.

Deborah Rodman, who ministered to the children each evening, said, “It’s not often where you see someone come out of the baptismal waters glowing. But this man was! It was probably the happiest day of his life. He radiated the joy of Christ, and he cried and cried. For the rest of the day following his baptism, he stayed at the church, singing with the youth. We could tell he wanted to do everything for God.”

That’s what The Quiet Hour is all about: changing lives. All over the world, people’s lives are being changed as they are born again into God’s family, thanks to your involvement—whether you travel on The Quiet Hour’s mission trips, spend time praying for mission teams, or offer your financial support. If you haven’t already, consider how you can help fill a church today!