Most Westerners would describe the place as remote. Some might use stronger terms than that. We were in Mongolia, on our way to the Gobi desert. I was with Pastor Terry Olson and his daughter, Sarah. We were visiting their son and brother, David, who is a missionary in Mongolia with the Norwegian Lutheran Mission.
As we were on our way to a nature reserve in the desert, we came upon a small town. It was a long ways from much of anything else. There were a few homes, a little bit of paved road, a gas station, a small market, and a simple little building with a cross on top. It had to be a Christian church. We walked over to look and take a picture.
As we were looking at the church a young lady came over and introduced herself. Her English was limited but she was able to tell us she was a Christian and she asked us if we were. She became a Christian about five years ago. Despite language limitations, she communicated clearly her thankfulness for the difference Jesus had made in her life.
That church was started as a result of mission work done by Christians from South Korea. David said more missionaries in Mongolia have come from Korea than anywhere else. They are working in the capital city, and also in remote spots like this little town on the road to the desert.
I never got the name of that little town. Even if I did I probably wouldn’t be able to find it on a map. But God knew of its existence all along. He found it, and He found that young lady. He sent missionaries to go tell her the good news of Jesus. In that remote spot, the Lord of the universe met her and made her His child. God wanted a congregation planted in that little town, and He sent missionaries to do that.
In Acts 8 we read of God sending a missionary named Philip to a desert road. He met an Ethiopian “and told him the good news about Jesus” (Acts 8:35). God cared about that one Ethiopian on the desert road and wanted to be sure he heard the good news. God wants each individual to hear the good news, whether they are on a desert road or in a major city. No place is too remote for the Lord to care about. No person is viewed as insignificant. He calls His church to be His witnesses “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8); even to those places you can’t find on a map.
