Adventist Mission

Welcome to Mongolia!

Hello friends,

It’s good to have opportunity to share with you a bit of Mongolia life.

If you are like me before I came to Mongolia, you will not have much information about the country. When I first heard about the possibility of working here, my first question was: Where is it?

Mongolia lies in the centre of the Asian continent and covers an area of 1,566,5 square km. It is a vast country, nearly 3 times the size of France and more than 4 times the size of the United Kingdom. Mongolia is the sixth largest country in Asia and the eighteenth largest in the world. It’s actual population is 2,996,081 (July 2008), and nearly 50 percent of its population live in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia's capital.

The Mongols gained fame in the thirteenth century when under Genghis Khan they conquered a huge Eurasian empire. After his death the empire was divided into several powerful Mongol states, but these broke apart in the fourteenth century. The Mongols eventually retired to their original steppe homelands and in the late seventeenth century came under Chinese rule.

Mongolia won its independence in 1921 with Soviet backing. A Communist regime was installed in 1924. Following a peaceful democratic revolution, the ex-Communist Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) won elections in 1990 and 1992, but was defeated by the Democratic Union Coalition (DUC) in the 1996 parliamentary election.

Since then, parliamentary elections returned the MPRP overwhelmingly to power in 2000, but 2004 elections reduced MPRP representation and, therefore, its authority.

Mongolia is one of the highest countries in the world with one of Eurasia's highest capitals. Average altitude: 1,580m above sea level. Ulaanbaatar is located at 1,350m above sea level. It is well known as a blue sky country due to its nearly 300 sunny days a year. But don’t get too excited, nearly half of it is under – 25 C or -13 F, and in some places it goes down to – 55 C or – 67 F. I still remember two years ago having baptisms when the outside temperature was – 43 C or 45 F, but thanks to God, we found a bathtub inside an old hospital.

Mongolia is the land of winds and especially sharp winds blow in spring. In the Gobi and steppe areas winds often develop into devastating storms, reaching speeds of 15-25 meters per second. Ulaanbaatar is the coldest winter capital in the world!

Mongolians love freedom. As nomadic as they were for centuries, many of them move from place to place following the need for better pasture for their livestock. But this is something for our next blog.

By the way, Mongolia Adventist Mission just started its 1,000 Missionary Movement. This is a program to train our young people who want to dedicate two year of their lives to work for the Lord. I would like to keep you updated about it throughout this month. Here are they.

See you next time,
Elbert Kuhn

Meet the Kuhns
Ger, Sweet Ger
How Everything Started