It seems I went to Ulaanbaantar, Mongoila, at 3:10 AM in my slippers. No, I wasn’t dreaming or sleep walking… but I was there. And it is interesting since I have talked a lot in my spiritual journey about going to Mongolia.

In fact, my husband and I have a joke about being buried in Outer Mongolia. The funny part of the joke is that our walk with God has been unpredictable. He has led us to places we never dreamed about! And honestly, at times it has been harder than we had imaged. And it has definitely been more exciting and rewarding. We couldn’t have conjured it this good–this adventuresome–this wonderful.

But back to Mongolia.

I have a Sitemeter on the front page of my blog. Each morning I preview it just to see who has been there in the night, reading or running as soon as they click my site. The stats are fascinating. They tell me which city, country, latitude and longitude of the connecting IPS address, also what they read, how many minutes they stayed on, etc. This is probably boring to you unless you are a blogger. For me this is interesting not only as a blogger but as a missionary.

The truth is that I am called to preach the Good News of Jesus to the nations. And that is what jazzes me! It is what puts a smile on face and a joy in my heart. The more countries and peoples, the better for me! And I have had an affinity for Mongolia, also for Greenland. And the truth is that I may not make it there with the Good News. Don’t worry. God has lots of people willing to go–that’s probably why he won’t send me. In fact, every close friend of mine would love to go too.

My heart thrilled this morning to see Mongolia on the Sitemeter. And I thrilled even more to see what the person in Ulaanbaatar read on my blog. It was this post: Emmanuel, God With Us. Here is a quick excerpt:

A quick look through God’s Word reveals that Jesus has many, many names. In Isaiah He is called “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace… ” These are just a few. See here’s the deal with all the names of God. He is what meets our need where we are as world citizens. He is decidely Italian to Italians. He is Dutch to the Dutch, German to the Germans, American to Americans. He understands us and reaches out to us through our culture and family background. That is why we see Him like we see ourselves–as one of us, where we live.

Of course, the post ends with another name for God, Emmanuel, and it means that God is with us. I wrote this piece last December just after my father-in-law died, because in my pain and grief, I needed to remind myself that God was with me and my family. To my amazement, it has been one of my most popular posts. People from all over the world have read it or at least clicked on it. I guess I have no real way of knowing for sure that someone clicking makes it through the whole post, but I hope so. I pray so. Not to pat myself on the back but to know that words of life and healing are going out over the invisible wires of the Internet bringing the hope of salvation and new life to a hurting world.

So I am rejoicing this morning that somehow while I was asleep and warm in my bed at home, my spiritual feet were climbing mountains in Mongolia, bringing Good News to someone.

And I know that God is very serendipitous. He may send my husband and me by plane to Mongolia someday yet… We have been very close, just a country over in Kazakhstan. And if we do, I hope it won’t be in slippers.

But now I wonder how much burial plots are in Mongolia? I bet they’re dirt cheap…

How beautiful on the mountains
      are the feet of the messenger who brings good news,
   the good news of peace and salvation,
      the news that the God of Israel reigns! (Isaiah 52:7)