Flags Magazine Volume 9 No 1: March 2014 Issue | Page 9

News

T

he Education Department
mission trip to Mongolia in
July 2013 was in response to
an invitation from the Adventist
English School through
Dulamsuren Mandakh (Oka),
a recent AIIAS graduate. The
objective was to conduct the
first Adventist English summer
camp for school children. The
political situation makes it
extremely difficult to share
religious beliefs in this country.
English schools are a nonthreatening way to reach out to
students to build relationships.
Many Mongolians spend
their summer in rural areas and
summer camps are offered by
many different organizations.
The English summer camp is
therefore ideal to the culture
and society. The challenge was
simply on how to teach these
children who did not hardly
speak hardly any English! The
second challenge was getting
visas to enter Mongolia. After
much prayer, the visas came
through. We sensed God’s
blessing upon our trip to
Mongolia.
When we arrived at the
campsite, it was very basic:
simple dormitories, a cafeteria,
and large rooms with lots
of grass between buildings.
Mountains covered with green
pine trees surrounded the camp
and provided space for nature
walks. The youth, ages 8 to 16,
were well-behaved and helped
each other learn English.

PHOTO CREDIT: GERALD STROECK

Dr. Prema Gaikwad teaching actions songs during the English summer camp in Mongolia.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
GOES TO MONGOLIA

BY RAHEL STROECK &
PREMA GAIKWAD

Our team consisted of Dr.
Prema Gaikwad from India,
Yaqin Lui from China, Rahel
Stroeck Switzerland, Gerald
Stroeck from Germany, and
Mishigdorj Enkhbayar (Debbie)
from Mongolia. We were assisted
by some teachers from the
English school when translation
was needed.
We felt God’s guidance in all
the teaching and activities. We
were not allowed to openly talk
about God so we simply prayed
that our lives could be a witness
to the children. One boy asked
one of us if we were Christians

and it turned out that he had
accepted Jesus only one month
before. It was a wonderful
surprise.
The summer camp ended
all too soon. Our hosts showed
us different types of traditional
clothing, and gave us a tour
to the traditional houses
called “ger,” the Genghis Khan
monument and museum, and
other places in and around
Ulaanbaatar. It was a special
privilege to be able to visit the
Adventist Church in Ulaanbaatar
and to meet several AIIAS
alumni. O
PREMA GAIKWAD is the Chair of the
Education Department.

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