,
communication department, Southern Asia-Pacific Division
A team of 28 aspiring
literature evangelists tested their new skills in Mongolia’s capital, selling
books to a family and grateful hotel owner, among others, as they participated
in the Adventist Church’s first conference on literature evangelism in the
former socialist state.
But as the one-day
exercise ended with thrilling stories and $700 in sales, a teacher told the
team not to lose focus on their need to remain dependent on the work of the
Holy Spirit on people’s hearts.
“God sells, we help,”
Vivencio Bermudez, publishing ministries director for the Southern Asia-Pacific
Division, told the participants in Ulan Bator.
In a reflection of
their understanding of this need, the literature evangelists prayed with more
than 30 potential buyers throughout the day.
The Adventist Church
only established a presence in the mainly Buddhist country two decades ago, and
many Mongolians remain unfamiliar with Christianity.
To reach them,
Bermudez turned to his 42 years as a literature evangelist to present practical
ways to share Jesus through the printed page at the five-day conference last
month.
He and another
presenter, Tero Fukui, publishing
ministries director for the Northern Asia-Pacific Division, which includes
Mongolia, set aside a day for participants to divide into groups and go door to
door selling books.
A group led by
Bermudez and Fukui made their first stop
at a condo, where a family listened to a
presentation about their books. The family bought a health book and was
presented with a free copy of The Great
Hope, a sharing edition of Ellen G. White’s The Great Controversy, Bermudez said.
The group then went
to Bermudez’s hotel, where the female hotel director ended up ordering copies
of all their books and asking for samples and a catalog to display at the
information desk. She accepted an offer to pray together, and Fukui asked God to bless her business.
Later that day, the
director stopped Bermudez on the way to his room and excitedly told him that
God had answered the prayer with an unexpected inflow of guests in the
afternoon.
