We had everything planned out.  We couldn’t wait to leave for Mongolia this month and write our first prayer letter from the field!  We are learning however, that the Lord’s timetable doesn’t always match up with our own.  Our passports took three months to arrive, which set us back in applying for our visas and pushed our departure date to the end of July.  This is a full month later than we had originally planned, and though we were disappointed at first, we rest in the fact that the Lord is in control and knows the end from the beginning.  Our paperwork is currently being processed, so all we can do now is wait and pray.  Please join us in praying for a smooth and speedy application process.

Our traveling days are over!  We presented our ministry for the last time in early June, officially ending our deputation road.  This is an exciting turning point, getting us one step closer to the field; yet it is an emotional one as well.  Reality begins to set in as we see friends and family for the last time.  The fact that we will soon be on our own in the middle of Mongolia seems overwhelming at times, but it is in those moments that we remember the Lord’s promise to never leave us nor forsake us.  No matter where we find ourselves, in life or on the globe, He is with us.  Please keep us (and our families) in your prayer as we enter into the final preparation for our move.

Chris Ballinger, Mongolia