Oyunchimeg Tsendochir

My friend Battulga and I used to work together for the same school and initially, he introduced me to the church. Growing up, we were taught atheism as a way of life and later I even myself taught anti-religion classes in a university; I was singing a different tune, but now I was listening to Battulga saying he had joined the church and was seeing missionaries. I wondered what they were like. Then my husband and children were studying in the United States, and I told them what I heard about the church from Battulga and they responded with a lot of positive feedback about it. When my two daughters were into their mid-adolescence and returned to Mongolia after studying one year in high school in the United States, my daughters joined the church first and then I followed them.

I grew up in the countryside… The parents believed in Buddhism but engaging in any religious practices was prohibited at that time, hence they could only secretly worship a graven image of Buddha at home, and I grew up watching that. I had a happy childhood. Although my parents were herders, they raised us with a lot of love and taught us to be honest people. I feel nostalgic for this all

I studied at a university for five years to become a Russian teacher, then transferred to Russia to improve the qualifications. Upon my return, I taught in schools in Mongolia. In the early years of my teaching career, I was not able to figure out how to deliver my classes, but eventually I learned and mastered the required skills. I even wrote a handbook for new instructors and apprenticed young teachers. I used to tell my students to be good parents first in order to live a good life. The constitution limits teaching students about religion. Therefore, I would share about my faith and gospels to parents of my students during parents’ night. I told them that I go to church and the students who became church members often brought their blessings to their parents. Many of my students heard about the church from their parents first and then eventually converted in the church, some with their parents even… Self-reliance program of the church is one of my most favorite resources. I learned many useful skills thanks to the program, such as how to do things in cost-effective ways.