Meet Gantulga

Gantulga’s family is just one Mongolian family whose lives have been dramatically transformed after hearing the Good News of Jesus and accepting Him into their hearts. Gantulga and his family, including his wife Uurtsaikh and their children, live in the rural town of Arvaiheer, about 300 miles from Mongolia’s capital city of Ulaanbaatar.  The family first learned about the Catholic Church when they moved to the town after tragically losing all their livestock almost 10 years ago. They were one of a few lucky families to be given a new ger, a traditional Mongolian round tent dwelling. While Uurtsaikh and the children started attending activities run by the local Catholic Church, Gantulga was haunted by his alcoholism and his destructive behavior. “Before in my life, I made a lot of mistakes and I was addicted to alcohol and I had problems with violence, not understanding, misunderstandings with other people,” he explains. “When I started going to church and feeling how God’s mercy reaches me, I felt that I had to receive Baptism.” “Sometimes I try to imagine what would have been my life without faith,” Gantulga continues. “And then frankly I do not find an answer because most probably I would have been pulled by the river of my old life into something bad. I don’t know really what would have been my life without Christ.”Gantulga received Baptism at Easter 2013, but even before that — when he started coming to church with Uurtsaikh and their children — he saw drastic changes in his life. Today Gantulga is not only a better father and husband, he has also emerged as a leader in the community, reaching out to others in need.

Gantulga’s whole family is involved with the Church’s work here. Three

times a week, he participates in a men’s group where they make religious

objects and souvenirs out of wood and leather, while his wife, Uurtsaikh,

is involved in a similar group for women. The couple’s children are also

active in the Church, attending Mass with their parents, and taking part

in the before and after school care programs.

The Society for the Propagation of the Faith has supported the

development and outreach of the Catholic Church since Bishop Wens

and the other missionaries were first invited in to the country more than

20 years ago. With your ongoing support through the Society for the

Propagation of the Faith, offered on World Mission Sunday, the work

of these missionaries may continue here and around the globe, and the

poor receive practical help, while they experience God’s love and mercy,

His hope and peace.