Dear Friends,

I hope this letter finds each of you and your families doing well. We think of you often and as we do, we wish we were better able to keep in closer contact with all of you. Thank you for the Christmas cards, letters, and emails that help us know at least a little about what’s going on in your lives.

There’s a lot going on in our lives right now and we’re excited to share with you what God has been doing over the last couple of years and where we expect Him to take us in the very near future. Last Autumn we received the exciting news that we have been appointed to serve with Compassion and Mercy Associates (CAMA) in Mongolia. It’s hard to say when it all started, but there are some significant events that we see now as major stepping stones leading us to Mongolia. Mark and I have been involved in various ways in “Perspectives on the World Christian Movement”, which is a course offered in many communities. We have also participated in supporting others who have gone overseas and encouraging those who may go in the future. Mark also had a chance to travel to several Asian countries, including Mongolia, as part of a conference in 2003.  We have both been interested in this type of work for most of our lives so we’re excited to find this is the time for us to go!  

When our church hosted its annual Missions Conference in 2006, the speaker was Dr. Nghia Pham, a medical doctor serving in Mongolia. Mark met Dr. Pham when he was in Mongolia so there was already a personal connection there – God used him to touch both our hearts. As Dr. Pham shared about the work in Mongolia and about the need for more workers, Mark and I both sensed that God was asking us to take a step of faith. Just one step of faith at a time – praying and talking it through, calling to find out if we could serve in some way, then going through the stages of application to be international workers (whew, we’re glad that’s behind us!), and finally being appointed. He kept opening each door as we took one step at a time and now we find ourselves with only days left to pack our bags and move halfway around the globe!

We feel incredibly privileged to have this opportunity to be a part of the work in Mongolia. Many exciting things are happening there; CAMA is sending an unprecedented number of new workers in the same year to one field, so we can’t wait to see what is going to happen. For the first two years of our service, we will be in language study in the city of Darhan in the northern part of the country. After we complete language study, we will have other responsibilities– yet to be determined. Officially we will be serving with Compassion and Mercy Associates (CAMA), the relief and development branch of the C&MA. They have a small school in Darhan for the children. Annika will begin 2nd grade there this Fall; Toby will turn 4 years old in September so he’s not quite ready to start school yet. We’re hoping they quickly learn to speak Mongolian so that they can help us (and so we can buy food)!

CAMA supports its workers through the Great Commission Fund (GCF), which is supplied by faithful friends and groups.  Each worker/family also has an “Outfit Fund” which is used to set up their household when they arrive on the field and a “vehicle fund” to help purchase a car. If you feel led to contribute financially, you can do so by giving to the Christian and Missionary Alliance. You can designate which fund you choose to contribute to on the memo line of your check, for example: GCF, or Mark and Cinda Wood Outfit Fund, or Mark and Cinda Wood Vehicle Fund. The address for the C&MA is:

The Christian and Missionary Alliance

Office of Donor Accounting

P.O. Box 35000

Colorado Springs, CO 80935-3500

*Checks should be made payable to The Christian and Missionary Alliance.

For additional information about the work in Mongolia, you can look at “camamongolia.org”. We are working on a website for our family at “mongoliawoods.com” in order to share more of what is happening in our lives. There is a link there to contact us, so we hope to hear from you.

We are so thankful that God has given us such friends and family as you (or ya’ll, if you’re our Arkansas friends. . .). We ask that all of you would remember us in prayer as we go to Mongolia. Please pray for the many tasks to be accomplished, for our spiritual growth and love for the Lord, for our health, safety, emotional, and spiritual protection, and for our relationships with both the Mongolian people and the team in Mongolia. Mongolia may require much adjustment for us, so please pray for us to be fruitful in serving and for us to be faithful in our work. If you desire to commit to pray for us, we would love to hear from you and would be greatly encouraged to know about it. He has been abundantly good to us in meeting our needs these past weeks and months – we praise Him for his loving-kindness that never ends!

May you know His peace that passes all understanding,

Love,

Mark and Cinda Wood, Annika and Toby

Contact info: mark@mongoliawoods.com or cinda@mongoliawoods.com

Or: CAMA Services International

P.O. Box 945

Darhan Uul Aimag 213800

Mongolia