Despite his catchy title and irreplaceable looks, Zach desired with all his heart to be a nameless and faceless forerunner preparing the way for His friend Jesus. He wholeheartedly pursued the superior pleasure of knowing and loving Jesus with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength! He saw his life purpose was to bring joy to His Heavenly Father's heart regardless of his circumstances. One such circumstance is worthy of an inconceivably memorable short story from Mongolia.
It all began with finding a random handwritten note at a guesthouse in UlaanBaatar, the most remote capitol in the world. The notebook paper says travelers are welcome to volunteer on an organic farm outside the city in exchange for food and a place to stay. Zach jumps on the opportunity and soon finds himself harvesting lettuce in greenhouses! The unique Mongolian foods of goat intestines, sheep lard, and milk fat salt tea combined with fluctuating temperatures of cold wind outside and greenhouse heat inside took a tole on his body. Overnight, he succumbs to the common cold.
After several days of easy labor and no improvement in health, Pugea, the owner of the farm, decides to take control of the situation. In broken English, Pugea declares "I will fix you" as he looks at Zach's runny nose and pale face. "Tomorrow. I will fix you Zach!" Despite Zach's desperate prayers, he awakes the next day still sick and apprehensive of his Mongolian host's plans to remedy his health. Pugea pokes his head into the guest ger (Mongolian yurt home), hears Zach coughing and sniffling, and abruptly commands "Follow me. Today I fix you." Zach sighs. He conquers his fear and follows. As they walk across the farm, the sun's warmth rushes across the cloudless sky and warms Zach's cold face.
They walk past the big steel-framed greenhouses and into a short wooden greenhouse on the outskirts of the farm. As a wave of intense heat escapes the door, a picture of Zach jumping through a blazing bonfire on his mountain bike in Romania several years back flashes before his mind's eye. That was HOT! This greenhouse was comparatively HOT! Once inside, Pugea hands Zach a short shovel and gives some instructions "Work! Work more you ever work before. Sweat! Shwut as you no ever sweat before. No stop. No go out greenhouse. NEVER out! You going scare cold away. You nooz no more sick Zach. No sick no more. Better will be you nooz" as he pointed to Zach's dripping nose. Pugea leaves. Zach looks at the expanse of the dirt in the greenhouse. He sniffles. A drop of sweat rolls down his forehead to his nose and falls to the dirt. Sniffle.
"Oruulah!" Pugea peeps in and urges him to get to work. Not more than two minutes pass and his hat, sweater, and even shirt are hanging on the nearest beam. Before he knows it, Zach is sweating profusely as he overturns the dirt in a horribly hot greenhouse. Hours pass. Still shoveling. No stopping until the job is finished. The scorching sun of the Gobi desert quickly turns the greenhouse into a sauna in the heat of the day. No description can accurately describe the heat, yet a picture of Zach may be able to.
He slicks his sweat-soaked hair back as a steady stream of sweat, not only drips but pours from his face. Snot rockets replace sniffling! Now with his wet pants hanging, he's stripped down to his wet boxers, shoes, and socks. His boxers and beard are the only things clothing his skin. Stained with the sweat, his shoes absorb the sweat running down his legs. He's convinced the wooden shovel handle is even swelling because it's thoroughly soaked with his own sweat.
Pugea returns. The greenhouse is only halfway overturned. Zach's sweat-soaked hair, wrinkled hands, multiple blisters, and soaked boxers convince Pugea that Zach is successfully scaring the sickness away. "Keep working! Tomorrow you all better." Zach requests some water as Pugea leaves again. An hour later, he returns with a large plastic container. Thoughts of rejuvenation from a container full of fresh cold water quickly transform to thoughts of disappointment as he sees steam rising from the container. He takes the container to find boiling salt tea! Pugea leaves again...and seals the greenhouse! Zach stands bewildered. Strangely, thirst overpowered disappointment as the hot tea goes down. His body temperature is a degree from boiling!
His sweat is no longer dripping, no longer pouring. His sweat is flooding. Zach knows air cannot exceed 100% humidity, but he's convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt, this little sealed Mongolian greenhouse in the Gobi desert has exceeded 200% humidity in the heat of the day! Not only is Zach sick in Mongolia now, he's practically breathing water gasping for fresh air. Zach questions how God will use this to further the Kingdom of God through his life?
Two Mongolian girls peep their heads through a small hole in the plastic to see a white hairy American in his boxers shoveling dirt. They walk away laughing hysterically! Now Zach is really questioning God's purposes. He asks God. God simply smiles. Zach is delighted knowing His Father is smiling over his funny-looking son in a Mongolian greenhouse. Zach smiles. He begins to laugh. Laughter soon evolves into worship and what used to feel like a horrible prison suddenly transforms into a joyous encounter with God! Zach soon finishes the entire greenhouse with a smile of joy and a heart of worship.
He steps outside and feels the cool brisk wind. Half a second later, he finds himself being shoved back into the sauna by Pugea. "Wait! Wait! No outside" Perplexed yet again, Zach patiently waits as Pugea runs back to the ger to grab a towel and soon returns. "No find towel. But you can use my shirt!" Thoughts of pursuing another ministry opportunity elsewhere briefly cross Zach's mind. His sweat-entrenched skin made it impossible to put his clothes back on, so he accepts Pugea's sweaty shirt off his back. After a miserable drying experience with a sweaty shirt, Zach then takes the Del in Pugea's other hand, a traditional Mongolian wool jacket only worn in frigid temperatures. Zach is not frigid! He's boiling!
Once wrapped up like an Eskimo in several layers, he makes his way to the ger and slowly cools down from a boiling body temperature down to 104! A special concoction awaits inside with unique plant-like floaties in lukewarm yellow water. Pugea says "Just gargle. No swallow. You sick again if you swallow." Clueless to it's origin, Zach humbly trusts his new Mongolian friend and gargles through the entire jar of unknown content. Next, Pugea's wife suggests he drinks a mother's urine to completely heal him! She says as long as a man's mother is still alive, he will always be healthy because he can always drink her urine. Zach finally draws the line! He claims the Mongolian greenhouse sweat treatment cured him and he doesn't need anything else. After several more offers, Zach settles on a stool in the room and somehow manages to change the conversation from urine to health to Biblical Self Government, and eventually to God.
The evening concludes with a beautiful and lively conversation about God's relationship with man through faith in Jesus Christ. Through the horrible yet hilarious Mongolian health treatment, trust and friendship were built exponentially. Pugea's wife is especially captivated by God's nearness to the extent of speaking to His children individually. She's hungry to hear God's voice! Goat dumpling porridge is served along with the traditional milk fat salt tea. Upon further talk of Love, sin, forgiveness, and salvation, she openly invites Zach to come live with them and teach them more of God and the Bible. She even suggests starting a Bible school right on their organic farm because she thinks it would be good for the whole town to know more about God! Her husband Pugea even adopts the idea of Zach getting his own Ger and greenhouse right next to a "Ger of Prayer" and "Ger Bible School." They are completely open to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom!
Zach finally crawls into his sleeping bag on a mat haphazardly balanced on some bricks. No cleansing hot shower. No refreshing cold water. No clean clothes. No electricity. Still covered in sticky sweat and dirt. Yet perfectly content! Zach experiences the promised Peace of Christ that surpasses all understanding! Sunrise to sunset, lives were transformed and Zach falls asleep with congested sinuses and still sniffling!
Wow, thanks for sharing this. Did you wake up healed the next day?? Cause maybe if you would have drunk the moms pee, well, that might of done the trick!:)
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