What animals live in Mongolia?

Mongolia is a wild and wide-open land, and it is home to some remarkable creatures! The Mongolian steppe is roamed by herds of Przewalski's horses — the last truly wild horses on earth. You can also spot Bactrian camels, which have two humps and carry heavy loads across the Gobi Desert. Up in the rocky mountains, snow leopards prowl quietly, hunting for prey in the thin cold air. Golden eagles are so important to Mongolian herders that some families train them to hunt — a tradition passed down for generations. God packed this land with incredible variety, and the nomadic people who live among these animals have called this rugged place home for thousands of years.

What do kids eat in Mongolia?

Great question! Mongolian kids eat a lot of meat and dairy — mostly from animals like sheep, goats, horses, and yaks. One favorite is 'tsuivan,' which is a dish of hand-pulled noodles cooked with mutton and vegetables. Families also drink a lot of warm milk tea, sometimes made with a little salt instead of sugar. In winter, the cold can be fierce out on the Mongolian steppe, so hearty food really matters. A popular snack is 'aaruul,' which is dried curds of cheese — sort of chewy and tangy, like a homemade dairy candy. Mongolian kids who live in traditional round tents called 'gers' often help their families prepare these foods over a small stove right inside their home.

How do people say hello in Mongolia?

In Mongolia, a common greeting is 'Сайн байна уу?' which sounds like 'Sain baina uu?' It means something like 'Are you well?' — and it is a warm, polite way to start a conversation with someone you meet. Mongolians also have a special traditional greeting during their big winter festival called Tsagaan Sar, where people say 'Сайн шинэлж байна уу?' — asking if you are welcoming the new season well. Greetings in Mongolia often come with real respect for the person you are meeting, and that is a good reminder that every person we greet is someone God made and loves.

What sports or games do kids play in Mongolia?

Herman here, with Rusty nodding along! Mongolian kids grow up loving what are called the 'Three Manly Games' — wrestling, archery, and horse racing. The wild part is that horse racing jockeys are often kids themselves, sometimes as young as five or six years old, riding across the open steppe for miles. Rusty wants to add that kids also play a game called 'shagai,' which uses the ankle bones of sheep as game pieces — kind of like knucklebones or jacks. You can flick them, race them, or sort them by which side they land on. It's a simple game you can carry in your pocket, which makes a lot of sense when your family moves with the herds across the grasslands and a big toy chest isn't exactly easy to bring along.

What's the weather like in Mongolia?

Mongolia is one of the coldest and most extreme places on Earth. Winters can drop to minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit, and the wind sweeps hard across the open grasslands called the steppe. Summers get surprisingly warm, sometimes reaching 95 degrees — so the same country feels totally different depending on when you visit. Mongolians even have a name for their brutal winters: 'dzud,' which means a harsh freeze that makes it nearly impossible for livestock to find food under the ice and snow. Many Mongolian families are herders who live in round felt tents called gers, and they have learned over hundreds of years how to survive these fierce conditions. It is a tough land, and the people who call it home are remarkably tough too.

Tell me a fun fact about Mongolia.

Herman here, with Rusty nodding along! Mongolia is one of the least crowded places on earth — there are more horses in Mongolia than there are people. Mongolians are famous riders, and many families still move from place to place across the grasslands, living in round tent-homes called gers. Rusty wants to add this: the Gobi Desert stretches across the southern part of Mongolia, and it is one of the few deserts in the world where you can find actual dinosaur fossils right in the ground. But what we find most worth knowing is that many Mongolians are still waiting to hear the good news about Jesus — which makes Mongolia one of the most important places for missionaries today.

What is school like for kids in Mongolia?

Herman here, with Rusty nodding along! In Mongolia, most kids go to school six days a week, and the school year runs from September to May — when the winters are fiercest. Mongolian winters can drop to minus 40 degrees, so some children who live in the countryside, in round felt tents called gers, have a very long walk or ride just to reach their school. Rusty wants you to know that many kids in Mongolia study math, science, and the Mongolian script, which looks quite different from the alphabet you might use. Children from nomadic herding families sometimes live in school dormitories during the week, away from their parents, just so they can get an education. That takes real courage — and it is a good reminder to pray that while those kids are learning to read and write, they would also have the chance to hear about Jesus, who loves them and wants them to know Him.

Who are the unreached people in Mongolia?

Great question! Mongolia is a vast, wind-swept land of grasslands and nomadic herders, and most of its people have never truly heard the good news about Jesus. The largest unreached group is the Khalkha Mongols — they make up most of Mongolia's population and have lived for centuries in the tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and shamanism, which means many of them look to spirits, monks, and rituals instead of the living God. There are also smaller groups like the Kazakh people in western Mongolia, who are mostly Muslim and have very little access to the gospel. Herman and Rusty think it is worth knowing that Mongolia did not have many Christians at all just 35 years ago — but God has been at work, and small but growing churches now exist in cities like Ulaanbaatar. Still, millions of Mongolians — especially nomadic families living in round felt tents called gers out on the steppe — have never once heard the name of Jesus as their Savior.

How can I pray for the people of Mongolia?

Mongolia is a land of wide open grasslands and tough, resilient people — and God loves every one of them deeply. Most Mongolians have not yet put their trust in Jesus as their Savior, so the most important thing we can pray is that they would hear the gospel clearly and believe it. There are Mongolian Christians and local churches growing there, which is wonderful — pray that those believers stay faithful and bold, even when following Jesus is hard. Also pray that more Mongolian leaders rise up to share the good news with their own people in their own language, and that every family across those vast steppes would have a chance to hear about Jesus.

What is a holiday or celebration in Mongolia?

Naadam is Mongolia's biggest celebration, held every July! It goes back hundreds of years and features three traditional contests: wrestling, horse racing, and archery. The horse races are run across open grassland, and the jockeys are often children as young as five or six years old. Mongolians call these 'the three games of men,' though girls compete in archery and horse racing too. During Naadam, people wear beautiful silk robes called 'deel' and gather with family to watch the competitions and share food like khuushuur, which are crispy fried dumplings filled with meat. It's a time when Mongolians feel very proud of their heritage and history. As you watch the riders gallop across the steppe, you might think about how God placed these people in this wide, open land — and how He loves them and wants them to know Jesus, just like people everywhere.

What language do people speak in Mongolia?

Most people in Mongolia speak Mongolian, which is a strong, rolling language that sounds quite different from English. It uses a special alphabet called Cyrillic — the same curvy letters you see in Russian — though ancient Mongolian also had its own beautiful vertical script that looks like it flows top to bottom down the page. Here is something worth knowing: for a long time, many Mongolians did not have the Bible in their own language. But faithful missionaries and Bible translators worked hard, and today Mongolians can read God's Word in Mongolian. That is a big deal, because hearing about Jesus in your heart language — the one you grew up speaking at home — makes a real difference in understanding who He is.

What's a famous place to visit in Mongolia?

One of the most remarkable places in Mongolia is the Gobi Desert — a vast, rocky, and sandy stretch of land in the south. It is one of the largest deserts in the world, and it stretches into northern China too. People travel from far away to see its towering sand dunes, strange rock formations, and the wide-open silence of it all. The Gobi is not just beautiful to look at — it tells a story of how God made a world full of variety. Mongolian nomads have herded animals near its edges for centuries, living in round felt tents called gers. Some missionaries have traveled through these remote areas to share the good news of Jesus with families who might never have heard His name before.

Mongolia — Kids Missions Explorer

Snow Leopard

This pale, thick-furred big cat hunts across Mongolia's rocky mountain ranges and can leap six times its own body length to catch prey.

Bactrian Camel

Unlike the one-humped camels of Arabia, the Bactrian camel has two humps and is built to survive both the scorching Gobi summer and its bone-deep winter cold.

Przewalski's Horse

Considered the last truly wild horse species on earth, this stocky, short-maned horse once vanished from Mongolia but has been carefully brought back to roam the steppe again.

Buuz

These steamed dumplings stuffed with minced mutton and onion are the food every Mongolian family makes for Lunar New Year, and the smell of them cooking fills the ger like a welcome home.

Suutei Tsai

Mongolian milk tea is made with green tea, hot water, fresh milk, and a pinch of salt, and it is offered to every guest as a sign of hospitality before any conversation begins.

Tsuivan

This hearty noodle dish is hand-made, pan-fried with mutton and vegetables, and eaten across Mongolia as a filling everyday meal that sticks with you through a cold day outdoors.

Mongolia

Things you should know about Mongolia

Wildlife you might meet

What’s on the table

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Life in Mongolia

Missions in Mongolia

Pray for Mongolia