How do you trust him amid countless setbacks?
The odds were not in their favor. In fact, looking back, the bar seemed impossibly high for these two people to meet Jesus and faithfully follow him, when obstacles such as these:
- Both were raised in Buddhist homes
- One has been deaf the majority of her life
- As children, their parents lost businesses and homes
- One had a father who died from alcoholism
- The other’s parents divorced
- Once married, they faced 10 years of infertility
Just one of the above burdens could break the most resolute of hearts. When taken as a whole, they seem devastating. Living in Mongolia has intensified many of these challenges, but the life this couple shares today is probably not what you’d expect. Odko, the husband, picks up the story from here.
My wife’s name, Urangoo, simply means “beauty and creativity,” and it fits her perfectly. Since she was six months old, she’s lived with hearing loss. She used hearing aids through her teenage years, but her hearing continued to decline and she’s been considered deaf for many years. When she was young, Urangoo tried to downplay her condition due to the low public opinion regarding people with different abilities.
For many years, disabilities in Mongolia were misunderstood. Some believed they were the result of wrongdoing, which led to shame. Instead of care and help, children with disabilities were often overlooked or excluded, and families faced isolation. Furthermore, many children were denied education and dignity, not because they lacked value, but because society did not yet know how to see them with compassion. Thankfully, things are changing in our country and people have more access and rights than ever before.
The Words of Love
Like many Mongolian families, we were raised in Buddhist households. Both our families were deeply affected by the economic hardships following Mongolia’s democratic transition in the 1990s. Business failures led to debt, broken homes, and painful separations. My mother left for South Korea in 2001 to work, and my father later struggled with alcoholism and passed away from liver cancer in 2013. Urangoo’s parents also lost their home and eventually divorced. These are not unusual stories in Mongolia. They are shared by countless families.
In 2008, like many others seeking a better life, I went to South Korea to work. There, I followed a coworker to a Christian youth gathering. Though I had occasionally attended church in my youth, I encountered Jesus personally at this gathering. In 2009, reading the Bible, I recognized my own brokenness and turned back to God in repentance, choosing to dedicate my life fully to him.
Urangoo encountered God at 17, while a first‑year university student in Mongolia. Invited by a friend to church, she encountered the words of a worship song based on John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son …” Because she experiences sound primarily through reading, those words deeply captured her heart. After spending years feeling isolated and misunderstood because of her hearing loss, Urangoo saw the God of the universe valued and loved her more than she could imagine. It was then she chose to follow Jesus.
We both felt called to serve God; Urangoo entered Bible school in 2010, and I followed in 2013 after returning to Mongolia.
Wedding, Working, and Waiting
While studying Scripture, the story of Abraham and Sarah deeply impacted me. This couple waited for many years for a child, trusting in God’s promise despite their limitations. During one class, a teacher shared that some people are called to walk an unconventional path, sometimes marrying someone with a disability, not as a burden, but as part of God’s purpose and blessing.
In that moment, I sensed God clearly speaking to my heart, confirming that Urangoo was the woman he had chosen for me. Though she lived with deafness, she was the one God had prepared for me, just as Sarah was for Abraham.
As we began dating, our relationship was marked by peace, honesty, and sincerity. There was no pretending, only mutual trust.
In 2014, Urangoo began serving with Young Life and the Lord called her to love those with special needs through Capernaum. With a unique ability to relate to young people who feel undervalued, misunderstood, and isolated, Urangoo has built special, life-changing connections with many. She frequently makes home visits to families and ensures their kids have adequate transportation to get to Young Life events including camp. It’s incredible witnessing God working in the lives of teenagers through Urangoo, not in spite of her hearing loss, but through it. In 2017, I joined the Young Life family as well.
With confidence and peace, we publicly announced our relationship and were married in 2015. Ours was the first Christian wedding in both our families, and it became an opportunity to share the gospel with our relatives.
For the next 10 years, we waited for a child. Struggling with infertility, we went through repeated medical treatments, endured disappointment, and faced insensitive comments from others. Yet through those painful years, God softened our hearts and taught us compassion.
After seven unsuccessful attempts to conceive, we prayerfully decided to pursue adoption. The process was long and filled with obstacles including rejected applications, complicated paperwork, and closed doors. Still, God gently guided us step by step.
In 2024, after nine months of perseverance, we were finally able to welcome our beautiful son Yeruult into our home. The process felt like a spiritual battle, but through prayer, endurance, and God’s perfect timing, we became his parents. Every detail, from the social workers to government officials, revealed God’s careful orchestration. Our son bonded with us quickly, and we knew he had been prepared for our family just as we had been prepared for him.
Receiving him into our home at Christmas was the greatest gift we could imagine.
Weeping with Wonder
In the midst of all this, we were also preparing for Urangoo’s cochlear implant surgery. A U.S.-based donor, who happened to be a surgeon, offered to do the surgery as a gift. Plans were made, sabbatical leave was approved, and some support was promised for extra expenses.
But God had another plan.
In mid‑2025, Urangoo discovered she was pregnant. The moment she handed me the pregnancy test late at night felt unreal. The next morning, we heard our daughter’s heartbeat for the first time. We wept with gratitude, overwhelmed by the beauty of God’s timing.
The pregnancy was not easy, and Urangoo was hospitalized several times in the early months. Our days were filled with challenges, laughter, and growth. It’s surreal that now we’re preparing for the birth of our daughter, Niguulsen.
As we look ahead, we do so with hope and expectation, believing God still has many unseen wonders prepared for our lives. With thankful hearts and tearful prayers, we give glory to God, who welcomes ordinary people into his family, strengthens them, and faithfully walks with them through every season.
To him be all glory and gratitude, now and forever.
— Odko Zagdsaikhan
An update to this story: Urangoo just gave birth to Niguulsen in late January 2026. Unable to undergo the cochlear implant surgery during her high-risk pregnancy, she’ll be traveling to California in April for the procedure. She’s greatly looking forward to it and is extremely grateful for the Lord’s moving through this Young Life donor, and in so many other ways in their lives.
So, the many obstacles listed at the beginning of the story were not insurmountable to the God of Odko and Urangoo. Rather, what we would call “barriers” served as proof of the Lord’s passionate love and willingness to pursue his dear children and walk in relationship with them. May you be encouraged today in knowing our powerful God is not concerned with the odds! In fact, for him there is no incredibly high bar, just as the angel Gabriel told Mary, the mother of Jesus, “Nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37).
