Erdenetuya Tserev left her family in a small Mongolian village north of China and south of Russia.

Tserev, also known as Tuyata, came to the U.S. for an education in journalism, her major at Cornerstone University. She is also majoring in Bible and theology at Kuyper College.

As a sophomore, Tserev worked for Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC) in the capital city of Mongolia. FEBC was a Christian radio station that she heard about when she attended Mongolia University.

At the university, Tserev pursued a degree in journalism. After her freshman year, she started working for FEBC as a radio journalist while attending school. Junior year, she quit college, but continued to work.

“The academic curriculum for journalism is not very developed in my country,” Tserev said. “I was wasting a lot of time.”

While working at FEBC in 2004, she met FEBC’s board chairman, Robert Fortner.

Fortner asked Tserev about her educational plans and offered her the chance to study in America.

Tserev said that Fortner, who is director of the Media Research Institute in Grand Rapids, conducted training seminars for radio journalists. Because of her promotion to lead communications at FEBC, she organized the events.

“He said, ‘If you really need an education, I can help you,’” she said. But she declined the offer.

Tserev said that it was not the right time to leave.

“God wanted me to be in my country,” Tserev said. “And I felt the Spirit moved me to stay [in Mongolia].”

Tserev said that she was sure that she was not leaving that year or the next because she knew the plan that God had for her life. But she was willing to go wherever God led.

Fortner became her mentor while she worked at FEBC. They kept in touch, and he sent her books on journalism. Each year she asked him if his offer was still available.

She studied English, and when Fortner came to Mongolia University to lecture, they talked about that opportunity again.

Tserev said that she made an agreement with FEBC to go to America, learn journalism and come back to work. So, they sponsored her.

“Mongolian journalism follows Russian media perspectives, Russian theories, and it’s more based on theory, but American is more based on practical,” she said.

Fortner said that he helped Tserev because she wanted a better journalism education.

“She seemed eager to continue her education, and she didn’t think that getting it done in Mongolia would be as useful as doing it in the West,” he said.

Fortner and his family became her host when she arrived in January 2007.

“They are just like my family. I love them,” Tserev said. “I really appreciate the Fortner family for their love and support.”

After a short stint at Davenport, she enrolled at CU and Kuyper in August because the schools have a collaborative journalism program. She did not plan on studying Bible and theology, but she decided to since the opportunity arose. She also attends a Bible study at Calvin College for international students and leads worship.

Deb Bergren, one of the leaders of the study group, admires Tserev’s passion for God.

“She has a heart for God and the things of God, and she’s a great worship leader.” Bergren said. “She has a real passion for her countrymen to come to know the Lord.”

As a teenager, Tserev became a Christian living in a Buddhist country. One summer she went to a camp with friends, and she was placed in a group led by Christians.

“I saw differences among the Christians, like they’re very nice people, and everything was totally different,” Tserev said. So, she went to church and accepted Christ.

When she told her parents that she became a Christian, they did not take her seriously because she was young and impressionable. But after two years, they realized that she was committed.

Tserev is the second youngest of five siblings, and for several years she had problems with an older brother who was a Buddhist monk. He found it difficult to accept her conversion.

“He wasn’t so happy. He beat me a lot because I went to church,” she said. “Because in Mongolia, they think Christianity is a foreign religion.”

Tserev said that religious persecution is very common in private domestic conflicts, but not in public.

But she sees how God is using her to bring her family closer to Him. Her brother is no longer a monk, and her mother asked Tserev to pray for her.

“I believe they are closer to becoming Christians,” Tserev said.

Tserev said the most difficult part about coming to America was learning the language. Although she is fluent in Russian, English is very difficult for her to master.

“I was afraid to talk, because all the time I thought that my English is bad, people will not understand,” Tserev said.

She used to translate her thoughts from Mongolian to English. But now, she thinks in English.

“Now, I’m speaking because first English comes to mind,” Tserev said.

Fortner agrees that she has improved.

“Her English has definitely gotten a lot better,” he said. “She seems to be fitting in culturally and academically.”

He also said she loves his chili.