Hello!
Wow! It has been a long week & a half, almost entirely made up of traveling. On March 1st, my co-leader Emily & I started our long travel journey from Armenia to Kazakhstan. First, we took a night train from Yerevan, Armenia back to Tbilisi, Georgia where we had spent the previous month. We went earlier than our squad to buy train tickets for all twenty-three of us for an overnight train from Tbilisi to Baku, Azerbaijan & to take a day of rest. Once we arrived in Baku, we were put on hold until a cargo ship would arrive & ship us across the Caspian Sea. So, we spent a few days in Azerbaijan, & were able to make some connections with a few people who have ministries that future World Race teams can come to! Once we heard that a cargo ship arrived at port, Melanie & I raced across town to buy the tickets! A short bus ride away & a few hours later we were all on the boat!
The ferry ride was really exciting for us. The ship departed around midnight, & we arrived about 10pm the following day. We were able to explore the ship, & spend time outside on the deck. We slept in bunks & ate soup & rice in the cafeteria with probably at least twenty other people on board. Most of them were the owners of the semi-trucks that the ferry was shipping.
Some photos from the ferry!
After a short night sleep in a hostel in Aktau, Kazakhstan we went to buy train tickets from Aktau to Almaty which is where I am now! The train ride was such a wild experience! In total it was almost 1800 miles, & 60 hrs long. We spent three nights sleeping in cramped little bunk beds in the 16th car traveling through snow covered desert. The desert here is vast, & the landscape didn’t change the whole ride. It was miserable & exhilarating all at once. I knew that as I was laying down in my cramped top bunk in the compartment I was sharing with another Kazakh family, their baby crying & the window fogged up, that I would remember how hot & uncomfortable I was, but also how lucky I was to experience such a long train ride in it’s fullness.
As we were walking between cars to get to the train’s restaurant where some of the cooks & servers were rolling out noodles to be served at dinner that evening we ran into a man. He looked at us & said, “America?” We replied, “Yes!” He said in broken english, “please come to compartment, one minute & see daughter!” Brittani & I looked at each other, then we said, “of course!” It turns out that the family doesn’t speak any english at all except for what he said in the aisle. But we worked out that he & his family were actually missionaries & loved the Lord. He was able to use his hands to motion how he was caught up in smoking & drinking, how his wife had left him. When he met Jesus, his eyes were opened, he realized how much God loved him, & he quit smoking & drinking, & was able to reconcile with his wife, & now his whole family is saved! We were able to pray together, sing songs, & he read us some of his favorite verses from the bible. He read Romans 5:1, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” Revelation 22:12, “Behold, I am coming soon,” Ezekiel 36:26, “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you,” & finally Isaiah 55:12, “You will go out in joy & be lead forth in peace.” It was such a beautiful moment, & could seem to have merely happened by chance, but I know that it was part of Gods intricate plan for us to be able to meet this family.
We were as blessed by them as they were by us! It was such a sweet reminder to me, that everywhere we go there is always an opportunity for others to encounter the love of the Father!
Some photos from the train! Not as pretty as our cargo ship, but you can get a feel for how tight the space actually was, & meet some of the beautiful people we were able to interact with.
I am with one of our teams in Almaty & I can’t wait to share more of what we have been up to! I am always thankful for all your prayers & I think of you all often!
Much love,
Emily
