“Imagine if Jesus came back right now… digging up bones in an ancient Christian cemetery would be the most concerning place I can imagine!” (#Ezekiel37) —Christian Archaeologist.
Some time ago, a Kazakh villager was laying a foundation and found a cross etched in one of the stones. He threw it away because he’s Muslim. Word spread, and archaeologists came to survey the site. They discovered a Nestorian Christian cemetery dating back to possibly the 8th-12th century. It is without a doubt that these people were Christians. Numerous grave stones etched with crosses mark graves facing the sunrise in the East—from where Jesus will return. This is unheard of in this part of the world, where everyone is buried facing West towards Mecca. The dig has been in process every summer for four years now. We joined their work for two weeks: digging up artifacts, pottery, bones, and stones. We were organized into teams with different roles, including digging with picks, shovels, trowels, putty knives, dental tools and brushes, sifting through the buckets of dirt for artifacts, labeling artifacts, washing pottery, and assembling bones for inventory and photography.
{Photo: My dig team! Left to right: Farhad, me, Valery, Daut, and Beth. Sometimes Suze joined us, too!}
Since Soviet rule oppressed the Kazakhs’ freedom to know their own history, they are now hungry to know their roots. It is said that to be Kazakh is to be Muslim; so, when a Kazakh believes in Christ, it is seen as a dishonor to their ancestors and often their community rejects them. These archaeological finds prove that there is a history of Christianity in Kazakhstan that precedes the Russian invasion. This is giving local Christians the hope of regaining the honor they lost from their communities. These discoveries are already opening doors for restoring broken relationships: one Muslim father is now speaking again with his Christian son after hearing about this site. We don’t know yet whether the community was of Kazakh blood or not. If the DNA tests do prove that the people who lived here long ago were Kazakh, the findings will be even more significant.
The dig was an unexpected and stretching site for ministry. Our goal was to work diligently and let the testimony of our work ethic and the scientific discoveries open up opportunities for spiritual conversations. Local Muslim villagers working with our teams were wondering why the bodies are facing East.
One Kazakh Christian girl observed how hard we work for Jesus for no pay, and examined her own heart and concern about money. She concluded that she also wants to work hard for Jesus! One young village girl highly esteemed the Kazakh ladies in our group and spent all day with them, even helping them cook and clean. Although she came from a Muslim family, she attended our prayer meetings and asked questions—who is Jesus? We watched the Jesus film with her and her family. We hosted a birthday party for one of our believing dig mates and invited locals, too. Everyone—around thirty people—blessed him, thanked him, and encouraged him. He was deeply moved because no one had ever done anything like this for him before, and this manner of honoring him caught the attention of the locals and nonbelievers in our group.
Stay tuned for more dig details, coming soon!
*This blog was a collaborative project.*
