On the very day we arrived here, I remember looking outside the car windows and seeing nothing but beautiful mountains and wild horses running. The man who drove my vehicle had picked up his 6 year old son along the way and rode with me, Heidi, and Anna to our hostel. As our driver pulled along side of the rode, he grabbed a plastic bottle of what looked like curdled milk with black chunks in it. That day Heidi and I tried some real fresh horse milk with some odd spices including burnt horse skin for added flavor (hence the black chunks)…. yikes all I gotta say is I won’t be trying that again even if somebody paid me.
Since that first day of getting a tiny glimpse of mountain living, the Lord has given us plenty more beautiful sceneries of Kyrgyzstan as well as being able to meet locals, learning more about what culture, and what the Lord is doing here.
So far, my team has been to Osh, Karakol, and now we are in Bishkek. We were in Osh for about a week and Leah, Taylor, and I had the privilege of getting to know a local woman named Chica, who quickly became our friend. She had a food stand like many other people had to make a living for their families. We would come back to her stand daily not just for the produce, but to see her and her two sons who she would bring to work. Their names are Tima (11 years old) and Oli (2 years old). I have probabley said this about many kiddos I’ve met this year, but these kids were so stinkin adorable! On one of our last days in Osh, Chica offered to take a day off from her food stand and take Leah, Taylor, Ashley, me, and her kids to this beautiful lake. We went swimming, jumped off a rope swing into the water, and Taylor even went wake boarding! Chica also brought and prepared us some food (this was where I had my first Kyrgyzstan dish and it was delicious!). It was such a fun day with this family. We were able to sit down with Chica and ask more about her life, finding out that she’s currently going through a very tough time. I asked Chica if I could share her story with you all and she said of course.
Chica is 30 years old and has been married to her husband for 12 years. She was actually suppose to marry another man which I believe was arranged and her husband “rescued” her as she put it. They had met previously and were talking on the phone for months prior. They adopted their oldest son, Tima, when he was only 3 days old. They tried to have a child of their own for 8 years until Oli was born. Chica’s mother-in law did not like her because she was suppose to marry somebody else before her son. When we asked Chica about where her husband is now, she said he lives back in Moscow (where he is originally from) and he’s been seeing another woman. Even though she doesn’t like it, in the Muslim faith the husband is able to have more than one wife. Because of this, two years ago Chica decided to move to Osh because that is where her family is from. She actually moved here with her two sons the same day that we met her. She said she loves her husband very much and still desires her marriage to be reconciled, but doesn’t think it will happen. When she talked about how they met, her face lit up and she smiled so big. I could tell she was still in love, but also heart broken.
As we were walking back to the car from the lake, Taylor started to talk with her about her beliefs and how Jesus can redeem her heart from any pain they her or her husband have caused each other. As I listened to bits and pieces of their conversation, I was praying and looking around me. I noticed the beautiful stream of water, the flowers and greenery that surrounded us, the sun getting ready to set, and Taylor’s gentle voice speaking of the love of Jesus in the background. It was such a sweet end to our time together and I had felt so much hope for Chica and her children. I felt the Lord’s heart so strongly the more I heard Chica ask Taylor more questions.
The Lord’s timing is so prefect and His ways are so gentle, even though He sometimes waits a lifetime for people to come to Him; He’s patient. He’s always there with open arms and to be able to be apart of that in somebody’s life is what brings me life! Whether we actually share Jesus or help people get one step closer to starting a relationship with Him, neither one is more important than the other. All that’s important is that we stay obedient and allow Him to work through us in ways that we may not always understand.
After our time in Osh, we went to Karakol for one week. We heard it was THE place for horseback riding and trekking. Me and a few other of my teammates stayed in a urt with other backpackers and had the opportunity to talk and hang with them during our week. Something that’s been really cool while traveling and specifically staying in a urt is that I’m not just learning about the places I’m in, but places from all around the world and perhaps making future visits? Haha maybe. Anyways, this was a week of exploring and observing for me. Just taking in the presence of people and my surroundings and breathing in the fresh air into my lungs. Words cannot explain the beauty I saw while horseback riding. It was exquisite. So peaceful. So calm. I felt the warmth of the Lord in the breeze. Even the days my team and I would just hike up a hill while walking around one of the lakes, all in the same view I could see the lake, farms, people at the beach, and the beautiful mountains in the background, some hanging snow caps. Again, the peace and warmth of the breeze was so calming, like the gentleness of the Lord.
After this stunning week, we headed to Bishkek where I’m currently writing this blog to all of you. We’ve been here for one week and plan on staying for one more. Our team split up and did two ministries this past week. Me, Taylor, and Vielka worked at Word of Life Camp and got to teach English to roughly 160 kiddos every day. When we weren’t doing that (which was only a half hour of the day, but can you imagine keeping the attention of that many kids and NOT knowing the language?!) we were helping with whatever tasks needed assistance like: cleaning up the activity room after kids were gone, preparing lunch, washing dishes, and the best task, to play with the kids. It was great. It was a pleasure to get to play with these kids as well as get to know the hard working staff. This camp is four weeks long and we were there for the last week so everybody was getting pretty tired, including the kids. Yesterday, we went to see their performances (what they had been practicing since day 1 of camp) before church started and I felt so proud of them! I felt a permanent smile on my face as I recorded a minute of every performance. Afterwords, Sasha who is the Pastor and one of the leaders of the camp, spoke such a good word. He talked about how we can learn so much from kids and how they are blessings from the Lord. Amen to that! Sasha’s talk made me think about how in order to be a good parent, the more I need to realize that the Lord is the Ultimate parent FIRST. I am simply His daughter who He wants to use to raise my/His children with His overflowing love. I need to not forget that kids are a blessing from the Lord, not a hinderance nor an obligation. They are treasures!
Well, that’s my update on this month so far and I can’t wait to see even what this next week brings. Stay tuned and thank you all for being apart of this journey with me.
I still need about $3,500 before I am fully funded. I know the Lord will provide! Please be praying for the people I have met and will meet, that they feel the love of the Lord.
Love you guys!
