Hello! Sorry for such a long time since my last update! Kyrgyzstan was one of my favorite countries on the Race so far. First of all, it is a beautiful country full of mountains and lakes. Second, it was a lot of fun learning to read the signs in the Russian alphabet. But mostly I was happy because we finally had a ministry host, which has been a bit of a rarity so far on this trip. We taught English in Bishkek as part of a summer school program. We were able to stay for over two weeks, building relationships with the same students. Through the ministry there were opportunities to hang out after class and share with the students about our faith.
While we were in Kyrgyzstan we also visited Osh and Karakol. In Osh we spent time bonding as a team. Osh was very hot and one day we went to the world’s coldest swimming pool. Another day we went with a local woman and her family to a nearby water park where we ate, swam, and talked. We also got to share with her about who Jesus is and what He has done for us. In Karakol we got to stay in a big tent called a yurt one night, but for the most part I slept in an abandoned old building where we were the only people staying there besides one student who lived on a different floor. We joked that it was the hotel from The Shining, but it was actually oddly peaceful (depending on which of my teammates you ask).
Each place we stayed in Kyrgyzstan was unique and interesting and I was grateful we got to spend such a big chunk of time there. Look out for my next blog to hear about where I am now and what’s coming next!
