Our time in Kyrgyzstan started in Bishkek the Capital City. Very busy, full of cars, traffic, noise, the Osh Bazar, slippery sidewalks, and SIERRA COFFEE!
The city was nice however my team and I had been in cities for a while and we all felt like being out in nature and heading off to the mountains. We were craving the clean crisp air, the beautiful views of God’s creation, and a slower pace. We needed a change but we struggled with decision in leaving the city and deciding what we were going to do this month for ATL (ask the Lord). We struggled with the idea/ choice because we were not sure if we were being selfish wanting to go to the mountains or if it was what God wanted us to do.
Has this ever happened to you? I feel like this happens all the time… without realizing we put our expectations or limits on God in what He can do and where He can work.
He is a God who is everywhere!
(Jeremiah 23:23-24)
“Am I only a God nearby,” declares the LORD, “and not a God far away? Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the LORD. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the LORD.
During a team meeting a team mate brought this realization up and we finally made the decision to go to the mountains – Karakol. We stepped out in faith trusting the Lord would meet us where we were at and provide a ministry for us. Little did we know what the Lord had in store for us. Funny enough everything worked out perfectly and fell right into place.
We would be staying in Karakol for about 2/3 weeks before having to return to Bishkek. Our travel day to Karakol went smoothly we took a bus there and arrived earlier than expected and stayed at the Snow Leopard Hostel for 2 nights. While we were there our team had a chance to share the gospel, play music with the family who owned the hostel, and help them fix/ redesign their hostel page online. It was amazing to see my team mates serve this family using their gifting’s for the kingdom. Not only that the guy who owned the hostel also spoke Spanish! This would be the second person I have encountered in Central Asia who spoke Spanish and I was able to connect with him. His family is from Peru and had lived in Spain for a few years before moving to Kyrgyzstan to start his own business where he met his wife and settled down.
On the second day, we had asked for the closest coffee shop to go to. We set out to go there and spend our time there for the day before having to move out of our hostel and meeting up with another team. They had been doing ministry in Karakol but were leaving and we had an opportunity to help as well after they left. Crazy enough while we were at the coffee shop (Light House Coffee) we meet a local pastor. We had just got done praying and he noticed our bibles on the table and came up to us and introduced himself to us. What are the odds…. He began to tell us about his life and his church and all the amazing opportunities there were to get involved. Wow God! We got his contact information and we left that coffee shop in shock. We were so fortunate and grateful for Team Reckless connecting us with their ministry too as well as the house we were able to stay at! We were so blessed in how the Lord just provided absolutely everything!
Kyrgyzstan the landscape is not the only wonderful thing
Our time spent in Karakol was amazing! Helping out with 2 different English centers, pouring into the women of the church as well as the youth, going to church in Russian, wandering through the bazar and building relationships with the vegetable ladies, helping out with the homeless ministry (God providing sufficient funds for bedding), and spending time at the orphanage with the kids. We also had the opportunity to host 3 fun events at the house.
We did a worship night where students from the English centers and church were invited to attend and also come sing worship songs in English and in Russian.
We had a women’s night for the women of the church where we got to encourage them and make them feel special. Letting them know how much they are seen, appreciated, and loved. It was hard and a little overwhelming at first because we had planned for a translator to come but they ended up not coming and we had to depend on google translate for most of the event but it all worked out and the Lord got His message through to the women. With that we had planned on washing the women’s feet and praying over them and gifting them with some cozy socks. It was funny because at first, they were hesitant in letting us wash their feet but one of the older ladies knew what we were trying to do and she was the first one to get up and get her feet washed and encouraged all the other women to do it too!
Thanksgiving dinner shared around a table cloth
Hosting thanksgiving was an event as well. We invited the kids from English class over that way they could experience an American thanksgiving. This was a task in finding and cooking traditional thanksgiving foods. We planned to eat, have games, decorating a thanksgiving tree with leaves with things we were thankful for, and sharing our testimonies with the students. This was such a cool event to host because we not only got to share with them what how thankful we are for what the Lord has done in our lives but we also learned a little bit more about their culture and challenged them a little to try something new in experiencing the norms and traditions of what thanksgiving looks like in the U.S.
No Longer Orphans
Bringing the spirit of Christmas to the orphanage was so much fun. We had a chance to visit the orphanage our last week and the kids and staff at the orphanage were amazing. The women who manage and take care of the kids are amazing women with such nurturing and loving hearts and the kiddos were so welcoming and loving. We got to pray over the orphanage and over each child. You could feel the Holy spirit in that place and it was so cool to see how much joy and love was radiating from this place. We decorated the walls with Christmas decorations and crafts as well as teaching the kids a cute Christmas dance they would be performing at church for Christmas.
My overall experience in Karakol was amazing and I feel like our team did a wonderful job at spreading out and focusing on different ministries the Lord had put on our hearts and we were able to touch and invest in so many people. This month of ask the Lord was definitely one for the books for me. It redeemed my previous thoughts on ATL. I saw the Lord show up in so many ways but also, He worked so much in me this month again which produced so much growth. I’m sad to say good bye to Central Asia but I’m ready for Africa.
But first, Debrief…. =)
