Kyrgzyzstan you warm my heart. This place is absolutely amazing. The people are welcoming, kind, and beyond generous. Being back in this country has been everything I’ve needed, it’s truly refreshing for my soul. 2 weeks ago I was ready to quit this “race”. I’ve been so so homesick. I’ve missed the consistentency of my life back home. Whether it be all my healthy eats: endless kale, quinoa, raw juices and coconut everything…or my jobs, having an income and some kind of routine and the lack of someone who gets me through and through like Hanny does..I’d been “dealing” with a lot and in that I was trying to fill those voids with things of my past. I started to forget my purpose of being here and brought everything back to myself. I didn’t turn to God in my moments of sadness because I was “too tired”. We didn’t have any ministry for our 12 days in Kazakhstan and it was up to us to find contacts or do ATL: ask the Lord, essentially asking the Lord to tell you or show you who to speak to where to go or go about your day expecting to be interrupted by Gods plans for you. Because I’m not and many of my teammates aren’t confident in practicing that…we didn’t go out of our way to do it. So after those 12 days I left the country feeling quite useless, selfish, and like I had made 0 difference as I had taken a few steps forward (during our debrief in Kyrgzy a week prior) and taken many steps back leaving Kazakhstan.
Once arriving to Kyrgzyzstan at our orientation I had a shift in my spirit. I was reminded by our host that God doesn’t expect anything of us but to abide in him on a daily basis, because when we make ourselves available to him that’s where he provides endless opportunities for us. He doesn’t need us to perform for him..he’s already won the victory and he has the final say for every individual we come across! There’s nothing we can do that the Lord “needs” us to do for him. Attempting to live this out on a daily basis has been detrimental for me. Then I was clouded by my actions and lack of pursuing the father that I felt like I had to wait until I was worthy enough of pursuing him or allowing him to order my steps. But I was wrong. It’s so funny what we allow ourselves to believe at times.
Our journey from Bishkek to Karakol was a long and magical little journey. This country is indescribably beautiful. I’ve honestly never experienced anything like it…and I’m rapidly falling in love. It’s honestly funny we were in this tiny town a few weeks ago for debrief and stupidly assumed there were no Christians here..but upon arriving we found out there’s about 10 different churches here, and we are partnering with at least 5 of them.
Since being here it’s been a dream, we’ve feasted on amazing traditional food, we’ve led youth groups and Sunday school, we’ve partnered with a church for a day-camp for over 20 kiddos, we’ve hiked, visited a hospital, prayed for people, went to villages and embraced their lives for a day…the list goes on…the Father is so mindful and so faithful and his provisions are endless.
An amazing opportunity that I would love prayer for is-there’s a kindergarten here and they are in desperate need of 2 teachers to teach English starting in September. One of the local pastors who is greatly passionate about the school and friends with the current teachers took us to the facility and all I could think was “be still my heart”. This place would be a dream come true. Their passion for influencing children at an early age and vision for the school and soon to be also coffee shop is beautiful and totally kingdom minded. I’m very passionate about this city, this country and these people and I would love to one day have the opportunity to work at this school. Please cover me in prayer as I ultimately pray for the Fathers will over my life.
My favorite part about this week was stumbling across this magical little coffee shop. God cares about the little things, he really. really. does! After reading the story behind this new coffee shop and found out that they had TACOS I knew I had to go. 2 days of being opened a few of my teammates and I visited it and we’re so blessed by the owner that we’ve returned everyday since (4 days in total). Zhamilia is such a beautiful person inside and out. She truly cares for her community, raising awareness, and giving back to those in need. Her heart behind her business is incredible, and God has given her such an amazing gift in the kitchen. God knows how homesick I’ve been and missing my mamas cooking and for the past 4 days I’ve eaten the taste of home and my heart is so full! It truly is the little things sometimes that make your heart leap. all I know is I’m on this crazy adventure living out my dreams and his provisions are endless.
Please click the link and read Zhamilia’s story!!! It’s worth the read:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/fat-cat-karakol-coffee-food-and-giving-back#/
Also consider liking her page on Facebook to give her more traffic and views 😉 :
https://m.facebook.com/FatCatKarakol/?ref=page_internal&mt_nav=1
Thank you all for reading, praying for me and keeping up with all my happenings. Thank you for loving me through and through and believing in me. Your support greatly makes a difference!
Xo
Lyd
