I am now in Kazakhstan! Here’s some info about the country, and read to the end to hear an update!
Kazakhstan is the world’s largest land-locked country, and the 9th largest country in the world. It is located right below Russia, in Central Asia. Formerly part of the “Silk Road”, it has been a trade route for merchants and travelers for centuries. The population is 18.4 million, ranking 65th in the world.
The culture is traditionally nomadic and pastoral (herding animals). It is said that Kazakhstan was the first place where horses were tamed to ride. Kazakh means “free rider” or “to wander”. It is also believed that apples originated here. There are still wild apple forests, and the largest city, Almaty, means “place full of apples”. In the 13th century, it became part of the Mongolian Empire under Genghis Khan.
From 1920-1991, it was Communist and part of the Soviet Union. All religions were suppressed during Communism. It was the last country to leave the USSR. Although it is a multi-party democracy, the same president has been in power since independence. The government is notorious for restricting freedom of speech, assembly, and religion. Human rights organizations rank the country as having a poor human rights record. There are still restrictions and even some persecution to Christians.
It is said that to be Kazakh is to be Muslim. However, it is often a cultural and nominal faith. There is also a large percentage of non-religious, held over from the Communist era. Christians make up 12% of the population. There were virtually no believers at the time the USSR fell, but now the church has grown to 2,000,000. Korean churches have spread in Kazakhstan, thanks to a large Korean population, some of whom are missionaries.
The capital, Astana, is a relatively new city, and has very unusual, futuristic architecture.
Update:
I am now on a new team, Corpus Christi, which means “The Body of Christ” in Latin. My teammates are Jake, Jenny, Parker, and Heidi. And Brandon our squad leader is with us this month, as well.
We are in Almaty, the largest city. We will be here a few more days, and then we will be off the grid for 2 weeks. We are extremely excited about our ministry: working at an archaeological dig! This dig is run by Christian archaeologists and Kazakhs. They have discovered the remains of a Christian cemetery from 1,000 years ago. This is a big deal because many Kazakhs think Christianity is from Russia. But they are uncovering evidence that there were Christians here long before the Russians brought Christianity.
Please pray for:
-My new team, as we get to know each other
-Energy and health, as we work 10 hours a day in the sun, digging or sorting through artifacts.
-Opportunities to talk to our co-workers at the dig and to show the love of Christ to the locals in the village we will be staying in.
-A way for us to get to Azerbaijan at the end of the month. We have been looking into train tickets to the border but discovered they are already sold out! Our visas are only 30 days, so please pray we find a way to get to our next country.
