I haven’t felt much like writing lately, but I believe I would be doing a disservice to you and to all the extraordinary hospitality I have received here in Kazakhstan.
The Kazi people are a unique lot. Their name is from an ancient Turkish word meaning “wanders” or “nomads”. Historically they were a group of people who traveled between Mongolia and Turkey selling and trading merchandise. They lived in the same type of tents the Mongolians lived in called yurts. Now, the people are a blend of Asian and Russian ancestry. Some look very Asian while other Kazakhs look distinctly Russian.
During our 3 week stay in Almaty, we had the great fortune to volunteer with a group called Young Life. This organization actually started in the United States and has branched outwards around the globe. Some of my teammates have been a part of Young Life at their colleges back home and were super excited to take part in the ministry again. The organization reaches out to students from 10 years old all the way to college ages at 23 years old. They primarily focus on creating a fun and safe environment for kids to play, while introducing them to Jesus through the leaders actions and testimonies. Because the population in Kazakhstan is 47% Muslim with about 30% Orthodox, the ways in which you can share the gospel are limited. There is a law in place preventing anyone from doing street ministry or ministry outside of a official church building. This has made for a unique challenge for Young Life. Their club house is not part of a church building, so they have to be careful in the way they share the gospel. They build relationships with the kids and then once they know them a bit better they can speak into their life more. They can also share personal testimonies (Our teammate Hannah had this cool opportunity to do so!) However, they can’t straight up preach the word. Despite being restricted in their religious freedoms, the organization is growing well. They are even hoping to reach the Country near them called Uzbekistan (one of the most closed countries to Christianity in Central Asia). They hope to start a chapter there in the next five years. As I listened and learned from these brave hard working leaders, an image of smoke kept coming to mind. Where there is smoke, there is fire. I believe God was showing me that we are seeing the first signs of his great works to come in Central Asia. Soon a great fire, a great zeal, for God will catch in this region of the world. God is doing great things here and all across the world.
Young Life also has a program in place for special needs children. Every Saturday morning the special needs children and their moms come to the club house. The volunteers split up along with the moms and kids. While half of the volunteers are hanging out and playing games with the kids, the other half are having tea and cookies with the moms. It’s a great time for both children and parents to socialize and find joy in the day. It’s also a sorely needed break for the moms. Many of the mothers are single due to the dads leaving once they find out their child has special needs. It is truly heart breaking. Due to the influence of Muslim religion in this part of the world if a child is born with special needs, they believe it is because of a sin the parent has committed. The sin is usually attributed to the mother, so the father will leave to start a new family. Some people here are even under the superstition that the condition of the child could “catch” or “spread “ to their kids, so many parents will refuse to let themselves and their children walk on the same side of the street — let alone interact with this unique group of people. It’s truly a shame because special needs kids are some of the most joyful people I have ever met. They are very loving and trusting as well. One girl I met gave everyone a huge hug as a greeting when they arrived no matter who they were. Young Life even organizes sponsored cooking classes and field trips for special needs of all ages. Getting to spend time and interact with some 30 year old special needs friends made me realize that this is a group of individuals in America that we tend to overlook. God loves these people deeply. He loves them just as much as He loves you and me.
A part from hanging out at the Young Life club house, we also taught some English classes at two different colleges. Here in Kazakhstan college is different than at home. Students here attend grade school till 9th grade. They then have the option of continuing on to 10th and 11th grade before then going to University or going to college to learn a trade. You still have the option of going to University after college if your grades are good enough. This means that all the college students are between the ages of 15-18 years of age. Our classes basically boiled down to giving the students an opportunity to practice speaking with native English speakers as well as answering their American related questions. Compared to Russian or Kazi (the two languages spoken by everyone in Kazakhstan), learning English is easy, as I was told. Many students wanted to study abroad and wanted to know about the difficulty level of getting accepted to an American college. Others simply wanted to know if we all smoked pot and carried around guns. (I blame all the movies and T.V. Shows for those types of questions.)
My time here in this amazing country passed in the blink of an eye, but I am left feeling very fortunate to have been here and to have met all the wonderful people. It is so extremely encouraging to see my brothers and sisters in Christ from around the world sharing the love of God and spreading the good news of Jesus faithfully where ever they are at. You don’t need fancy words or all the right answers to love others in Jesus’ name. Don’t over think it, just simply do. That is the lesson I believe I have learned this month from my teammates down to my special need buddies.
I write this letter to you all from a little covered table and chair patio set in the mountains. My team decided to take a few days at the end of this month to come together to rest and celebrate all that God has seen us through these past three months. Our little cabin is very quaint, though we do not have access to WiFi. It’s probably a good thing other wise I may have taken much longer to sit down and write to you. I am glad that I did.
Wishing you all a wonderful fall season filled with time spent with the ones who matter.
— The willful awestruck wanderer
