Pictures of the Wintry Steppe

If you want to see some pictures from my walks on the steppe to Maikaduk each week click the link, and you will be taken to my Facebook page. There you can view my pictures from January. There are also some pics of the kids at Apple Tree. Enjoy!

Click here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046402&l=4930f&id=69603689

Some Thoughts…

I briefly read something about Hitler and his belief in God, and it is true that Hitler believed very deeply in God and that God had given him power to carry out his will. What sets Hitler apart, or anyone who perverts the Word, are the astonishing contradictions in the way they live and act compared to the message of Krst.

 

When people seek pride over selflessness, violence and fear over peace, power over gentleness, hatred over love, torture over kindness, then these people, measured by the very good news of Krst, are brought into the light that reveals and exposes us for what we truly are, rather than what we claim to be.

 

Just as Krst never justified or gave grounds for neglecting to live out his message, so neither should we believe or allow those who tell us to put our Father-given standards aside in order to preserve our freedom or keep us safe. They tell us – Torture people in order to get information to save many lives; Kill the enemy to protect your freedom; Lie to get what you want; Only the strong survive. But again, Krst never gave us these options.

 

In fact, Krst was the one tortured by the empire and its Powerful rather than the one doing the torturing. He died and many of his early followers ended up dying as well, but look how the good news spread. Also, Krst didn’t kill his enemies. Instead he disarmed them with love; a very defiant and revolutionary love, a love that recognizes the image of the Creator in all, and thus recognizes potential in all of creation. And Krst, instead of coming in power to rule with earthly might and strength, came as a weak, helpless baby. He served and died in earthly weakness, but he lived and was raised in heavenly power.

 

So those who kill in the name of God are revealed and exposed by the light of the One who came to earth and suffered and was killed in order to save. He did not kill to save. He was killed and died to save. But as we know and take extreme joy in, His death was not permanent. Rather, it was the final blow to death and hatred and fear; for after 3 days of despair, the One who died for all rose again for all and proved to all that life is found not in the destruction of creation, but rather in dying to the world and allowing the only One who can truly offer freedom and life to fill us and raise back to life in His infinite power. 

 

There are many that claim the same name we claim but who try and convince us that there are times when that way of life is not reasonable for whatever reason. But I say, this life is most prudent even in times of great fear, war, insecurity, and terror. It does not offer earthly life or always protect against earthly pain, but it does guarantee the transformation of creation and new life, a raised life in the power of the One who has long ago claimed victory over death.

 

May we live in that victory! May the Creator empower us, and may we be defined by our love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control!

January in Karaganda

Upon returning to Kazakhstan I was greeted by some rather wintry weather. My first Friday back I walked to Maikaduk like usual. But the weather was definitely not as usual.

First, there was a decent amount of snow on the ground, and I find myself trudging through snow up to my knees on a few occasions. But that wasn’t the worst part. The temperature when I left was -20 degrees F. It was cold!! But as the walk went on, it probably warmed up to a least -10.

Then, this week we had a couple of days with strong wind and blowing snow. It’s been truly spectacular – what winter should be (if only for a month or so).

And today, Friday, another teacher named Jon – who is teaching in Kyrgyzstan and is visiting –  and I walked to Maikaduk. I think it’s safe to say that today was even worse than last week’s walk. It was warmer, but the wind was blowing strongly (fortunately, it was at our back most of the time) and it was snowing. The first half of the trip was like the previous week, but the second half was a different story. With the snow added during the week and with the wind piling it up into deceptively beautiful drifts the last part of the walk was absolutely exhausting. Again, we walked through snow up to and above our knees for a good part of the way. There were also 2 times when the snow was so deep and swallowing that we had to literally crawl on our hands and knees to distribute our weight enough to prevent us from sinking to almost our waists.

But we eventually arrived, tired and wet, my facial hair frozen, and had a good time with the kids at Apple Tree.
We also just finished our 1st semester teaching and begin our 2nd next week. It’s been a good experience thus far, and I’m ready to start the next half of the teaching year.

Thanks for your thoughts. Stay warm – I hear America is a little chilly these days as well.

Uzbekistan Pictures

To check ‘em out click on the following link (it will take you to my Facebook page, but you don’t have to have Facebook to view them) – Enjoy!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046033&l=d17c6&id=69603689

Happy New Year!

So I’m back in KZ after about 2 weeks in Uzbekistan. It was a great trip. I spent a few days in Tashkent, the capitol, Bukhara, and Samarqand. All 3 cities were once major stops along the Silk Road, and both Bukhara and Samarqand were capitols of various ancient city states. Bukhara is sometimes deemed as Central Asia’s holiest city and at one time was considered its cultural heart.

I spent my time there mainly walking about each respective city. I love walking. It’s something that humans have been doing since creation. Obviously buses and cars, even bicycles have only been around for a short time, but  we’ve always had our legs! So I love to walk, and I spend hours each day just wandering through alleyways walled by old, mud-walled homes, visiting different sites, talking with people (local or fellow travelers), and just soaking up each city’s atmosphere as much as I could.

The people in Uzbekistan were generally very helpful and hospitable. In Bukhara, I met a few young boys who ended up taking me a partial tour of the Old Town. The oldest, Begzat, joined me for dinner that night, and the next day he took me to the Bakhautdin Naqshband Mausoleum, one of Sufism’s (a mystical branch of Islam), holiest sites. It was really interesting, and it was fun to be there with a local. That same day, I met Begzat’s father who is a local photographer, and he invited me to have tea with him and some of his coworkers. That was really enjoyable. Bukhara’s people and sites were definitely some of the major highlights of my trip.

Also, in Samarqand I was invited by two Russian travelers to join them for lunch with some locals. We ate plov, by far my favorite Central Asian dish, with a group of about 10 men in a tea house.  It was excellent! We spent a couple hours there just talking about all sorts of things – from politics, to Uzbekistan, to why I’m not married yet (they couldn’t believe that, and warned me that all sorts of things might happen to me in a few years time if I didn’t get married soon – it was really funny), to the basic properties of plov.

But my best plov experience was in Tashkent. (My mouth is starting to water right now just thinking about it!) The meal I had on my last day in Uzbekistan is truly one of the best I’ve had in my entire life. It was amazing! This cafe’s take on plov consisted, as usual, of rice, onions, and chunks of lamb, but they added  yellow carrots, chickpeas, raisins, ginger, two boiled eggs, and little bit of different spices. It was absolutely fabulous!

In each city I stayed in inexpensive Bed and Breakfasts. Two of them were in 19th century homes with interesting detail and some Central Asian wall hangings and carpets – which definately added to the experience.

This was a trip I definately couldn’t have done without the assistance of the Father. I’m very thankful to him for his incredible, perfect provedence.

So it was a great trip, and I had a wonderful time, but tonight is the first night of class. Time to get in the teaching mode again.

I will keep you in my thoughts as we begin this new year. Please keep me in yours.