1st Week of February

Wow! It’s the 1st Week of February already. New Year’s feels like only last week. We are into our 3rd week of the 2nd semester, and things are going well. In class we’ve been listening to Barack Obama’s Inaugural speech–it’s been interesting to discuss in class.

Also, it’s a snowy, blustery day, and I love it. It’s not too cold either. It’s nice to have some winter weather when the temperatures are low. Otherwise, I think blue skies every day would be rather boring.

I’ve been reading a book of quotations by the late Oscar Romero. He was an El Salvadoran bishop who fought (I don’t mean with weapons) for the rights of his oppressed people against a terribly oppressive government who was supported by the US. The government committed terrible atrocities against its people; tortured, murdered, and silenced any way they could the voice of dissent–the voice that cried out from the “least of these” across that country. They did so in order to protect what they had; power, strength, position, control.

Oscar Romero, at first being a defender of the status quo and not wanting to get his hands dirty, quietly went about his work. But after a good friend was murdered by the government and he experienced the deep suffering of his people he could no longer sit quietly. In fact, his voice became loud and prophetic. Just as Krst proclaimed, “The Spirit of the Lrd is on me, because he has anointed me to prch good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lrd’s favor (Luke 4:18-19),” so too did Romero speak on behalf of the “least of these”. And, like many prophetic voices throughout history, his was tragically silenced by an assassin’s bullet.

Here’s a quote from his Sunday message on Sept 24, 1978:

“Thus is our Gd–blessed may he be–who has given us to know how he calls at every moment and at every moment is ready to receive us, no matter the crimes we have committed. And so, brothers and sisters, I repeat again what I have said here so often, addressing by radio those who perhaps have caused so many injustices and acts of violence, those who have brought tears to so many homes, those who have stained themselves with the blood of so many murders, those who have hands soiled with tortures, those who have calloused their consciences, who are unmoved to see under their boots a person abased, suffering, perhaps ready to die. To all of them I say: No matter your crimes. They are ugly and horrible, and you have abased the highest dignity of a human person, but Gd calls you and forgives you. And here perhaps arises the aversion of those who feel they are laborers from the first hour. How can I be in heaven with those criminals? Brothers and sisters, in heaven there are no criminals. The greatest criminal, once he has repented of his sins, is now a child of Gd.”

How liberating!–both for the oppressed and the oppressor. Our Father saves not just the oppressed from the oppressor, but he actually saves the oppressor, freeing him/her from the oppression of being an oppressor. How awesome! Thus is the nature of our Gd. Blessed be his name!

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.

Christmas

It’s kind of a wierd thing – being away from home during the Christmas season. There are Christmas trees set up all around Karaganda, but they are really for the New Year. It would, of course, be nice to celebrate with family, but instead, I will be in Uzbekistan on Christmas day and through New Years. We have a 2 week vacation, and I decided to head South and explore some old Silk Road cities. I’m very excited. It’s been somewhat of a tedious process aquiring the paperwork needed to obtain a visa, but everything worked out perfectly.

I’ve been reading a book about St. Francis and another full of short stories by the great Russian writer Leo Tolstoy. I’ve been deeply challenged by these writings, and I’ve been questioning anew what it means to be a follower of the one who came, not as a mighty warrior prince and heir to an earthly kingdom, but the one who came squeezed out of a peasant girls womb and lived the life of a humble servant. If I am to imitate this true king, what should my life look like? First, I must live in thanks to him who came to save rather to destroy. And then I believe I must take part in that beautiful redemption, transformation, and creation. But to do this I must reject the systems and the powers of this earth, and I must declare the baby born from a virgin’s womb as the one true lord. This will mean rejecting all other objects that incesantly vie for my attention – physical things like money, women, possessions in general; and spiritual things like pride, lust, hatred, vengeance, greed, apathy, domination, destruction, and power. This has to be the most terribly difficult challenge, but it is the most beautiful and satisfying.

Echoing the words of St. Francis and words spoken by the adult version of the Christmas child:

Where there is hatred may I be Love
Where there is sorrow, depression, and discontentment may I be Joy
Where there is war and fear may I be Peace
Where there is anxiety and impatience may I be Patience
Where there is cruelty and oppression may I be Kindness
Where there is evil and injustice may I be Goodness
Where there is domination and intimidation may I be Gentleness
Where there is deceit, dishonor, and infidelity may I be Faithfulness
Where there is perversion and gluttony may I be Self-control

May the one who so humbly and lovingly came to seek and to save have mercy on me. And may his grace, like the sparkling snow blanketing the filthy street, cover me and fill me.

And may that same Snow of transformation fall upon you as well. Be blessed, and may your holidays be filled with the peace and joy that comes only from one source. Blessings and a very merry Christmas!

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness – on them light has shined!

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

Hallelujah!
Hallelujah!
Hallelujah!

Snowy Steppe

The last couple mornings I have gone running with a friend. We met at a grocery store and than run out onto the steppe. Both times we ran, snow was coming down, and there was a fresh, white blanket covering the roads and the slowly billowing hills on the steppe. We ran through the snow to a tiny natural spring at the bottom of a low rising hill. We walked up the hill and just stood for a few minutes letting our eyes collect the whitened scenery around us. It’s quite a beautiful scene! For the most part, any signs of human touch are veiled by the falling snow, and what is left is simply rolling steppe covered with shrubs and grasses that are, in turn, covered with snow.

I just have to say – what a beautiful world we live in! It is a place of tragedy and sorrow at times, but it is still beautiful, and our Maker has called it good! I agree. I’m trying to figure out what my role in this wonderful creativity and beauty is. How can I help restore that which has fallen into disrepair? How can I use the gifts given to me so graciously, to help take part in creative creation rather than smothering destruction?

Mid December

On Monday Eric and I had an awesome opportunity to join some friends for the celebration of Qurban Ait. It is a time to commerate Abraham’s faithfulness and God’s provision of a ram to be sacrificed. We met our friends outside the local mosque after prayers and then proceeded to purchase a lamb. Then, along with countless other groups of people we proceeded to slaughter the lamb.

It was a very interesting experience – definately something that I’ve never been apart of before. I’m glad I had the opportunity, although I’m not sure if it’s something I would want to do again. After we finished with the lamb we took it to a place where it would be butchered. One part would be kept, one part would be given to friends and relatives, and a third part should be given to the poor. I’m not sure of the details of the actual dispersion, but that’s what is supposed to happen.

Qurban Ait is time to spend visiting friends and family. It lasts for 3 days and people celebrating will invite guests to share traditional dishes and will be invited as guests as well. After we took the meat to be butchered we spent a few hours just relaxing and drinking tea with many other men who were celebrating. We had some wonderful conversations and met many different people. I learned a lot, and I really enjoyed being able to experience some more traditional life in Kazakhstan.

As you are lifting things up, be sure and lift up those we have met.

Pics