“From
the Tropics to the Tundra”
An
Update from the Blair family in Kazakhstan, Central Asia
April 1999
E-mail: blairstan@hotmail.com
New
address: Send
support money to:
Blair’s Pioneers
c/o
KECS 12343 Narcoosse
Road
P.O.
Box 244 Orlando, Florida
32827
Almaty
480000 [checks are to be made
out to “Pioneers”
Kazakhstan - noted for Blair’s on a
separate paper]
Phone
(from USA) - 011-732-72-636790 [we’re 14 hrs ahead of Pacific Standard Time)
Aloha
from Almaty
Hallelujah!
He is Risen! We pray that you are experiencing His joy this wonderful Easter
season.
About a year ago as we read a book
entitled, “Waiting for Winter to End” about Central Asia. (We highly recommend
it for anyone wanting to learn more about this part of the world.) As we read
in the warm tropics of Hawaii it seemed a strange title for the book. Now we
recite the phrase daily - with feeling - waiting for winter to end!! Just today
the temperature climbed above freezing - may it keep climbing.
Many great things have been
happening in the last few months. We are glad to be able to share some of them
with you through. We are very grateful for your support through “Pioneers” and
especially ask for your continued prayers. We love hearing from you, remember
our e-mail address is the best way to write, if you are “on-line.”
A
NEW BEGINNING
We have ten new students in the
seminary this term. Eight of them are from churches pastored by our graduates.
This is living proof of the power of the Gospel and the growth and maturity of
the Church here -- a new generation of leaders being raised up for Kingdom
service. Katherine and Roman are mother and son. She is divorced. They both
came to know the Lord about two years ago and now lead a “home meeting” in
their house. They have been growing in Christ and leading others to meet Him.
She thought she was too old for studying (she’s all of 40!), but praises God
for this opportunity. When I asked Roman what he thought of studying with his
mother he said that it was a great privilege (of course, she was listening!).
Four of the students are Kazakhs, studying at the Russian language campus. This
is a manifestation of the reconciling power of Jesus. Two of them are men in
their early 40’s with families, eager to be trained to share with their
countrymen. Jhanat is a young woman who has recently completed a Teen Challenge
program to break a drug addiction. She is still new in the faith and needs
prayer for continued strength. She shared that her past life, including time
spent in jail, has burdened her to reach people in similar troubles. A Korean
Russian lady, Louisa, is a retired beautician in her early 50’s. She is filled
with zeal for the Gospel. She shared about a prayer service she led in the
hospital ward where her daughter is recuperating from surgery. Many, including
atheists and Muslims, asked her for prayer and saw the power of God. Marina, is
a young Russian woman, with several years experience in church ministry; she
brings much maturity and wisdom to the class. Another student is Ben-Chur, a
Korean Russian man retired from the KGB, recently went on a short term mission
to South Korea. Experiencing loneliness in that foreign land gave him great
appreciation for those who have left their homelands to serve the Lord.
Several students
told of lessons learned through their two months of evangelism. A number
of people came to know the Lord. One Kazakh team in a city without a church
(and there are still hundreds in this country), led 19 people to Christ. So one
of the students on that team has left
the seminary and returned there to pastor these new believers. We now have 24
students in the Russian Department and 29 in the Kazakh. Most of them are
relatively young believers (as is the whole church here). They face many
struggles. They have financial problems as they care for their families. Jobs
are very difficult to find and the economic prospects here are poor. Many face pressure from antagonistic family
members who attack their faith. Pray with us that God will prove Himself
faithful to them as they step out in faith. These 53 students are the primary
reason our family is here and we thank you for your support that we might give
to them.
TIEN
SHAN SCHOOL REPORT by Dayna
We are back into the routine after
our long six week break. I enjoyed the
rest and having no schedules to follow.
I am glad to have a new colleague from Australia, Phil Tucker, who teaches the
math and science courses. During the first week back we had a very special
and heartwarming time of sharing among
the students. Mr. Tucker shared how he grew up as a “Missionary Kid” in Papua
New Guinea, attending boarding school. He shared how God called him to serve
here as a missionary. He spoke appreciatively of “receiving”
the training he got as an “MK.” Now he wants to be on the “giving” end
to each of the students here at TSS . As a teacher, one of my concerns is to
see the high schoolers understand God’s grace in their lives, that they would
want to be committed to Jesus. Each of them come from Christian homes and they
know all this “stuff.” So, I thought it would be fitting to ask them what God
has taught them during the break, or
what goals they set for the new year.
I rejoiced to hear how God was busy working in their hearts. These were
some of their statements: “I was far from God and didn’t understand the Bible,
but now I feel so close and happy in Jesus. I now read His Word and it is
making sense;” “I always
worry...especially about my courses and studies and what will happen when I get
back to England, but God has given me a
verse…;” “I am struggling to understand
what God is doing with my life, but I know he loves me and I am learning to
trust Him;” “I was angry with my parents
and teachers for getting after me to study harder; and I was mad with God, but
I am going to work harder;” “I have
committed my life to the Lord and I want to be a missionary.” These, and many
other expressions, blessed my overflowing heart, and brought tears to all of
us. It was a powerful time of prayer and rejoicing in the Lord as I realized
how God is at work in their lives. We miss two of our students who moved to
boarding schools, in Australia and Pakistan. This has pushed the remaining students to further spiritual growth. God’s
timing is the best! We have gained two new Korean girl students who add another
dimension to the class atmosphere. We look forward to each day as I see these
young people grow stronger in their Savior!
Winter
Volleyball -’Tis the season for the
Jr./Sr. High PE class to have volleyball. As we got ready for our first
class, my colleague, Mr. Tucker, and I remarked that this was going to be a new
experience for us! Yes, we both know how to play volleyball, but in the snow?
We had to bundle ourselves in jackets,
warm caps, gloves and snow boots. We all looked like eskimos as we began the
class. We had four heavy balls made in Kazakhstan, yet we started to teach the
basic skills to them. It was hilarious
as we slid and fell attempting to return
the balls successfully. As one tries to volley, or set, the ball, a flurry of
snow covers your face. It is hard to return the ball while you are wiping the
snow off your face. So it took a while for our students to learn their skills.
Half-way through the class, I had peeled down from my jacket, cap, gloves and
scarf. It was too hard moving around, slipping and sliding like a stuffed
bunny. By the time class was over, my pants were soaked, and my face, fingers,
and contac lenses were frozen. It is quite different from playing volleyball on
the warm sands of Hawaii.
We have some great news about our
Tien Shan School, we were able to purchase our own building. For the five years
of our existence we have moved several times from various rented facilities.
Next year we hope to play indoor volleyball in the gym of our new building --
it will be boring by comparison! Please pray for the transition and preparation
of the building for our move this summer. There are still some funds needed for
equipping the facility, pray that all the needs will be supplied.
MUSTARD
SEEDS AND KINGDOM HOPE
One cold gray winter Sunday I traveled to a village
about an hour outside the city. Almaty,
Kazakhstan’s largest city with about one and half million people, is quite
unlike the rest of the nation. Here there are shops filled with goods from
around the world, electronics, cars, fashions, anything money can buy. Even if
most of the city’s residents can not afford to buy them, the fact that they are
here creates an impression of relative affluence. That impression is shattered
in just a short drive. Small, poorly built, houses contrast with fancy, solid
looking Islamic tombs. Most houses have no running water. If there is
electricity, it is not predictable. Heating comes only from wood or coal stoves
in the kitchen. Most family members all sleep on the floor in the same room. If
the nation was “on the way up” then people might view their humble
circumstances as a beginning to brighter days. But people here know that the
glory of the Soviet empire, if it ever
really existed, is past. There are plenty of factory buildings which used to
provide jobs for village people. The only thing they now provide are bricks,
electric wire, plumbing parts, and wood which the villagers steal from their
collapsing buildings. The gray skies matched the colors of the buildings.
Paint, if it were available, is way beyond the survival budget of the
householder. One shining new factory dominated the horizon, an American owned
cigarette manufacturing plant!
So when we arrived at a small home my spirit was as
dreary as the day. Taking off my shoes according to local custom did not change
my mood, it just froze my toes! Yet, God began to warm me from the inside. The
family who live there are Kazakhs. She came to faith in Christ last March, her
husband just last August. Her gracious spirit of Christian love broke his
alcoholic heart, and he gave the pieces to Jesus. Since then they have never
looked back. As we waited for others to come, their three children, 6, 8, and
11, sang praise songs in Kazakh, beaming with joy. The first to come was a
powerful looking man, a former member of
the Soviet army’s equivalent of the Green Berets. He traveled the world
fighting for the cause. He spoke with quiet humility about Jesus, his new
commanding officer. Another man and woman came who also had been long time
alcoholics (as are perhaps 70% of the people here). Our seminary graduate who
leads this group brought out a letter which the woman had written a couple
months before. It was her suicide note. Indeed she did die, to her old self,
now she has everlasting life in Jesus. A woman whose husband is in prison for
murder, shared how Jesus is helping she and her kids daily. A kind of spiritual
thread tied the members of the room. The first person to receive Christ in that
village said, I brought her to Jesus, then that person said I brought him, and
on it went. It continued on up to that very day when someone brought a new
person to that meeting. I did not hear the newest person share a testimony but
when we left, her head was bowed and tears filled her eyes. One wonderful thing
about the Kazakh church is that everyone is eager to share their testimony of
faith in Christ. The place is too cold
for anyone to warm the pews. No one is there who has not counted the cost. Several people shared about how Muslim
leaders in that village had been to their homes that very morning, warning them
to stop attending this new church. Some had been threatened with physical harm.
Yet our graduate and these new believers continue to visit from house to house
in that village, sharing what God has done for them.
Throughout the meeting Victor, our Seminary driver
who had brought us, sat in silence. He is a fine Christian from the Russian
Baptist church. Each testimony brought me near the point of tears, his words
pushed me over the edge. You should know that there is little love between most
Russians and Kazakhs in this nation – sadly, even in the Church. John’s words,
“Jews have no dealings with Samaritans” (John 4.9), fit the situation here. In
this country it is acceptable for Russians (40% of the population) to be
Christians, but not Kazakhs (about 50% of the population). We hear weekly about
Kazakhs who have become Christians, and as a result lose their jobs, their
homes, and their families. Hundreds of years of mutual mistreatment have taken
their toll. In fact, the looks given to Victor and our Russian translator
Alexander in that room reflected lots of pain and misunderstanding. As Victor
sat in silence their suspicion level rose. Then he finally spoke. He said that
his grandfather had been a Christian, as had his father, and he was born into
the faith. He shared vivid memories of his grandfather pleading for God to
reach Kazakh people with His love in many church prayer meetings. Such prayers
were beyond people’s imagination; everyone knew that Kazakhs were only Muslims!
But tears came to Victor’s eyes as he said, “Today I have seen the prayers of
my grandfather answered. God’s salvation has come to the Kazakhs.” The Kazakhs
cried too as we all praised God with one voice.
Being a Christian in America I have often said,
“Jesus is our hope.” And it is true, no matter how wealthy a nation may be. But
viewing the hopelessness of this broken Soviet wasteland it is very clear,
“Jesus is our ONLY hope.” To sit with my new brothers and sisters, Kazakhs and
Russians, freezing together in faith, was conclusive proof that our hope in Him
is true.
LET’S
TALK ABOUT YOUR NOSE!
Our family has grown to love the
family of a Kazakh pastor who serves as the leader of our Kazakh seminary,
Malik and Jhanna. They are blessed with three lovely daughters who are also
growing into Christian servants…three daughters, our three sons, that’s another
story. Humanly, they are the reason why our seminary has a Kazakh department.
Malik attended the seminary (Russian department) about five years ago. He was
one of the first graduates and soon became one of the first Kazakh pastors. He
and Jhanna are former ballet dancers, although for Malik that was at least 100
pounds ago! Their heart for reaching their kinsmen is inspiring. Upon coming to
know Jesus, they immediately began to share their new faith. Dozens of Kazakhs,
many now Christian leaders, can trace their spiritual birth to their witness.
Malik is also a professional producer of recordings and has done much to
present the Good News in audio and video tape for Kazakhs. His excellent guitar
playing has been used often in worship. They had the initial vision that their
people needed a theological seminary and believed God for an excellent facility
one block from their house, in a village 8 miles out of Almaty. This site was a
former Soviet Kindergarten with 45 rooms. Some of you know the Lord provided it
for just $ 16,000, given by a church in Korea. If it sounds like I am describing
a busy guy here, you’ve got the picture.
One consequence of being a busy
pastor is not having much time for sermon preparation. Malik’s course at the
seminary was only eight months long and it did not include much about
preaching, that was five years ago. I have wanted to be helpful to him in this
area, but did not know how to bring it up. Asking some American preachers to
talk about improving their preaching is similar to saying, “I don’t like your
face!”
Not so with Malik. When I shared the
general idea of talking together about this subject, he was enthusiastic beyond
my expectation. In fact he did not want to talk alone, he invited 20 other Kazakh church leaders!
The result is a weekly evening gathering which has been going great. One leader
shares a sermon, we started with Malik, and the rest of us have a “talk” about
it. I also give a teaching about preaching. One thing I’ve sought to show by my
example is “constructive criticism.” The Soviet educational system is “shame
based.” Somewhere somebody decided the
best way to educate children here was to send them through an emotional
meat-grinder. So by the time they’re sliced and diced down to humble pie they
will unquestioningly submit to authority - at any level. It “worked” for 70
years at least. Even today in “free” Kazakhstan there has been no shift in educational philosophy. I did not want turn
these meetings into a blood-bath. So we’re learning many things together. And
what I continue to learn with joy is the fresh enthusiasm which drives the
church here. There is not much personal agenda or peacock flashings; people
just want to help one another be the best communicators of God’s Word they can
be. Even in a message which one might consider poor in organization or
presentation, the power of eager innocence in faith is compelling.
It has been a great privilege to
gather with these friends. The church here is like “wet cement” and it is such
an opportunity to have some small part in its formation. Pray that God would
raise up great spokespeople for His Kingdom. Out of these meetings has come the
invitation to write a book on Preaching which will be translated in Kazakh, and
perhaps Russian too. I am working on this now. Though perhaps I’d prefer the
more humble title of “booklet”. As such, I’d appreciate prayer on this
assignment.
AND
THE CHURCH GROWS…
It was my joy to witness the baptism
of nine Kazakhs, six men and three women. It was certainly the most unusual
baptismal event I have ever seen. Word of the event came a week before, when
one of our pastors invited me to attend and preach. I said yes. His second
question was whether he could use the seminary van to transport the
congregation to the baptismal site and back. I said no. Then I did not hear
from him again until the morning of the event and I assumed it was a package
deal. Maybe he wanted only a van, not a preacher! So it was a pleasant surprise
to get his call the morning of the event.
The van, and the whole issue of
finance and properties, has always been my least favorite aspect of missions.
Our family is living rather simply here, at least by American standards, but we
are among the upper class of the city. One example, we can afford to pay $ 2.50
to squeeze the five of us into a sub-compact taxi going across town. Most local
families pay $ 1 to squeeze onto an even more crowded bus which stops at every
corner along the way, to get even more people. Some are forced to walk, or stay
home. So to refuse any request for material assistance pains my heart. I am
trying to find a balance between giving enough to help launch the new churches,
and not so much to make them forever attached to our made in the USA umbilical
cord. I am praying and teaching that churches need to take on projects which
their members embrace and support. So my conviction was that the church which
believes they need to baptize their new members should pay the price. I was
happy to see they paid in ways beyond my expectation.
I had the seminary van drop me off
at the “church” - I felt somewhat like a
hypocrite but the driver was on his way to do some other necessary business.
The believer’s meet in the apartment of the pastor and I arrived to find about
30 people gathered. After the customary cup of tea, we walked down the four
flights of stairs to board a fleet of taxis they had hired. All of them were
Muslim drivers, rather typical; and Islamic charms dangled from their rear view
mirrors. The car I was assigned to ride had, “There is no God but Allah, and
Muhammed is his prophet” written in bold Arabic script across the top of the
windshield. So the joyful throng squeezed into these chariots and we sang
Kazakh worship songs to ‘Isa (Arabic and Kazakh for Jesus) all the way up into
the mountains. You guess it, this is still the dead of winter. We’re all
wearing heavy coats and warm caps. We wind around to a mountain stream. We
climb down trails of ice and snow to the water’s edge. There the pastor gives a
sermon which included his biblical justification for the necessity of baptism
by immersion. I wondered whether the
Jordan River was an arctic stream, but I kept my mouth shut.
The nine daring candidates, stripped
down to whatever was decent, stood by the rivers edge. The pastor and his
associate entered the frigid stream with a gasp. One by one, beginning with the
men of course -- sorry ladies – they made their confession standing in the
stream, held by the pastors on either side. Then they went all the way down
into the water. I was the photographer. I am sure some of the prints will show
true blue believers as they emerged from the water breathless and stunned, yet
filled with joy! How glad I was to be a seminary director and not a pastor at
that point. Though it was unusual, it was wonderful. What a great joy to see
the Kingdom growing. I rejoiced with the angels of God. The Muslim taxi drivers
stood on the bridge above and watched. One joined us for worship service back
at the pastor’s apartment following the baptism. He may be next, and the church
grows…
Love and blessings to you in the
name of our Risen King,
Mark, Dayna, Nathan,
Josiah, and Aaron
