“From the Tropics to the Tundra”
An Update from the Blair family in Kazakhstan, Central Asia
October
1998
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
We’ve been here
for about one month and we are all well and happy serving the Lord. God’s
gracious, sustaining, hand is helping us adjust to life here. We are especially
grateful for your support and prayers. Please continue to faithfully partner
with us in this strategic ministry. This will be a longer than usual letter as
we want to provide a picture of our life and work here.
We made it!!
We clearly
sensed the Lord’s hand upon us in all our travels here. We praise Him for
safety, having traveled more than 8000 and miles across America’s highways this
summer. It was wonderful to see family and friends.
Just days
before our flight here we became concerned that our passports had not been
returned from the Kazakhstan Embassy in D.C. to us in Pennsylvania with our entry
visas. Over the telephone they said, “They are in the mail.” After two days
frantic searching in the local post office, our departure day came and went,
and we were left behind. It happened that the day we planned to fly was the day
their Embassy moved across D.C., thus that it was impossible to contact them.
The next morning we were told, “The passports are here, you must come pick them
up.” So Mark and Dayna set off on the 2 12 drive to D.C. Just outside Baltimore, about 30 miles from
D.C., our van stopped running. From the shoulder we watched cars speed by us on
Interstate 95. We managed to flag down a tow-truck driver whom we could not
afford to pay. Yet he was willing to drive us to the nearest exit, leaving our
stalled car on the highway. In less than 2 hours the Embassy would be closed
and we had re-booked to fly out of Newark, N.J. the next day! In a nearby
McDonald’s, we met a Nigerian man who kindly drove direct to the Embassy. We
made it in time and collected the passports and the necessary visas. Then we
called AAA and asked for our 100 miles of free towing, so we and our van were
charioted back to Pennsylvania on a fancy new tow truck, 12 hours after we
left! It was a wild finale to our three months of USA travel.
Almaty, Kazakhstan - our new home town
We have
joined the 1.4 million residents of this beautiful city, the nation’s largest.
Until last year it was the capital, and it remains the center of business,
education, and national life. We have a one year lease on a three bedroom apartment.
It is sparsely furnished with some things from the landlady. We’re on the 11th
floor of a building in the center of the city. We live across the street from a
big park a bath house/indoor swimming pool; walking distance from the major
shopping area of the city. Our schools are easily accessible by taxis and bus.
A bus (usually crowded) across town is about 25 cents, a taxi is about $ 2.
We’re managing to get around town and find what we need. Out our windows we
have a spectacular view of the 19,000 foot Tien Shan mountains. We’re hoping
that our container coming from the States will arrive this month. We’re eagerly
anticipating our own beds. We think the bed we’re now using is really a museum
piece from a Soviet torture chamber, we’ll be glad to return it. We’re also
walking distance from the Symphony Hall where we went last week to a free
performance of their world class orchestra; it was fantastic. We’ve even found
a few good restaurants, including a Mexican restaurant; so we’ll not be
suffering as much as we feared! Sound like a nice place to live?! But how’s the
weather you ask...
Have you
ever heard of a White Columbus Day? Well, we don’t have to dream of it. Our
first snowfall - over 2 inches - was on October 10. We have learned that winter
here lasts about six months, most of that time temperatures are below freezing
- isn’t that special!!! Also in our container is a washer and dryer which will
allow us to take down the maze of clothes drying on lines strung all across our
apartment. When the boys go out to play in the snow three times on a Saturday,
each trek out demands a dry outfit. Imagine!!
One prayer concern is that we could get a
regular arrangement with a taxi driver for Dayna and the boys to travel with to
and from school. Standing out on the road trying to flag one down in the
cold is not going to be fun. Returning home from school they must walk a couple
blocks to even catch a taxi, so that is a real need we’re facing.
Kazakhstan Evangelical Christian Seminary
The day
after we arrived the Fall term began at KECS. It was a great to gather with all
the students and staff, old friends and new. Mark gave the convocation sermon
(after just a few hours of sleep!). At this gathering Mark was named the
“Director” of the seminary which was a
pleasant surprise, an honor, and a burden all at the same time. It has meant
being much more involved in helping Pastor Kong, the seminary President, with
administrative duties. At the same time Mark has been busy teaching in both the
Kazakh and Russian language programs - we are blessed with wonderful
translators in both. He presented a course on “2 Timothy” and is now teaching a
course on “Worship.”
This year
we have almost 60 students in the two departments. They are a wonderful group
of men and women from throughout this nation, and other Central Asian
countries. Among the 20 students in the Russian language department is a
Medical Doctor and a former KGB agent! It is more of a “commuter campus” as
students are involved with families, jobs, and ministries in the city. The
Kazakh language department is now entering its second year. Last year when we
visited here, it was just a dream. Now there are 38 students living in the
newly purchased two-story facility, most of them in families, including 25
children. There is also a Kazakh language church which the students lead on the
campus.
In this
multi-ethnic nation, Kazakhs are almost
50% of the population, and the people most unreached by the gospel. Most
Kazakhs are Muslims. Prior to this
decade, there were no known Kazakh Christians. Of the 8 million Kazakhs, less
than 5,000 are Christians. So to see them growing in faith, and going out to
reach their kinsfolk is quite exciting. Yet it is not easy. One unique
challenge is that the Kazakh cemeteries are all owned by Muslims. A Kazakh
pastor recently reported that many Kazakh’s are convinced by the truth of the
gospel, but are worried that there will be no place for them, or their family,
to be buried should they follow Jesus! This is just the “final” problem, there
are many acts of persecution and restriction within the villages against new
believers now. We heard of a Kazakh Christian who was martyred recently less
than 50 miles from Almaty, this is not the first one, pray it will be the last!
Despite opposition we are seeing a unique move of the Lord in bringing Kazakhs
to Himself. Many wonder how long this will be allowed by the Muslim dominated
government.
Mark has
committed at least two Sundays a month to being at the seminary’s Kazakh language
church. Between Sundays he will meet and encourage the leaders. We believe it
will be strategic to create a strong “model church” for the students to observe
and lead, if God wills. There are very few Kazakh churches in this nation.
Nearly all will go from the seminary to parts of the nation where no church
exists. Our hope is to mentor students to become “cell church” leaders in this
congregation and thus plant more Kazakh churches in the city and surrounding
villages. Last Sunday he lead a communion service. There was such a strong
sense of joy and gratitude to Jesus who died for our sins, nearly all the
people were weeping. We felt so thankless at the way we often take this
sacrament for granted as just another monthly church event, something that takes
up 10 more minutes of “our” precious time on Sundays!! Pray for God to establish His church here with both deep roots in His
Word and big branches to hold the many who need Him.
Tien Shan School
We are so thankful
for the Tien Shan School where the boys attend, and Dayna is the High School
teacher. This year there are about 100 students in K - 12th grade from about a
dozen countries/ . Aaron is in 6th grade with Miss Renee from New Zealand.
Josiah is in 8th grade with Miss Pedersen from the States, having taught the
last 2 years in Korea, and Nathan, now in 9th grade joy has seven teachers and
his dear mother! Actually, Dayna teaches three classes and supervises 12 other
parents who come in and teach courses in
their areas of expertise. They are all getting a great education. The
interaction with classmates from around the world is wonderful. The boys have
already been on weekend overnights to new friends houses. They are also doing
well in their Russian language courses, having increasingly longer
conversations with the taxi drivers they travel with daily. Recently TSS had a
Sports Day and we all enjoyed the chance to meet the different families in the
community. Currently, the school is using rented facilities. They would like to buy their own building,
please pray with them about this important need. Countless hours of
ministry are possible here because parents have a good school for their
children. In addition to the excellent learning experiences - and mission
training - the children are receiving.
A Whole New Way of Speaking
Please
remember as you correspond with us, by letter or e-mail - or especially over
the telephone, to exercise caution in your vocabulary. The presence of Christian workers is not completely welcomed
by this government - and the old KGB
never died, they just changed their acronym. Here are a few specific
alternative possibilities (be creative):
Missionaries
= “m’s” God =
Him, Dad
Churches =
gatherings prayer
= thinking deeply
converts =
followers Jesus
= Brother
evangelize/ism
- don’t even say it!!
Our concern in this area is not so much for ourselves, we
have an official “m” visa, but we want to protect those we work with, many of
whom are “tentmakers” in this land.
“P.I.” Mission Team
We
specifically want to protect our P.I. (as our board is known here) team of 4
other workers. Scott and Lora have been here for 4 years and ably lead the
team. They have 4 beautiful daughters ages 9 to 1 1/2. The boys enjoy watching
videos with them during our weekly prayer & fellowship team meeting. We
also work with Marcie and Ann who both came this year. All four are from the
States and working at building friendships and assisting the growth of the
church. They are also currently in Kazakh
language courses. I know they would appreciate prayer for this. It is
really a blessing to be a part of this team, and the larger P.I. work in this
part of the world.
*
* * * *
Mark’s Slice of a Saturday morning
This morning I met with about 8 men
for a prayer breakfast, hosted by an American in a house his family is renting.
He had given me a quickly drawn map to the place. So I hailed a “taxi”
(actually a privately owned car that just stopped as I held my had out,
everyone wants to make a little money). The driver was a Kazakh who knew no
English so it was a fun challenge to point him down the street, following a
crude map, to a place I’d never been. Upon arriving, I feasted on the first
pancakes I’d ever eaten here! Around the table was one other American, from
California, a Haitian, three Australians, and an Englishman; most of us had
never met, here to work in various Christian ministries. We had a great time.
We plan to meet every month for pancakes...I mean prayer! I came home to find
Dayna trying to talk to our new Russian housekeeper who knows very little
English. She seems good. She knows how to cook enchiladas, lasagna, and
shepherd’s pie from the Canadians she used to work for - all the essentials.
Aaron and I walked up to a little market one block away and bought some fresh
baked bread. We returned home and he sliced it for some toast in our $ 11 Malaysian made “Nippon America” brand
toaster. Its two weeks old and the handle has already fallen off. Nathan and Josiah just came home from an
overnight with an Australian family
which has two boys their ages. They skateboarded around their area. They all
took part in an international Christian youth meeting last night. They traveled
alone in one of these “taxis” the 10 miles or so from their friends house. This
afternoon, we’ll walk down to the shopping area. Something I’m not thrilled
about in any language. We’re looking for a fridge and stove. There are many
shops, most of them all have about the same items for sale. So it is a matter
of going from one to the other, comparing prices..a real shopping adventure! So
went my Saturday.
*
* * * *
We pray this letter finds you well and happy in the Lord. We
are grateful for your faithful support and prayer. We’re very thankful to be a
part of the special work God is doing here in this part of the world. From this
vantage point, reaching “all the
nations” with the Good News of Jesus seems like a “do-able” task if we all do
our part.
For
His kingdom,
Mark
& Dayna Blair
Nathan, Josiah, & Aaron
