Trip Summary

Hello everyone! Sorry for the long delay on keeping you updated, but there were two things that prevented us. First, it turns out that being in Almaty Kazakhstan teaching English everyday, preparing for spiritual time, giving our testimonies, and trying to stay hydrated takes a bunch of time! Second, it also turns out access to reliable power and or internet is not as readily available as I had hoped.

So, I would love to share with you a brief summary of our trip, and invite you to celebrate the things God chose to do in us and through us!


Monday – Friday we met in the morning for team devotionals, followed by a powerful time spent in prayer each day. We were committed to relying on God’s power and not our own, and He was faithful in supplying it! we would head out as a team for lunch, and we were never disappointed! If you are ever in Almaty, get the Logmon at the 777 – “vkoosna!” Our afternoons were spent preparing for English club and having fun together as a team, and usually heading out to CALTC by 5 for more preparations, Frisbee in the courtyard and more prayer for the evening. English club started at 6:45, with a strong attendance. Break at 7:25, and then end at 8:15. This was followed right away by Spiritual time which we invited the students to stay for – Singing and to hear the testimonies of team members, and nationals, and then break into small groups to discuss spiritual things. God was actively at work in the hearts of many students! We praise Him for the 3 that we know who made a choice to respond to the gospel and accept Jesus Christ! We also could tell that the seeds of the gospel were being planted, and we commit those to God!

Saturday we had a day in the town. We met up with a number from a few local cell churches, and some students from the English club and toured Almaty, including a lunch trip that cost a lot, followed by a trip to the museum which was less than $1, thankfully offsetting the lunch.  at 5 we made our way back to CALTC for supper with all the English clubbers, and then we made a hike down to a large, dirt soccer, excuse me “football” field where we taught them ultimate Frisbee – which was a ton of fun. Then more games, and called it a night. We all slept well after the activities of this day!

Sunday was a trip to the mountains which are just along the southern part of Almaty. Again, we invited all of the English club, and the cell churches. We loaded onto a bus and only had to drive about 40 minutes to our destination, a beautiful mountainside retreat alongside a very “brisk” stream (which some of us swam in, we’ll tell you about it later) We had a time of singing together, and Kanat, a Kazakh believer and leader there gave a short sermon in Russian. We got back around 5pm, cleaned up and then headed off again on another adventure, this time to a scenic overlook of Almaty with the nationals who had been helping us, or were we helping them? I’m going to talk more about them later, and give their names so you can join us in prayer for them. (I need to find out how to spell their names first).

Monday was our last day in town, and was similar to the previous week days, except for the long, heartfelt goodbyes. It was sad having to say goodbye to so many new friends!
Tuesday we flew to London, saw a lot of sights, got some sleep woke up, had a full English breakfast, hopped on a plane (a 747) to Chicago, and made it through customs. The only hitch was that Stephen’s luggage somehow decided it didn’t want to follow us, so he’s still waiting for that.

I am writing this on the flight from Chicago to DSM, and I’m running out of time, so let me close by saying this trip has brought about a greater understanding of the awesomeness of God! We have appreciated your prayers, and we will be sharing lots of stories, and pictures with you all soon.

In Christ, and back safely in America – Joel L

"...And the Lord added day by day those who were being saved" Acts 2:47

Sorry for the delay folks, and as a result there is so much to tell you!

We have now had 3 days of English Club. It is going very well, and we are learning a lot about teaching English to Kazakh people! We are operating 2 different tracks: Track 1, or the beginner track is being led by - Victoria, Stephen, Marcus, Andy and Zane. Track 2, or the intermediate track is being led by - Joel L, Sarah and Joel A.

We have had an average of 40 students total each night, which is an answer to prayer! But, as many of you know, the real benefit of running these clubs is being able to invite them to stay afterward for a "spiritual time" where we are singing songs together, sharing our testimonies and then breaking into small discussion groups. The fruit of these times has been beyond description! On the first day, we had one girl Elya, who had been feeling God pulling on her heart. When she heard the gospel explained to her, she knew it was the right time to respond and accept Christ! Tuesday night, we had many great conversations as well. Last night, Wednesday, we had two more girls who accepted Christ for the first time! Our team is overjoyed at the work of the Spirit and all glory and praise goes to our Great God!

We have 3 more days of English Club, as well as a free night with the students on Saturday. Pray that:

1. Pray that: God would continue to use us, and be softening the hearts of students who are coming to spiritual time and hearing the gospel, most of them for the first time!
2. Pray that: The team would continue to be strengthened and have the energy to keep the pace, there is much to be done.
   
3. Pray for: The local believers that are already beginning discipleship with these new believers.

There are so many stories to tell, I won't try to recount them here just now. Thank you for your prayers, your comments to let us know you have been reading this and are praying for us! Our time here is going fast, and we want to make the most of every opportunity,

Joel L and the Kazakhstan '08 team!

p.s. more pictures and stories to come soon!

Sunday in Kazakhstan

This morning we had our first cell-church experiences, meeting with Kazakh believers in homes. Our team split into 2 groups of 4 and visited home cell churches. The format of these is a little bit different than how we are used to "church", so it was a neat experience in that way. But even more so, it was awesome to worship our great God with believers in this foreign land! We started gathering at about 11, and played a game to get to know each other. Following this game, we sang worship songs in English, and then one in Russian. Lastly we spent time in the scriptures together in Romans 8:14-17 and ended with a time of prayer together.

This was followed by a meal, which was a cold Central Asian soup, and as with all the dishes we have had here, it was very tasty! This all lasted until about 2:30, and then we broke for naps and some needed time of rest for our team with whom jet-lag had finally caught up!

At 4:30 we made our way to the training center where we played volleyball and frisbee with students until about 8:00. Even though lunch had been wonderful for us, we were starting to get hungry! So we made our way about 1.5 miles to "The Mega", a seemingly out of place, up-to-date mall, fully equipped with an ice-rink, climbing wall, and movie theater. (None of which I was under the impression they had in Kazakhstan, and up until about 4 years ago, I'm pretty sure they didn't have). We ate at an imitation burger place, with as yet unidentified imitation meat, and then made the walk back to the guys apartment, which is functioning as our central headquarters.

We ended the night with a great time of much needed re-gaining of focus, and most importantly prayer. I (Joel L.) never cease to be amazed at the wonderful people God has invited into this trip! He has very big plans for them, and they are eager, and willing to be used by Him! What a great group of people to be partnering with for the sake of the Gospel!

I would like to leave you with a picture of one of the cell churches we met with, and ask you to be praying for these believers.These are:
Front row: Katia, Deena; Second row: Anya, Nurlyzhan, Neegora, Back row: Valic, Sergey. (not pictured - Maxim, Gauhar, Ira.)

Hello, my name is ______. I like _______. Repeat 32 times. Welcome to English Club, Kazakh style!

Today was absolutely wonderful. We woke up, had some light breakfast and a little later some coffee, saw the beautiful snow capped mountains to the south, had a team meeting at 11:00, and then went to CALTC (Central Asia Leadership Training Center). Here we got a tour of the facility, including the two rooms we are using for E.C. and met a number of people who volunteer with Alpha Omega.

We played some get-to-know-each-other games, and then had Kazakh cheese, sausage and tomato sandwiches on traditional flat-bread. If you ever find yourself in Kazakhstan, I really recommend it! In fact, it was good enough that the five guys on the trip bought some for their apartment for lunches.

At 5pm, we began English Club with introductions. We then played some games, and explained the "syllabus" (I put that in quotes because it makes it sound much more official then it is) for the course. We ended that part of the evening to have a traditional supper together outside called "plof" - a mixture of beef, rice, carrots and seasonings. Again, one of the best things ever and a must try!

More games, including a game of volleyball, and then a description of July 4th by Victoria, and how it is celebrated in the USA. This was followed by the lighting of several dozens of sparklers which I was able to smuggle into the country.

At then end of the day, we are tired, have LOTS of new friends, and are excited about what God is doing in us and through us now and in the coming days! Here are some things you can pray for:

• On Monday night, we will invite students to stay, and hear about things that are important in our lives, and sharing spiritual things with them - namely our testimonies, leading to a presentation of the Gospel.
  
• That relationships would continue to be made, we met 32 really great young Kazakh people!
  
• That the team would get caught up on sleep tonight, and be refreshed for church tomorrow, and more hanging out with students at a sports time in the evening.
• That we would have wisdom about what to do as a recreational activity with the students. Some of the options are more expensive than previously thought. We want to make good decisions about what to do.

We are SO there!

Greetings everyone, forgive me if this is a short post!

As I write this it is a little after 2am local time in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Due to our "issues" in Chicago, we got re-routed through Frankfurt, then took Lufthansa into Almaty. This worked out wonderfully! A number of things happened I want to share with you as praises:

1. We were able to meet up with David and Pamela Staff in Frankfurt, and joined up with them for the last leg of our trip!
   
2. ALL of our luggage made it safely here, when we did! When I have more time, I'll explain in more detail how this is an example of a God who cares, and is personally involved in our lives! :)
   
3. We are safe, sound and hopefully soon sleeping in Kazakhstan, with many busy, fruitful days for the kingdom ahead of us.

Praise God with us for His continued supply!

More to come soon! (p.s. Oh, and Happy 4th of July!)

Planes, Plans, and Steps

Why is Andy taking a nap at the Airport?






Well, maybe because there is no one at the British Airways counter until 1:15 PM. (something about an early tea or second breakfast)

Stephen says, "I'm going to have to bring this up with the Queen."


In all seriousness, though, we've gotten to meet up with all kinds of helpful and interesting people on this unexpected twist in our plans.

I have been reminded several times in the past 24 hours of the verse,

Proverbs 16:9
In his heart a man plans his course,
but the Lord determines his steps.

Praise God for how he has been and continues to be determining our steps!

Feels like...

Kazakhstan feels a lot like a large metro area similar to Chicago. And everyone here speaks English.