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
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
2 comments:
Praise God for the 3 new believers and all the other contacts that you made on this trip, and for safe return of the whole team (will be praying Stephen's luggage also shows up shortly!!) Much love Joel and Tori, MOM
Been Praying! Glad to hear about the things God did. Hope to hear more soon.
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