We are now waiting in Portland... our plane has been delayed for about 3 hours. Not much compared to our recent travel hiccups. The plane flight from Frankfurt was alright... poor Jean was really not feeling well, but I believe the rest of the team did alright. Almost 11 hours is just long.
It's been a really awesome trip... I can't write enough about God's goodness to us. It's been so amazing to see His faithfulness and love towards us everyday. I can't wait to share with some of you all about what God taught me and how He's encouraged and challenged me, too. I know everyone here has learned and grown much... God has really used this time. I thank you for all your prayers. To God be all the glory!
Wednesday, August 1
Tuesday, July 31
we,re in frankfurt... again
So we`re back in frankfurt... we didn,t get to go to heilderburg because of time constraints. we,re staying at a nice hotel here at the airport... so far we,ve done debriefinng for about 2 or 3 hours this morning. we have to meet up in about 30 mins again for moretalking. tonight we,re hopefully going to go into the city for dinner somewhere. we got your cards that some of you sent! we were all greatlz encouraged by the cards. well i should go. we will be home, God willing, in about 24 hours. thanks for all your support and porayers for our travel.
Monday, July 30
Take 2
Ok, we're heading back to the airport. Lufthansa said that we are re-booked on the 3am flight to Frankfurt. Not sure if we'll be able to update again, so if you don't hear from us, it's probably a good thing :)
The team is in great spirits and we have already begun to do some debriefing together, since our time in Germany will be short. Pray that everything goes well from here on out!
Justin & the Team
The team is in great spirits and we have already begun to do some debriefing together, since our time in Germany will be short. Pray that everything goes well from here on out!
Justin & the Team
Sunday, July 29
Still in Kazakhstan...
Well, I ended the last entry with: "Lord willing we will be on a plane to Germany in about 24 hours." I guess the Lord was not willing. Despite getting on a plane at 1:30 this morning and saying goodbye to all our friends in Almaty... 7 hours later we are still in Kazakhstan.
Our flight was almost empty leaving Almaty, but like last year the plan was to stop in the capital city, Astana, and pick up some more passengers on the way to Frankfurt. When we were landing in Astana the cabin lights went out all of the sudden, but otherwise it was a normal landing. But as soon as they told us that they wanted us all to get off the plane so they could run some "diagnostics" on the electrical system, I knew we might be in for a little adventure.
Sure enough, they ended up canceling our flight to Frankfurt and it looks like we will be here in Astana the whole day. After about 3.6 hours at the airport, Lufthansa put us all in taxis and brought us to the InterContinental hotel in Astana. It is a super nice hotel... we're all in culture shock looking at the lavishness that has been so foreign to us for the past 3 weeks. It is ironic that we are still in Kazakhstan and experiencing such a dichotomy. I think God is trying to teach us something, so please pray that we will continue to seek Him and grow in likeness to Him.
We are very thankful to God that He has protected us thus far and that we are safe despite a malfunctioning plane and the craziest taxi drivers I have ever experienced.
We just finished a time of prayer and now we're going to try and get some rest. Thank you all for your continued support. It's not over, yet.
Slava Bogu,
Justin & the Team
Our flight was almost empty leaving Almaty, but like last year the plan was to stop in the capital city, Astana, and pick up some more passengers on the way to Frankfurt. When we were landing in Astana the cabin lights went out all of the sudden, but otherwise it was a normal landing. But as soon as they told us that they wanted us all to get off the plane so they could run some "diagnostics" on the electrical system, I knew we might be in for a little adventure.
Sure enough, they ended up canceling our flight to Frankfurt and it looks like we will be here in Astana the whole day. After about 3.6 hours at the airport, Lufthansa put us all in taxis and brought us to the InterContinental hotel in Astana. It is a super nice hotel... we're all in culture shock looking at the lavishness that has been so foreign to us for the past 3 weeks. It is ironic that we are still in Kazakhstan and experiencing such a dichotomy. I think God is trying to teach us something, so please pray that we will continue to seek Him and grow in likeness to Him.
We are very thankful to God that He has protected us thus far and that we are safe despite a malfunctioning plane and the craziest taxi drivers I have ever experienced.
We just finished a time of prayer and now we're going to try and get some rest. Thank you all for your continued support. It's not over, yet.
Slava Bogu,
Justin & the Team
Saturday, July 28
We're Back!
Hi everyone! We're back from Bible Camp, safe and sound.
Thank you so much for your prayers these past few days. They have been tough, but good. The team did a good job at Bible Camp, even though the weather was rainy and the squatty potties were pungent. Our time revolved around 4 camp sessions, one on Thursday night and three on Friday. Andrey, a 20-year old guy from Resurrection Church, started us out at the first session by talking about God and the Bible. It was so encouraging to see Andrey take so much leadership this year. 4 years ago, he was just a little teenager that tagged along with us everywhere. He has seen tremendous spiritual growth the past two years. He taught me a new word, today... "abba-drenya"... encouragement. He kept telling me how encouraging it was to have us come back year after year, and what it means to them each summer. I told him that the pleasure was ours... we are so encouraged by their work and faithfulness every time.
Dima Pak did the second talk, on Man and Sin. He did a great job as well. I did the talk on Jesus Christ, and Chris did the talk on faith. After each talk we had a discussion group, and we had some pretty good talks with people. Most importantly, the national believers were able to talk and build relationships with the unbelievers. Please continue to pray that their hearts will be softened. We did not have anyone repent and give their life to Christ, but we planted and watered the seed.
After we got back from Bible Camp today we went over and had a BBQ with Carl and Angie Brown, EVFree missionaries that NorthCreek supports. It was nice to hear from them about other things going on in Kazakhstan and in Central Asia. He even told us some "top secret" things that we can't tell anybody (so don't ask us... :))
We're all pretty tired, now, but tomorrow we will have another busy day visiting with our new and old friends and getting ready to come home. I can't believe we're already coming home! Tyler and Matt want to give their tickets to Slava and Andrey, but I told them that might not go over too well.
So, Lord willing we will be on a plane to Germany in about 24 hours. Thank you so much for your continued prayers!
Slava Bogu,
Justin
Wednesday, July 25
We're off to Camp!
English Club is now over... we are now moving into Bible Camp.
Today was awesome to see and feel God's presence and love. This morning we all prepared for Bible Camp... we're split up into three teams... Linds, Annie and I are doing drama... Kristin and Derek are doing ice-breakers... and Kristin S., Ashley, and Tyler are doing sports. We've all come up with some fun things. Justin and Chris will most likely be giving talks on God/Bible, Man/Sin, Jesus, and Faith. It's going to be much work, little sleep, and weird bathrooms, but this is where we actually get to spend more one-on-one time with the non-believers and get to really share more about the Gospel!! So, it doesn't really matter what things are outside our comfort zone, because we are sharing Him!
Linds, Annie and I helped prepare plov along with the Resurrection Church members. Or... we cut carrots and onions. We all had our last English Classes tonight. A couple hours before class started Justin told me that I needed to present the Gospel. It was an amazing, unforeseen blessing! I read Philippians 3 a year ago today, and that's when God really pressed upon my heart to follow Him, and now exactly a year later I got to share the hope that I now have!! My stomach had been going nuts the last two days, but I spent time in prayer and God just touched me, and I was able to present the Gospel to about 20 non-believers in my class! Clava Bogu! God showed His faithfulness and love to me in such an amazing way tonight. We all had a nice time of fellowship eating plov and hanging out with our students. A great night!
Please pray for those who heard the Gospel in my class as well as in the Advanced class. Many who heard won't be at the camp. Also, praise God for the opportunity that we (Tyler and I) had to share the Gospel, and God's provision for that. And, please pray for us to build relationships with the unbelievers at camp, that God would open their hearts, and that He would be glorified in all we do.
Your brother in Christ,
Matt
Today was awesome to see and feel God's presence and love. This morning we all prepared for Bible Camp... we're split up into three teams... Linds, Annie and I are doing drama... Kristin and Derek are doing ice-breakers... and Kristin S., Ashley, and Tyler are doing sports. We've all come up with some fun things. Justin and Chris will most likely be giving talks on God/Bible, Man/Sin, Jesus, and Faith. It's going to be much work, little sleep, and weird bathrooms, but this is where we actually get to spend more one-on-one time with the non-believers and get to really share more about the Gospel!! So, it doesn't really matter what things are outside our comfort zone, because we are sharing Him!
Linds, Annie and I helped prepare plov along with the Resurrection Church members. Or... we cut carrots and onions. We all had our last English Classes tonight. A couple hours before class started Justin told me that I needed to present the Gospel. It was an amazing, unforeseen blessing! I read Philippians 3 a year ago today, and that's when God really pressed upon my heart to follow Him, and now exactly a year later I got to share the hope that I now have!! My stomach had been going nuts the last two days, but I spent time in prayer and God just touched me, and I was able to present the Gospel to about 20 non-believers in my class! Clava Bogu! God showed His faithfulness and love to me in such an amazing way tonight. We all had a nice time of fellowship eating plov and hanging out with our students. A great night!
Please pray for those who heard the Gospel in my class as well as in the Advanced class. Many who heard won't be at the camp. Also, praise God for the opportunity that we (Tyler and I) had to share the Gospel, and God's provision for that. And, please pray for us to build relationships with the unbelievers at camp, that God would open their hearts, and that He would be glorified in all we do.
Your brother in Christ,
Matt
Tuesday, July 24
One more day of English Club...
We just finished up our second to last English Club night. It seems strange that we're almost done with this part of our ministry. We'll switch to Bible Camp mode on Thursday. Tomorrow morning/afternoon will be spent preparing for Bible Camp, and tomorrow night's English Club will be a celebration of sorts... plov served, certificates passed out.
This morning Justin led us in a devotional on 2 Peter Chapter One. We spent about an hour on it, and we could've spent much more time, but we had more to do. Several members from Resurrection church came over for the devotional and for lunch afterwards. Very great morning of fellowship.
This afternoon was English Club... frustrating on some aspects. The power was out and it was raining, so we had a hard time keeping our students focused on learning. Many people didn't show up due to rain/power outages, and the intermediate class did not have anyone show up. Please pray that we will have a great opportunity to share the good news of Jesus Christ with the non-believers tomorrow. I don't know if this will be presented by the group, or if we will just be able to share individually while walking around and eating. There are some who seem like God is laying His Word on them, and others who don't care much about God. Please pray that we can be a light to all and witness to them through our interactions and words.
We appreciate your prayers. The week continues to be draining even though we're not quite as busy as last week, but God is ever faithful to renew our strength when we need it. Praise God!
This morning Justin led us in a devotional on 2 Peter Chapter One. We spent about an hour on it, and we could've spent much more time, but we had more to do. Several members from Resurrection church came over for the devotional and for lunch afterwards. Very great morning of fellowship.
This afternoon was English Club... frustrating on some aspects. The power was out and it was raining, so we had a hard time keeping our students focused on learning. Many people didn't show up due to rain/power outages, and the intermediate class did not have anyone show up. Please pray that we will have a great opportunity to share the good news of Jesus Christ with the non-believers tomorrow. I don't know if this will be presented by the group, or if we will just be able to share individually while walking around and eating. There are some who seem like God is laying His Word on them, and others who don't care much about God. Please pray that we can be a light to all and witness to them through our interactions and words.
We appreciate your prayers. The week continues to be draining even though we're not quite as busy as last week, but God is ever faithful to renew our strength when we need it. Praise God!
Monday, July 23
Starting our 2nd Week
Happy Birthday Chris! Today we started our day with a little birthday party for Chris. The girls got up early and got some party hats and some ingredients to make some brownies and I (Justin) stopped and got some ice cream on the way to the girls' place. We sung to Chris, who had forgotten that it was his birthday... and then we had brownie sundae's for breakfast! They were really tasty. Then Chris led us in a great devotional from Mark 8 and taking up our cross. We had some good discussion and prayer, and then we were off to TSUM!
Tsum can be compared to a medium size mall, although it's very different from any mall in the USA. The first floor was almost all cell phones and other electronics, the second floor was clothes, and the top floor was souvenir shops. It's more of a department store, but every five feet is a different vendor, kinda like a mall. Anyhow, we got Ashley a new camera, and some of us got some souvenirs for people back home. Afterwards we walked over to the Green Bazaar, but it was closed. We caught buses and made our way back to CALTC.
Then we had a meeting with the Resurrection leaders about Bible Camp. We have a place confirmed, which is a praise. We'll have it at the same place as last year, Kaptuguy. It's a decent location, but there isn't any plumbing... so that is always fun.
English classes went fairly well, but unfortunately nobody showed up for the Intermediate class. People seem a little sporadic in their attendance, for some reason. We are hoping to find at least 12 unbelievers who are interested in going to Bible Camp, but right now we only have 9. Pray that more people will be interested.
Katya, one of the nationals, shared her testimony tonight. It was great to hear how God has worked in her life to bring her to repentance. Her life has been totally changed and God's glory is evident in her life.
Tomorrow morning we will meet early and have a Bible study with our co-servants from Resurrection, and then make preparations for Bible Camp. Pray that we will get everything done... we have a lot to do.
Slava Bogu,
Justin
Tsum can be compared to a medium size mall, although it's very different from any mall in the USA. The first floor was almost all cell phones and other electronics, the second floor was clothes, and the top floor was souvenir shops. It's more of a department store, but every five feet is a different vendor, kinda like a mall. Anyhow, we got Ashley a new camera, and some of us got some souvenirs for people back home. Afterwards we walked over to the Green Bazaar, but it was closed. We caught buses and made our way back to CALTC.
Then we had a meeting with the Resurrection leaders about Bible Camp. We have a place confirmed, which is a praise. We'll have it at the same place as last year, Kaptuguy. It's a decent location, but there isn't any plumbing... so that is always fun.
English classes went fairly well, but unfortunately nobody showed up for the Intermediate class. People seem a little sporadic in their attendance, for some reason. We are hoping to find at least 12 unbelievers who are interested in going to Bible Camp, but right now we only have 9. Pray that more people will be interested.
Katya, one of the nationals, shared her testimony tonight. It was great to hear how God has worked in her life to bring her to repentance. Her life has been totally changed and God's glory is evident in her life.
Tomorrow morning we will meet early and have a Bible study with our co-servants from Resurrection, and then make preparations for Bible Camp. Pray that we will get everything done... we have a lot to do.
Slava Bogu,
Justin
Sunday, July 22
Fellowshipping With the Nationals
I'm pretty exhausted, but I have so much to tell...
This morning began with a quick devotional by Tyler. Then, it was off to church. Justin gave the sermon today in church. He did a good job! Afterwards, we all split up into groups of 2-3 Americans and went to nationals homes. So amazing. I went with both Kristen's to Aliya and her family's home. Probably one of the most incredible times I've had here. They served us a huge traditional Kazakh meal. Then we shared our testimonies and had a time of fellowship. The dad gave us each a New Testament. He gave me a Kirghiz Bible, Kristen S. a Kazakh Bible, and Kristen C. a Russian Bible! It's so amazing to look at four translations (English was there, too) and think of God's Word alive in even just those languages. His Word surpasses language barriers. Go to every language... and we hold Bibles translated into somewhat obscure languages! How awesome is our Lord!
As if we hadn't been shown enough hospitality and love, the family took us up into the mountains for dessert. We went to this Disneyesque park... all different resturants "from" different nations. German, Russian, Kazakh, Chinese... all complete with decorations and costumed workers. Ate a picnic meal in the shadow of the mountain near a rushing river. Beautiful! Amazing food, fellowship and fun.
Thank you for all your prayers! Please pray for this coming week as we finish up English Club on Wednesday, and switch to Bible Camp on Thursday. It's exciting to think about what God will do this coming week!
Your brother in Almaty,
Matt
This morning began with a quick devotional by Tyler. Then, it was off to church. Justin gave the sermon today in church. He did a good job! Afterwards, we all split up into groups of 2-3 Americans and went to nationals homes. So amazing. I went with both Kristen's to Aliya and her family's home. Probably one of the most incredible times I've had here. They served us a huge traditional Kazakh meal. Then we shared our testimonies and had a time of fellowship. The dad gave us each a New Testament. He gave me a Kirghiz Bible, Kristen S. a Kazakh Bible, and Kristen C. a Russian Bible! It's so amazing to look at four translations (English was there, too) and think of God's Word alive in even just those languages. His Word surpasses language barriers. Go to every language... and we hold Bibles translated into somewhat obscure languages! How awesome is our Lord!
As if we hadn't been shown enough hospitality and love, the family took us up into the mountains for dessert. We went to this Disneyesque park... all different resturants "from" different nations. German, Russian, Kazakh, Chinese... all complete with decorations and costumed workers. Ate a picnic meal in the shadow of the mountain near a rushing river. Beautiful! Amazing food, fellowship and fun.
Thank you for all your prayers! Please pray for this coming week as we finish up English Club on Wednesday, and switch to Bible Camp on Thursday. It's exciting to think about what God will do this coming week!
Your brother in Almaty,
Matt
Saturday, July 21
A Fellowship Filled Day
Hello everyone at home. Thanks so much for all of your comments and prayers. To fill you in on today. We went to Medeu with the Resurection team and also friends that we have made through our English Club. Medeu is in the mountains and it was so beautiful. We took lunch up there and played games. As soon as we got to our destination it began to rain. But we just kept on with our journey. The rain was so cleansing and refreshing. It was nice to get out of the city. It was a great day of fellowship and also a time for both teams to witness to the non-believers that were there. Prayer requests would be for Justin, tomorrow he is giving a sermon. For health of the team. And unity as we finish up our time here in Kaz. It has been amazing to work with both the North Creek team and the Kaz team. The Lord has truly blessed us and supplied us with every need. To Him be the glory. - Annie
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