KazBlog

Safely Home

The KazTeam arrived back home at First Baptist Church at 6:55PM 6/29/2005.

Family and friends plus the prayer meeting group welcomed them home

Welcome home Kent, Greg, Dottie, Keith, Judy and Richie.

Message from Sylvia - Air1 Verse of the Day

Here is today's verse from Air 1 website:

God arms me with strength; he has made my way safe. Psalm 18:32 NLT.

This verse has a double meaning for us today, as our Kaz team returns and our youth leave for Creation.

God is in control!
Sylvia

Updates on the way Home

I will update this as long as I can. I will be going to Creation with the Youth Group and will be on the road before the plane carrying the KazTeam lands in Philadelphia.
*** Update at 10:30PM on 6/28
- Lufthansa Flight 647 is in the air, and is currently due into Frankfurt at 6:11AM local time (12:11AM in Lansdale)
- You can look Here for a status. Just look for LH647 in the list of flights. This is Flight Info. at the Frankfurt Airport.
*** Update at 12:30AM on 6/29
- Flight landed a few minutes early, at Terminal 1, Hall B (a little too much info, huh?)
- The team will lay over in Frankfurt for about 7 hours, and will be on Flight 426 leaving Frankfurt at 1:30PM and getting into Philadelphia at around 4:10PM.
*** Update at 12:25PM on 6/29
- Lufthansa flight 426 left Frankfurt, Germany at 1:51PM Local Time. Updated Arrival Time at Philadelphia is 4:14PM EDT.
*** Update at 04:55PM on 6/29
- Lufthansa flight 426 from Frankfurt arrive in Philadelphia at 4:46PM EDT.

Message from Yana in Kazakhstan

Dear FBCL team!

I know that when you came your desire was just to touch someone's life and serve in one way or another. You have done so much more...your influence on people here far exceeds your expectations. Thanks for your hearts and desire to go to a far away land, despite fears or doubts, and faithfully serve the body of Christ. It was a real joy and privilege to hang out with you and learn from you.

With deep appreciation, Yana

Message from Rick Shive, JR.

To the KazTeam,

Thank you for a job well done in Christ's name. May the people you've touched see Jesus in a new way because of your efforts and ministry.

As you say good bye to Almaty, we look with joyful anticipation to your return.

May God grant you traveling mercies as you return to Lansdale.

Day 18 Update from Pastor Berghuis-Good-bye, Kazakhstan

We awoke early this morning, leaving at 6 AM to go to Charin Canyon. We drove out of the urban area of Almaty into rural farmlands. A whole mix of giant machinery (government owned?) all the way down to donkeys and wooden wagons filled the sides of the roadways. Often people would be selling produce (or even fish) at roadside stands.

Gradually the farmland turned to wasteland, and the desert resembled Arizona a good deal. That seemed fitting, as Charin Canyon is certainly reminiscent of the Grand Canyon--though not quite so massive in scale. We walked along trails with fabulous scenes of arches, balancing rock formations, and the giant gorge. We saw their fun version of prairie dogs. A brief thunderstorm rolled over, managing to soak us. We had prepared for heat, but instead got a mostly pleasant day, except for that sudden storm. In the afternoon we headed back to Almaty and stopped briefly at the Central Mosque and the Russian Orthodox Cathedral.

Now it's time to pack up and say our good-byes. I need my wife's expertise at packing! In a few minutes I intend to go over to CALTC and give some gifts to special people there and say my good-byes. There's a final student dinner at my apartment tonight, then we'll be leaving for the airport at midnight.

I must admit to feeling a bit misty right now. We've gotten to know so many wonderful people, and I've felt so much like a part of the ministry team here. My world is both smaller and bigger because of this experience. No doubt my reflections later will add perspective, but I hope to continue in the theme of being a changed person because of this trip.

Good-bye, Almaty, Kazakhstan; and may the love of God, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit fill this city, and country, and spill throughout Central Asia in a sweeping, rushing wind of a movement.

Day 17 Update from Pastor Berghuis-Finally a completely free day

Today was probably the first day our team had completely free of ministry responsibilities. Well, except for Greg (sort of), who took the opportunity to visit a farm with one of the businessmen he met. The rest of us went up to Chimbulak to the mountains--first time for Dottie, Keith and Judy, though I feel like a regular now. It was a lovely time, with a little hiking, great scenery, and a satisfying meal below again. Some clouds did come over while we were on top, making it a bit chilly, but in all it was a beautiful day.

We stopped at the Ramstore mall again, which led me to another highlight. All week long Yana has been pulling out a little squirtgun and shooting people. So today I bought a soaker gun, and then Richie and I surprised her in her office. She responded by dousing me/us with a liter of water she had handy. I'm wondering about the effect on me of hanging around with all these young people here...

Tomorrow we are planning our last excursion, a visit to "the Grand Canyon of Kazakstan" a couple hours out of the city into the desert. Then we'll be packing up and heading for the airport. Hard to believe it's coming to an end. In many ways, Lansdale, PA seems a world away...

Day 16 Update from Pastor Berghuis-Sunday at Resurrection Church

Our team really participated fully in the Resurrection Church services today. After their regular time of praise and worship (which is rather rousing), we did several things. Max, the assistant pastor who has been working with our team a lot, presented us all with gifts in honor of our time with them--traditional Kazak hats (that we haven't actually seen people wear...I must say Greg looked pretty cool in his); little stuffed camel souvenirs; and then a nice cloth hanging for our church that will be fun to present when we get back. A chime choir that Dottie had taught rang a couple of hymns, and Dottie presented the chimes to the church as a gift. This was all nicely received by the church, the chime choir did a great job and everyone joined in with them in the singing. Then there was a powerpoint presentation of pictures from the ministry times that Richie had put together, and he sang a couple of moving solos in the background as they projected. Our group together sang the song "Ancient Words" to go along with the theme for the day, "The Truth About Scripture." After that I preached my message, "Hearing God's Voice in Scripture," similar to one I preached last fall at FBCL (anybody remember?) *** From Rob...Here is a link to the sermon at FBCL Pastor Berghuis mentions ***. I spoke of how we enjoy receiving letters [in our case emails] from home when we are gone, and how the Bible is God's love letter to us while we are waiting to come home. Also, Scripture is inspired by the Spirit, who is like the oxygen we need to breathe, and Scripture can be like the hose that brings the oxygen to the diver. I told a little bit about Joyce Wetherill's story and how it has been so inspirational to our church even in the midst of the difficulties of her passing; that we need the Spirit of God to continually fill us in order for us to have true spiritual life. Then our group closed with the praise song "Breathe." I think it was a very powerful service, and sensed there was a strong connection with the folks there, as well as hopefully some continued inspiration for our group, too.

After church Yana took us to the big Ramstore mall, and we ate in the food court. This one even had an ice-skating rink in the center, very neat place. We then walked to the National Museum, where we saw cultural and historical displays for a couple hours. We visited several other nearby landmarks--statues, fountains, and a plaza with original art for sale on the sidewalks as well as lots of shops. It was a very fun afternoon, and nice to see so much more of the city.

Day 15 Update from Pastor Berghuis-Taxi to the mountains and family life seminar

Today, Saturday, brought two very interesting and different experiences my way here. The first was a trip back up to the mountains, and the second was a "family life seminar" for some of the folks from Resurrection Church.

Greg, Richie, Yana and I took a taxi up to Chimbulak, the ski resort and easiest mountain access around here. We had a bit of a time figuring out how we were getting there-a story for another time. But very providentially, Yana hailed a cab, and the driver was happy to take us up there. He was a hiker himself, and wanted to spend the day with us and would bring us down, too, making the transportation haggling a whole lot easier for us (and all for a very reasonable price).

The morning was a bit cloudy and cool, but as we rode the three lifts thousands of feet up to the top of the ski area, we saw a few breaks of sunshine. We followed a trail toward a pass that goes over a glacier on the way to Kyrgyzstan, which some people take as a 3-day hike to a huge lake and resort across the border. We contented ourselves with climbing to the top of a manageable rocky promontory. Actually, only 3 of us went all the way to the top--the taxi driver, who proved to be basically a mountain goat, and Yana and me (I won't tell you who didn't feel like making it, so that their athletic prowess won't be called into question). As the afternoon came, the clouds parted and we saw glorious blue skies as a backdrop to lush green mountainsides, various colors of rocky morraines, and huge brilliant white snowfields. It was a real big bite of eye candy, to be sure. We rode back down the lifts to a meal of sizzling steaks on a patio at the base.

By the time we returned to Almaty, we had developed a really good relationship with our driver, and Yana was inviting his kids to their English clubs and to their church. He seemed genuinely very interested in religious things, and though he was Kazak, said he had studied Eastern religions some. He appreciated the Baptists and Jehovah's Witnesses, he said, because they seemed to be the most interested in using the Bible. I tipped him generously for his great service and companionship, telling him to do something special for his wife and family with the extra cash. Hopefully our day with him might even result in his interest in Christianity being piqued--you might pray for Ravid.

Back at CALTC, there was the marriage and family seminar. Everyone in our group shared about the ups and downs of marriage and parenting, and there were plenty of very interesting questions. It was so neat for me to hear each of our group members sharing, and my appreciation for the collective wisdom there really grew. Everyone was very open and honest. We were asked very directly about what problems we had encountered in our marriages--I wondered if I wanted my church folk to hear about my own problems! But in the end I think we all came away feeling like the open sharing is just what we all need. Marriages in the former Soviet Union are very cheap--someone told me over 75% divorce. Also, these first-generation Christians have very few role models of long-standing Christian marriages that have weathered life's storms.

Tomorrow I'll be preaching and our group will be participating in the service with songs, a chime choir, and a presentation about the children's ministries. Should be a rather interesting experience!

Day 14 Update from Pastor Berghuis-Final day of class

Today was the end of my theology class. We talked for a couple hours about practical implications of our doctrine to how we relate to one another, then I gave them their exam. It was quite simple, write out a couple of the creeds from the ancient church, and they knew what it was to be. Afterward, the class presented me with a nice gift, a ceramic, hand-painted candle holder in the form of a "yurt," the traditional Kazak tent-home.

It really has been special getting to know the these students. We heard yet another challenging testimony today. There's a group of several really sharp Uzbek students--real go-getter leader types--who were friends from way back, and they became Christians about the same time a few years ago. They started attending a Korean church with a bunch of little old ladies in it, it was really unusual for everyone. The student said once they were talking to a lady there about how much they liked their little church, and she said that they would one day have a much larger church of their own. That turned out to be a prophetic word, now these guys have started their own church that has like 800 people in it. They are real pioneers in figuring out how to go about doing church work in Central Asia, with very winsome, magnetic personalities. God must be planning to bring in quite a harvest of people if he is raising up this kind of people to lead the work.

This afternoon Greg, Yana and I visited a coffee shop that's a lot like an upscale Starbucks (complete with big $3 lattes and wireless internet service). It's interesting to see the different things juxtaposed in a culture like this. But then again, I guess we have such contrasts in our own culture, but we get used to seeing them.

Tonight Pastor Andrey, his wife Kalina and their friend Irina threw a birthday party for Judy at the Muzschils' apartment. They treated us to a wonderful stir-fry meal, a couple salads and a couple desserts, including a multi-layered cake with Judy's name spelled in nuts and sugar and a big "#1" candle on it--maybe for her first Kazak birthday? It was a fun evening of socializing and being invited into a home.

We are reminded of some of the social conditions that are a bit different here than what we are used to. Today at a shopping area, a pickpocket managed to steal Keith's cell phone out of his bag. Also, another guy cut the string of Kalina's valuable's pouch she had around her neck and ran off with it; she actually caught the guy, confronted him, and he gave it back! Tonight as we walked through long, dark alleys to the Muzschil's home, and up flights of stairs in pitch blackness because the hall lights were out (the same is true in my apartment building), I couldn't help but feel some of the uneasiness of a land that is still underdeveloped for most people's basic living conditions. Though the temps in summer here are usually well into the 90's, few people have AC, so we are getting used to sweating a good deal in the sweltering heat. Many, like the Muzschils, have no car, and rely on walking (sometimes rather astonishing distances), buses or taxis for all their transportation. While there is clearly some wealth here and a great deal of new economic development, it's also clear that the vast majority of folks live in ways that only the smallest minority live in the US. But people can indeed live very differently and get along just fine. I suppose we take a lot of our "things" for granted, and could do without and still be happy; on the other hand, I also can see the toll in energy, safety (electrical wiring is amazingly shoddy here; no one wears seat belts while reckless driving is the norm, etc.) and other intangible effects that come about when life's basics are simply more difficult to accomplish.