Hi again!

OK, so we've been back safe in America for a few days and I have yet to say so on the blog. It's totally Ben's fault. I could have gotten better rest on the plane and handled the jet lag better, but Ben was utterly selfish with the opportunity to move to business class when they double booked his seat.

Ben lost his passport on the plane during the seat change. I'll leave it to you readers to decide if that was a coincidence!

The flight back was pretty comfortable. We did have a bit of a rush at our Paris connection, and our luggage didn't make it in the nick of time like we did. Fortunately Hartsfield is really good about delivering the goods home when that happens. It's definitely good to be home!

At the same time, it's hard to go back to the daily grind when so much is happening for God's kingdom in Almaty. Below are two final stories about some of our students and what they're doing. It is our hope that these stories offer you both encouragement and insight into the world these Christians are living in.

Pam and Patty are a mother-daughter pair who recently moved to Almaty from a smaller town. Their hope is to build a catering business cooking at home and serving group of anywhere from 4 to 20 people at a time. Pam has a desire to help support several ministers at once, one of whom is her husband. She has ventured into building her own business before, and encountered disappointment when her refusal to compromise her values gave other coffee shops an advantage over hers. Pam expressed gratitude to us because the course gave her not only the strategic knowledge to do better, but the confidence to try again. She is already well underway developing her business plan for her catering business with her daughter. Please pray for Pam and Patty's family and ability to support church leaders in Almaty.

Hank is a real piece of work. Never without a smile, Hank humbled and honored the teaching team when he told us what it cost him to be there for our course. Not only did he ride a train for 36 hours, but he sold his car to buy the ticket. Needless to say, we hope that he was blessed by being there. Hank's desire is to have a steady income such that he can, in his own words, "serve the Lord freely." Here is a man who realizes that debt cripples us, and that having too much wealth is equally as dangerous. He has a few ideas for his business, but the one that kept coming up was his desire to own and rent out small apartment homes. He already has a couple, but will need to build up some capital to afford additional homes. Hank's faith is amazing, and he is ever seeking chances to share Jesus. During our marketing research in the field, he was tasked with helping Bob (from our first story) survey convenience store customers about their candy preferences. During one such conversation, Hank boldly shared the gospel with a couple and gave them the address to a home church on the back of his very survey form! We could all use such fearless and bold faith. Pray for Hank's guidance in his business endeavors, for his financial stability, and his freedom to run the race for Christ as fast as his feet will let him!

Thanks to all of you who have read these posts and prayed over us. Your prayers during tough times are like water on a wilted plant, keeping us energized, faithful, and seeing the prize. We love each of you, and ask that you continue to pray for the believers in Kazakhstan and for those who oppress them.

God's Blessings,
Casey and the Team

Hi everyone,

Friday was all about the babushkas. It means 'grandmother'. Hands of Mercy is a local ministry that takes food and clothing to widowed babushkas and drives some of them to church. This week they used our extra muscle to get some home repairs done, including whitewashing, painting and cleaning. Please pray over babushkas Tanya and Anna, and all others who live in conditions that can turn one's stomach. The Holy Spirit works through our hands, so pray that more hands take part in this awesome ministry.

Today's student story is about a girl we're calling Janice. Janice moved to Almaty from Russia because she loves its people. She has an adorable little girl and has been here for about 8 years. Janice has a passion for fashion and produced the only magazine in Kazakhstan devoted to nails. She currently works in a nail shop and hopes to soon open her own beauty salon. Her greatest concern is the corruption of the government inspectors who demand free services for favorable inspections. Bribes are the way things work here, and for the time being she must carry this burden as Jesus directed the Jews to carry a Roman centurion's burden two miles if he demanded one.

Janice has some amazing stories, and you can tell her triumphs and trials have build a woman of character. She has seen successes in her past, and has both forgotten God while enjoying them and given God the glory, andseen the spiritual consequences of either path. A few years ago, Janice's home was invaded. tied down and beaten, she prayed for mercy as the men robbed her home. Wondering why a God of mercy would allow this to happen, Janice took some time off from work to recover. During this time, an opportunity to travel to Egypt for free was presented to her, and she took it. Janice describes its as the best jounrey of her life, and a time of spiritual growth and healing. Experiences like this have built her up into a woman with faith and kindness rarely found in young women today. Please remember Janice and her daughter in yuor prayers. Pray for the success of her salon and magazine and for continued evidence of God's mercy and power in her life.

We'll be boarding our plane in about 22 hours, and arriving Sunday night. Please pray for a safe jounrey home. We can't wait to see you all.

Peace,

Casey and the Team

Hi everyone!

Today was intended to be low-key and restful so we can do some hard labor tomorrow, but we wound up doing quite a bit. But it was fun! We visited the campus of KIMEP, the most prestigious university in Kazakhstan, and did a prayer walk around it. There are a lot of future leaders there and lots of opportunities for college missions, since the courses are all taught in English.

After KIMEP, we took a cable car to the top of a local mountain for some great views and souvenir hunting. Check out these peaks! FYI, while there is snow up there, it's 95 degrees where we're standing.

Lastly, we visited Jim and his lovely family for an evening of American food and the sharing of needs and prayer requests. It was quite powerful. We can't thank them enough for they work they do and for helping us out this week!

Tonight I want to tell you about a woman I'm calling Betty. She's been a Christian for fifteen years! Betty is a member of a strongly knit church here in Almaty. She teaches an English course and would like to see it expand. She has a lot of competition, but she wants to set her class apart by specifically preparing students to take the TOEFL, the Test of English as a Foregin Language. Exchange students coming to America are required to pass it. Edmund took an invitation to attend her class and arrived to discover she arranged for him to TEACH it! He says it was a great time, and that Betty's course is quite vigorous. She had students listen to music and fill in the missing words to "Not That Different at All" by Collin Raye and describe what the song was about. She's a sweetheart, but you can tell that as a teacher, she'd be a tough cookie. For Betty, please pray that word will spread about her class, that she can get her hands on a better computer, and that she can get her class moved into a better building.

Thanks for all the prayers and support!

Casey and the Team

Wow. The business course came to a close today, and it was quite emotional. Around 100 photos were shot between a dozen people. Because there weren't as many students in the course as anticipated, we were able to build some pretty powerful relationships in a short period of time. Over the next several posts, we'll be sharing in short the stories of some of our students to give you all an image of what it's like here. To protect them, their names will not be disclosed. The photo to the right is of Tammy's family in place here in Almaty and their friends. Below is Jeremy all thoughful in the park near our apartment. More photos to come!

Let me tell you about a guy I'm going to call Bob. Bob runs a candy distribution business from his village outside Almaty, and he wants to see more profit and expansion. He has difficulty beating the prices of larger distributors in the city, but we believe he can target stores in the villages away from the city and be the sole vendor for several kinds of candy. Bob is one of the friendliest and most personable people we've ever met. He speaks very little English, but has a way of getting you to understand him without it. Bob's biggest concern is that operating his business in a Christlike manner, with honesty and integrity, puts him at a disadvantage compared to other disributors who lie on their tax documents or pay bribes. Both practices are very common here, and the authorities who would correct such things also get much of their salary from bribes. It's a tough situation, but Jesus is the master of tough situations. His biggest lesson learned, according to him, has been that men and women have an equal spiritual standing. Neither was made more in God's image than the other.

Here's a real kicker with Bob - when we split into men and women to share special needs and pray, Bob broke down and told us that his wife doesn't seem to love him anymore and that she wants to divorce. For the sake of their 6-month old child, he is desperate to preserve their marriage. The men of the class laid hands on him and we prayed with enormous emotion as Bob wept. He has such a great heart. The next morning, Bob comes in, grabs Ben, grabs a translator, and tells that his wife approached him to talk for the first time in weeks last night. She had no bitterness, and they spoke at length. For the first time ever, they prayed together! Bob's wife is not a Christian, but he intends to read the gospel of John to her nightly. While this was an amazing answer to prayer, we ask that you all pray for Bob and his wife in the days and months to come.

Bob, like all the students, has Christ in his heart. His greatest need is for encouragement, because starting a business here is much more difficult than in the States, and he must find the balance between hard work for his business and hard work for his marriage.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. More updates to follow...
Casey and the Team

We're doing great!

Hi everyone,

 

Our first day of teaching went as well as we could have possibly hoped.  We had fewer students than anticipated, but it was a blessing to be able to focus on each student, answering more of their individual questions and addressing concerns specific to their own business desires.  Our students are looking to start up, among other things, a beauty salon, a candy vendor business, and an English class preparing Kazaks to take the TOEFL (Test of English as a Forgein Lanugage).  Their faith is simply amazing.  Every one of our students has a passion for Christ that rules their hearts and everything they do.  Speaking to them is a little slow because we must use a translator (his name is Temoore and he rocks, FYI) but they are absorbing everything we speak.  It's encouraging how intentional they are in being here to learn. 

 

Still looking for an internet connection good enough to upload photos to the blog.  That will hopefully be tomorrow morning.

 

Thanks for all your prayers and support!

 

Peace,

Casey and the Team

The summer team has arrived safely. We have been flying, touring Amsterdam, flying some more, and getting settled here for about 60 hours, so it's nice to finally have
beds and a solid sleep to look forward to. We've linked up with our friends, who have offered us a cozy apartment they rent for guests, while Tammy is staying with her sister who is also here..
Our first day of teaching business at Simplex begins tomorrow morning (evening for most of you). Since this is coming from Ben's blackberry, photos have to wait until we can set up shop in an internet cafe, hopefully tomorrow. We have lots! Amsterdam was lovely and the mountains above the city were are in now are the stuff songs and poems are written about. Thanks and love to all of you - please continue praying for us and our students!

Peace,
Casey and the team

Our team has been back in the U.S. for three months now but the work in Central Asia continues! Our partners went back to Kazakhstan in December after a furlough of rest, support-raising and training.

We are preparing now for the Global Outreach Spotlight weekend at Perimeter on Feb 9 & 10 and associated partner's conference. We will be hosting a prayer time with our partners during the week after Spotlight.

We are planning to do another journey with a business focus the first week of September. Consider joining us!!