Hello friends! I can finally send you some pictures of my time in Kyrgyzstan now that it does not cost a fortune to download!  :-)

Here is Chelsea during her visit surrounded by dried fish and men!! We stopped to see the stand of dried fish, and when they saw Chelsea they rushed over and begged me to take a picture of them with her. I did, and as promised mailed it to them before I left!

  

The Ladies of  Nura

Here are some of the women from Nura  who received their scarves that the women of Sojourn Church sent to them. The lady on the right in the blue scarf is the one who said that since she has come to know Jesus her "whole life has changed. She now has peace and comfort despite her terrible loss in

the earthquake."

The lady with the maroon vest on the left is the leader's wife. She is the one who goes from container to container telling the women to "read their book! It is the truth!"

Here are the apartments where the toilets would have gone. There are 60 families here with out a single toilet. I have left the whole thing in the Lords hands, but I cannot help but feel sad for the ladies that live in these apartments.

At the end of this email is a video of when we were stuck in the snow. Forgive the quality, it was taken with my still camera.

"Modern Day Princess" Youth Seminar

Modern Day Princess is a Christian "rite of passage" program that is a way of bringing young women into adulthood. Because I was doing it in a Muslim nation, I had to adjust the program a bit, and teach it through a translator. But in the end, what a blessing!!!

"Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a women who fears the 

Lord shall be praised....."

We studied what Godly men and woman look like since they have seen so few. I bought each of the girls a journal and taught them the value in journaling. Then I challenged them to make a list in their journals of what they would like in a husband. One of the girl's list had 62 characteristics!!! We studied the value of sexual purity, to the girls amazement and embarrassment. I think the girls blushed through the entire teaching!

We learned the value of true friends. The girls were challenged to do something really wonderful for their best friend that week!

The girls are proudly showing off their tie dyed handkerchiefs. I was teaching them the beauty in individuality. We studied Psalm 139, and how they are fearfully and wonderfully made. I gave them each the same supplies and they did the same thing, and yet none of theirs turned out the same! The older lady in the photo is one of the oldest believers in Kstan. (15 years) She wanted to come so badly so I welcomed her. By the end of the week we had five women who came everyday to hear the teachings.

The girls made their mothers (or in one case, Grandmother) a card, telling her how much she was loved and appreciated. The girls came back and said that their mothers were shocked to receive the cards since they had never told their mothers they appreciated them, and never told their mothers that they love them! We also did the same for the fathers, but some could not as they either did not have a father, or had abusive fathers. In that case they wrote it to someone they respected. As you know it is difficult to be in  Muslim country sharing the gospel, and many times it is so frustrating.  I was deeply touched when S, (the girl I asked you to pray for) shared during a time when they were supposed to choose a women who's character they admired and respected.  She wept as she shared how deeply it has touched her life that I would come from America, missing my own girls so much, and take the time to come and love them and teach them. It is moments like this that make all the frustration and loneliness worthwhile.

Our lesson this day was "walking by faith not by feelings." Our guest speaker was a young women from Uzbekistan who was left in a trash dump because of her handicap. The girls were challenged to walk by what the Word of God says, not by their situation. It was life changing!

Here is tiny S.. getting crowned and prayed over.  I bought each of the girls a new Bible, and they received a "crown", which was a jeweled headband. One of the girls who had just received the Lord, wept when we prayed over her.