Day 5 - Dedication Day!
See Pictures Below!
Today we had one of the best dedications we have ever had! After a week of building the playground and developing relationships with the local leaders, we were done and ready to give the children their gift! It was a very lively ceremony filled with traditional dances, songs and speeches from some people in Kara Balta. The best part of the dedication was all the children that were present and in the ceremony. There was a youth band from the orphanage, Kyrgyz dancers and several solos from some local teenage kids.
There were also a lot of speeches from the government...which is normal. But the spirit in which they were talking was inspiring and hopeful for the future. We hope that the government will continue to bless the Mercy Foundation and their continued work in Kyrgyzstan. There has already been great things happening since the playground has been dedicated. The goverment of Kara Balta met with the Mercy Foundation today to talk about future partnerships with schools and farming projects. They are also working on an institute that will educate kids after high school. It's incredible to see the work that the Mercy Foundation is doing and we see the future being bright for them.
At the dedication we have heard several stories of local people accepting Christ. One woman kneeled in front of the playground sign and started weeping after seeing the committment Christians have given to children they don't even know. She accepted Christ on the spot. There were two other women who accepted Christ after seeing the hard work of the team all week. They were so impressed with the gift and the genuine love we showed to the city that they wanted to have what we have. They wanted to know the joy that we have and they accepted Christ!
What a joy it has been to be here and serve the Kyrgyz people! We feel so blessed to be able to witness and be part of the work that God is doing here. There is a lot more to tell and we hope to tell you all in person soon. But for now, please pray for our team as we head home tomorrow and please pray for Kyrgyzstan. The people here, the government and the Mercy Foundation!
Thanks for all of your prayers and support for us! God Bless you all.
Chris Marshall
Kids Around the World
Day 4
Today we had a great day! Since this is such a large playground, we have had to rely on a lot of help from city workers and local people just passing by. We have developed some great relationships with these people and have had some fun along the way.
There is one little man in particular that we have gained a lot of respect for. He is really small and looks to be in his late 60’s...but is around 50 years old. He has been working with us every day. It seems he just wants to be part of the excitement that is spreading around the city with this playground. He works very hard and doesn’t say much. No one is paying him to work with us...he just wants to help.
It seems each project we have there is a person like this. They gravitate to us because what we are doing is exciting and perhaps could be one of the more exciting things to happen in their city. What we have been realizing that is different in this city and country is that not a lot of people are smiling. There is a very somber look on the faces of most people we meet. But when you look at our volunteers and the local Christians we are with, we all have smiles. They can tell there is something different about us. They can see the joy and hope we have and want to be part of it.
We hope these relationships and our time here will have the people we meet wanting to know more about the hope we have. We hope the playground will open up these possibilites to the local Christians and churches we are working with. They have already expressed gratitude for the doors this project is opening up.
We feel blessed to be working here with local Kyrgyz people and the local church. We know our investment in this city will reap great rewards in the future.
Thanks again for your prayers for our team. Tomorrow we will be finishing up our project and preparing for the dedication on Thursday.
Chris Marshall
Kids Around the World
Day3
On Sunday we attended a small, local Russian church pastored by one of our
translators. It was "Harvest Day" so church was outside in the sun. A big part of the program was centered around the children! It was perfect for us. They had some dramas and skits. Jim Rosene had a message as well, about our work and how we all need to stand firm for the cause of reaching children. After church we had tea and snacks with the members of the church.
Then we headed up into the mountains just south of us. We are staying on a large valley/plain and the mountains are just in the distance. They are beautiful and snow covered. We had a great time seeing the mountains and the views as well as the Mongolian "yurts" that were scattered across the valley.
On Monday we had a great day of working on the playground. It's starting to look really nice and the kids can't wait! We were surrounded by kids for most of the day and they were enjoying talking to us. There was a hub of activity at the playground site with lots of city workers fixing the power lines, moving rocks and dirt and helping us move sand and concrete. They are really trying to fix up this park for the dedication. It should be a great ceremony!
Today we head back to the playground site to finish up. The weather has been cooperating with us so we should have a full day. Thanks for your continued prayers and support for us.
Chris Marshall
Kids Around the World
Day 2
Today we started working early and worked late into the day. We got a lot accomplished in one day. We constructed the little kids unit and one of the large swing sets and poured concrete for them.
While we were building, we saw exactly how popular this park is. There were people walking through stopping to check out our work all day long. There was also a lot of kids that were interested in speaking English to us and they wanted to help as well. At the end of the day we had some bonding time with the kids. There is definately a large communication gap but we were able to play with them and have some fun.
The project is turning out great. The city put in electricity and converted it to 220V on the Jesus House. We also talked to the Pastor that will run the Jesus House and put a full time staff person there to manage the ministry. That will be incredible for this playground and we were excited to hear this news.
Today we are heading to church in the morning and then in the afternoon we are going to the mountains to visit the local Kyrgyz people and see how they live. It should be interesting and really cold!
Thanks for your continued prayers for us while we are here serving in Kyrgyzstan.
Chris Marshall
Kids Around the World
Day 1
After 48 hours of traveling, our team of 11 is finally in Kara Balta, Kyrgyzstan! It was an exhausting trip to get to this small city in a country that is far away! Once we arrived we headed to the playground site to see how it looked after all the rain. The container for the Jesus House is on a concrete slab and surrounded by beautiful trees. Next to it is the playground site which is in between a forest as well. Just to the right of the Jesus House is a large silver statue of Lenin. Fortunately, he is looking away from the playground and Jesus House!
Once the rain stopped, we headed to the site to start laying it out and digging the holes. It was really muddy but we got alot accomplished in a short amount of time. We even got to meet the city officials who were very happy to see us.
We ate all three meals at the Mercy Foundation School and Orphanage which is near the playground. The ladies that served us were typical Russian women and we had a great time with them eating potatoes and soups. We also celebrated Steven Knight's birthday with a "Happy Birthday"song in Russian! (Steven turned 18 today!)
Tomorrow the real work starts as we look to continue building. We are excited to be here and can't wait to continue working! Please continue to pray for us as we minister to the children of Kara Balta!
Chris Marshall
Kids Around the World
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Kara Balta, Kyrgyzstan October 7 - 18, 2009
