As an American, I think I can get too comfortable. I have been shown in hilarious ways these last two weeks just how much I lean on the crutches I’ve had in the United States. 

I was absolutely overjoyed this week to have water with ice at a Kazakh restaurant! The wait staff probably thought I was crazy, they brought out a bowl of ice for the table and I finished it almost entirely myself! 

I was shocked to find out that most public bathrooms in Central Asia require you to pay cash to use them! 

I take for granted having the bible on my phone in English, ready to use in 10 seconds. I take for granted my amazing community of believers in Colorado that the Lord has used to sharpen me for the last 7 years. I even take for granted the network of churches we have in Colorado, I often have found myself doing ministry with pastors and members of other Colorado churches.

In the areas of the world where Bible Mission is operating, these things are not a given. God has given Bible Mission a calling to translate bibles, reach families, support people after disaster, connect with local churches and share the gospel in an incredibly hard part of the world. Bible Mission is a tool the Lord is using to show his love to people who feel forgotten.

The Lord has directed Bible Mission into the former Soviet Union, focusing on Eastern Europe and Central Asia. This is a part of the world where they still feel the lingering effect of the Soviet regime. From 1917 until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, many of these areas of the world were under a policy of state atheism. 

According to a 2016 article by the Guardian looking back at Soviet religious policy: “churches and monasteries were destroyed or turned into public toilets. Their land and property was appropriated. Thousands of bishops, monks and clergy were systematically murdered by the security services. Specialist propaganda units were formed, like the League of the Godless. Christian intellectuals were rounded up and sent to camps.”

Even with the fall of the Soviet Union, the numbers of evangelical Christians are still staggeringly low. This is an area of the world where Islam is prevalent, poverty rates are very high, and people need Jesus. 

God is not confined by our borders, he isn’t contained by the circumstances we see. Throughout the last one hundred years the Lord has still moved in these regions, he has a plan for these people groups. Bible Mission is following the will of God and reaching 16 countries with the gospel. Bible Mission is approaching the 40-year-anniversary of ministry.  

The Lord’s movement in Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia has been incredible, yet many Americans simply don’t know what happens across the world. 

Growing up in a baptist church, I remember hearing stories of missionary work in the far reaches of the world. Every few months a missionary would come to the church, report on their ministry, and then I went about my daily life. I’ve had close family friends called to missionary work in Europe and Asia, but even then it wasn’t more than a curiosity for me to listen to.

I was working as a journalist and editor at a small local newspaper in Colorado, when Bible Mission first reached out to me. They offered me a one year missionary trip to Germany, with the goal of seeing what God is doing in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. I would then get a chance to tell those stories in English.

As I prayed about this opportunity, I felt the Lord calling me forward. I don’t entirely know what this year will look like, but I know God has a plan to use me and also to change me. It’s time for me to stretch out of my comfort zone, and I pray the Lord is glorified through me this year. 

I landed in the Frankfurt airport 2 weeks ago, and left for Almaty, Kazakhstan just 3 days later. I’ve already been confronted with the uncomfortable reality of living away from home and adjusting to new languages and cultures, but also I have seen the pure joy that Jesus Christ brings in the lives of his people. This is something worth pursuing, and something worth telling about, glory to God. 

I hope this is an opportunity for you to see what God is doing in this part of the world through my eyes. In America we can get so focused on our own church body and fail to understand the deep connection we have with the global church. I pray you can enjoy my updates, and feel a connection to what our same God is doing on the other side of the globe. 

Bible Mission needs your help to reach the goal of reaching people with the good news of Jesus Christ. We need prayer partners, church partners, donations for projects and for people like you to spread the word of how God is moving. Bible Mission is inviting you to join God’s vision for the world!

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Acts 1:8 

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

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