A Month of Celebrations!
March is a month of many celebrations here. March 1st was the first day of Spring and all around here many people celebrated this day by symbolically welcoming Spring. The next celebration was International Women's day (March 8th); a day where women get celebrated with words of appreciation and encouragement, flowers, and of course lots of chocolate.
Another fun and great holiday was the "Local New Year" called Nauryz. Together with a group of students we were able to watch traditional music being played and danced to. And of course we were able to eat lots of traditional food that is served during this holiday. At the end of the day we were able to visit 3 "юртac" (Yurtas), which are traditional Nomad houses. We were treated with respect, great hospitality, and given delicious food and drinks.
In the beginning of the month we had an amazing surprise as one of our students asked if we were believ3rs. After sharing with him that we are followers of JC, our student D invited us to visit his home ch.rch. The ch.rch he attends is a very humble gathering with people who are facing p3rs3cution in many different aspects of their lives. We joined about 10 other people and fellowshipped together as we read His word, shared testimonies, and sang from a localhymn book. It was a precious time. We were humbly encouraged by their f@ith and stories. It was an honor to meet these people and to peak through a whole new world and reality of those who follow Him here. We ask our Papa to continue to guide us in how we can come alongside the brothers and sisters here.