September in KG

We are now in our second week of the GH being open. There have been a lot of cool things happening, as far as just meeting with my leaders and team mates here, having fellowship, reading the bible together, and most importantly, doing the ministry I was called here to do.
I have been teaching drama at the GH as a way to help the students open up, relax, have fun and discover some of their talents. Our theme for this season is inspire. We are hoping to inspire people to find out who they are, who God made them to be, and I feel like this is happening to me also!
Drama club has been going well, we had our first lesson and a bunch of people showed up, and we just screamed, made noises and acted like animals to loosen things up.
Another club that I am a part of with Melissa and Pasha is a ‘Making the Band’ club. We are going to be putting together a band, writing a song, playing the instruments, making a music video and recording the song as well! It is something that has really been catching peoples’ attention! Melissa, Pasha and I taught our first week on Saturday and had so much fun! The students were really into it. We took modern songs and changed them into different styles, starting with happy birthday. We thought that Melissa, pasha and I should go first to show them its ok to be silly and have fun. Melissa did a punk rock version, Pasha did a rap, and I got stuck with a Marilyn Monroe version of happy birthday! We then did Umbrella by Rihanna, which we actually have on video, so maybe I can upload it and you can watch!

One word that Jim and Melissa shared with me was ‘pursue peace’, so that’s what I’ve been doing, and God has really been showing up. I have just had times of joy when I have no reason to be joyful, and moments of God showing up while I’m lying in bed listening to music. I am finding that God is really grabbing my attention here, and I feel at last, like I am home.
I will be the first person to admit that my Christian journey has been tumultuous, and I’m sure my friends would agree. I have hurt people, and been hurt, but I have been moving out in forgiveness, asking God to reveal things to me and I have been repenting for things I didn’t even know I had to repent for!
But it is all for the good, and God is doing a lot.
I am truly blessed by my leaders, Jim and Melissa, and developing a great relationship with them and their three kids. I live with them, so I see them everyday, and they are encouraging, loving, and very including and supportive of my ideas.
I wish I could be in touch more, but I only have dial up Internet, and not enough money to keep going to internet cafes!

There have been lots of students coming to the GH. The first few days were small, but nice enough that I could get a good idea of what would be going on. More and more have been coming though, and a group of Russian teenagers have been coming, sportsmen (wrestlers and swimmers) and one of them is going to be in the 2012 Olympics! God has really opened my heart for them, and already I begin to feel Gods’ prompting to be spending more time with them. The good thing is that they like me too, so it will be easier. The one barrier is that they don’t speak any English, and my Russian is not so fantastic, despite picking up the essentials.
My Russian lessons have been going well, I get taught by my friend Masha, and she has been helping me with grammar and the basics.
There are lots of opportunities here, and it seems like lots of ministries are recruiting, and I feel like everywhere I go people try to get me to do things, so I’ve been practicing saying no! I am here in this time for the GH, and to explore some other avenues too. I should be going out to villages with my friend Jenish in the near future when I get my schedule worked out, working with orphans and homeless too. While back in Belfast I shared my heart for orphanage ministry, which I haven’t had the opportunity to really explore yet, but that is because I am taking my commitment to the GH seriously and not flopping around between ministries. At first it was daunting, I wasn’t sure exactly what my involvement would be a I wanted to kind of ‘do my own thing.’ However, it has been fantastic working with Jim and Melissa, and the students in the GH who come to learn and hopefully learn more than what we teach on the surface. We are there to practice Gods’ love, to just love on them and show them that they matter.

Bishkek is a great city. They have this little vans that people take everywhere (public transport) called Marshutkas. They cost 8 som (the currency here) a ride, which is about 9p/18c! There are always lots of people around, and people selling different things on the street, from food, to old Soviet Union things. It is a dusty place, but there are nice parks here too! Most living accommodation is apartments, and families live together. I have been learning to get around, mostly by foot, so I’ve been doing a lot of walking, probably at least a few miles everyday, which is a nice little bit of exercise! But I am quickly putting holes in my shoes, haha! I am also in desperate need of getting some winter clothes – the heat has died off and its back to weather I am more familiar with! Rain, cold and wind! The other night I was out at my friends and the rain came on, and I was wearing flip flops, after walking home I was drenched due to stepping in many holes in the ground disguised under the puddles in the dark. We continue to loose our electricity for hours on end at different times in the week. So I have gotten used to life without electric and make the most of it when we do have it!

Overall, it has been a fantastic month and a bit. It is my birthday in a few weeks, and my rent is due soon as well, and I don’t have much money! Which is a typical story for me, but nice, because I get to depend on God!
Thanks so much for your support and prayer and I will be in touch with people individually as much as possible.
Please email me if you have any questions about what I am doing here, or just if you want to catch up and chat. I miss you all, and hopefully we’ll speak soon!

Your friend and brother,

Tony Webster.