Karakol, Kyrgyzstan is known as a great place for skiing. People come from all over the world to enjoy the beautiful slopes. Earlier during our stay, my team took a day and went skiing, some for the first time! While we were there we saw that there is a panoramic view up on one of the peaks. Unfortunately it is only open to non-skiers for a few hours a day and we had missed that slot. So we decided we would come back another day for the view.
We took our last adventure day to go back to the ski resort to see the panorama. We got there a little early so they didn’t have the lifts open for the panorama yet. My team stood around waiting, soaking up some sun. As we waited we had several people gravitate toward us when they heard us speaking English.
I’ve had hosts in the past refer to us as magnets. People are drawn to us, especially those who want to practice their English. Two younger guys in particular stuck around to talk with us. I’ll call them I and V. The first was from Russia, and the other from a region of Ukraine that Russia had claimed a while ago.
When they asked why we were in Kyrgyzstan we boldly told them: we were there to serve locals and to share the good news! V told us he grew up orthodox so he was familiar with our beliefs, and I didn’t have a whole lot to say about it. But both chose to come to the panorama with us.
The lift rides were long, so there was plenty of time to share the good news with V. He was “stuck” with us. (Insert maniacal laugh here) He seemed open and interested. He is living in Bishkek currently so we hope to meet up with him before we fly to Jordan at the end of the month.
The older guy, I, wasn’t too interested in talking about beliefs, but he had a lot to share about his life. During one of our conversations I was asking the Lord what He had for this conversation. There were a few points where I could have turned it back to the Lord, but I didn’t feel like the man was ready. Then God reminded me that sometimes people simply need someone to listen to them.
My heart was softened toward this guy. I wonder how often people stop to listen to what’s on his heart and mind. But our God cares about that. He cares about I and loves him more than he knows. My team mentioned God many times around I, so seeds were planted. I’m learning to never underestimate what God is doing, and to be obedient to His leading, no matter what it looks like.
