Sarah Alexander*

CENTRAL ASIA (BP) – Last night at sunset the electricity in our neighborhood flickered off. I stalled my dinner prep in hopes that the lights would return quickly, but in the end we enjoyed a candlelit meal and reminisced about our early days on the mission field, when the electricity didn’t go out for hours at a time, but more like days and weeks.

Leaders of the national Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU) are executing a plan to send hand-written appeals to 20,000 Southern Baptist churches to encourage every church to give to the annual Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.

How can a persecuted believer trust again after being betrayed by those closest to him? How can a person rightly understand suffering when his culture is awash in prosperity gospel teaching? How can a pastor carry the weight of leading when he doesn't know how to study Scripture?

CENTRAL ASIA (BP) -- Our first Thanksgiving in Central Asia was like a treasure hunt. One teammate stood in a long line to buy bread; another bought and baked an underfed chicken. Potatoes -- the one food we had in abundance -- were mashed and salted. But the real prize? A bowl of green Jell-O. Someone traveled 6,000 miles with a box of Jell-O in his suitcase and decided to share it with the rest of us. It was the best Jell-O ever. But even more than the food, I remember the laughter. We were in a dark place and we felt significant spiritual oppression, but the shared suffering created a unique camaraderie. We laughed together at our language mistakes and cultural missteps. We thanked God that we'd made it just one more day.

ALMATY, Kazakhstan (BP)--Christian workers in Almaty, Kazakhstan, say a Protestant Forum there March 27-28 may help stave off proposed restrictive laws governing religious freedom.

ALTAMY, Kazakhstan (BP)--Ten years ago, when Southern Baptist representatives began reaching out to the traditionally Muslim people of Kazakhstan, no one knew how long the hearts of the people or the doors of the country would remain open to their witness. Less than 10 Kazakhs claimed faith in Jesus, yet workers found hundreds and thousands ready to listen and learn.

ALMATY, Kazakhstan (BP)--Central Asian Protestants will have an unprecedented opportunity to present their beliefs to government officials during a Protestant forum March 27-28 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.