This morning I received an email from a friend in Kyrgyzstan reporting about the unrest there and asking for prayer.
Dozens of people have been killed and as many injured. Many arrests have taken place. The people are demonstrating--calling for a new president/government. The cost of living keeps going up and up and the people are dissatisfied. The last time this happened was in 2005 when they also called for the removal of the president who was in power at that time.
There is more information in these links:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8608440.stm
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/04/08/kyrgyzstan.violence/?hpt=T2
or you can easily find more by searching online.
From the above reports it seems that the situation has already changed from the report I received last night, but do please keep this nation in your prayers for peace. Please pray for the Kyrgyz Christians and churches (and for my friends) that they might be witnesses to many of the peace of Christ.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Easter
Easter here is a very different holiday than what it is in the West. For one, it is celebrated for three days: Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Monday is a government holiday, but Tuesday is not. Of course, there are also services the week before Easter on different days in different churches, but everywhere on Thursday evening or Friday morning.
My last post showed a little from one of the Orthodox Thursday evening service. Friday I joined my roommate and her church group for an evening communion service. Since it is a home church it was a private and relaxed gathering. I enjoyed being able to be with other people and feel a part of the body of Christ. It was great to just listen to the conversations and watch and participate as we all joined in communion. It made me long to be better connected with a church here.
Easter Sunday Julie and I popped over to my parents for breakfast where we had a surprise Easter egg hunt (I won :D), then enjoyed breakfast together.
Julie had gone to one of the midnight Orthodox Easter services (because she's a glutton for punishment and she is doing research), so she went back home to rest while mum and dad and I attended Blagodat.
This is the first time I've been in church since January. February and March were total wipe out months for me physically and I'm just beginning to feel better now. Like Friday night it reminded me how great it is to be part of a larger body of believers. It is so easy for me to become a hermit; just me and my Bible. ;) But I thought it was very appropriate to have that particular reminder on Easter Sunday--the day we celebrate the event that made it possible for us to be all in the same family.
When we went back home (to mum and dad's) we enjoyed a great Easter dinner that included asparagus and other springy foods. It's been so wintery here until a couple of weeks ago that it really did make for a special meal to have those spring vegetables. It was a great family day, quiet, but I'm thankful that I was able to celebrate with my parents. I like to take those opportunities to be with my family when I can as I never know when one or the other of us will be whisked away to the other side of the globe.
This Easter was so different than last year and other years, but each one is beautiful in its own way and I am thankful for them. Praise God for Jesus' sacrifice!
My last post showed a little from one of the Orthodox Thursday evening service. Friday I joined my roommate and her church group for an evening communion service. Since it is a home church it was a private and relaxed gathering. I enjoyed being able to be with other people and feel a part of the body of Christ. It was great to just listen to the conversations and watch and participate as we all joined in communion. It made me long to be better connected with a church here.
Easter Sunday Julie and I popped over to my parents for breakfast where we had a surprise Easter egg hunt (I won :D), then enjoyed breakfast together.
Julie had gone to one of the midnight Orthodox Easter services (because she's a glutton for punishment and she is doing research), so she went back home to rest while mum and dad and I attended Blagodat.
This is the first time I've been in church since January. February and March were total wipe out months for me physically and I'm just beginning to feel better now. Like Friday night it reminded me how great it is to be part of a larger body of believers. It is so easy for me to become a hermit; just me and my Bible. ;) But I thought it was very appropriate to have that particular reminder on Easter Sunday--the day we celebrate the event that made it possible for us to be all in the same family.
When we went back home (to mum and dad's) we enjoyed a great Easter dinner that included asparagus and other springy foods. It's been so wintery here until a couple of weeks ago that it really did make for a special meal to have those spring vegetables. It was a great family day, quiet, but I'm thankful that I was able to celebrate with my parents. I like to take those opportunities to be with my family when I can as I never know when one or the other of us will be whisked away to the other side of the globe.
This Easter was so different than last year and other years, but each one is beautiful in its own way and I am thankful for them. Praise God for Jesus' sacrifice!
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Easter Thursday
So, on Thursday Julie dragged me out to watch the people bringing their "holy fire" home. I wasn't too keen on going, it was wet and cold and dreary out and I had never heard of or seen this "holy fire" custom. But it turned out to be an interesting experience. We strolled down to our local Orthodox church to see what was happening, but before we had gotten more than a minute from our apartment we were already meeting people carrying their candles home.
They seemed to be letting people out in clumps as after that first group we didn't meet any more candle-bearers until we got to the church where another group was just heading out. Most of the people had a hacked off plastic pop bottle to protect their candle with for the walk home. But as we watched some of them still lost the light and we were worried what it meant for them. And why was this fire so "holy" anyway?
Julie asked a friend of hers, who briefly explained that the fire came from Jerusalem (which we had suspected) and that bringing that Jerusalem fire to your home would bring very good luck (although exactly about what we couldn't figure out), but having it go out on the way home didn't mean anything bad. So, that was a relief, but also sad.
I mean, here I am, watching these dear people "celebrating" the death of Christ (services here are often held Thursday evening and Friday morning because not everyone can make it to the Friday morning ones) and bringing "holy fire" to their homes for a blessing and really, we as Christians have that holy fire in us already. We have the Holy Spirit and His blessing with us all the time. We don't need extra "good luck" or any special fire from Jerusalem (although the symbolism is great!). It just turned my mind to the gift that God has given us in allowing us the blessing of being in constant contact with Him through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. What Easter is really about.
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