August's Focus: Scott in Kazakhstan

This month, our friend Scott will be moving to Kazakhstan to help begin a campus ministry at Kazakhstan National University. He will be there for a full year, integrating into the community, learning the language (he has already been learning Russian while still in the States- I actually got to teach him how to say "thank you," one of the approximately four words I know in Russian), and loving the people. He will also be volunteering with a local orphanage for children with special needs, as well as participating in English clubs, helping students to learn English while sharing the love of Christ. Scott will be blogging about his adventures halfway across the world; be sure to visit his site.

I don't know too much about Kazakhstan (except what I've heard from other friends who have lived there), but I did some research so our family could better pray for the nation. Here's what I've learned:

Native Kazakhs (a mix of Turkish and Nomadic tribes) were rarely united under a single nation, but Russia conquered the area in the 1700s, and Kazakhstan became a Soviet Republic in 1936. The country gained independence from the USSR in 1991, but the effects of Communism and Soviet rule are far-reaching and remain today (as in most former Communist countries). Specifically, Soviet programs have affected the physical make-up of the nation; Russians were encouraged to immigrant to the area in order to cultivate the northern pastures, causing non-Kazakhs to outnumber the natives and the land to become polluted with toxic waste; in addition, the Soviet government conducted numerous nuclear tests within the borders of Kazakhstan, leaving the land tainted by radioactive fallout and nearly forty million people seriously affected by radiation exposure. Not surprisingly, developing a cohesive national identity continues to be a struggle for the people of Kazakhstan.

Today, Kazakhstan sees a high literacy rate for both males and females, a relatively long life expectancy rate, and universal suffrage at the age of eighteen, among other things. The government is a republic, with an authoritarian president and little governmental control outside of the executive branch; the judicial system operates under Islamic and Roman law. Nearly half (47%) of the nation is Muslim, although most do not adhere strictly to Islamic law, and another large portion of the population follows the Russian Orthodox Church (approximately 44%). In fact, many Kazakhs view Christianity as the religion of the Russian oppressors who ruled them for so long.

Please pray for Scott as he embarks on his journey to this nation in Asia; pray that he would be able to learn the language well and that he would be effective in his work while serving the various ethnic groups that make up this diverse land. You may support Scott financially as well by visiting his website to make a donation.