Kimmie Taylor: A Historic Event
Wow! What a trip.
It's a struggle to put into words everything that happened! If you missed my last update, a few weeks ago GAiN sent me and a team of volunteers to Central Asia for 10 days. Our purpose was to partner with the local staff team to host vision clinics for communities with little to no access to proper medical care. Our team consisted of five volunteers and two GAiN trip leaders. Our objective was to do five days of vision clinics in the mountain region north of the capital. In total we saw 304 people, gave away 273 pairs of glasses, and handed out school supplies to 200 students!
Our mission on all of these trips to is help our national staff teams increase their effectiveness, build credibility, and gain access to new communities! Since we were there for 10 days, we had the chance to build really meaningful relationships with the national staff members we were working with. We ate, slept, and did life together. On this trip in particular there were no showers, toilets, heat (for the 40 degree nights), or beds! All facts we didn’t learn until we’d arrived in the village.
One evening as we sat under the shadow of the mountains eating dinner, I got into a conversation with one of the national staff members about what life is like for him as a Christian in his village. He and his family are the only Christians in the region. Many people in his village know he and his family are Christians, and his wife faces the constant threat of losing her job for it. He went on to say that many of the men from his village have left to fight for terrorist organizations. The men who remain in the village have threatened to kill him and promised if a war ever breaks out, he is the first person they will come to kill. It was sobering to learn about his reality and remember the religious freedoms we have.
As he continued to share about his life and ministry, he expressed how important this GAiN trip was for them and how significant our presence was going to be for the effectiveness of their ministry. In each village we entered, we were the first Westerners who had ever passed through. But we didn't just pass through, we stopped and spent time with the people; drinking tea in their homes, visiting their schools, talking to the village leaders, and caring for them through our vision clinics. At one visit to a school, a student thanked us for coming and shared that this was a historic event for their community! It felt undeserved, but just our mere presence was bringing honor to the whole village. At every village we visited, the people knew we were coming at the request of our national staff partners. We got to watch as former hostility or disapproval toward the national staff team was overridden by gratitude for bringing our team. We got to watch as credibility was built, access was gained, and the ministry of the national staff was increasing in effectiveness. Thank you for being with me on this trip as my ministry partners!
Below are some photos from the trip and the remote mountain villages where we spent much of our time. It was a beautiful country with beautiful people!
prayer requests
Safety for our partners in Central Asia as they continue their ministry and seek to build stronger relationships with the villages we visited.Wisdom in choosing a church.
A new leader for our department (our former leader stepped down effective Oct 1).
Prayers for a soft heart as to how the Lord is moving in my life.
