Friends, It was a joy to be in Tajikistan again and see the love of God in action.  There are now two simple "Houses of Peace" for men.  Both feature bee hives & honey making but one also has a small shop where the brothers use a planner, saw combination tool to make the wooden hives for the bees.  Making hives involves a high degree of skill & patience & one sells for $200.  The village where this home is located has many widows & orphans and the brothers there are able to share with them from the proceeds of the hive making and the honey.  Your gifts made the purchase of the planner/saw possible and that gift is now being multiplied to many!

We do not know of a single home for women at risk in Tajikistan but what was a brothel in a very poor area of Dushanbe has become a house of prayer.  The girls there have come to Jesus and their former clients have stopped banging on the door after being told that it was now a house of prayer.  It was a first for me to pray and share in a former brothel!  It is a one room area off a small courtyard shared by eight people.  The three girls who have become followers of Jesus are working at menial jobs and already sharing food with girls still on the street.  Now even this very poor shelter is slated for demolition.  Pray with us that God will speak to many and provide for a home for women at risk in Dushanbe.  (If you missed the testimony of Ania & Ira simply go to our website given at the bottom and go to their story.)  If you would like more information, please contact us as we will soon have a simple fact sheet and project plan available.  

Our translator in Dushanbe is a young man  named Ozod (Tajik for Freedom!) who speaks several languages and has a passion to engage his generation for the Kingdom of God.  About half of the population of Tajikistan is now between 12 and 20 which means that the another 3 million or so will enter the job market over the next ten years.   A job market so lacking in opportunity that over 60% of heads of households in TJ work outside the country.  Of young adults between 16 and 25, 40% have a smart phone and the percentage is growing.  Those that have the phones receive most of their information through those devices.  Ozod has begun a plan to place Tajik and Uzbek versions of the scripture on a platform to be downloaded to the smart phones.  Powerful in Tajikistan and even more powerful for Uzbekistan which is one of the most repressive countries against followers of Jesus and where bibles are confiscated.  Big shout out asking  that you would help us with this project!  Ozod & friends have already started with their own funds and time but need another $5,000 to make this one operational.  If you would like more information we have a simple fact sheet and project outline to send to you.

We also continue to invest small amounts in friends in five different nations to put the GO into the gospel.  As you know,  if you have followed us for any length of time, we believe that the scriptural mandate and example is that the early church collected funds for two basic purposes- to support the poor and to fund apostolic mission to pioneer the kingdom in new areas.  You will also know that we take Paul's example and instruction to the Ephesian elders in Acts20:33- 35 very seriously and strive to provide for our own living and travel and to give away all that we receive.  It is indeed more blessed to give than to receive!

Thank you for your partnership in the Kingdom

Steve & Marilyn