Testimonies of Hope from Kazakhstan

In partnership with Bibel Mission, through the 1:10 project many people have been reached with the Gospel in Kazakhstan. A total 64000 calendars and 25000 coloring books were distributed there in languages including Kazakh, Russian and Uyghur. More than 100 churches and groups in Kazakhstan participated in this evangelistic outreach.

Most of the 1-10 calendars were sent to South Kazakhstan. Sister Mnawara reports that,

“We have small ministry groups there in the villages of Slavyanka, Ilyich and Zhetysai and in the city of Shymkent. We sent them to those areas, and they distributed these calendars among believers and non-believers. They were very grateful, because the Bible verses in the calendars really reach out to the people’s hearts. Those calendars do provide hope to many people because they speak of trust in one true God. We are also very grateful to you and your participation with us in this ministry.

I personally gave these calendars to some unbelievers, and no one was indifferent. The people are very suspicious of anybody giving anything for ‘free’, let alone something religious. But in this case, many people were very grateful, and some even wept as they took the calendar. “

Below are some other testimonies about the impact of the 1:10 project in Kazakhstan:

1. Andrei was a young man who delivered the load of some paperwork to our office. When we signed all papers and he was ready to go, we offered him a Bible. He exhaled smoke from a cigarette and strongly refused because he said he was Eastern Orthodox and we were Baptists, therefore he could not betray his faith and change for a ‘cult’. We offered him a children's Bible, but he said he had no children... We offered him a calendar with the Word of God, and he gladly agreed. Andrei thanked us sincerely and left. We believe that the seed of hope will fall into Andrei's heart and he will worship Christ and glorify Him.

2. Ivan Ivanovich regularly evangelizes in the village of Tokyr in Pavlodar region. In the morning, while passing by a flock of sheep led by the shepherd Bakhytzhan, the Lord prompted Ivan Ivan Ivanovich to tell Bakhytzhan the Gospel. Bakhytzhan was glad to speak with brother Ivan, and he listened attentively about the Savior who was born to save people from all nations. He also gladly accepted the calendar with the word of God. Please, pray for Bakhytzhan that the Word of hope would bear some good fruit in this villager. There used to be a church in earlier days in Tokyr, and Bakytzhan remembers the Christians who lived there with fondness.  

3. At the end of December in the city of Taraz we had to go to the local hospital for an appointment. We thought it was a good idea to wish other patients and doctors a Merry Christmas. The 1:10 calendars are very nice and apropos for this endeavor. The theme of the calendar is "God of Hope!" - This theme sounded great when we offered visitors to the clinic to be treated with the hope for the better future! People accepted the calendars with joy! Doctors also realized that there was no point of any medical help if there was no hope. Many of them asked for and accepted such calendars for themselves. We believe that the Word of God will encourage the hearts of the oppressed. We gave out about 100 calendars in this hospital.  We also visited our neighbors in a nearby village, and they were very happy to receive the calendars and testimonies about the Savior who was born in Bethlehem