Kyrgzstan Update from In-Country Believer
June 16, 2010 – 11:42 amA friend of Missions Mandate sent us information regarding the conflict in Kyrgzstan that he received from a Christian family who is ministering near the capital city of Bishkek. His update helps us understand the political landscape in which Christians are ministering:
It is around midnight the 15th of June. Here in Bishkek things have remained calm over the last few days. As most of you may already know, the southern part of Kyrgyzstan has become a battlefield. We do not have much information here in the country, and most of it cannot be verified. At the very least it is obvious that the government is unable to stop the killing of Uzbeks by gangs of Kyrgyz which roam at will in the South.
The death toll officially is well above a hundred, and the true death toll may never be known, but it is at least several hundred. Well over 100,000 Uzbeks have fled across the border into Uzbekistan.
This morning as I left for Sukaluke to work at the orphanage everything in Bishkek was quiet and normal. However, when I returned this evening road blocks had been set up on all main roads entering Bishkek. Everyone was stopped and asked questions and our vehicles searched.
As we come into the evening all of the stores that normally stay open in our neighborhood have shut down and locked up for the night. _______ called me about 30 minutes ago to let me know that the word on the street is that the leaders of the killing and unrest in the south are saying they will do the same in Bishkek in four days. So we once again find ourselves in a very tense situation.
The government will be unable to stop them if they carry through with their threat, of this we are certain. In general there is very little being said by the interim government and what is being said is often contradictory.
So we are taking this information seriously and asking you to pray for the [foreign and national believers]. In the next few days we will know how this will go. We are not trusting in ourselves or in others but only in Him.
This is the environment in which believers in Kyrgzstan find themselves. We need to pray that God gives them the grace to trust in Him as they continue to live out and share the gospel in their communities.
1 Timothy 2:1-4 is certainly applicable to this situation: “I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
Related MM posts about Kyrgzstan conflict:
Informative worldwide media coverage:
