May 12, 2007

Cast all your anxiety upon God, for He cares for you.

1 Peter 5:7

5/7/07, Monday: Saw and briefly chatted with Laima, a young girl who survived the massacre. Please pray especially for her " “ of course all who survived the attack have been forever changed, but this young girl was more greatly affected than many others. I don"t know if she still does so, but at least for some time after the massacre Laima often drew pictures of the terrorists, and would then set them on fire as a way of somehow trying to pay them back for all the evil that they did. (If you Google " ˜BBC Laima" along with the name of the town I"m in, you"ll probably quickly find the article written about her; I recommend you do so, to see what her and other survivors have been through and still live with.) I visited Mairbek and his family, and gave them 3 Farn CDs, the CD God blessed me to finish which is in the Ossetian language. (Mairbek survived the massacre, but his mom was killed.) Later stopped by and visited Khetag and his mom and dad " “ Khetag was blessed to quickly escape when the attack strted, but his younger/only brother was held hostage for the three days and was killed. I gave them some Christian music CDs, and Khetag showed me lots of photos on his computer. The topic of praying to icons came up, and I asked Khetag, " ˜Why pray to icons when God Is More Powerful?," which he seemed to get. ‚   ‚  

5/8/07, Tuesday: Had lunch w/ Nahzee (the grandma I live with here) " “ she lost her granddaughter, Sofia, in the attack. Nahzee is a strong believer, as was Sofia . Nahzee’s daughter, Fatima, still blames Nahzee for letting Sofia go to school early on September 1, 2004 , the day the hostage crisis began; Fatima had told Nahzee not to let Sofia go to that first day of school early. Nahzee shared how that obviously is so painful for her to hear " “ who knew what was about to happen?. Later in the day I went to Alina’s birthday party at a caf ƒ ©, and had a nice time with her and her friends. Alina turned 14, and " “ along with her older brother " “ both survived the school massacre. In addition to Alina, there were at least two other young people there at the party who also survived the attack; one, named Alan, showed me a scar he has on the back of his head from being injured there " “ he now can’t play sports or something because of his injury. The Lord blessed me with a really interesting opportunity, in rapping for a bunch of Alina’s friends who wanted me to do so. I told them that the music was about God " “ and that I think musicians should not just complain, but give answers and hope. Went and visited another Alina later " “ she also survived the terrorist attack. She really wants to go to school in Chicago , and so I said I’d look into schools/scholarship possibilities (I think Alina still has at least two years more of high school, and she really wants to study in the US ). IF ANY OF YOU HAVE ANY GOOD CONTACTS, PLEASE LET ME KNOW! God blessed us with a good visit, and I encouraged her to pursue her dream of becoming a singer. I then went and visited Madina and family; gave them two " ˜Arms open wide’ CDs, the CD in English which The Lord recently enabled me to finish. (Madina lost her younger brother, Marat, in the school massacre.) I shared with her how the first song on the CD was written with her in mind " “ a song to encourage people that The Lord understands us, even when others don’t. The Lord blessed me with a really good visit with them. Alan (her dad) asked me to cook them " ˜an American dinner,’ and so I said I would, and hope to do so this week. At one point in the evening, Madina, Alanka (Madina’s 5 year old sister) and I were sitting at the table, and little Alanka asked me, " ˜Do you know Marat (their brother who was killed)? Did you see him?’ To be honest, I don’t even recall 100% how I answered" ¦ not only was the question awkward, but even more so because since Alanka is only 5, her family didn’t yet tell her what really happened to Marat. Little Alanka still thinks he’s at school, and asks why he hasn’t come home yet.

5/9/07, Wednesday: Went to fellowship in the morning. After service, Nahzee (the grandma I stay with), Zalina (a 17 year old believer), and I worked outside for a lot of the day. Zalina told me how she was Sofia, Dzera, and Larisa ’s friend. (Sofia, Dzera, and Larisa were all Christian girls who lived on this street, but were killed in the terrorist attack.) The Lord blessed me to help answered some of Zalina’s Bible questions, as well as share with an elder believer who dropped by to visit and who had brought us a desert she had made. (Here in Bsln, that is quite common " “ neighbors drop by and visit one another, and bring things they’ve cooked and so forth.)

5/10/07, Thursday: Had a very nice visit with Raiya and family; Raiya and her husband, Taimuraz " “ a Baptist pastor " “ lost four of their five children in the terrorist attack. They are normal, everyday people, and true modern-day-Jobs. Despite all the terror they’ve lived through, all the tears they’ve cried, and all the pain that lingers, they’re still serving The Lord. (Forget all that crap which so many of the charlatans on " ˜Christian’ TV preach about, regarding their misconceptions of what faith really is" ¦ ‚  the saints here epitomize what is means to truly believe and trust in The Lord.) Raiya broke her right ankle and lower right leg about a month ago. She’s doing better now, but still has about a half month to stay off it. ‚  Please pray for her, and for her older brother (also named Taimuraz) who doesn’t yet believe.

5/12/07, Saturday: The Lord blessed me to have a really nice visit with Lena , who lost her only child/daughter in the terrorist attack (Inga, who was about 24). I was able to share that many sent their greetings and still pray, for which she said thank you. She showed me lots of photos of Inga, and told me a lot about her. Inga always insisted her mom come even when she was going out with her friends " “ her mom would protest, telling her that she didn’t have to go since she was older " “ but Inga would still insist. Lena put on a video that was put together in memory of Inga, and then a video from Inga’s last birthday party " “ it was filmed at a local caf ƒ ©, on January 4, 2004 (Inga was born on 1/4). The video was very long " “ maybe 3 hours or so, and covered the long party. It was so strange watching the video" ¦ for there was Inga, so young and full of life" ¦ smiling all the time, and very beautiful" ¦ hugging friends, dancing, drinking, talking on the cell phone. Lena told me something like, " ˜Watching this, I can’t believe she’s really gone.’ From all Lena and Zhurik (a friend who dropped by and was also great friends with Inga) told me, and from what I myself saw in that video, Inga was one of the most genuinely/naturally beautiful Ossetian girls I’ve ever seen, continually smiling from ear to ear, and truly in love with her mom and her friends " “ a serious, but so full-of-life girl. Inga actually had no real reason to be at School No. 1 on that day, except that she went with her neighbor’s children to the school. Inga herself had been a teacher in Khumalag (a nearby village), but had stopped teaching and was halfway finished with her plans to open her own store. Inga, like Lena , loved to sing. Lena told me that they were on such good terms, and that especially with Inga being grown up, they really were friends and not just mother and daughter. Lena and Zhurik shared how now practically no one calls or visits Lena . Lena said she goes nowhere now; she only goes to the cemetery and sits at home, unless she has to go the the medical clinic for something, or buy groceries " “ other than that, she just sits at home. Alone.

Please pray for:

• Nahzee, for God to comfort and strengthen her heart
• Alina, that The Lord will open a door for her to study in Chicago
• Zalina, for her to grow strong in her faith
• Raiya, that The Great Physician will thoroughly and quickly heal her leg and ankle
• Taimuraz, to surrender his heart to Jesus
• Tsira’s son and daughter, to open their hearts to The Savior
• Lena, that God might give her hope and meaning to life " “ and to find Jesus
• God’s blessing on the English, guitar, and Bible reading sessions I’m starting to lead this week

I’m so very grateful for all your love and prayers and support for this ministry; rejoice to see how God is working in and through us to touch lives with His love! And all the glory be unto Him.

In Jesus The Holy One of Yisrael,

jason
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Because God cares for you, cast all your anxiety upon Him.

1 Peter 5:7