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| Things are different here in Almaty. For instance, there are no free refills on you soda pop, no unlimited food buffets like America, and we don’t have unlimited high speed internet. Things are expensive here as well. So, you can understand how simple things we take for granted every day in America become precious here. For some reason, even though I am invested in college football out here, I am in dire need of ESPN. Our “man” family desperately misses watching the baseball playoffs, ESPN college football and our NFL Cardinals. We do not have TV. My dear friend and former coworker in Chi Alpha on The UA, Ray McBroom graciously put the first 4 games on DVD and got them to me. What an incredible blessing. We love to watch the commercials from Tucson!!! So we have watched the Central Michigan game, NAU, Iowa, and Oregon State games. In desperation I tried to secure a radio station carrying the Wildcats football games. Not doable. Finally I ponied up and paid for the UA All Access which allows us to hear the games live via the internet. How fun it is to hear Brian Jeffries and Lamont Lovett calling the games live. We get up on Sunday mornings in the wee hours to hook up and listen with great anticipation. It must be like the 1940’s when everyone gathered around the radio for entertainment. We do not take Circle K, QT, and 7-11 for granted. We could even go for a Golden Corral! Wow, I’ll take the lines in Wal-Mart now. And American fast food not taken for granted any more. E. Scott | | |
| Tien Shan International School is known as a premier college preparatory institution. Mercer and Marcus each have the privilege attending this school. When we first arrived in country, Mercer would get home at 4 pm, take a 30 minute break and then begin studies. He would study until 9:30 pm and then go to bed. He got up at 4:30 am and studied until 7:15, then ate breakfast, showered and was out at 7:45 am. Marcus’ wasn’t quite as bad, but he studied hard as well. It has slowed down a little now, but it is still rigorous. The boys enjoy school, and as Americans they are in the minority. Mercer has only 4 Americans in his 8th grade class. Marcus has only 4 as well in his 6th grade class. It is truly international. They received their report card this week. Crystal and I are very proud as the Two Boys continue their academic excellence. Bascially, straight A’s on the scale out here which is quite an accomplishment. I am going to give you the comments from Marcus’ teacher: “Marcus has proven to be a great addition to our sixth grade class this year. He has a special gift for understanding the reading concepts that we have been covering, evidenced by his thoughtful paragraph answers to specs lod questions. I was very impressed by the detail and strong writer’s voice in his personal narrative. In science, Marcus has been successful by keeping his notebook in order and preparing for quizzes well in advance. Most of all, I appreciate Marcus’s love for reading as he is always ready with a book! You have great leadership potential, Marcus. Keep up the good work!” Marcus is blessed with a very hard working and committed teacher. Mercer has a group of teachers so he doesn't receive written comments, but the verbal comments that come to us are always complementary of his work and behavior. 
Lastly, Crystal spoke at the 4th Gathering this past Tuesday evening. She did a remarkable job and was so led. It was a powerful presentation that struck the heart of all who were there. She had been preparing many years for that word and it was evident. Excellent job! E. Scott | | |
| Crystal spoke at our fourth Gathering this Tuesday. She did an excellent job in delivery and content. We had another significant turnout with 65 in attendance. Students are enjoying The Gathering and we are building momentum each week. Many girls want Crystal to be their role model and I hope they live that out. We have students over to our apartment very frequently. LIfe Groups are growing and doing well also. We have three consistent Life Groups now and we are encouraged. We would like to add a few more by the end of the school year. Last night we had our OMF official fun October event: Movie Night. We watched the movie Hitch with Russian subtitles. Again, we had over 60 in attendance. It was fun to listen to them all laugh. It is all about relationship. A good core is developing and I would estimate we have at least 80 students involved right now. Following Movie Night someone was dunked. Very cool. E. Scott | | |
| Last night we were a part of our first big student party in Kazakhstan. It was hosted by Work and Travel/World Exchange which is an organization that teaches English and prepares and assists students to work and travel in the United States during the summer break. World Exchange is owned by a young Kazakh woman who is like minded as us. We have been given the privilege to work with World Exchange, teaching students English and American culture but also having the opportunity to connect them with One More Friend. Our Chialphastan team provided part of the entertainment component of the party . The team did a superior job in planning and implementation. Our preparty stations included the dice game “Cattle Around the Trough”, Wii, and Twister. This was new for many of the students and interestingly the dice game was a big hit. We put together the game, Who Wants To Be A M & Maire which was a perfect take off from Who Want To Be A Millionaire. We had the sound effects, graphics, and lifelines. It was an excellent set up and a lot of fun as students answered questions related to the United States of America. Chialphastan also exhibited the Hanna Montana line dance and then got the students out to attempt it as well. It was a lot fun and very interactive. 
Our part climaxed with the new “wedding dance” that has been a craze in the U. S. It was awesome as the American wedding was explained and then the team came in just like in the wedding procession, but dancing down the isle rather than walking. I was the groom and cut some good moves. Of course, Crystal was the bride and she was so beautiful. It was fun to marry her again and honestly, she looked more gorgeous to me last night than ever. The “wedding dance” was a big hit and culminated the night with the students singing and celebrating. I wish we had the wedding on video. 
It was a great hit and many connections were made. We have our fourth Gathering on Tuesday and Crystal is speaking. Every day we have here is a privilege. E. Scott | | |
| After two weeks of battling severe illness I am at 95%. Mercer on the other hand is still fighting. He is now battling the respiratory stage of the infection but he is healing up. Please keep praying for divine health. We held our third Gathering of One More Friend last night. As in typical university work, our meeting room was moved at the last moment causing us to scramble. But, although the new room was much smaller we pulled off the set up and we were ready to begin at 7pm. Everyone on Chialphastan was feeling good and excited about what was about to take place. All had worked hard to this point and dividends were expected. No one was disappointed. The room was set up with the perfect ambiance with front and side projection, candles, tapestry, and carpet. And it was packed beyond capacity with students! Students from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Belgium, Italy, and the U. S. A. were all in attendance. The interaction was superb as we began with the game, Show Me Da Money followed up with some of the coolest videos Chialphastan produced for announcements and Life Group promotion. I should put them on You Tube for all to see. We also had a cool shout out DVD that Chi Alpha at Sam Houston State U had made specifically for our One More Friend group. It is significant when the students realize this is a global movement and not just some little thing someone is attempting to do in Kazakhstan. Mike, who is from Belgium and is part of the Chialphastan team is our Gathering coordinator. He told me we had at least 50 first time attendees at The Gathering! It was hard to get an exact number but we had at least 70 in attendance and that is conservative; students from all walks of life and faith. Every day we have here is a privilege. E. Scott | | |
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