Uzbekistan
“I Felt As If I Were in Paradise”: How a Summer Camp in Central Asia Pulled a Young Man Back From the Edge
Born with severe cerebral palsy and abandoned by his parents, Ruslan arrived at camp planning to end his life. He left knowing a Father who would never leave. “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” – Psalm 147:3 When Ruslan* was three years old, his parents looked at the son they had been given – a boy born with severe cerebral palsy – and decided they could not keep him. They were ready to place him in a state orphanage. In Central Asia, that decision is functionally a sentence. Institutional care for children with disabilities in the former Soviet republics has long been documented as among the most dehumanizing forms of childhood survival in the world. *Name changed for security reasons. A grandmother heard. She intervened. After many conversations, Ruslan’s parents agreed to release him to her care instead. She has been the one constant in his life…
Impacting Uzbekistan for Christ
Even though Christians in Uzbekistan often suffer religious persecution at the hands of local authorities, the School Without Walls (SWW) coordinator in the capital city of Tashkent, and a group of SWW graduates, organized a round table discussion on the Next Generation Professional Leaders Initiative (NGPLI) for 35 young professionals from four different churches. The lack of religious freedom in Uzbekistan makes NGPLI even more relevant in that context, as traditional means of sharing the Gospel are very risky. “I’m prepared to go out of my way to help my clients resolve problems with our product. I do my work well and respect my clients. They see this and value it,” shared Shahrat (name changed), a Christian businessman who spoke about the impact his faith has had in his professional context. “I never hide my faith, and my good relationship with my clients allows me to share the Gospel with…