As I was getting on a connecting flight in Charlotte I saw a fellow wearing a Beijing Olympics sweatshirt. I found out he competed there for Kazakhstan, so I told him "Salamatzas ba" (hello in Kazakh) and we chatted until they called my boarding zone. As I was on the phone telling Joyce about how cool the encounter was he sat next to me! I told him about my performances in Beijing during those Olympics, and he showed me his photo with Michael Phelps. He's a Christian, and he showed me the cross on his necklace. He explained that it's a bit corroded from the chlorine because he wears it during his practices and competitions! We prayed together on the tarmac, especially that when he competes in March to qualify for the London Olympics that he will succeed. Join us in praying that he will, and that he will carry his witness there to people from around the world. The person who taught me Kazakh phrases runs a theatre in Almaty, Kazakhstan, so I'm praying that my new friend can connect with her during his month home.
I was transferring notes from an old draft of Views of the Manger, so I was able to give him the script to read on his next leg to Kiev. Pray it has a lasting impact.
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On the way home tonight I was going to pick up food from a place I've frequented in the past (to practice my Ewondo), and it was closed down. So I passed a crêpe shop and it caught my eye. The woman making the crêpe had a unique accent, so I asked her where she was from. She said, "Kazakhstan," so without needing to look it up since I'd posted it only a couple of hours earlier I said, "Salamatzas ba." She beamed.
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