Craig and Debbie Rayner
Summer Work: Craig- We are in the middle of the hot summer months. Last year we were spared the heat of summer, and this year has also been a wet summer, with the grass and trees all still green. Debbie and I have been working out at the new school property, running cable, looking after teams, painting some of the furniture that needs some love and care and looking after the small emergencies for students seeking transcripts for university entrance. Most of the students and staff are away during the summer months, enjoying time with family and friends and strengthening the relationships that they need to remain here in Kazakhstan. Debbie and I have been enjoying long days, travelling to the site, working and travelling home again.
The new school is a 30-35 minute car drive from our place. We have been waiting for Google to do a new photo, as the new building is not currently displayed on google maps. GoogleMap Link The link will show you our apartment and the new school location.
Building Pace: Deb- Who is never slow …??? Well sometimes it feels like it! What we know to be true, that our Papa is faithful and his timing is always right and waiting on Him we will not be ashamed…it is all there in black and white in the book. And yet as we look at our 'closer to finished building' that still has no tiles laid, and is still without toilets installed it can be a struggle to remember whose school this is…not actually our community’s school but it belongs to Papa. Did we hear wrong about moving out of the old school in June? I don’t think so. Do we always make the best decisions? Well no, but I stand continually amazed that in all these things, we where chosen to work with Papa and that He trusts us enough to give us space to learn from Him. So yes we will most likely not start the school year in the new building – the next few weeks will tell for sure. We will be pulling parts from the containers to sort out books and get everyone set up with what ever the next part of the plan is… my dearest hope is that we continue to learn from Papa to walk in all the turbulence of life with peace that passes all understanding…and bring Joy into each day.
Visiting Teams: Deb- One of my favourite things in the last couple of weeks has been having teams of Korean visitors come and talk to Papa in the school. I know that motivating people to work is not something we can force, but I have had the fun of seeing teams move mountains in song and chats. The Korean style of groups talking with Papa is a bit different than I am used to….it is loud and I mean LOUD, everyone shouting at the same time. Even the school community starting our work days with seven laps around the building has had an effect. It has been quite funny, seeing the reaction of the workers to all this, no one is asleep when we walk around. And then there are questions of “What are they doing?” "What is wrong?" and "Why do they think we need them?" The local staff and the builders are talking about it all, and I believe it is all part of the bigger goal of sharing the Truth and Light in this land.
Craig- One of the best things about summer for those that stay in country is the number of teams that come to see Kazakhstan. As part of Central Asia, Kazakhstan enjoys a small percentage of the teams that travel all over the world. Like all of the statistics about dad's work, Kazakhstan is one of those countries overlooked, when the truth is that people are desparate to connect with their dad. We have been fortunate to see a number of teams at the old and new school, running camps for children, being put to work and / or drawing dad's attention to the circumstances of the area. It has been great fun to be a small part in facilitating these teams, and hopefully raise the profile of this forgotten area of the world with dad's family.
Hong Kong
Canada
Australia
U.S.A.