Wrapping up the TACO 2012.

Our last shows in Kyrgyzstan were at elementary schools and a university.  Some local students joined David doing hip hop during our show at the Ak Bata School in Tokmok and shared their fancy moves.

We were warmly received by an enthusiastic and engaged audience at the International University of Central Asia.  Many students there are studying English so we had great conversations after the show.  We were gifted with IUCA hats and t-shirts and hope to keep in touch with students we met.

Our 11 shows in Kyrgyzstan all went well and much truth was shared.  We learned after our show at the Disabled Men's Home that some men who had responded to the invitation had approached believing caretakers asking what they should do now since they just gave their lives to Jesus!  We also heard that students had told believing teachers they wanted to know more about the message we had shared.  We know God is at work far beyond our hour and half show!

On our way back to Istanbul we had a 14 hour layover in Moscow and did some fun sightseeing around Red Square.  All the trouble we had getting our Russian visas were forgotten as we experienced the sights, sounds and tastes of this historical city.

We had one last show in Istanbul at Cevahir Mall before heading back to the states.  Katie was a bit sore from running the full Istanbul Intercontinental Marathon two days before but still managed to pull off a good show.  The stage was round and a bit wobbly since it had the capability of elevating at least 25 meters!  Unfortunately there was a bit of drama at the end of our show when we did a drawing with names we had collected from interested spectators and tried to hand out DVD's with a message as prizes.  The management had been informed this would take place but still got upset and caused a scene.  We know that thousands still heard a clear message of hope and we pray that God will use that truth to have an eternal impact on their lives.

International University of Central Asia

Moscow!

Istanbul Cevahir Mall

Back in Kyrgyz-Land

In Kyrgyzstan we've done 8 shows so far in Tokmok, in villages nearby
and in Bishkek.  Almost all shows have been in schools and we have
been able to share a limited message about God's love.  We only have
one translator so not many real conversations after shows; just lots
of autographs and photos.  At the encouragement of our organizer, we
have been writing Bible references and phrases like "God loves you",
"God is truth", and "God is for you" along with our autographs so
hopefully the students will find a way to translate them later.  After
each show we do a quiz with the students to see if they were paying
attention to the show and then hand out DVD's with a message to the
kids as prizes.

Today was a special show at an institution for disabled men.  There
were over 100 men and many were up front dancing around to the music
the whole time and they all seemed to be thoroughly enjoying
themselves, totally uninhibited.  It was really precious to watch,
though heartbreaking to see some of the men's conditions!  After the
show, our organizer shared and about 20 men raised their hands to
receive the Lord!  It was very exciting!

Three more shows to go…

Another good note, we all received our passports back today with
Russian visas in them!  So, we are good to go for the flight back!
Glad that ordeal is over!  Whew!

Thanks so much for praying with us for the people of Kyrgyzstan.

The Mall Tour in Turkey

Our Turkey tour has come to a close and we all concur that it was very worthwhile.  We did 11 shows, 8 of which were at shopping malls.  We were well received in all of them and many graciously provided meals for us.

Dustin was able to share more deeply with a young man after a show in Gaziantep who was blown away by how open and sure Dustin was about his faith.  We also got to meet another young man who came to faith as a result of our show in his city two years ago.  After a park show, Katie had the opportunity to share the full message with a young lady who was very interested in hearing more about God.

We were both interviewed after our show at Prime Mall in Adana for a national news service.  The show received press all across Turkey. 

We believe we maximized our outreach opportunities through mass seeds sown from the stage, conversations following the events and hundreds of surveys collected at shows with people's contact info for future follow up.

Thanks for praying with us for lasting fruit from these events.  Next stop…Kyrgyzstan.