Letter from Chris Hena, Missionary in Kazakhstan

From: chris hena <koisey@yahoo.com>
Sent: Mon, 9 Jun 2008 9:54 am

Dear family and friends,

It's been a long time since you heard from me. When I got my DSL, I was excited and said I would be in touch with all of you more often, but I was wrong. It's been go and go and all the time.

Our contract with the Dutch NGO ended last Oct. In Nov, they send an auditing team from Germany for a week to audit our books. Praise the Lord that every cent was accounted for. I am very thankful.

Last Nov, I received a box of medication from one of my supporting churches back in the US. When I was contacted about the box I was delighted. Little did I know we would end up in court. The story is long and confusing, but finally we won the case in May.In deed the Lord was glorified. Imagine how many months we had to spend behind this box of needed supplies. I am delighted it is over, but the box of medication still sits in our office. The custom is still deciding what to do with it. Since we do not have to pay the money they wanted, the box can sit as long as they want to. Crazy stuff going on around here.

We hosted a dental team from Washington State for a Month in April and May. They worked in four of our villages. The same team came the year before, so it was fun to see them again. People came from other villages for their dental care. The team served them all, even though they came from villages that we do not work in. Because of that, we've been asked to work in those villages. This is good news for us. The team did a wonderful job for the people, given the dental situation in the region and country as a whole. Our schedule for the Month was; to leave Semey for the villages on Sunday evening after church, and returned Friday evening. This enable us to have more time for setting up things and having our devotion before work. The Lord did some very special things with our health workers and patients.

The best story for that Month was when Kris, one of the dentist got bitten by a huge black dog early one morning. Usually, Kris would get up very early to go prayer walking. One morning while walking, the dog came behind her and almost raped her thigh out. The story became even more interesting when I was told they could not give her rabies shot at our local health post. Instead, they send us about 45 mins drive to the region. When we got there, we were told to go back to the local health post where she was bitten. Oh well! We got back into the van and drove another 45 mins to get to the local health post. Praise the Lord Kris was finally able to get her first shot. Once she got the first, it was easier to get the second and etc. What a deal. You know what, Kris was claimed the whole time and very patient with the system. They refused to give us the balance shot to take with us, since we were leaving that village for our last village. When we got to Semey, I called our partner and told him the story. He contacted a local clinic in Semey and Kris got her last shot. After Kris and the team left, the village was in hot water for their handling of the case. Obviously I got into trouble with the local authorities. So, no big deal. Imagine what I have to put up with daily.

For the last several Months, I have felt like we are returning to Communism by some of the things and experiences we have had here as foreigners. I will not go into any details, but please remember to pray for us here. As a result of what is happening, we've decided NOT to have our VBS this Summer. We will just wait and watch the situation. Obviously, it breaks my heart, but sometimes little wisdom can go a long way.

On a happier note, I am still enjoying my work with the people in the villages. We have great health workers now that are working to help their communities. People are becoming interested in taking their own health care into their hands. This is making our work easier for us.

Our weather is very hot. It took a longer time to warm up this year, but now I wish it was cooler. My garden is doing very well. A lot of work to do and not much time, but I am enjoying having a place to go to after my long days. My health is great and I am thankful to the Lord. I am having some problems with my fingers, but not enough to prevent me from working in the garden.

I am working on updating my web page with my pictures. Hopefully, you can check up the site tomorrow or the day after. If you have forgotten my web page address, here it is. www.picaseweb.google/koisey.com

Thanks to all of you for your prayers and generous gifts to our work here. You've made it possible for me to serve in this difficult part of the world. The Lord is faithful and will keep and protect us as we serve Him under these conditions.

In Him,
Chris