[2025 Ramadan] Day 5 Beyond the Silk Road, let the light of the Lord shine to the ends of the earth! Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan is the site of the Battle of Talas, a war that marked the beginning of the conversion to Islam of the Turk peoples who populated much of Central Asia. The Battle of Talas was a five-day battle between the Abbasid dynasty of Islam and the Tang dynasty of China on the banks of the Talas River, which straddles Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. It was an unprecedented victory for the Islamic army over the Tang army when their allies, the Turkic Karluks, betrayed the then-discredited Tang army. In the aftermath of the defeat at Talas, the Chinese were no longer able to exert influence in Central Asia beyond the Tian Shan Mountains until the modern era. That was the trigger for the Central Asian and Turkic peoples to embrace Islam after the Battle of Talas, to the point where they now say, “Kyrgyzstan is Muslim,” and choose Islam as their national identity. As a result of this one-time betrayal by the Turkic peoples, Central Asia and the Turkic peoples have been living under the influence of Islam all this time without realizing that they are being falsely deceived. In the midst of this long darkness cast by Islam, Kyrgyz Muslims need the soldiers of light to shine the light of the gospel.

People in Kyrgyzstan don't think much of Ramadan, so it's hard to see it in street ads or articles without deliberately looking for it. Passersby on the street don't look hungry and even eat food while walking down the street. Religious people, on the other hand, find their identity in Islam, so they fast for Ramadan. They talk about how fasting is good for you and how Ramadan isn't hard, and they brag about themselves alongside Islam. It is my hope that these masks of pretense will come off, and that Ramadan fasting will lead them to wonder what the truth is in the midst of their hunger and the longing in their souls.

90% of Kyrgyz youth’s dream is to leave the country, and most Kyrgyz locals have no hope in their home country, Kyrgyzstan. On February 1, 2025, the Kyrgyz government implemented a new religion law to strictly regulate the activities of religious groups: only pre-registered people can practice religion in government-approved places, and even pre-registered people are prohibited from practicing religion in places not approved by the government. Kyrgyz authorities have raided home worship services and fined people upwards of $100 per person for posting a personal birthday celebration video on social media that included a brief moment of praise. While this has had a chilling effect on the Kyrgyz church, it also serves as a reminder of how precious each service can be.

With a newly revised religion law and a deeply rooted history of Islam that began with the Battle of Talas, it is time for the Kyrgyz church to rise up. This year, God put out his heart among the team that He would untie the ties in Kyrgyzstan, just as a tied knot needs to be untied, and as we worshiped in the midst of Talas with several short-term teams and local Central Asian believers, God was pleased with the worship and actually changed the spiritual tide in Kyrgyzstan!

Ice cap melts in silence, so too are the frozen hearts of the Kyrgyz slowly thawing with the light of Jesus' love. And then, as the ice cap melts, Kyrgyz and Central Asia will become a strong and powerful river that will reach out to hungry and thirsty souls and peoples to the ends of the earth. Already in Kyrgyzstan, friends who grew up in a Muslim environment are being trained as missionaries to reach the ends of the earth in faith. Upon the ground where the roots of Islam have been uprooted, the roots of the Lord's kingdom missionary movement will grow out of the Kyrgyz.

(Today’s Prayer)

Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. (Romans 3:20)

Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. 28 For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. (Romans 3:27-28)

May this be a time for Muslims in Kyrgyzstan to come out into the light of the gospel, unmasked by the love of the cross of Jesus Christ, not by the Islamic fast of Ramadan, which they have used as a mask to cover their weaknesses

“I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles” (Isaiah 42:6)

May the Kyrgyz church be another light to the Gentiles, reaching to the ends of the earth with the light of the truth in Jesus Christ.