A Christmas to Remember

The Lutheran Church of Christ the Savior in downtown Almaty, Kazakhstan, was known as a multi-racial tri-lingual Lutheran church. One Christmas the members of LCCS gathered canned goods and clothing for a group of German Lutherans living in a small town about 20 min to the west of the city.

What happened was this: After the fall of the Berlin Wall all ethnic Germans were allowed to return to unified Germany. Many Germans had been exiled during the years of Soviet repression to Kazakhstan. In 1993 there were more than 250 small groups scattered all across the country, some meeting in homes, some with small church buildings.

By 1998 most of the able-bodied and younger people had migrated to Germany. The small church in this two was sold, only a hand full of elderly were left. These people you see in the pictures.

You also see some of the members of LCCS on the day they delivered the Christmas gifts. Many Christmas carols were sung, the old familar story was read from Luke, tears were shed, friendships begun and cemented.

Too often, in mission situations, aid comes from impersonal strangers and foreigners. Here Lutherans in Kazakhstan were helping other Lutherans with the gifts and resources God gave to them to share.

Here are some pictures of the event.

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