If you cant make it to Mecca...

Its cold here, really cold, so on a whim, I asked my language teacher if she would take us (her students) to her husbands home town, a city in the South of KZ. I didnt think she would say yes, and I didnt think that my teammates would go for it, but only three days after I mentioned this, we were on our way to Turkistan. This is an interesting city. Ancient in lifespan, it sits in the southern part of a country where Islam has become nominal at its greatest. The city is built around an ancient mausoleum; the tradition is that for those Muslims that cannot make it to Mecca for their hajj, that they can actually make two trips to this place, and that will be sufficient. I had seen pictures of this place before, but I was not ready for the intricate beauty that this old building held. We were not allowed to take pictures inside, but I will try to paint a picture. People filing in, placing money in the alms bins, rubbing the walls of the tombs, praying at the tombs to the people in the graves; there was such a reverence and worship there. It was eerie. There was also such a spirit of evil, of bondage. What a picture the Lord gave me of a faith that is based on nothing that is eternal. Those heroes of the Islamic faith, or at least of the Kazakh tradition, are in the grave. They arent going anywhere; nor is there any work left for them to do. How different is that from the man who defeated death and the grave! If you ever get a chance to go to a mosque or a mausoleum, please take it. It will change the way that you intercede on the behalf of millions of people who hate everything you stand for.

I couldnt resist putting this picture on here. Here we are again, cramped in the backseat of a car; with our winter warmest. I think we could have fit one more person!