Joe Ragan

I leave tonight for Almaty.  An SBC official is coming to meet with Baptist Union Presidents in Almaty and I am going to help with those meetings.
I will try to update while I am there but won’t promise anything.  I should have time to do so if I can find a connection.

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I am so fortunate that I have an apartment in the center of the city. Yesterday, I needed to take something to a repair shop. It is within walking distance (15-20 minutes). However, I was in a rush, so I hopped on the city bus and was there in 5.
On my return [...]

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Getting set up in a new city takes time, right? I felt like Monday was a productive day for me…
First, I went to the bank to open a new account. After getting across to the bookkeeper what I wanted in my “caveman” Russian, she set about preparing the paperwork. At first, after [...]

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I “celebrated” four years of serving on the field with the IMB recently. I can’t believe 4 years have flown by…
While on the field, I have made it a habit of calling my mom, usually about every two weeks. Whenever I would call her, I usually just listened. Mom liked to talk [...]

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Today I was at the Baptist Union office. They have a terrific map which indicates the major people groups in the major cities of Kazakhstan and of each oblast (like a state).
Here is the breakdown in the city of Karaganda and the oblast
Russians: 52.1% [...]

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Obviously, someone has been praying for me. THANK YOU. Today, I was driving home from Saran (about 20 km from Karaganda). I was talking on the phone, not going fast in city traffic. I looked up and there was a black Mercedes turning right and had stopped for pedestrian traffic. [...]

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James and Julie (colleagues) assembled a small group of dedicated ministry helpers for Temirtau.  Boris, Marina and Julia travel 20 km each Sunday to go to Temirtau.  Marina and Julia lead SS classes for 2 different locations while Boris leads the worship service in one place.
I admire their willingness to give up a Sunday afternoon [...]

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I just spent a few days in Astana (the capital) shopping for a car with one of my colleagues. I have been looking for a car since arriving in Kstan in June. It has been an interesting “ride”.
Taking a car for a test drive is impossible. They will take you for a [...]

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We partner with several nationals in Kstan.  I want to ask you to pray for them if you don’t already.
Roman, Viktoria, and their son, Timofey, moved from Lutsk, Ukraine to Kstan a little more than a year ago.  They are in a difficult place to minister and sometimes really struggle with the day to day [...]

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I forgot to mention that I purchased a case of Cola Light (European version of Diet Coke).  For some reason, since summer, Cola Light and Pepsi Light have been almost non-existent.  I usually purchase a case of 1 liter since it is cheaper.  However, there hasn’t been any available for a long time.  So, I [...]

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