Joe Ragan

I have had a tremendous week thus far.  I have started meeting with my English classes on Monday and Wednesday.  I have some new students and hope more will join as time goes by.
On Wednesday I met with a new Russian language teacher.  I am excited that I am able to start studying Russian again.  [...]

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I grew up in East Texas, living in Lone Star and attending Daingerfield HS.  The newspaper found out I was a missionary and have printed an article about me and posted on their website.  I left there in 1984.  It’s interesting to see my picture on their site after all this time…

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Union University in Jackson, TN was hit by a massive tornado Tuesday night.  Numerous students were trapped in the rubble, however at last word, all had been rescued.
The UU website is down but you can access info here and at Baptist Press.
Please remember to pray for all involved…

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Christians are sometimes willing to believe emails they receive from their friends, even if it sounds too good to be true.  I remember the Microsoft email that guaranteed people lots of money for forwarding emails to their friends.
In this election year, I have read some outlandish claims about some of the candidates.  I was reading [...]

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There are people that God brings into our lives that influence us more than others. God has blessed me with many friendships with many such people.
One, in particular, didn’t start out in a grand way…
I met Charles “Chicks” Scherer while I was living in Fort Worth, attending Southwestern seminary and on staff at Southwayside [...]

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It has been an interesting 3 years. I came to Kstan for the first time three years ago in January 2005. I began a website in order for people to be able to know what what happening here. It has been a fun ride.
Here is a snippet from the first entry…
…Well, the [...]

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This afternoon I walked to a local bank.  On the way back I cut through a neighborhood and heard some young men playing.  I looked across a field covered in snow/ice.  There were about 10 young men (boys) playing FOOTBALL on the field.  Some of them had taken off their coats, even though it was [...]

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There is no place like home…
For the first time in four weeks, I slept in my own bed. Boy did it feel great!
Yesterday, as I arrived back in Karaganda. The streets seemed wet and they were. The temps were around 12 for a high. Even the snow/ice around my apartment [...]

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