Joe Ragan

I heard the familiar sound of shrieks and laughter. I really didn’t need look to see what was going on. I kind of knew what was happening. You see, the sun was up and the day was warm (almost hot… upper 80’s)… but after a long, cold winter the children earned some [...]

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Tuesday morning I drove my neighbor’s niece to their summer garden spot.  Nina, my neighbor, started her tomato, cucumber, and other plants in her apartment.  Now, with spring in full swing it was time to plant them.  I offered to drive her niece to their “dacha” and we unloaded the plants.
On my drive back into [...]

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I went to Astana last Thursday. I attended a town hall meeting with the US Ambassador, Mr. John Ordway. He is nearing retirement and so a new ambassador is going through the process to be appointed by the senate. On Saturday the US Embassy opened its gates to US citizens living in [...]

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I am planning a trip to the US in November to see my sisters for Thanksgiving. I decided to see what type of prices British Airways had. It would not be convenient since I would need to travel to Almaty to fly from there. Any extra luggage would be a real hassle [...]

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I preached tonight at the church I attend. I have arranged for me to preach with an interpreter in order to give our interpreters an opportunity to gain some experience.
Before the service the brothers met with the pastor to discuss the order in which who would preach when. A typical service here has [...]

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This is my 600th post in a 3+ years.  It has been an interesting time.  I started this blog in February 2005 when I first moved to Kazakhstan.  At the time it was a new way to keep people informed of how God is moving in distant lands, far removed from America.
With the internet now, [...]

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Wow!  The weather here has been spectacular recently.  The temps rise into the upper 70’s and lower 80’s during the day and drop into the 40’s at night.  The trees near my building entrance have finally bloomed.
It is incredibly beautiful now.  The days are getting longer with the sun coming up really early and it [...]

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I have found several podcasters that I enjoy listening to. I have come to enjoy listening to sermons by Andy Stanley (for those unaware, he is Charles Stanley’s son). He finished a sermon series on Discovering the Will of God that I really enjoyed and learned much.
The fourth and final sermon in this [...]

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Last year when I went home in August I picked up this sticker when I went to the Texas Travel Center in Wichita Falls…

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Sunday was an incredible day for me. Since last winter, I have been meeting with a group of young people from local churches. Each of them has a desire to know English better and to be used as a translator.
Most of them have never interpreted before a church service. Most of them [...]

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