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The joy of The LORD is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10) The joy that comes from YHWH – that is our strength. Please pray that the many grieving hearts here in Bsln will come to know that. In truth, there is nothing to offer them outside of The LORD's joy. He, and He Alone, is able to bring joy where such sorrow remains. Thanks and glory be to Him for the opportunity He's given us to reach out here, and I thank you for your prayers, love, and support. (I decided to send Report 7 and 8 together; this largely is due to the difficulties that arise at the internet club. It's a small office, and only one computer in it has the net. They also frequently interrupt the internet user to check lottery winnings when people bring their tickets to check if they've 'hit it big' yet or not. A further complication is that their working hours aren't exactly set in stone; they recently decided to be closed on Mondays, but had no sign posted, nor did I hear any mention about it. All this means that when I am able to use the net there, it's quite difficult to send reports, read and answer incoming email, and research more about what happened here, all in an hour. Some days it can be pretty frustrating, but that's just life here in Bsln... I sort of feel guilty, in a sense, because so much doesn't make it into these reports, but there's just not adequate time to do everything that could be done in this hurting community. I trust that you understand all this – pray for more laborers!) On Monday the 16th, I went and taught Ruslan – he's the boy that was shot in his elbow during the Bsln school massacre and still has problems to this day. Two of his friends were there, one of whom was also in the terrorist attack. I said to him, 'You know, you're a miracle.' He seemed to almost scoff, and he chuckled. I asked, 'You don't believe that?' And he replied, 'Yes, I do.' I taught Ruslan for a while, and he told me how during the siege, his older brother managed to run to safety early on, but Ruslan and his sister Madina were in the gym for the 3 days. Praise God, they both survived. The following day, I went and visited a brother and sister who lived through the terrorist attack – I met them last year when they were in Israel. Oganes and his sister, Maryam, remembered me from Jerusalem and they seemed very happy to see me. Their family is Armenian. Their older sister, Siranush, also survived the massacre, and is now studying in St. Petersburg. The Lord blessed me to have a really nice visit with Oganes and Maryam, and they too have wounds from what they lived through. Maryam still has metal lodged in her chest, and said another operation is necessary – she still has pain from it at times. Oganes also still has metal in him, but the doctors said he doesn't need an operation; he also sometimes experiences pain. We chatted, had tea and candy, and watched some TV. Oganes said that Math is his favorite subject, while Maryam told me that she doesn't like school. He enjoys sports, and she likes to dance and is in a breakdance class here. They both had a lot of friends that were killed in the school massacre. On Wednesday (1/18) after service, Sasha (who's an assistant to Jambul, the pastor) and I went and visited a family and I learned quite a bit from them. The father wasn't home, but we visited with the mother, the daughter (Irina, maybe 15 years old), and the son (Khetag, 8). The children go to a different school, and therefore weren't in the terrorist attack, but their family also lost many friends from that nightmare. The mother told me about her husband's friend, Alan. Alan's wife, son, and daughter were all in the terrorist attack, but only the wife survived. The wife now (obviously) has mental problems, and if I understood everything correctly, lost an eye and has bad hearing in one ear. The mother that we were visiting said that they had Alan over for New Year's. When Khetag (her son) sang karaoke, she said that Alan just sat there and cried. The mother also told me that Khetag himself lost so many friends that he doesn't go out and play. Though he wasn't in that school, he saw what happened over those 3 days. Right after the terrorist attack, he only stayed at home, and also put on weight. And remember, Khetag is just 8 years old. Even in light of what happened at school number 1 (the school the terrorists attacked), he still loves school. He's a very energetic kid, fun-loving, and I joked around with him some. He especially seemed to enjoy beating up on Sasha that evening, despite repeated 'Stop It!' phrases from his mom. The mother also told us how one of the teenage girls that lives in their apartment building and died in the school massacre said, the day before school began and the terrorists attacked, that she was afraid to go to school. (This is not the only story of this kind... I've heard other accounts of 'odd' things said, written, felt, and dreamed before the massacre.) The next day I stopped by The Bsln Mother's Committee's Office, bringing some Turkish Delight with me. There were about 6 ladies there eating a late lunch – some (or all) of them had been in Vladikavkaz at the Kulayev trial (one of the terrorists, last name Kulayev, was captured and is currently on trial). They insisted that I eat with them, and one of the mother's told me that her daughter in high school, Madina, really wanted to improve her English. I wrote down their phone number and all, and said I'd call later after I checked my schedule to see when I could help teach her daughter. I also heard that my landlord's mother was in the hospital – she (Zina) was apparently hit by a bus, and my landlord's girlfriend said that Zina's spine was broken. This is tragedy upon tragedy... Zina lost one of her boys in the school massacre, and now this. (You may recall that I wrote about my visit to their house in the last report.) Please pray for her and her family. I later visited one of my students/friends here, Zaur (his 14 year old brother, Khasan, was killed in the terrorist attack). I gave him Cross Movement's “Higher Definition” CD and a Pittsburgh souvenir. We spent some time talking and watching TV, and had tea together. On Saturday, the 21st, I went to teach Madina, and it went really well. Her family is very kind and generous, and her mother (Zalina) served a meal before I taught Madina. Zalina and her husband, Alan, would now have four children, but their 10 year old son, Marat, was killed in the terrorist attack. For some reason, Madina (who I'm pretty sure is in the 8th grad, and about 14) wasn't at the school when the crisis began. Madina has a younger sister who looks about 6, and a baby brother who's 5 months old. Zalina showed me Marat's photo, as well as a cabinet which appeared to hold his school papers, etc. Zalina told me that Marat did really well in school. I explained that I can't understand why the massacre happened here, but that people are praying and haven't forgotten what took place. I asked Madina how they were doing after the terrorist attack, and she said, we miss him (Marat).' She also explained that families know one another when they're visiting the graves of their dead loved ones... that's how small Bsln is. Madina did quite well in her lesson, and she has a very strong desire to learn English; she told me that she wants to do language study after high school. She likes listening to 50 Cent, Black Eyed Peas, and watching MTV. (This is how powerful American culture is – to change America would be to change the world, for the world imports and often embraces what we as a nation put forth. Let this be an encouragement... as I've said before, please don't think that 'missionaries' only travel overseas! The more the saints rise up and stand for Jesus in the U.S., the more the world will also share in that blessing. Having been to several different countries, I'm totally convinced of this. To change America is to change the world.) When I was leaving, Zalina told me, 'Whenever you're bored, stop by.' Glory to The Lord for the favor He's given! As I came outside, Alan (the father) was there and asked me where I was headed. I told him that where I was going was really close, but he insisted on driving me. Alan told me that he'd move his family to America if he had enough money. Thank you for sharing in bringing hope to the people of Bsln. Please continue praying that in all things, people will most clearly see and recognize that it is Jesus Who is working through us. And that each wounded heart will come to understand that the joy of The Lord – that is their strength. There can be no other joy for mothers who lost children to exploding bombs... there can be no other joy for fathers who were so close to their children those three days but unable to do a thing to save them – no other joy can heal that feeling of failure and weakness to not have been able to protect their children. The joy of The Lord – both their strength and ours. His mercies abound, jason jalazone7@yahoo.com
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