Mountains and passion

https://twitter.com/Carlton_Yelle

Please forgive me for not posting in so long, but as it is the past is the past, and i must say that my past month and a half have been phenomenal! I have approximatly three and a half weeks left here in Kazakhstan. Which means i am in the final stretches of my adventure. I can't wait to get home to tell you all about my time here and the great things that i have seen and learned!

 In this past month i have been into the mountains twice. It truly is one af the most beautiful sights to see in all the world. The tall mountains beside you, the flowers and birds and animals all doing their own thing. On my last trip to the mountains we took a day long hike in which we went a total of twelve miles! 12 miles of secluded beauty and peacfulness. The tulips were all in bloom and it was great to be able to pass a field or two full of them. However, i did have my sleeves up to my shoulders for most of the day and upon arriving home i had a terrible sunburn. Luckily it turned into a wonderful tan without peeling! While coming back from one of the trips i had to take three different busses to get to my home and along the way my wallet was lost. I say lost because even though it was more likely stolen, i would rather not put it into that light unless it is fully known. That was about three weeks ago and was quite an inconvenience for me at the beginning. No cards, license, money, or other documents which were important to me. I could care less about the hundred dollars that were in there half as much as i would like to have my documents back. So if you could pray for that, there is still three weeks left for a miracle!

For those of you who are wondering i have been taken care of financially by a friend here whom i will pay back after my new cards are shipped over. so no need to worry if i have money for food.

Work here at the site has been great. I have continued to unload shipping crates from Hong Kong on a weekly basis; and am doing much in the area of talking with the students who want to learn english. It has been difficult, due to language, but fun making good friends here. I have had wonderful and unique opportunities to meet and befriend all sorts of people from all sorts of life. Poor people, rich people, angry people, happy people, heck i even have a friend who works with the KGB! I thought that they weren't even around anymore, but it is really cool to know that i met someone who was in the KGB! There are a lot of broken people here though. everywhere you turn you can see people who have put on a facade of riches and whatnot to cover up the fact that they are poor and hurting. Whole families that have ben ripped apart. It is sad but i am glad that i have had my eyes opened a little more to it. I only hope that the things i have said to them and the way i have acted around them will leave a lasting impression on them that will change the way that they go about life. I know that i have really only been able to plants seeds in their hearts but i know that those seeds will grow. I am reminded of a quote by Thoreau,

“I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately, I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, To put to rout all that was not life and not when I had come to die Discover that I had not lived.”

 This quote put's into words why i am here and what is driving me on. I know that if i live with these words in mind as my motto then i will not regret it when i come to die. Even more than that, i know that if i live these words the people who i meet are going to see that difference and maybe i can give them a desire to live passionatly as well. However, i must say that is do not derive my passion or strength from anywhere else but God. Who has given me every good thing in life; and provided me with all i need. I have been blessed to be a blessing. And as i grow in life and do the things that God has set in advance for me to do other will automatically be drawn towards the light in me and ultimately be affected.

I want to thank you all for this opportunity to come here and for your prayers and support. I hope to see you all when i get back on the tenth of June! God Bless and See you soon!

Most Sincerely,

Carlton David Yelle

Life in Kaz

https://twitter.com/Carlton_Yelle

So things have been fantastic here in Kazakhstan since my last update. The weather in one week has gone from snowing to a balmy 75 degrees on a consistent basis. And it should continue this way up until mid to late april when it will slowly make its way towards the 90's and by the time i leave for home in June it should be in the 100's! So i plan on coming back with a rather nice tan.

As far as my work here goes we have started to do our spring cleaning around the site. and now that the grass is green and the trees and flowers are starting to bloom it is quite a beautiful sight. We received a new shipping crate from Hong Kong last week and uloaded it this past wednesday. It contained boxes of clothes, bags, chars, tables, cabinets, office desks and about 15 beds. All of which will be distributed over the coming weeks and months to the various needy groups here in Shymkent and Kazakhstan. Some of the groups will be rehab centers, two orphanages and community care centers. It is an honor for me to be apart of something that will help so many get things that they need to prosper and help others. My Russian is improving at a good pace as i have been taking lessons twice a week and have been speaking wherever possible. I can now say that i have the ability to survive here on my own with the little russian i know. I can buy food and get around and meet new people and communicate at an ok level.

So far the only thing that has been hard for me to get over is the different culteral offenses that they have. Certain things that are completely natural for most Americains are considered quite rude here or are considered to bring bad luck. (this being a very superstitious people group) So actions as simple as crossing one's leg( in the way that men do where the foot rests ontop of the opposite knee as they are sitting) is considered to quite rude as if the person doing it is saying that they are much higher than the other person. The reasoning behind this, i have come to find out, is that to show someone your foot is very disrespectful and on a lesser note just uncomfortable to sit next to someone who is taking up space in such a way. Another thing that has been hard in reguards to superstition is that it is considered bad luck to whistle inside a building, which i love to do. So quite often i either have to stop or get looked at in a distasteful or questioning way. This truly is a bizarre and interesting place though.

In my neighborhood for the past few weeks i have been playing soccer with about 15 to 20 of the local guys nearly every day. I have rose to a posistion of considerable respect among them for not only being a foreigner, but also for being an unshifing and uncomprimising man when it comes to morals and my faith. A good deal of character traits and moral dignity seem to be on the low side here among the younger generation. (21 and younger) Not to say that they are devoid of good morals and the like; but there is certainly a hunger for someone and something which is genuine and won't simply give in and take the easy way just because it requires less stamina and will power. They are looking to follow someone who is true to their convictions. They need good positive role models to follow and take after. I am by no means saying that i am wholey that person. And that i fit the bill of such a person without fail. But i do strive daily to be the type of man that was described above. And it is that striving which they see and are drawn to. Which has given me a unique opprtunity to point them in the right direction and hopefully plant the seeds in their hearts and minds to try and live less hedonistically and focus more on the needs of others. 

All in all i have been immensly blessed in my time here both physically and spiritually and i can't wait to tell you all about my trip when i get back. Again this is all the time i have for now but there will be more to come. Keep me in your thoughts and prayers as i continue to do work here. May God Bless and keep you safe!

Sincerely, 

Carlton (Кардтон)  

As of March 11th

Follow @Carlton_Yelle

So things have been fantastic since i arrived Kazakhstan! I would like to start out by saying thank you to anyone and everyone who has supported me either financially or by prayers. Thank You!

So I have been here two weeks now and have some incredible stories already! This past week i was able to go out into the city and meet with three elderly ladies all near the age of ninety. They were sisters living in a small apartment. I was with a close friend here who speaks English and Russian. So we were able to communicate efficiently. the sisters were informed the day r that we were coming and had prepared a wonderful meal for us. With tradition Kazakh dishes made from scratch. While we ate we talked about different topic and had a great time getting to know each other. Towards the end of our time at the house, one of the ladies took me by the hand and looked at me very seriously and started to speak to me in Russian. The translation i got was that she and her sister were thanking me for honoring them and their household. She proceeded to say that in Kazakh culture it is a rarity to have people come over to sit and have conversation or food with the elderly. The elderly in most cases are very lonely and hardly have visitors and so it was a great blessing to see that people cared enough to spend time with them. The ladies all stood up and bowed at that point; which shows their respect and thankfulness. We in return said what it meant to us to be able to spend time with them and get to know a bit of who they are. As we left i they told us to come back and visit. And i must say that i am quite looking forward to seeing them again!

For me, that time reminded me of the importance of a simple meal and a simple good deed. When you focus on others, not only does it help them in many ways, including finding some joy, but it also will help you in more ways than you could have thought of. There is something incredibly beautiful to find in  the small act of sharing good food and good conversation with those who need it. I have to go again as my time for the internet here is rather limited but again i thank you for all the prayers, finances, and wonderful comments you have left for me. If anyone wants to email me feel free to send it to Carltonyelle@yahoo.com. I would love any and all emails from friends and family.  There will be more stories and updates to come. Also i should be posting some pictures soon! In the realm of prayers just pray for continued stamina and conviction of anything that needs to be taken care of. Thank you and God Bless!
Sincerely,
Carlton Yelle

My first update!

Follow @Carlton_Yelle

The first days in Kazakhstan have been incredible! Upon my arrival to Shymkent, the city where i am staying, I was greated by my good friend Ethan Taylor and his Kazak friend Timor. We packed the luggage into the back of the car, all except for my guitar which still seems to be somewhere stuck in the void between here and Ottowa. (where i flew out of) I am staying in one of the tallest buildings in Shymkent. Due to a superstition, the people of this country prefer to build out rather than up. So to be in such a tall building, which is only ten stories high, is quite rare. The view from my appartment has the mountains on the outskirts of the city. Which is an incredibly beautiful sight in the mornings. As far as my Schedule goes, i wake up each day at 7:25am and get ready for the day. I take a bus which is sometimes very packed to the point where you can hardly move. The bus gets to my site where we have our daily business meeting and talk about the plans for the day. afterwards I make my way to the coffee shop where i set up my program for the day and think about what I am going to talk about in the English conversation classes. I have the availability to talk about anything i want and have some great stories about what has been taught especially in the ministry aspect which i cannot type here, but if you want to hear about it feel free to email me at carltonyelle@yahoo.com. My other daily activities include organizing shipping containers and the goods inside them, work on building projects, learn Russian with a local tutor, and clean up the cafe area. About once a week i get to go into the community and do house calls and meet some of the families who we are helping.

I am sorry that this is so short right now but i promise there will be more to come. Including stories of what is happening however, i am limited in my time right now and must go but know that i am doing excellent and have had ome incredible things happen in the past week that i have been here that i will tell you about soon. Until then God Bless and i will update again soon!

Blessings,

Carlton Yelle