For each of our 12 days of Christmas, we are profiling one of our leaders overseas. Please join us in praying for this leader today.
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Dalton & ZanaKazakhstan
The Twelfth Night, January 5th, marks the end of the Christmas season. In Europe it was traditionally a time for feasting, often with a king’s cake (a cake with three different colors of icing to commemorate the wise men’s visit). It’s believed that the comedy Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare was written as entertainment for this holiday.
In 2022, Dalton and his wife, Zana, obeyed God’s call to leave their home in Uzbekistan and move to Kazakhstan to serve Uyghurs, an unreached people group. Both Dalton and Zana are teachers at an English school. This provides them not only with a source of income and a legitimate reason to be in the country, but also an opportunity to connect with Uyghurs. Their school is located in the largest of the three Uyghur neighborhoods, and most of the students are Uyghurs.
Dalton and Zana’s church sets aside Fridays for a day of outreach. They walk through the neighborhoods, praying and connecting with people, and looking for opportunities to share the gospel. Their city is a fast-paced, busy place, so it’s hard to find people who will slow down long enough to build relationships with them. Therefore, they have started visiting Uyghur villages once a month. The villagers are more likely to invite them into their homes for tea or a meal. During a recent trip, four villagers came to Christ.
Pray for more spiritual fruit as Dalton and Zana continue to reach out to Uyghurs and develop relationships of trust with them.