I WANT TO TRY TO EXPLAIN A LITTLE ABOUT THE WHERE I AM SO THAT YOU CAN BETTER UNDERSTAND ADYGEA. IT WILL ALSO HELP YOU TO UNDERSTAND WHY THERE IS SO MUCH CONFLICT IN THIS AREA. HERE GOES.
RUSSIA IS DIVIDED INTO 83 DIFFERENT FEDERAL AREAS. THESE AREAS ARE CALLED EITHER, OBLASTS, KRAIS, OR REPUBLICS. THEY ARE ALL SIMILAR IN THEIR MAKEUP, BUT IN SOME WAYS DIFFERENT. OF THESE 83 AREAS, 21 ARE REPUBLICS. TATARSTAN, SAKHA, AND CHECHNYA, FOR INSTANCE ARE REPUBLICS WITHIN RUSSIA. ALSO ADYGEA, WHERE I AM, IS A REPUBLIC.
A REPUBLIC HAS IT'S OWN PRESIDENT AND CONSTITUTION, HOWEVER, IT IS SUBJECT TO MOSCOW AND THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION OF RUSSIA FIRST. CONFLICTS HAPPEN WHEN THESE REPUBLICS TRY TO BREAK AWAY FROM RUSSIA AND BECOME INDEPENDENT. WHICH HAS BEEN THE CASE IN NEARBY CHECHNYA FOR YEARS. THE HISTORY OF THIS WEIRD KINDA SETUP GOES BACK YEARS AND YEARS. YOU CAN SEE THE 21 REPUBLICS IN THE MAP AT THE TOP, ADYGEA IS NUMBER 1. YOU CAN ALSO SEE THE FLAG OF BOTH RUSSIA AND ADYGEA FLYING ON TOP OF THE CAPITAL BUILDING IN MAYKOP IN THE ACCOMPANYING PICTURE AS WELL.
OUR INTEREST IS IN THE REPUBLIC OF ADYGEA. ADYGEA IS A SMALL REPUBLIC OF ABOUT 450,000 PEOPLE. OF THIS POPULATION, 130,000 ARE ETHNIC ADYGEANS. THE ADYGEAN PEOPLE ARE 99.9% SUNNI MUSLIMS. HOWEVER, THEY ARE MUSLIMS MUCH LIKE THE RUSSIANS ARE ORTHODOX. IT SIMPLY MEANS TO BE BORN ADYGEAN IS TO BE MUSLIM. THEY ARE NOT MUSLIM LIKE THE IRANIANS OR THE IRAQIS THAT WE ARE USED TO SEEING ON TV. AS FAR AS I CAN TELL FROM HERE, THERE IS NOT ANOTHER NOTICABLE EVANGELICAL GROUP WORKING AMONG THIS PEOPLE GROUP. THE PICTURE HERE IS OF ME IN MAYKOP EXPLAINING ALL THIS TO YOU.
THE ADYGEAN PEOPLE ARE DIVIDED INTO 12 FAMILIES. LIKEN IT TO HOW ISRAEL IS DIVIDED INTO 12 TRIBES. MOST ADYGEANS LIVE IS VILLAGES CALLED AULS(AOOLS). THEY ARE WAY CLANNISH AND IT IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO BREAK INTO THEIR CLAN. WHICH IS WHY WHEN ANGELA TRUSTED CHRIST, IT WAS SUCH A BIG DEAL. THIS IS A PICTURE OF A ROAD LEADING INTO AN AUL.
ONE OF THE REASONS I'M SHARING THIS WITH YOU IS BECAUSE IT'S JUST BECOMING CLEAR TO ME FOR THE FIRST TIME AND WRITING IT TO YOU MAKES IT EVEN CLEARER TO ME. WE NEED TO BECOME EXPERTS ON THE PLACES WHERE GOD SENDS US. IT'S ONE OF THE THINGS LEARNED OVER 14 YEARS AS A MISSIONARY. LET'S LEARN ALL WE CAN ABOUT THESE PEOPLE AND BEGIN TO THINK ABOUT BEING THE BEST IN THE WORLD AT REACHING INTO UNREACHED PEOPLE GROUPS! SOMEBODY NEEDS TO BE. WHY NOT US?
WANT TO TELL YOU MORE ABOUT THE ADYGEANS AND ISLAM TOMORROW. KEEP PRAYING AS WE SEEK GOD'S WISDOM IN WORKING HERE TO REACH A PEOPLE WHO SO NEED CHRIST AND HOW WE MIGHT PARTNER WITH LEONID IN BRINGING UP THERE, DOWN HERE, HERE! (WOW THAT JUST COME OUT!)
ENJOY LOUIE AGAIN TONIGHT! WAY MISSING YA'LL. I'M WITH GOOD PEOPLE HERE, BUT SUPER LONELY. NOTHING LIKE BEING WITH MY FAMILY AND MY GROUP IN GAINESVILLE.
LOVE YA'LL, YA'LL LOVE EACH OTHER.
