When Turks look at Christians, they don’t think good thoughts. They think about Turkish history, Constantine, the Crusades. They think Christians only want to conquer, divide and destroy. The reputation of the Church has been, for them, stained and soiled.
Like dirty laundry.
So, when the local church we partnered with opened a free laundromat, it was a way to be the hands and feet of Jesus to a community that had little reason to trust Christians. Our national partner who pastors this church had a dream to reach out to refugees in our city, and saw that there was a practical need for accessible laundry facilities–not just for comfort, but to help prevent the spread of disease.
The free laundromat facility actually got air time on local television: “Hey look, these Christians are caring for Muslims, the poor, refugees. Whoever wants to, can go and get their laundry done for free!”
People started lining up, first thing in the morning. That laundromat washed over 100 loads a day, six days a week. Even while customers waited to drop off their clothes and linens, some were skeptical; no one does anything for free in this city. It is known for its thriftiness, full of people who haggle to get a good bargain. In fact, it has been a center of business for over 6000 years! This city was the first trading post on the Silk Road. In the northern part of the city, archaeologists actually found clay tablets with some of the earliest samples of literacy. They were grocery lists.
A free laundromat was our way to break the stereotype that Central Asian Muslims have of those who follow Jesus. Our tourism business was meant to do that, too—employing locals, contributing to the local economy. It also allowed us to maintain a long-term visa in a country that was once a thriving center of first century Christianity.
We first went to that country over twelve years ago. Over those years, we saw people come to faith, including some of the employees in our tourism business. We baptized whole families. We had a thriving church of seventy people. Yeah, seventy believers in a city with two million people may seem like a pretty low percentage, but God is in the business of multiplication.
Today, we are trusting Him to do that, with or without us. Because in 2025, we had to leave.
Leaving Central Asia was painful, especially for our kids. It was our home for over twelve years; it felt like home the minute we first stepped off the airplane and onto the tarmac, you know? When we were told that we were going to be deported and never be able to set foot in this country again, our family was devastated. Devastated, but not surprised. Heartbroken, but not despairing. Although we were never given a clear reason as to why we had to leave, we know that we were deported for being Christians, for telling others about our Savior, for working with the church.
We lost the country, but not the vision. We always had a vision to reach Muslims, disciple new believers and raise up national church leaders to plant churches. We were praying for this long before we ever launched into Central Asia. It was one thing to pray from a distance; it was a whole different reality to be with those that we had interceded for, to actually become the prayers that we were praying. That presence, that incarnating of the love of God, that’s what actually brings transformation in people’s lives—being the hands and feet of Jesus on the street, in coffee shops, in churches, in our business, in our home.
It was still our mission; it was still our calling. We still felt sent—but where?
Everything was happening so quickly, but we could not let prayer be rushed. So many people were praying with us, praying for God to make clear this next stage of mission. Together with our friends and other believers, we discerned his leading: to relocate to an island in the Mediterranean, just off the coast of our target country.
And so, here we are—still on mission. We continue to fulfill our calling, serving church planting initiatives among the Turkish-speaking diaspora, hosting global workers and pastors from our original location, raising up national church leaders to reach the Muslim people group with the good news of Jesus Christ. God is still at work, and we are still eager to respond to the invitation to be his co-laborers.
The island does not quite feel like home; not yet. But Jesus is here, and home is wherever he takes us.
PRAY
Pray for this family as they face the challenges of ministry in a new context.
Like dirty laundry.
So, when the local church we partnered with opened a free laundromat, it was a way to be the hands and feet of Jesus to a community that had little reason to trust Christians. Our national partner who pastors this church had a dream to reach out to refugees in our city, and saw that there was a practical need for accessible laundry facilities–not just for comfort, but to help prevent the spread of disease.
The free laundromat facility actually got air time on local television: “Hey look, these Christians are caring for Muslims, the poor, refugees. Whoever wants to, can go and get their laundry done for free!”
People started lining up, first thing in the morning. That laundromat washed over 100 loads a day, six days a week. Even while customers waited to drop off their clothes and linens, some were skeptical; no one does anything for free in this city. It is known for its thriftiness, full of people who haggle to get a good bargain. In fact, it has been a center of business for over 6000 years! This city was the first trading post on the Silk Road. In the northern part of the city, archaeologists actually found clay tablets with some of the earliest samples of literacy. They were grocery lists.
A free laundromat was our way to break the stereotype that Central Asian Muslims have of those who follow Jesus. Our tourism business was meant to do that, too—employing locals, contributing to the local economy. It also allowed us to maintain a long-term visa in a country that was once a thriving center of first century Christianity.
We first went to that country over twelve years ago. Over those years, we saw people come to faith, including some of the employees in our tourism business. We baptized whole families. We had a thriving church of seventy people. Yeah, seventy believers in a city with two million people may seem like a pretty low percentage, but God is in the business of multiplication.
Today, we are trusting Him to do that, with or without us. Because in 2025, we had to leave.
Leaving Central Asia was painful, especially for our kids. It was our home for over twelve years; it felt like home the minute we first stepped off the airplane and onto the tarmac, you know? When we were told that we were going to be deported and never be able to set foot in this country again, our family was devastated. Devastated, but not surprised. Heartbroken, but not despairing. Although we were never given a clear reason as to why we had to leave, we know that we were deported for being Christians, for telling others about our Savior, for working with the church.
We lost the country, but not the vision. We always had a vision to reach Muslims, disciple new believers and raise up national church leaders to plant churches. We were praying for this long before we ever launched into Central Asia. It was one thing to pray from a distance; it was a whole different reality to be with those that we had interceded for, to actually become the prayers that we were praying. That presence, that incarnating of the love of God, that’s what actually brings transformation in people’s lives—being the hands and feet of Jesus on the street, in coffee shops, in churches, in our business, in our home.
It was still our mission; it was still our calling. We still felt sent—but where?
Everything was happening so quickly, but we could not let prayer be rushed. So many people were praying with us, praying for God to make clear this next stage of mission. Together with our friends and other believers, we discerned his leading: to relocate to an island in the Mediterranean, just off the coast of our target country.
And so, here we are—still on mission. We continue to fulfill our calling, serving church planting initiatives among the Turkish-speaking diaspora, hosting global workers and pastors from our original location, raising up national church leaders to reach the Muslim people group with the good news of Jesus Christ. God is still at work, and we are still eager to respond to the invitation to be his co-laborers.
The island does not quite feel like home; not yet. But Jesus is here, and home is wherever he takes us.
PRAY
Pray for this family as they face the challenges of ministry in a new context.
