Two thousand years ago, Central Asia was the world’s hub of activity and modernity. People passed through Central Asia with their goods, stories, philosophies, religions and diseases on the network of trade routes called the Silk Road. And it has known its share of power struggles and conflict with Genghis Khan of the Mongols, Peter the Great and the Russians, and even more recently the Soviet Union. Now in this modern age, Central Asia is a still a crossroads between ancient and modern, East and West, Europe and Asia, Christendom and the world of Islam. We decided to send Rob—an Orlando native, musician and friend of Pioneers&msash;to see how God is moving in this ethnically and culturally diverse region of the world. Follow along as he hears the stories of the people that the Father is drawing to Himself.
In this second video of our Middle Ground series, Rob Experiences Death and Life, our tour guide (Rob) heads out of the city with Pioneers workers to visit a mountain village and a traditional summer pasture where a shepherd tends his flock. Rob experiences both the rich hospitality of a meal with his hosts and the unsettling reality of what it took to make that meal possible.
In this video, Rob Climbs the Holy Mountain, our tour guide experiences more of Central Asia—worker ants, a cave of wisdom, the promise of a fertility slide, the blessing of a local woman, the heart music of the people and prayer with believers. Watch Rob on this leg of his journey.
In this video—the fourth and final in our Middle Ground series—Rob accompanies Pioneers workers in Central Asia as they go through the routines of daily life. They walk through the city streets, interacting with a downtrodden man and a woman who is happy in her cultural traditions. They end up at an orchard in the “Celestial” Mountains, which reminds Rob that there is work to be done until the day Jesus returns.