Our first schedule in Almaty was to hold a BAM seminar for a couple of Koreans living in Almaty. I talked about "BAM, a Holistic Mission" for a couple of hours.
We stayed at the houses of two Ms living in Almaty: DK Lee and YS Kim. Their houses are offered as guesthouses for visitors, like us. Their hospitality was warm and pleasant. We enjoyed our fellowship with them.
After the chicken farm, we went to the Almaty City center, where a Korean restaurant called Goginara is located. I visited this place before with John Kim. A group of ladies got together and decided to run this business together for a good purpose. Their stories were moving and inspirational.
The following day, the first place we visited was Grill King. An American young man, Dan, started this business, and it is now positioned as the premier grill machine and equipment manufacturer, targeting wealthy clients. Their products are mostly custom-made for their houses. Currently, their 4 workshops are scattered at different places, but they bought an old building that was under renovation so that all workshops can be located in one place. A newly acquired woodworking business will also be located together, expecting to generate a stable cash flow for the business. We said we would like to come back next year, and we would look forward to seeing a new layout. Dan was quite a devout Christian, a young businessman with a strong conviction about BAM.
After the tour, we all bought something for ourselves. I am looking forward to witnessing what the Lord has in store for working with this business.
The next morning, we were supposed to depart to our next destination, Bishkek. We thanked the Kim and Lee couples for their hospitality.
Our short 3-night stay in Almay ended with a prayer for them. - Jeffrey
The breakfasts that they prepared were beautiful, delicious, and healthy. We thoroughly enjoyed the mealtime.
The following day, we got on a rented minibus and headed to Shymbulak, also known as Chimbulak in Russian, Mountains, where a ski resort is located. We took three cable cars to climb to the top beyond the ski resort. The ski resort was at 2,850 meters high, and the top was as high as 3,200 meters. The air was clean, crisp, and fresh.
After our visit to the Symbulak Mountains, we headed to a chicken farm, operated by Mr. Gyungdo Chung. He and his wife have been living in Almaty for more than 25 years. They were running a chicken farm, growing apple trees, and operating a carpentry business. The lunch we were served in the traditional nomad housing of Gert was quite an experience.
The following day, the first place we visited was Grill King. An American young man, Dan, started this business, and it is now positioned as the premier grill machine and equipment manufacturer, targeting wealthy clients. Their products are mostly custom-made for their houses. Currently, their 4 workshops are scattered at different places, but they bought an old building that was under renovation so that all workshops can be located in one place. A newly acquired woodworking business will also be located together, expecting to generate a stable cash flow for the business. We said we would like to come back next year, and we would look forward to seeing a new layout. Dan was quite a devout Christian, a young businessman with a strong conviction about BAM.
Nearby, we went to meet with Andy Harris, whom I met at Joseph Summit in August. He was running a digital marketing company, a business training (B4T) center, and a holistic training center. He was also involved in helping distribute the bible. We explored a few possible opportunities to collaborate and agreed to follow up.
We had lunch with Alisher, whom Mats introduced to me, and Roma, a local pastor who runs several crisis centers, which to be explained more later. Wilmar andMatt with Dutch Nature's Kazakhstan subsidiary, called JP Agro, also joined us for lunch. The time was rather short, but our fellowship was a blessing.
Together with Alisher and Roma, we went to visit a local printing business, called CS-Thomas. CS stands for Creative Solutions. This business was started by Angelica, a pastor's wife, and later, the pastor's sister, Patima, also the wife of another pastor, joined Angelica. They have been operating this business for approximately 20 years. During this time, they offered jobs for approximately 500 people in crisis, such as domestic violence, alcohol, or drug. We were deeply moved by their stories. They were just like the vineyard owner in Matthew 20. They were running the business to offer jobs for people in need.
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| Angelica |
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| Patima |
Pastor Roma was one of the people in crisis. He was a drug addict. He was in prison for 16 years. After the prison time, he came out of jail but could not find a job. CS-Thomas offered him a job, and he decided to change. He went through the rehab center a lot faster than others because he was determined to change. He met his current wife and went to a bible college, and became a pastor. Now he is running a total of eight crisis centers. CS-Thomas works closely with pastor Roma.
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| Pastor Roma |
His story was so touching that we made a donation to his ministry on-site.
While we were listening to Angelica and Patima, through Alisher's translation, we all felt the urge to help them out. We do not know what or how, but we will surely return to this business. Later, we toured their business site. Their clientele includes large businesses in Almaty. Their annual sales was estimated to be approximately $400 - 500,000. Due to the increase in VAT, from 12.5% to 16%, their profit margin is getting squeezed.
Happy Bridge is the name for DK Lee's guesthouse. The couple was so diligent and sincere in serving us. We felt so well treated. His wife, MH Shin, is currently attending SfK BMT 2025, and she seems to have a great potential to be an effective missional entrepreneur.
Our short 3-night stay in Almay ended with a prayer for them. - Jeffrey
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