From a believer living in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan went into strict lockdown early, closing borders and limiting the number of cases. However, with an easing at the beginning of June, the number of cases began to spiral out of control. Hospitals started to overflow and pharmacies ran out of appropriate drugs – not even paracetamol was available. Whenever a pharmacy had a delivery, angry queues of several hours long formed, and there was a resulting black market in medicines.
Now in a second lockdown the situation is stabilising. Since ‘social distancing’ is mainly only a theory and there are many ‘underground’ weddings and funerals, it could be because the virus is burning itself out, rather than because of the effectiveness of the regulations.
Pray for Kazakhstan:
- Ask God to have mercy on this country! Pray for the wisdom for the government and for righteousness in the healthcare system: that people would be treated on the basis of need, not of who they know, and that the available drugs would reach those who really need them.
- Pray that the shaking caused by the COVID and economic crises would cause people to search for God and to be open to the Gospel. (The Kazakhstan economy is oil dependent, so low oil prices have dealt a second blow to the country’s finances.)
- Pray for all of the believers in Jesus to make the most of every opportunity to share the Gospel, especially during the Muslim festival of Kurban Ait (Sacrifice Holiday, which is July 31st this year).