Spring, Growth, and What’s Beneath the Surface 🌱

Praise the Lord for spring! I love the quiet rhythms God has woven into His seasons—the earth bursting forth with new life after a period of dormancy and rest that can feel like nothing is happening. And yet, beneath the surface, life is being prepared.

Each spring, I’m reminded that our walk with the Lord has similar rhythms. So much is happening beneath the surface—God working in us, shaping us as we seek Him—often in ways we don’t even notice until the fruit finally appears. I’m deeply grateful for the work of the Holy Spirit, doing in our hearts what we could never accomplish on our own.

As the earth begins to wake up here in Kyrgyzstan, life is picking up for us as well. This past month, we had the joy of welcoming two of our closest friends from America, along with their two children. To say we were refreshed is an understatement. Their visit was such a gift—deeply encouraging and life-giving.

Making the journey to the other side of the world with young children is no small feat—it’s a sacrifice of sleep, comfort, and sanity! Watching them endure long flights and jet lag just to sit across the table from us was a profound picture of friendship. We loved exploring Central Asia together—showing them around Bishkek, spending a few days at a yurt camp near Lake Issyk Kul, and even traveling on to Turkey together to soak in the history and culture before saying our “see-you-laters.”

Those weeks refreshed our souls and reminded us that even in the far corners of the world, we are deeply known and loved.

As we look ahead, the “planting” continues. Just as a gardener prepares the soil before the seeds are sown, we find ourselves in a season of preparation. We’re especially excited to welcome Mike and Rachelle Scott and their sweet family to our team here in Bishkek in the coming weeks. Please pray for their travels and their initial adjustment. We would also greatly appreciate prayer for housing—we currently have a temporary place lined up, but are still trusting the Lord to provide a longer-term home, ideally with a yard for their children.

The Integra team continues to “till the soil” across many projects, waiting patiently for fruit. It often reminds me of growing a berry bush, which can require years of intentional care before producing anything. They say the first year is all about “survival,” and at times, the work has felt just like that—with setbacks and challenges along the way. Recently, though, it feels like we’ve begun to move into a “structure” phase—strengthening roots within Integra’s operations and investing deeply in the families and individuals we work with each day.

We did experience a recent health scare with our farm manager, David, who was exposed to unsafe levels of methane gas during fertilizer production and was briefly hospitalized. Some operations were paused as we cared for him and his family. We are so thankful for his recovery and for the increased awareness this has brought regarding the need for better airflow at the production site.

It can be wearying to labor in seasons where there is little visible “fruit.” But we trust that the Master Gardener has not forgotten the seeds being sown and is cultivating a harvest in His perfect timing. There are many current needs within Integra, but one of the most pressing is a fertilizer spreading truck, costing ~$20k. Please pray for provision in this area

We are so grateful to have you “rooting” for us (pun intended!) from across the world. Thank you for being part of this garden with us!

Love, The Scotts 🤎