Back In The USSR

This morning I woke up humming 'Hail To The Chief' because the President arrived last night.  No, of course not THAT president.  Ed Cannon took over as President and CEO of FEBC last year after 9 years as the Executive VP of Moody Bible Institute.  Prior to that, he worked for almost 25 years as an executive in the oil industry, primarily for British Petroleum.  I rolled out of bed, opened my door, and there he was; coat, dress shirt, slacks, wingtips and all, ready to go.  I witnessed the coat come off a time or two, but for a while I thought he slept in a dress shirt, slacks, and wingtips until I discovered that sometimes he wears jeans instead of slacks and cowboy boots instead of wingtips.  He's very presidential–he carries himself with an element of decorum and charm (but not self-importance), and yet at the same time, he's incredibly genuine–he engages people in sincere conversation and responds with honesty and interest.  Originally we had planned to have our visits to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan coincide a little more closely, but unfortunately, he had an annual executives meeting that could not move, so he had to come later, and we would only get to spend a few days together in Central Asia.

Fame in foreign countries–especially less affluent countries–is a curious thing.  Yesterday, we ate lunch at a Turkish fast food place which was relentlessly playing American music videos and American advertisements.  Most of the advertisements feature American models and stars, and those that don't still predominantly feature faces of Russian ethnic background.  There are very few ads featuring ethnically Kazakh models, partially because many local companies probably don't have the funds to afford mass advertising, but also partially because fame and attractiveness have become associated with a more Western look, if not altogether American.  Nurlan's kids are obsessed with One Direction, a teenie-bopper pop group which has made a decent-sized splash in America, but a Beatles-sized splash in Central Asia.  I thought I had come here to get away from One Direction.  Apparently not.  Just like the Beatles, their popularity defies logic as well as cultural borders, and their music videos were present during lunch yesterday, bombarding my senses.  There's a cultural center and tourist attraction on a hill in Almaty known as Kok-Tobe.  There, you can find a statue on a bench in homage to the Beatles, where you can sit with John, Paul, George and Ringo.  Even though The Beatles sang about being back in the USSR, they never actually visited any part of Soviet Russia, let alone Kazakhstan.  I suppose it won't be long before Ardak, Adina, and Dana will be able to have their pictures taken with graven images of One Direction somewhere in town, despite the fact that those prepubescent boys in the music videos probably don't know that  Kazakhstan exists, let alone where to look for it on a map.

I think that though we live with it in every day USA, we're still aware that America is where the movie stars come from, and most of the famous people in the world are American.  But there's more to it than that.  Simply being an American makes you a big deal.  I can say with just as much honesty as facetiousness that I'm a big deal in Kazakhstan.  (Of course I already thought I was a big deal, but Ed sincerely doesn't think he's much to write home about.)  Whenever I've visited people in countries like Kenya, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan (especially in rural areas), they've frequently gone very far out of their way to welcome me.  I know that in these places, generosity and hospitality is an understood part of the culture, especially when guests are concerned, but I also know that I'm not imagining things or grandstanding when I say that there's a little more effort that goes into the preparations for my visit simply because I'm an American.  In these places, when I tell people that I'm from California, their eyes get a little wider and their jaws drop a little lower.  Though they don't ask me directly, I can tell they're wondering whether the streets in California are actually paved with gold, and whether I received my first Ferrari at the age of 12, or if I had to wait until I was 16.  Today, we returned with Ed to visit Oscar and his family.  We had told them two days ago that we might be returning with THE PRESIDENT, and maybe you can imagine how much more impressed and honored they were to have the chance to host the president of anything from America.  Today's meal was even more carefully prepared than the meal had been two days ago, when they were just hosting a non-presidential American.  We visited with Oscar and his family for several more hours.  Oscar reenacted his powerpoint presentation about the house church movement for Ed, and Oscar's youngest son reenacted his Lil' Rascals routine for me.  It was clear that this is a project for which FEBC will be intentional about looking for support opportunities.  Having satellite radio at Oscar's house has the potential to be a powerful resource for the underground church in Kazakhstan and for a growing number of foster children.

After visiting Oscar and his family again, we engaged in the most appropriate leisure activity Rudi could think of while Ed was visiting.  We took the president to the First President's Park.  Nursultan Nazarbayev is the first and only President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.  He's been the official president since April of 1990, which predates even the fall of the Soviet Union, which was finalized in December of 1991.  He actually assumed office in 1989 under the Soviet Union as the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet (i.e. Chairman of the Head of State), and then won the first presidential election in Kazakhstan in 1991 with a whopping 91.5% of the vote.  Though his name actually includes the word 'sultan', Rudi refers to him appropriately as "a czar", hearkening back to the old tradition of rulers of the Russian Empire, which is a term itself which hearkens back to the caesars of the Roman Empire.  So even though Nazerbayev is 'democratically elected', he's a dictator.  He is, however, a very popular dictator, as evidenced by the fact that he's been reelected 3 times after his initial election, in 1995, 2000, 2005.  In 2007, the constitution was amended to allow him to seek reelection as many times as he wishes, so even though he's 73 now, there's a high probability that he'll continue to be reelected until he's tired.  In 1997, Nazarbayev moved the capitol city from Almaty to Astana in the north of the country, but had the First Presidential Park in Almaty built in his honor, and it is a marvel of landscape architecture.  Rudi insists that he personally commissioned the construction of the park prior to Ed's arrival, and then had it named in Ed's honor.  From within the park, there is an excellent view of the mountains, which improves significantly after hiking up to the vantage point on a hill in the park which overlooks the entire park and most of the city.  Even the streets from the airport to the park are nicer, and continually decorated with flowers, in the event that Nazarbayev might decide to come for a visit to his park.  Of course Rudi claims that he was personally responsible for the nicer streets as well, in preparation for Ed's coming.  And he might as well have been.  The affluent parts of this diverse city were still manufactured to accommodate the fame of one man.

Such notions of fame cause me to reflect upon the traditions of the Orthodox Church, which was once so popular here in an area formerly controlled by the Soviet Union.  In the Orthodox tradition, tremendous care was also taken to glorify and commemorate the fame of one Man–Jesus Christ.  Today, most would call it foolish to spend so much time, energy, and money in praise of a Jewish carpenter who lived 2000 years ago, and certainly no pop star.  Even in the Evangelical Christian community, where the Person of Christ is understood, significant criticism has been levied upon the Orthodox tradition for presenting such ostentatiously syrupy ornate cathedrals and icons as places and tools of worship.  "After all," we might say, "Christ doesn't care about your wealth; He only cares about your soul, and you can worship him just as well in a cardboard box as you can in a gaudy cathedral."  That may be true, but Christ also cares about our first fruits.  If His fame is truly above all others, then He is deserving of the best.  If we, as a culture, roll out the red carpet for One Direction, and build monuments to The Beatles, should we not, as a culture, reserve our finest for the King of kings?  This is why I tend to admire the cathedrals and icons constructed in order to venerate Christ, rather than renounce them.  This is why I am moved by the fact that a large majority of the most renowned works of music and art throughout the last 2000 years have been dedicated to one Man.  It's not mere coincidence, and it's not for nothing.  I long to participate in that tradition.