[2025 Ramadan] Day 6 Uzbekistan, the heart of the nations that will complete the final revival along the Silk Road

Uzbekistan means ‘a country that is its own king, a country with its own king.’ It is a landlocked country located in the center of five Central Asian countries and belongs to the Turkic Belt with the lowest evangelization rate in the world. It has a population of about 37 million, the largest in Central Asia, and the main ethnic group is Uzbeks, accounting for about 84%, and there are about 130 ethnic minorities living together. Islam accounts for 99.98% of the religion, and the evangelization rate of pure Uzbeks is 0.02%.

Uzbekistan was once the center of the Silk Road, and there was an active exchange of religion and culture as well as trade. Islam, which entered Uzbekistan along the Silk Road, became a folk Islam that combined folk beliefs and shamanism for a long time. Most people do not know much about the Quran and only know about it through oral tradition or YouTube, but they identify themselves as Muslims.

The Uzbek people try to strengthen their Muslim identity and solidarity with Islam during Ramadan. During this period, they fast as an act of atonement for their sins and try to accumulate good deeds. Some people don't even swallow their saliva. Last year during Ramadan, the rate of traffic accidents increased due to drivers who were sensitive to fasting and speeding. However, rather than thinking about why they should fast during Ramadan, they say that Muslims originally keep this tradition. The Uzbek people have a very strong bond between family and relatives. Since they believe that Islam is the religion of family and people, believing in another religion means betraying their family and people and uprooting their identity. In this atmosphere, Christians who believe in Jesus alone find it difficult to keep their faith during Ramadan and consider returning to Islam due to persecution from their families.

Due to the COVID-19 situation, the economy has become more difficult and secularism has come into the picture, and the hearts of young people are filled with worldly hopes. After the war between Russia and Ukraine, Uzbek youth have become fearful of life and death due to forced conscription and economic difficulties. This has led to a religious change that strongly adheres to Islam, and on the other hand, many people are thirsting for the truth because it is difficult. Now is the most important time for the Uzbek people to come alive and the time to spread the gospel.

Uzbek churches, that have been working hard to evangelize Uzbekistan, have received the Vision School and gone on FO. Also, those who want to join the mission vision are rising through the Central Asia Mission Camp and GA. There is still a negative atmosphere toward missions, and with the strengthening of religious laws and the installation of many CCTVs in each church, there is an atmosphere of wariness toward foreigners. However, God has changed the spiritual atmosphere of this land, found the remaining stump-like churches, and is opening the way for the mission revival in Uzbekistan.

This winter, female staff members who went on MIT to K and A countries voluntarily began fasting for this Central Asia Mission Camp and are sharing the mission vision and mobilizing Uzbek churches.

After the Vision School, youth in Region S have been passionately evangelizing to many people and sharing testimonies in churches.

"Due to my parents' opposition, I was unable to attend FO and CDA, but I am praying more earnestly to attend the Central Asia Mission Camp."

"Please put me on the mobilization list. If we pray, God will show us a miracle. I will pray hard. I will definitely see a miracle."

This is the confession of an Uzbek youth. You will definitely see God’s miracle. Three years ago, Sister M, the daughter of a pastor at a family company, was attending a World Mission service when someone reported it to her, and everyone there, including the sister, was arrested by the police. It happened in an instant, but Sister M did not lose heart and continued to confess her faith until the end, and she also made a decision to leave SM. However, as time passed, her heart toward SM seemed to cool down. Then, in December of last year, she suddenly lost her cousin’s family in a gas explosion accident, and she had a very difficult time. After that, she began to think about God’s sovereignty and the purpose of life given to her sister.

“I thought that time is not ours, and I do not know if I will be alive tomorrow. I knew that I had to work hard to save souls when I could preach the gospel and when God called me.”

With this confession and an obedient heart, she resolved to go on SM and is praying for a team to go with.

[Today's Prayer]

1.

God has started a new work in Uzbekistan. He is pouring a mission vision into the Uzbek church and calling disciples of Jesus who will fulfill Jesus’ last earthly command. They are spreading the gospel and sharing the mission vision toward the nations that the Lord has given them as their inheritance! Please pray that the Uzbek churches will discern the end times and rise up as a powerful church of the Lord that will not compromise with the world and fulfill the mission entrusted to them until the end. Please pray especially that the young generation, like the morning dew, will rise up and joyfully devote themselves and confess that they will no longer live for themselves but will live for the Lord whether they live or die.

2. It is not easy for Christians to keep their faith in a family community where everyone fasts during Ramadan and observes Islamic law. In particular, new believers often return to Islam due to confusion about their identity and persecution from those around them. Please pray that the Lord will protect their hearts and firmly hold on to their faith. That they may connect to a community of faith and all fears will go away through the perfect love of Jesus. Please pray that they will clearly confess their faith in the midst of Islamic customs and the pressures of those around them, and that through one person’s confession and faith, even their families will be saved.

3. The Central Asia Mission Camp will be held during Ramadan. We hope that the news of the camp convening the Central Asian church will resonate throughout all of Uzbekistan. Please pray that a path will open for all churches, peoples, and generations of Uzbekistan to come forward. We hope that Uzbekistan will rise as the heart of the nations that saves all peoples. Through the mission camp, may the Central Asian peoples come together strongly in solidarity to restore the Lord’s mission and rise as a powerful church that cuts off Islam that has been binding this land. May they rise as a strong and courageous Joshua army that will complete the westward advance of the gospel along the Silk Road!