Knock

Kramer Prayer Letter from Central Asia-May 2002

Who’s that knocking on my door?

Knock, knock! Who’s there? The boy selling eggs. It’s 6:30 in the morning!!! Maybe if we don’t answer it he will go away. Okay, maybe he won’t go away.

Knock, knock! Who’s there? It’s the beggar boy. Do we have any “non” (bread) to give him? No. How about some raisins?

Knock, knock! Who’s there? The neighbor girls want Kenny and Aidan to come out and play, but they just went down for a nap. What’s the Tajik word for “later”?

Knock, knock! Who’s there? It’s the gas people. How much do they want? They want us to pay up to August, but we won’t be here for that month. Sean explains to them that we are leaving. We go vroom vroom on plane. (Great hand gestures, honey.)

Knock, knock! Who’s there? It’s the neighbor boy; he wants to borrow our cards? Where’s the first deck we loaned out? It never came back.

Knock, knock! Who’s there? It’s the beggar girl. She wants some clothes, but I don’t have any clothes to give her.

Knock, knock! Who’s there? A university student who wants us to teach her English and give her a job.

Try having a quiet time with that kind of circus. Honestly, there are days I just want to hide under my covers and tell everyone to go away. Everyone in needy. Everyone wants help. Where to start? Where to draw the line? When to say no?

Jan 2024

While living in Central Asia, I often felt like people were using me as a resource. It seemed that they didn’t care about me, they just wanted my money and my stuff.

Sometimes my prayers to God are like a grocery list. God protect my family. God help with this financial need. God make me feel better. I wonder if God wishes for me to knock on His door just so we can spend time together. Perhaps he longs for me to enter his presence with a desire to explore his nature instead of presenting my wish list.

Knock, knock. Hello Heavenly Father, it’s me Tina. May I come in?

Today it is snowing. Thank you for the snow. Thank you for a warm home. I would like to spend time with you today. What is on your heart? Help me learn how to hear your voice and care about the things you care about.