SHONZHY, Kazakhstan – In the remote corners of Kazakhstan, a spiritual revolution is quietly unfolding. Surrounded by ancient traditions and deep-rooted Islamic faith, a small but growing group of Uyghurs are discovering a new spiritual path, one that is changing their world forever.
The Kazakhstan landscape stretches wide and wild, from sweeping grasslands to alpine valleys and towering snow-capped mountain ranges. Sitting in the heart of Central Asia, it’s the world’s largest landlocked country.
Recently, CBN News took a four-hour drive east from Almaty to the southeastern corner of the country, just a stone’s throw from China, where generations of Uyghurs have lived. Some here still practice ancient traditions like herding horses and sheep across the wide Kazakh steppe grassland.
“We have about 25 Uyghur villages here, quite unreached with the gospel,” Rico, a Uyghur evangelist, told CBN News.
Rico was born and raised in the region. His family spent years in both Kazakhstan and China, reaching out to the Uyghur people with the message of Jesus.
In recent years, the Uyghurs in China have faced severe persecution, including mass detentions, surveillance, and cultural repression by the Chinese government.
“The Uyghurs have been Muslims for almost a millennium, so it’s a mindset that’s been ingrained into their mentality and lifestyle,” Rico explained.
In recent years, though, things have been changing. More and more Uyghurs are discovering Christianity – some through personal transformation, others through the influence of outreach in these rural villages.
There are roughly about 300,000 Uyghurs who today live in this country. Roughly 300 of them belong to the small evangelical community.
Most of those folks live here in this remote part of eastern Kazakhstan.
One of those believers is Gulnisa. She comes from a Muslim background, and for five years, struggled with chronic illness.
“I was unwell and wouldn’t leave my home for 5 years,” Gulnisa told CBN News. “I would read the Quran and pray Muslim ritual prayers and went to mullahs or those that use tarot cards but couldn’t find any help.”
But then, Gulnisa says, something changed. Jesus appeared to her in a dream.
“Jesus himself came to me in a dream,” Gulnisa recounted. “I had something like a ball and white cord in my hand, and it was unraveling, and the road was white, and Jesus said it’s ours. He smiled at me.”
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At first, Gulnisa didn’t know who this “Jesus” was and she was determined to find out.
“I looked for Jesus’ images online and then I realized that He was like the man in my dream who was dressed in white and bright light was emanating from Him,” Gulnisa said.
Now, she’s part of a small house church in the village. It’s led by Marat and Nurlikiz, who moved here from western Kazakhstan to share the gospel with the Uyghurs.
“Life here is very difficult, very difficult,” Nurlikiz Urazov told CBN News. “When we moved here for the first time, we were in shock for the entire week, we didn’t know what to do. We lived in a barn, didn’t have any money, we were sitting and crying about what we should do. We started to pray, and we heard Jesus’ voice. ‘Don’t cry my son and my daughter, I will give you strength, whatever I tell you, just do it.'”
And they did. Two years later, about a dozen people now attend their weekly services.
“My wife and I are praying that God will touch everyone among the Uyghur community here so that they would all hear the Good News and spread God’s Word; that’s the reason we are here,” said Marat Urazov who co-pastors the house church.
Another evangelist, Gulbakhram, visits village after village in this area, sharing the gospel one door at a time.
“I visit people’s homes almost every day. God gives me faith and love to spread His message of Grace,” Gulbakhram told CBN News “Sometimes people don’t listen and aren’t interested. Other times, they want me to share more about the Gospel. When I talk to people, the Holy Spirit is working and I’m grateful to God for this precious gift. I cannot express with words how happy I am.”
Australian-American Wally Kulakoff gets very emotional when he sees firsthand how God is moving so powerfully amongst the Uyghur people groups here along Kazakhstan’s eastern border with China.
“My parents prayed, my grandparents prayed, and who sees the result? Me,” said an emotional Wally. “I say, ‘Why, Lord? Why is it me? Why is it me, oh Lord, to be able to see answered prayer of my parents?'”
Kulakoff’s grandparents and parents spent decades in this region.
“My mother was there, my dad was nine years old, they lived amongst the Uyghur people for a period of 30 years,” Kulakoff said. “They spoke their language, they understood their culture, they ate their food, they lived together with them.”
They labored to share Christ’s love despite immense challenges, often seeing little fruit for their efforts.
“You have no boundaries for the Holy Spirit; there is no boundary for what you can do,” Kulakoff said during a prayer service.
Now, Kulakoff walks the same soil. Having spent 25 years as a missionary here, he has seen firsthand how God is moving among the Uyghurs and other ethnic groups of Central Asia.
He’s humbled by the prayers and perseverance of his family, who planted seeds of faith they never saw bloom.
“A hundred years later, for me to come back and to see the Uyghur people,” Kulakoff said. “This is an emotional moment. I can rejoice in the fact that they are coming to know God, slowly but methodically, and Jesus Christ appears to these people.”
Kulakoff, Rico, and other believers recently met at the Kazakh-China border to pray for the Lord’s continued move across this region. As the seeds of faith grow in the hearts of the Uyghur people, one thing is clear: in this vast land of Kazakhstan, God’s presence is undeniable, and the journey of transformation has only just begun.
