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"Son, listen to me carefully, and watch exactly how I do this. This week I will teach the ancient prescription for our silversmithing production. You must always guard this carefully." The Kubachi elder was speaking to his oldest son. This was a matter of honor among the Kubachi who are the renowned masters in the Caucasus of silversmithing and fine metalware. In the high mountain village of Kubachi their swords, necklaces, fine goblets, and intricate filigree metalwork have been produced for centuries—with the secrets of their methods carefully guarded from generation to generation.

The distinct Kubachi [accent on last syllable] language of Kubachi town is mutually unintelligible from the languages of all surrounding villages in this Dargin region of south central Dagestan. At least 7000 Kubachi live in their fog-shrouded central village and in several Kubachi enclaves in Dagestani cities. Honor is a central theme of the Kubachi tradition, and strong prohibitions inhibit any young Kubachi from marrying outside the guarded Kubachi circle.

For more than 10 centuries, Islam has blended in to the proud Kubachi culture. Rigid defense of Kubachi traditions and rigid defense of Islam often go hand in hand. Is there hope of grace for this proud and guarded people? The Kubachi need a Nicodemus who will honorably seek out grace-filled answers for his spiritual dissatisfaction from a representative of Jesus' salvation in a nearby people group of Dagestan. Given the proud traditions of Kubachi, he may need to initially do this at night—just as Nicodemus did in John 3.

* Scripture Prayers for the Kubachi in Russia.

* Pray for courageous Kubachi who will understand that highest honor comes from the one true God and not from created things (Rom.1).
* Pray that the hope of I Peter 1:7 will spread through the Kubachi people—"...that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."