My dear friend Lil(RIP) was a missionary to Turkmenistan during Niyazov’s reign. She told me about a statue of him, made of gold, that turned on a pivot so the sun always shone on its face. It was on a pedestal surrounded by huge fountains in a land where water was scarce.
The women didn’t have to wear full burkas (unlike their neighbors in Afghanistan), but the muzzie garb was still voluminous enough to smuggle in lots of Bibles!
Lil was my best and dearest friend, and I took her to Hawaii with me in 2013, where she suffered a massive aneurysm and died in my arms. In an open helicopter. Over an erupting volcano. God gave her a spectacular exit to a spectacular life, and I got to be a part of it.
(Just a side story to the article, but mentioning Niyazov brought it out)
Wow, that is an astounding and moving story. Thank you for sharing that.