BISHKEK (UCAN) -- Jesuit Fathers Aleksandr and Jon Kan see their work in Kyrgyzstan as "boring," yet their ministry is building the foundation for the local Church in this predominantly Muslim country.

Father Aleksandr, 40, born in neighboring Kazakhstan, is superior of the "sui juris" (self-governing) Catholic mission of Kyrgyzstan and juridically equivalent to a bishop. His younger brother, Father Jon, is one of four other Jesuits assigned to this former Soviet republic in Central Asia.

Their work is mostly a repetitive routine of long drives to visit, catechize and celebrate Mass with isolated pockets of Catholics. It may seem boring in comparison with the activities in developed Churches, but the Church in Kyrgyzstan is only in the early stages of building Basic Ecclesial Communities, small Church communities aimed at helping Catholics apply their faith in their daily life.

Father Jon sets off six days a week to celebrate Mass and teach catechism in one of the more than 30 communities the priests serve.

Twice a month, he and his catechist Anastasia drive 90 minutes along the Kazakhstan border to a hospital for children and adults with mental and physical disabilities.

While Anastasia spends time with female residents, Father Jon visits male patients who are bedridden. He goes to every ward but saves his last visit to sit and talk with his friend Sergie.

Once Father Jon enters the room, Sergie's face lights up. The priest talks with him about the man's health and visitors, but mostly they talk about God.

Sergie, whose body is bent like a question mark, seeks no pity or sympathy. He does not ask the priest why God has made him this way, but only speaks of God's glory and power.

Father Jon told UCA News that during Sergie's many years in the hospital, he has been visited by representatives of many Christian denominations and has discussed religion and faith with them all. However, it was only when the Jesuits came that Sergie talked about God and was sure he had found the "true faith" when he learned about the Catholics Sacraments.

Sergie told UCA News through Father Jon that he believes Jesus Christ could cure him. However, he says he would never ask for a miracle. He accepts the way he is, he says, because God has willed it and he would not ask God to change him for his own "selfish" motives.

"I would like to be better, but whatever God wants, that is what it is," he said in Russian. Sergie is already baptized, and Father Jon is now preparing him for his first Communion.

Before leaving, Father Jon says a prayer over his friend as he always does with everyone he visits at the hospital -- blessing each and asking for their blessing in return. "Everyone experiences God and each has his or her own special blessing, so it is good we bless our people -- Catholics, Orthodox or Muslims -- and are blessed in return by all of them," the Jesuit explains.

Before leaving the hospital, he stops to talk to a group of people with Down's Syndrome. Father Jon is in no rush. There are no quick handshakes or speedy departures. Each patient is treated as God's special gift.

This is the first half of today's journey with Father Jon and Anastasia. The next stop, after a 90-minute drive, is to deliver medicine to a young teenager suffering from epilepsy. Without the medicine, the boy could die because of his seizures, so the distance and discomfort is overlooked due to the need. The Franciscan School Sisters are able to get the medicine through U.S. medics stationed in the country who fly support missions to nearby Afghanistan.

Twice a month, one of the Kan brothers makes a 320-kilometer round trip to a small village in Kazakhstan to say Mass for eight Catholics. They do not come under the Kyrgyzstan mission but are too far from Almaty in Kazakhstan for the priests there to serve them. So the priests in Kyrgyzstan cover this small community.

For the Jesuits here, there is no Catholic community too far or with too few members to serve with visits, catechism, Sacraments and humanitarian aid.

A year ago there were less than 20 communities, now there are more than 30. Some places that started with only two old women five years ago now have 40 people attending Mass and instructions.

The Church is growing slowly since Pope John Paul II appointed Father Aleksandr superior of this mission on Dec. 22, 1997.

If anyone asks Father Aleksandr the number of Catholics in the country, his answer is not given in terms of tens of hundreds or thousands. "Well, two more than I had yesterday. I found them in prison on my visit today," is a more likely response. His community is always growing because he goes out with God and brings new blessings home with him, he says.

Kyrgyzstan has 4.8 million people, about 300 of whom are Catholics, according to the 2003 Annuario Pontificio, the Vatican yearbook.

Annexed by Russia in 1864, the country became independent in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union.

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