American family, which keeps records of the political life on Kyrgyzstan

There is a family in the United States, which knows very well Kyrgyzstan and many people in our country, including our political leaders. This is a Wrights family.
Charles (Chuck) Parker Wright and his wife Margie Wright live in the retirement home for the U.S. military in the capital of the United States. As Margie Wright told me, both of them live in this place becauhse her father was the general of the U.S. Army. She said that there are about300 other retired people in this home, who are in one way or another are related to the military. As it turns out, when Mrs. Eisenhower founded of this retirement, her husband of several years general Dwight Eisenhower had become the 34th President of the United States.
At the time, Chuck Wright was a pastor and also a chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000. Hegot acquainted and fell in love with Kyrgyzstan thanks tomany meetings with the Kyrgyz people and visits to our country? Which were started since the time of thePresidency of Askar Akayev. He visited Kyrgyzstantogether with his wife. As both of them admitted to me during our meeting, they liked Kyrgyzstan so much, that they were able to visit our country 7 times and not only Bishkek, but Issyk-Kul lake and Osh valley as well.
As VIP guests, they were able to get acquainted not only with many representatives of the political elite of Kyrgyzstan, but with ordinary people as well. They wereinvited and hosted by many political leaders from ourcountry. The most important is the fact, that thanks to a friendship with political leaders in Kyrgyzstan, they were able to share with them the interesting tradition, which contributes to the resolution of certain political problems in the life of the United States. Both of them help to host inthe capital of the United States the prayer breakfasts, as a tradition, established since 1930s.
During those challenging times, the founders of this tradition proposed to representatives of two major U.S. parties to forget about existing between them differences and meet around the person of Jesus. One of the past Co-chairs of the National Prayer Breakfast Congresswoman Joann Emerson said, "From all the ends of the earth, we have gathered here today in the Name and Spirit of Jesus. We are united in prayer to bridge our differences and resolve problems in the world. We are a worldwide Family, united in Jesus." In 1950s, members of the US Congress decided in addition to having such gatherings on a weekly basis in the U.S. Capitol, to meet together once per year during the first week of February and by prayer and sharing meal, to seek dialogue with the executive branch of power of the United States. Dwight Eisenhower became the first President of the United States, who participated at the prayer breakfast, and since then, it is a gathering in which every US President takes part. Now the National Prayer Breakfast with participation of the U.S. President and members of U.S. Congress during the first week of February gathers also religious, political public figures from all around the world. Many representatives of Kyrgyzstan participated before and participate now in this important gathering in order to learn how it make an important contribution both to the search of between confessional dialogue and in the system of checks and balances of the political life of the United States.
Margie Wright showed me a mansion across their house, which accommodates, according to her words, many guests-participants of the National Prayer Breakfast from Kyrgyzstan.
Mansion, which accommodates Kyrgyz delegates during the visits to the National Prayer Breakfast
Wright couple lives in a two-bedroom apartment inside of the retirement house. A small table in the hall of the apartment is covered by several photo albums, whichaffiliated with many memorable moments of Wright family. Meanwhile, those albums provide also an evidence of the contribution of Wright to the maturity of the political system in the Kyrgyz Republic: there are almost all political and public persons of Kyrgyzstan since the moment of its independence who were presented on those photographs.
Sooronbay Jeenbekov with congressman Joe Pitts during the National Prayer Breakfast in February 2004.
By sharing their memories about Kyrgyzstan, Wrights mentioned that it is the best place among those visited by them. They liked the most their trips to Issyk-Kul lake. Wright also remembered about their participation at thewedding of the daughter of Bolot Sher, deputy of the Kyrgyz Parliament, being hosted by Karganbek Samakov, another deputy of the Kyrgyz Parliament, participation in activities organized by the President of the International University of Kyrgyzstan, Dr. Asylbek Aidaraliev and other political leaders of the country. They remembered with sadness some of their Kyrgyz friends, who passed away, and with smile shared memories about some funny stories, which happened with them in Kyrgyzstan and the United States.
Chuck and Margie Wright with Dr. Aidaraliev at the Issyk-Kul lake in July 2014.
It is interesting to mention, that the head of the family still remembers very well all details of hunting organized for him in Kyrgyzstan. Trophy head of Marco Polo sheep Chuck Wright keeps in the room, which Wrights call the Kyrgyz Room and when somebody from Kyrgyzstan comes to the United States, they are accommodated in there.
Chuck Wright and Mr. Parkhat Tulendybaev, member of the Kyrgyz Parliament in the Kyrgyz room in February 2019
Another warm memory for them related to the visit to the U.S. of Kyrgyzstanis, who arranged hunting for Chuck Wright, who stayed in their house. Margie Wright told how she was able to learn several phrases in Kyrgyz because their guests did not know English and how she still uses those phrases. She also shared a story how they were in need to call to the Embassy of Kyrgyzstan in the United States to ask help to translate their guest a suggestion to join them for the Sunday service in their church. This way, as Margie Wright said, they tried to express their respect to their guests from Kyrgyzstan and get them acquainted with American culture. According to Margie Wright, the Kyrgyz guests were able to meet Dr. Condoleezza Rice, a State Secretary at that time, who also attended the same with Wrights couple church.
Wrights family shared many other interesting and captivating stories, as the evidence that there is such a remarkable family in the United States, which keeps a memory about Kyrgyzstanis and introduces their American friends to the Kyrgyz culture and intriguing stories about Kyrgyzstan.
Ermek Abdrisaev