What a day

This morning when I woke up and saw the report from the day in Kyrgyzstan, I must admit that I was a little overwhelmed .  I have known that this day was coming, but when I see it unfold its such a blessing .  Larisa's mom is in the hospital right now , and her car is not working .  Bekah and emma and Jengish stepped up to help tanya pull this all off.  The had parties at the mens home , the dump and the hospital dorms where the fire people are living .  Every one of these stops is an amazing opportunity to reach out to the least of these.  This was more than just the pie challenge , it was an extra special blessing from Possibilities International .    Families that had lost all hope just a short time ago .. families that had lost everything .  What a blessing to be able to make such a difference in their lives.

 

Every child was given the gift of their dreams, and all the adults were given there own Aigulla blanket.

Next stop was to the dump to visit the families there , and bring them some care packages.  Again these packages were provided by our friends at Possibilities International.  Sam and his sponsors came with us to the dump in May 2008, and have continued to send care packages to them ever since..   The greatest gift is not the food package, but the fact that the have not been forgotten and all these years later , help continues to come to them 

The final stop of the day was to the mens home for a visit while they were in town.  They brought them some gifts as well , including some fresh Banana's and oranges, and chocolate bars .

You may get tired of hearing it, but I will never get tired of saying it.. Thank you everyone that has had a part of this special day.. weather you donation was through Possibilities International, the pie challenge, or the actofkindness general fund that keeps our friends doing what they do ..  Thank you on behalf of Rebekah, Emma, Jengish, Larisa and Tanya, Sergey and Anya,Vlady and Tatyana, Olga, Acel, Oleg and Vera, Kamala,Aigula  and all those they support .

exceedingly and abundantly more then we could ask or imagine

As we push past the 1000 mark in those that have celebrated Christmas in Kyrgyzstan , the parties continue .. The next party is a special one.  It is sponsored by Possibilities International.  PI has had an invested interest in Iskra and Larisa and Tanya in particular for many years .  When they heard of the fire in the spring that  destroyed the homes of 18 families, with 64 people in total left homeless, PI was one of the first to respond.  
Together with a Church in Canada , they raised the funds to do some major renovations to an old hospital, making it possible for the families to be inside for the winter.  You might think that is where the storey could end.. but not for PI.. I can not tell you how many times Sam and Ron have said to me "exceedingly and abundantly MORE then you could ask or imagine "  THAT"S WHAT HE IS TALKING ABOUT..

All of the children were asked by Tanya to make a wish list for Christmas .. a "what if you could have what ever you want list"

..  Tomorrow those kids will have a party and will each be given ALL the items on their list ... remembering that they have nothing left from the fire,  this is going to be such an incredible day for them

 .. as well , every adult will get a brand new Aigulla blanket.  

There will be a party at the new apartments at the hospital, and family and friends frmo the village and kids from the dump will attend.    At this party they will also be given a huge load of school and craft supplies, and the funds for Tanya to operate the homework club in the newly furnished class room as well.   
All the rest of the school year they will have Tanya there to help them with their school work as well as extra activities.

Bringing in the new year with a bang.

New years was a blast ... literally. Bekah and several of her friends put on a new year's eve bash for some boys from a couple different orphanages. And boy did they have a good time .  They had games and crafts  all planed , the apartment decorated, lots of good food,  And at midnight they went out to watch the fire works . 

Then today , Bekah went shopping again to get ready for the next celebration with the kids from Svetly put orphanage.  

While the boys were with her, Orange was the theme as you can see from the picture below .

Once the boys went home, bekah knew exactly what to do with the leftover fruit... as well she made a big soup with the rest of the food and headed over to the homeless shelter ..what a treat that was for them .  

 I have watched picture buy picture over the last couple months, and can not believe how much better these folks are looking .. who ever would have thought that winter would be a time for wellness for the homeless of Tokmok.  We are just so encouraged by the social services  workers and the mayors office in Tokmok who are making the hurting helpless and lost a priority .. so glad that people like you are involved with this making it possible for us to take an active roll here .. Thank you again

An opportunity to make a short term investment with eternal dividends

Today I want to tell you a little bit about one incredible young man we know in Kyrgyzstan and about a need that he has.

Aza with a couple of the boys at the new years party at the apartment

His name is Azamat.  We first met Azamat in 2009 when he was in our sponsorship program at the local university.  He received a partial sponsorship for a few years, earning most of his tuition himself over the summers.   Azamat was always thankful for the support from his sponsor through  actofkindness , and ANY time we needed help with ANYTHING, Azamat has been there for us. It takes so many people and support workers for us to do what we do, and honestly, I don't know how we could do a lot of it with out the help of guys like Aza.  If you look back through the blog over the last few years you will see many pictures of him, with the kids , the seniors, the men from the Mens home.. and with Emmas kids.  He is a great help.  What I like the most about Aza is his heart for the hurting.. most times when there is a free moment, you will find Aza not standing around with other team members waiting to see whats net, but you will find him one on one , speaking life and encouragement into the lives of those we are visiting.

Azamat helping the boys with a craft 

Since his graduation, Aza has been working
for a local NGO that works with children and poor families.  He excels at this job, He does it not as a JOB, but he does it from the heart, as his way of Giving back. What is really cool is that although he does not earn a lot, now that he is graduated and working, he has become a supporter of the work that we do.  Weather its cloths and back to school supplies and clothes for kids, or gifts for the senior home, what ever .. he and his friends even sponsored Bekah for the walkathon that she went on with iam1ru ... then walked with her for support
Aza is one of those people we call when one of the kids we are working with needs special counseling when dealing with things that are beyond their control.

So you are probably thinking to your self ..Why is he telling us this, and your waiting for "The Big Ask" .. so I don't want to disappoint you.. But for some of you, Here is an opportunity to change a life, in fact change MANY lives for years to come , and not really cost you much in the end.  let me share more ....

Aza has always had in his heart to help the underprivileged and those in need, and has been living that out, but now he has been excepted to an incredible program with HOPE in Alaska where he will receive training and experience working with the disabled.  This is an incredible program that friends of LAMb international run, and have received people from Kyrgyzstan for several years . A couple years ago Larissa and Tanya took this course.  The knowledge and skills that he would learn here will be such an asset to us and to the people we work with.   We have completed all the paperwork for his visa, and he interviews at the US Embassy  in four days, and if excepted, he will need to get his ticket and insurance and fly out at the end of February.   While he is in Alaska, his living expenses and a small stipend is provided, and when he completes the three month program, He will be reimbursed for is travel expenses.  The problem he has is that he just found out that the funding he had to purchase his ticket and insurance has fallen through.   He only has a couple weeks to secure a loan .. something that is next to impossible in the economic climate of Kyrgyzstan.  He will need about $2000.. and can pay it back as soon as the program is complete.  He has asked us if we could help, as we have done so a couple  times in the past with others,  but we simply have no room left on any of our credit to cover that at this time. I told him I would put word out and see if any of you would like to purchase the ticket for him, and he will return the funds around the end of May.  If you you have the means , and would like to invest in Azamat, please email me at sunmasterjohn@aol.com and we can figure ot how to make this happen .

Care package being packed for the kids.

Today we took advantage of the boxing week sales , and the fact that we have someone we know traveling to Kyrgyzstan soon.  We have decided to pack a hockey bag and ship it to our friends location for her to bring with her when she goes.   we found a courier that will pick up at our door and deliver to hers 5 hours away the next day for only $30.     

The first item in this bag will be a set of learning blocks for Kamalla and Emma  to use at the homework club at the Bacute orphanage,  For those of you who know Cindy Lajoy, she has been a great help to us figuring out how to best connect with some of these kids with their learning difficulties... Cindy put us on to these blocks.. we are very excited to give them a try. 

Next on the list was a special order for Jengish ... He found this simple but effective milker for the farm.. It is completely manual and will be great for the goats when he starts cheese production next month 

Next up are all these cool supplies for the farm.  Some really good books about understanding the chemistry behind growing, as well as some soil test kits to get off on the right start.

Next up is a special order for making cages.. we are up to over 40 rabbits now .. 10% of the way to our target for the rabbit portion of the operation.  As we expand, we need to keep reconfiguring the space we have, and that includes making rabbit cages . Oh and maybe even a can or two of Coffee will make it into the bag. 

Meanwhile back in Kyrgyzstan they have all been busy.  Today was a bit of a down day with no parties scheduled.  Tomorrow , which is actually today for them , is newyears.  This is the biggest celebration of all in Kyrgyzstan.  For this event, Jengish and Emma will help Bekah and the girls to throw a special new years party.. It will include some very special guests.. kids that the girls have worked a lot with over the years .. I have heard about all the planing that has gone into this , and I know it will be a great day .    

Emma  has been working on some art work that will go in the hospital clinic. this is the first of a two painting set that she is doing .. its a good example of her work.  Just a reminder that she is doing some custom work now to help pay the bills .. if you are interested in a custom piece, or a portrait, let us know . 

Today we received two new additions to the farm,  One of them is a pregnant mother goat.  Her name is promise, sponsored by a family in the US.  the other is Promises daughter.  she is still looking for a sponsor and a name if you are interested .  They are both good quality milking goats, and Promise will be giving milk in just a few weeks. 

The main purpose for the milk will be for goat cheese, but it will be great to have access to good milk for some of the families that we help .. 

 Emma went out to meet up with a young mother we know.  This is actually Baktyguls older sister .  She is having some difficulty feeding her baby, and so Emma met up with her and bought her some high quality formula and some diapers.  She then got her a bag of food from the garage...  YES the garage is still producing food bags for those in need .. It is like some sort of blessed building.. we keep bringing bags and bags of food , even by the car load at times, and there is still food there.  If anyone would like to be a part of restocking the garage you can just put food hampers on the memo of your donation and Bekah will use it to restock the items that are running low.. I know that they have to be running out of some stuff by now 

Well that was today !  I can't wait for tomorrow .. Tomorrow is another good day .. in fact I think they are mostly good days when you can respond to the needs of so many , and do it bringing HOPE and DIGNITY .  All of you who have supported over this last year,  You are awesome

Red River Celebrations

Todays Christmas party was out in Red River .. Sergey and Anya had the lead at this one.  They brought Anya's dance troup out with them as well as fruit and cotton candy.  Mrs Bubbles even cam for the day and helped with games .. What a great day to spend the day.  The kids had an absolute blast. 

Talking to Sergey and Anya today, they write

"it was great time in every place thanks for all who spend money and time

for make happy and joy and smile for all kids".