The harvest is beginning

Despite winter hanging on for a full extra month this spring, we have started to harvest.  We were able to start these cucumbers in the green house.  the first batch we planted directly in the fields were not so fortunate, but they have been replanted and will be bearing fruit shortly as well. . 

prices have started falling at the bazaar  so we will start canning for the winter . 

this is the second plant for these , but they are catching up quickly 

in the green house the tomatoes are continuing to grow 

lots of tomatoes  now we just need them to start getting ripe 

 

they are starting to get some colour in them, it should not be long now 

peppers are doing well .. there were a few spots that the snow took out, but the rows are double planted, and we found from other years that it gets too crowded to get in and pick, so we left the open spots rather then replanting so we have some spots to work in the field and put the crates when picking 

Peppers are starting to form 

  The tomatoes in the fields are just small but they are starting .. close to the kitchen we have a section of garden that has a little bit of everything so that they don't have to walk to the other end of the garden to get produce for the table ..  the photo on the right is the red cabbages in that garden .  

the zucchini is looking ready to start picking now as well .. these are small but in a few days they will be huge

cucumbers are starting to look full 

the trees are starting to fill with fruit as well .  That is nice to see.. the apples in the market have been too expensive to buy for a couple months now, so it will be nice to have more fruit to give out 

we have about 1000 of these in this section of the garden .. they will be ready to pick soon as well 

It is always hard for me to  be  back in Canada away from the Gardens .. so much work goes into planting and the first major weeding , then I leave ,, I love walking through the gardens every day watching the produce grow.  So this year we decided that since Emma and Jengish will be here in Canada for the harvest, we would  plant a few things.. certainly nothing the the scale of Kyrgyzstan , but its a start .. . Here are my tomatoes and cucumbers . in Canada . hahaha 

The Air is on

With the day time temperatures pushing 100 degrees, and the waiting room so full at the baby hospital, it is such a blessing that we were able to put in the air conditioning today .. A special thank you to those of you who had a part in this 

Help bring Emma and Jengish to Canada to have a baby.

Yesterday we shared the exiting new about a baby on the way.  

In preparation for this we have made some organizational changes.  Emma will need to be in Canada for three months before her health insurance kicks in, so we will be changing things up right away.  Emma and Jengish will be coming to Canada in the end of July and Julie and I will return to Kyrgyzstan in the middle of August. 

We try not to travel to and from Kyrgyzstan in the middle of the summer as the flights are more expensive then .  To get them home, cover insurance for Jengish, and pay the extra to get Julie and I back, we need to come up with $5000 right away . 

We have prepared  a little incentive for any one that would like to help us.

Many of you have or know about the beautiful blankets that Aigoola makes.  They are the warmest most comfortable blankets you would ever use. 

We have brought an extra special one of these blankets home with us. It has been made with 50 % more filling in it. 

For the next week, up until June 28th, for every donation of $100 or multiples of $100 made toward help with flights, I will put your name in a draw for one of these beautiful comfy blankets.  So far we have one donation in for $300, so their name is in the draw 3 times ..  

Exciting news .

We have some exciting news, and at the same time a great need.  Emma sent this letter today ..




"So the news is out!!!! We are so excited to announce that in the end of January there will be a new addition to the Odigski family!!!!!

Jenish and I are working on getting everything set at the farm to be able to come home to Canada for the rest of the pregnancy and to have the baby. We will be living at our home near Norwood, Ontario. With this new adventure coming up we need help to get home! We are working on getting the money in place for tickets so that I can be home with time for health care to kick in during the pregnancy and birth. We are planning to be home by the beginning of August to Peterborough area. .While home, Jengish and I would love to come and visit and share our adventures.  Mom and Dad will return to Kyrgyzstan early August to help look after the farm.    We are so thankful and really appreciate that we have so many people praying for us and supporting us."  


We will be needing to purchase the tickets as soon as possible.   Travel insurance for Jengish and flights for the two of them will be about  $4000, as well for Julie and I to return earlier in the summer  we are at a peak time so so our flights will be about $500 each more then usual .  

We will try to figure out some ways of raising some of these expenses, but for now we would really appreciate any support possible .. 

We have been working towards this transition at the farm over the spring, and we have most of the responsibilities divided up among our other coworkers with each taking on a bit more responsibility , but as you can imagine Jengish and Emma will be hard to replace in Kyrgyzstan, but great representatives of Actofkindness here in Canada and the US.  Please pray for a smooth transition and the necessary finances to pull this all together. 

update from the airport

It was an exciting week.  The biggest news to report right now is that Bekah has graduated.  She completed a dual diploma from both American University of Central Asia and Bards Collage of NY. 

This week Bekah cleaned out her locker , and moved to her new office at the University where she will be teaching starting in August . 

We had a fun day with everyone and a couple groups of guests from the farm last week as well.  We went to the waterfalls, then to the yurt for lunch where we had the eagle hunters visit and the horses there for people to ride.  The best part was sitting on the deck in the afternoon and watching all the animals coming and going . 

We finished the new light and the hood over the kazans as well as replaced the one that got burned out when the boys were "keeping an eye on it " 

we also got the floor painted and the back splash up behind the counters. 

I did a walk around the farm before we headed for the airport   everything is coming along great .  There will be tomatoes to pick very soon and the little sticks we planted last year are already starting to get apples on them. 

We have the gardens divided into 10 sections , this section is the beats .  We have finaly gotten ahead of the weeds here . 

Olga had a couple great events for Children's day.  the one I was able to attend was for the kids that came from families that had children with disabilities in them .. there were about 20 disabled kids, but with their siblings and other family members, that brought us to about 70 kids that day .. there was games, icecream, pop, toys, food hampers and clothes given out.

Back at the farm we moved the pigs to the barn over on the boys side, then the barn where the main house is got all cleaned out and painted .  We have moved the Holstein and one of the goats back down from the mountain .. they are a bread that does not do as well in the mountain, so will be nice to have a milk cow at  the home farm  . 

 The hospital waiting room air conditioning fund is coming along well .. we just need another $300 US and we can get them installed

Well they are calling our gate now so I will post more later ..

Inside the Son is shinning.

If you have been following us on Facebook you will have seen our adventures up at the yurt.  Yesterday there was a storm that blew threw. It sure was an adventure , once again we withstood the rain and the winds, but at times it was a little scary.   

This morning it was still raining, and I could not help but think of those at the hospital waiting to have their sick babies looked after.  Up until now they would have been out standing in that rain, but now things are a little different.  

It may be wet and raining outside but inside the Son is shinning.   

Today , Tokmok has one of the finest baby centers in the country, but what makes it so great is not the building but the incredible staff that work tirelessly for the children. 

Dr Anara was the driving factor behind this project, and the reason we came on board was more because of our respect and belief in her.  

Along with being in out of the rain, another big step up is that the new clinic has washroom facilities and baby changing facilities.  it may not seem like a big deal but try standing in a line out in the rain for hours with kids , no place to sit down, and no place to use a washroom ..   The new face of the Tokmok Baby hospital is built to bring and show respect to parents and children especially at a time of crisis. 

We do have one more thing that we would like to do before we call this project finished, ( you know exceedingly and abundantly more then you could ask or imagine, and all that, )  In the summer, temperatures can become unbearable , up over 100 degrees for many days in a row.  In keeping with our desire to bring dignity, respect and comfort to families, we would like to put in an air conditioning system before the summer heat hits.  The cost will be about $700 US.   The impact of this will be recognized by hundreds.  

We are down to our last week here in Kyrgyzstan.  Still a lot of little things to do before we leave.  We want  to have all the renovation work done before we go so that all that is needed is to maintain the crops, animals and the guest house until we return in mid August.  

Rebekah had her last state exam yesterday, so she is now officially finished her University program.  She is excited that she has actually been hired on at the university teaching starting in September.   What a great feeling of accomplishment that has been for her .  Bekah and Lilly celebrated buy coming out to spend the night with us at the yurt.  Julie was looking forward to a peaceful night , something that Bekah would remember. 

Well it did turn into a night to remember all right .. the first blast of wind was a sand storm around 8:00 then at around 1:30 it returned from a different direction but this time with the rain.