Trip with no return ticket

"Trip with no return ticket 💔, all life fitted in only two suitcases😭, unplanned journey with hope to return to my Homeland one day#всебудеУкраїна🇺🇦❤️ — at Paris Aéroport - Charles de Gaulle (CDG)."
 This was the message from Mother and son of the family from Ukraine we are hosting. 10 hour boarder crossing , Visa issues, and Father now to travel in another week , Flight delays on both flights so far, and Hotel difficulties in Paris .. But this has been the easiest part of the journey . Leaving everything but two suit cases and a country they love behind, that has been the real journey.
 Stranded at the Paris airport , God sent a stranger .. This lovely Korean Lady saw the distress and offered to share a taxi to the hotel when there was no shuttle bus as booked . When she found out that they were from Ukraine, she insisted on paying the full taxi for them. Then early this morning when again the Holiday Inn failed to provide the shuttle once again, the same Lady showed up and helped carry bags as they set out on foot.
 As mad as I am at Expedia , and Holiday Inn , I am reminded that there is still evidence Humanity .. or was this simply an angel sent to assist them ? 
 As this was all unfolding , We received a donation of $1000 towards their travel expenses. This was such a blessing and encouragement to be able to share this info with them as they were waiting to board their flight .. 
Then I got thinking ... could we raise the other $1000 before I pick them up at the train station tonight ? I fully believe we can do this. we all have an opportunity to be the face of Humanity , or like the Korean Angle that visited them , be used by God to bring Hope and encouragement at such a difficult time .

A post to remind myself of Gods Provision.

 Yesterday I shared about the fathers day Scholarship Fund ($10 000) and the incredible opportunity to shape the future for a young man or women wanting to get ahead.  

Today I thought I would give you an update about some of the previous needs we have shared. 

A huge need for Aigula We are so happy to report that The full amount of funds needed for Aigula's eye surgeries has come in . She has been for her pre-op and the dates will be set shortly. We have also made arrangements to have someone cover her position on the farm and be there to help until she has fully recovered. She and her family are so thankful for the assistance. 

Helping a family from Ukraine come to Canada  This need has had its ups and downs.  First the ups... A big need of a car has been covered. One has been loaned to them until the end of September when we return to Kyrgyzstan and they are able to use our car. .  The flights have been booked ( on my Visa ) and they will be arriving on July 24th. Now the downs . When Denis went to leave Ukraine after completing some power of attorney, because he has a Kyrgyz passport, he was not allowed back into Poland with out a EU visa.  He made an appointment right away , but was told that they will not give him a visa until after the 29th, and he must rebook his flights and update his travel plans and return for another visa appointment.  So the follow-up has been done, his old flights canceled and new flights booked , a new interview at the embassy , and approved.  He will be joining his family in Canada on July 3.  This leaves us with just over $2000 in transportation costs to get them here.  They would be more then blessed if anyone could help us with this as they begin to start over here in Canada. 

Children's day celebration  This was a fun one. We were looking for funds for two celebrations .. one for 100 disabled children in Tokmok and the second was a few days later for 75 kids from the village up at the yurts .  The funds came in for the first event, but not the second. We decided that we really needed to go ahead with both events. At about 8:00 pm the night before, a donation was made that covered exactly what we needed.  

Soccer field  I shared this update earlier but it continues to be an inspiration for me oof Gods provision .  The need seemed to me to be more expensive then I was comfortable asking for as it was not an immediate need.  There are many little things that we would like to do but have just put them on the back burner for now... but this was a desire of our hearts .. and God moved 

Pray for the seeds   In February we did a fund raiser to raise $20 per family to provide them with seeds , and in some cases the training that they needed to planed land that would otherwise be left empty.  This was a great success and we were able to purchase seeds and groceries for over 250 families  Almost 200 acres was planted , and almost every day now I have been getting update photos of the harvest. 

Vitamins  This was another fundraiser that we did this spring that continues to bless so many . again almost daily we receive reports and photos of those in need being blessed with needed vitamins. 

There has been so much accomplished this spring.  This is just a small example of some of  the needs that have been met, but it is encouraging for me to review this when we are facing a time of need . It is easy for me to get concerned, but I 1then am reminded that we serve a God of provision .. and through many of you, His will is done. Thank you all for walking this walk with us. 

Fathers day Scholarship Fund

 Its time again to be focusing on our 

"Fathers day scholarship fund"   

I remember seeing one time that The largest number of long distance calls in a year is on Mothers day, but the largest number of collect calls in the year  is on fathers day.  

Each year as fathers day approaches, it always lines up with getting deposits in for colleges and universities for our many kids who view me as a father.  I am reminded at this time that "It takes a village" and that is never more true then it is at tuition season . 

Each year we average around $18 000 in tuition . This year with the on going war in Ukraine we understand that many of you, like us personally  are helping the refugee crises. We have lowered our target for the fund to $10 000 this year .  This will allow us to continue the education commitments for those who are in continuing education, but we will not take on any new scholarships until our commitments  are covered, If and when more money comes in we will be able to take on more kids from a waiting list.  

If you are trying to figure out what to get your father this year , please consider making a donation to the Scholarship Fund so that we can continue to meet the need .  

A Huge need for Aigula

We have a serious need that has come up.  Our house mom Aigula has been having a hard time with her eyes, so we got her an appointment to see if she needed new glasses .  Things are much worse then we have imagined. Aigula has cataracts, and a stigmatism, she also has diabetes.   The only option for her is a more complicated Laser surgery on both eyes .  The total cost is $3500 CDN . ($2800 USD). We simply do not have those funds,  but we trust God that some one does, and would like to give the gift of sight to Aigula. 

     

Thank you for your consideration about  this huge need. 

We are not OK 💛💙

We have friends in Ukraine that posted this  a few weeks ago .  

"Things NOT to ask a Ukrainian these days":  

1.  "Are you ok?"....... No, we are not. People who stayed in Ukraine are either being bombed or waking up to sirens every 2 hours. If they had to flee Ukraine, they are not okay either as they are incredibly home sick and worried about their friends and family.

 2. "So what's your plan?" .....You mean, for today or for tomorrow? We don't have a plan. That's it. No plan. We used to have our plans and strategy sessions and vision boards but now everything changes so fast that you can't have a plan. 

3. "How long are you going to stay in...?"......... I don't know. We don't know. This question is bothering us from morning till night and especially at night, so please, don't add to it. 

4. "Is your apartment in Ukraine ok?"..... I don't know. Yes, it is for now. but I don't know for how long. Or no, it isn't. What are you going to say if it isn't?

 5. "Do you need help?" ....YES! All Ukrainians need help right now. The problem is we don't like asking for help and we get embarrassed to tell you that we need something. 

 WHAT YOU CAN ASK OR SAY OR DO INSTEAD:

 1. "How are you feeling TODAY?" 

2. Send flowers or a card or chocolates -even virtually 

3. Cook a dinner 

4. Take a Ukrainian out of their bed and house for a nice walk EVEN when they tell you they don't want to 

5. Ask simple things: did you eat today? what did you eat? do you have a job? do you have money? do you have summer clothes (people fled in February, they only have winter clothes with them). 

6. Come and give them a big HUG! 💛💙

I say "Our friends" , but until the war started we never knew them .  In just a few weeks we will be picking up Denis, Tetyana and their son Oleksandr from the Montreal airport.  They will come to live at our home in Canada .  There are so many challenges that they will face in the future , but for now they will have a safe harbour in the storm.  

We feel blessed and honoured that we are able to help.  

There are a few needs while we help them to get here and get settled . Their travel costs will be around $1500 for the family . If anyone would like to help with this it would be very much appreciated . The other big need that they will have is a car.  We live out in the country and only have one vehicle and they will need something to get around .  If anyone has an extra car for a couple  months  until they get settled, or we return to Kyrgyzstan and they can use ours,  or feels impressed to help buy them a used car , that would be appreciated as well . 

There will be many changing plans, many questions un answered and so much up in the air, but we are looking forward to the day that we can all  

Come and give them a big HUG! 💛💙

Children’s day celebrations

Children's day celebrations were a great success . Thank you so much to those of you who decided to bless the children this year.  We had two separate celebrations. 

The first was organized by Tanya and was for 100 disabled children . Good food, and dancing .  

The second celebration was for 75 children up at the Kashar and yurts. 

Another great day with food games and singing , followed by handing out Samaritans Purse gift boxes .  

I just got these photos from one of the families that received seed this spring .  They are starting to enjoy the fruits of their labor, and already have enough to start sharing . 

Children's day plans

A couple of days from now is children's day in Kyrgyzstan. Tanya has some great plans for a fun party with about 100 disabled children , and she is asking for our help. The budget is just $2.50 a child .  

Tanya writes "Good evening John . How are you? Can I ask you a help. The first of June is Children's Day. We want to make a celebration for 100 disabled children and perents.... We will have a holiday then we want to feed them. There will be lunch , cakes, ice cream, drinks.... for this celebration we need 20000 som . could you help John please...."

We are also planning for a fun day at the Kashar for about 50 of our village kids . 

If you would like to be a part of this fun day , we would like to raise a total of $375

these photos are from the party that Tanya  had with them at Christmas 

 

On our way

 One last stop at the kashar last night then a big pizza party on the farm then on to the airport at stupidOclock . Our flight boards in 10 minutes .

Build it and they will come

 Here is a fun storey.. if you have ever tried to play any game involving a ball at th kashar you will quickly realize that there is no level ground and you will spend most of your time running down the hill trying to catch the ball. Located just below the house was a huge ditch that people seemed to thi k was the public trash .. Vlad and Sergey had th idea of filling in the ditch and making a level place to play for the kids .. the problem was that we don't have any project money so it did not look like that would happen any time soon .

Earlier this week some men came up to the kashar and asked if they could have some old concrete errigation canals we had around the edge of the ditch ..  a deal was struck .. fill in the ditch and make us a soccer field and the concrete is yours :) that was a few days ago and today the field is almost done. And no money out of pocket. God is good

Planting and renovating

We put on a big push this last week to get the fields planted before the expected week of rain .  In the past we have purchased plants like tomatoes and peppers from the bazar and they come with no dirt on the roots.  This means that they require a lot of water that we don't have .  This year we have all our own plants started in the green house, each with its own cup of dirt, so transplanting we do not disturb the root ball.  

We managed to get everything in the ground before the rains started .

Julie spent last week in Bishkek with Kamala. She met with a couple different groups of  people we work with like the breakfast club that meats once a week.  She took them out to an out door café.  The kids loved the two for one breakfast special.... It meant that they could each have two breakfasts ..hahahaha 

Back on the farm we have had many visitors to the farm café. 

It has allowed us to be able to meat with friends like Lynn and Ruby in a safe and comfortable way.  

We were thrilled to have dinner with Vlad and Alina and see their new home renovations .. It looks great 

On the farm, one of the first things we did was start renovating the main kitchen and make it so that I can do cooking classes with the kids .  They are loving it , and we have had some really good meals 

Today it is still raining so we will begin the renovations on the indoor kitchen at the main house .  right now we have two small rooms , one is the kitchen with no windows and a large pantry that does have a window. So we will take the wall down making it one large room with a small pantry and a centre work table. 

I will have some pictures soon 

 

Ready to move plants from the green house

We have the first yurt up . It is one of those things that more hands is not always better .  So we have a yurt master coming in a few days to put up the second yurt, 

Today we were up to the kashar again to get everything ready for the next group to come .  Sorting and organizing . 

Here are a few pictures from the yurt raising party yesterday 

Down on the farm we are working on a couple water upgrades .. both in and out .  At the boys house they are digging a trench to put in a back up water supply , and at Aigoolas they are digging a new septic tank . 

 

In the green house the cucumbers are planted and growing in the first hot house and the plants to replant into the fields are ready . Tomatoes, peppers, and cabbages we will move out to the fields on Wednesday . We are expecting a week of rain starting Wednesday afternoon .  ut for now we will have all the fields ready to plant.

Sitting with Yura having a visit at the end of the day .