Time to order the seeds

This time of year, you get the Christmas all packed up and put away and then out comes the seed catalog .   It's time to decide what and how much you are going to plant in the spring then place your order.  Many of you will know that excitement.  

In Kyrgyzstan there are so many families that would love that privilege ... But despite having the room for a garden and the desire to plant it, they simply can not afford seeds .. especially at the end of a long winter.

That's why every year we provide 

Over 250 families with seeds , and in some cases we even help with the plowing and planting. 

This year rather then going around delivering the seeds door to door , we are going to have a seed party in the playground  We will have a BBQ and have some small toys as gifts for the kids and while the kids are playing, the parents can pick up their seeds and seed potatoes .  
   The cost for the seeds will be $3000. The party and gifts will be on top of that but we have a couple months to worry about that.  Right now I just need come up with the seed money.  We will place the order Monday or Tuesday.  Fortunately we only have to pay 50% or $1500.  The balance in the middle of March .  We would love if any of you would be willing to be a part of planting seeds in the lives of hundreds of families in Kyrgyzstan.  You can donate now at the top right side of the blog.  

Up coming adventures

 Winter is in full swing at the farm.  The coal deliveries have been done, apart from the odd delivery when we are notified of some emergency situations .  The boys are busy in the green house now .. They are looking after the tomatoes, but also now planting the starters for in not just our fields, but for the spring seed deliveries. 

Every year we deliver between 250 and 300 seed starter kits for people who would otherwise not be able to plant their gardens . 

Along with the seeds we also provide seed potatoes and other plants we have started in the green house, like tomatoes and peppers.  

This spring I would like to have another party at the playground and distribute many of the seeds there.  We can set up tables where people can come register andn then  pick out the seeds that they would like to plant.  The parties are always greatly appreciated by the comunity.   

We have a team coming the end of March, so this will be perfect timing for us to be able to host a party.  We will  need to place our order in the next few weeks for such a large amount of seeds , so if anyone would like to help us with this project, NOW would be a good time to donate .. We are going to need about $10 per family so that will be around $3000 total that we will need to raise . You can donate right here on the top right side of the blog ( Please put SEEDS in the memo line )

Another great event that we are planing is an event with the team from Possibilities International at the end of the summer .  They are calling it SHOP TILL YOU DROP.   

This team is made up of mostly women, and we thought it would be fun if they gathered up young women we know from Orphanages and families we know along with the girls from the families that help us.   Our goal for this event is also $3000   These kids some of whom have never had the opertunity to go shopping and pick out what they would like, will have taht oppertunity... 

We will be working on raising funds for this for the next couple months.  along with being able to donate right here on the blog (put shop til you drop in the memo line ) Possibilities International is working on some other fun ways to give , like with the "shop till you drop Golf tourniment."  Link below  

Shop till you drop Kyrgyzstan

Marat is looking for help .

 I got a message from one of our boys Marat.  

Marat spent several years on the farm and then after getting his eyes fixed , he has gone on to work as a furniture builder . Marat often returns to the farm on the weekends and when we have special events . 

Marat joined the team at the Christmas party . 

So Marat shared that he went to the dentist to have his teeth cleaned and has two teeth that need some work. While they are doing that, they could also straiten a couple teeth that he has been self conscious about his whole life.  He  can afford to cover half of the work and is wondering if we would be able to cover the other half .. to do this we are looking for a sponsor for 20 000 som ($235 USD) if you would like to help with this please let me know .. Marat would be thrilled . 

Happy New years

 hello. How are you?.. I found in the Tokmak grand people who are 80 + years old... Invited to the cafe. All came 88, 87.86.85 years...

Very old people.. They could not believe that someone remembered them and invited them to the cafe.

They have not visited the cafe for many years, they just sit at home.. because very old people.. I told them that you bless grandmothers every month and today this table is also from you..

I heard a lot of gratitude from them. They are told thank you so much and spoke a lot of good words for .

Told Happy New Year. Thank you very much

 

Merry Christmas from the men's home.

Merry Christmas and thank you so much from some Tanya of the men from the men's home .

Today they went to the movies and then out for supper . 

They had such a great time .. it was the best day of the year.

They even got a small gift each . 

 

Time for a tune up

We spend a ton of money on upkeep on the trucks .. but we know that if we don't do the tune ups we are going to face major issues .  

Like the trucks , some times the boys need a tune up .  They have shoveled,  bagged ,loaded and delivered over 200 tons of coal.  

Yesterday we had a massage therapist come and give each of the boys a once over, and they have made a list of what to work on for each of them .  Over the next few weeks they will all be getting treatments .  

We are looking for sponsors to cover the first few treatments .  We have 7 to be treated at a cost of $100 each .. 

Please consider helping us with this so we can keep the boys tuned up and ready for the spring planting season . 

 

Coal deliveries resume

 Update from the guys ...  

When I hear the impact that they are having I must say I do get a bit chocked up.  Maybe it's because I don't like the cold .

Good afternoon, John. The boys and I did a tremendous job today. The weather is just like Alaska. High winds and lots of snow. We brought warmth and God's love to 23 families. Next week we will bring coal to the front mouth for 8 more families. And 5 families in tokmok. And the coal will run out. There's a need for groceries. There are some people who need medical treatment. If there is money for humanitarian needs, I could help some people to get checkups in Tokmok. One woman has suspected breast cancer. But she can't have a checkup for lack of money. If it's possible to help, it would be good.    Thank you for everything.

There is always a difficult time when we go on deliveries .. when you come I to people's homes you see direct, first hand the needs .. and that can be hard. 

We will start collecting now for food hampers and medical help .. please let me know if you can help.

The strike is over .

In Canada we have had a postal strike now for over a month.  That has cut off several of the sources of revinue for us .  At this time of year that has been a big hit.  Fortunatly we do have some sources like Canada helps and e-checks with in Canada that have been getting through making it possible to keep the basic needs covered.  

We had run out of coal again and had just a few days of coal left on the farm .  Fortunetly Luke Services International who operate the Hope clinic heard about our difficulties and they have purchased 6 more trucks of coal for us .. They have started arriving, two trucks  yesterday and one today .  Already the boys have 200 bags ready thats enough for 10 families .  

We are told that Canada post has been mandated back to work today and by the end of the week the mail is expected to be flowing again. We are praying that it will be in time bring Christmas to many in Kyrgyzstan.  

Time to send Christmas funds

We are getting close to when we need to send money for Christmas. There is a slight problem , the money is not in yet .  Please help us so we can provide a small Christmas Celebration for our friends in Kyrgyzstan. 

Farm boys delivering coal

 

Guys at the men's home planing Christmas. 

Wow

Wow .. 34 families received coal today.  The boys were working double time to get it done.  Our truck has packed it in and we can not find parts so a friend lent us his truck and trailer for the day . 

We are definitely getting caught up.  We have finished the coal again but have just 14 families left on a wait list.   We think that just $2000 USD more for coal and then we will be finished ... Then we will start working on food hampers . We have 30 families identified this year and hope to deliver before Christmas. 

Everyone is so blessed to receive help with the coal. Thank you so much to everyone who has helped with this .