Youth Making a Difference

For several years now, the youth in our church and our village, have watched and supported as we have sent teams over seas. This weekend, they started preparations to go. 25 of us headed to Quebec for an intensive training week. We began the trip with training seminars and team building exercises. We used many of the positive affirmation exercises borrowed from A.V.P. It was truly amazing to see how the kids interacted with each other. The final session each one of us exhorting a team member and releasing a candle into the lake for them. Then on Friday we began our home
makeover project Quebec
version. The youth were
incredible. In the first hour
they did what would have taken weeks for one person to accomplish on their own



In only one day, they put a new roof on the back part of the house, painted a few rooms , cleaned the yard, fixed the gardens,cut the grass, and the list goes on.
It was truly amazing what they accomplished . What was most amazing was their attitudes .












It was an incredible trip, and I can't wait to meet up with them in Central Asia where I am sure they will be amazing .

"MORE WRIGHT STUFF"

LETTER TO OUR FRIENDS


We hope you are having a great summer. It won’t be long before we are back to school for another year. As most of you know this year will be an exciting one for us.
For several years now our parents have been involved with short term missions trips into Central Asia. They have been working with the local churches to bring support to the seniors and orphans . ( James 1:27 ) This February , rather than going for a few weeks, they will be going for six months, and we get to go too.
We will be staying in a town in Central Asia. . If you don’t know where that is. You will find it in the foot hills of the Himalayan Mountains about 200 km west of China, in the former Soviet Union….a couple of countries north of Afghanistan. We have been working toward this trip for a few years now. We have learned a little bit of Russian, and are now putting together some projects for us to undertake while we are there. We would like to work at some of the orphanages that Mom and Dad have worked with in the past. We are going to do arts and crafts, and other fun outings with the kids. We have a bunch of crafts lined that we think would be fun and educational for them to do. We will bring some of the supplies with us that we think will be hard to find there, and the rest we will buy in the market…... this could prove to be interesting!
We will be having a yard sales this summer, and in the fall would like to have a walkathon to raise money to cover the expenses for this project. The supplies , translator and driver for the six months will be about $2500. If you would like to help us with this, We would really appreciate it. This is a recognized humanitarian aid trip, so the organization overseeing us (Possibilities International) is able to give tax receipts for donations over $10. You can send any donations to



"More Wright Stuff"
in care of Possibilities International
525 Highland Road West
Suite 253 Kitchener, Ontario
N2M5P4

please make cheques payable to Possibilities International

you can also make a donation on line by following the links on the P.I. web sight at http://www.possibilitiesinternational.com/



Thank you for taking time to consider what you can do to help us.

Emma and Bekah

Where everybody knows your name !

Friends of ours have just left for the missions field. As I write this, I just received an email saying that they have arrived safely. They are going to a remote location with no hydro and no running water . They will be there for two years, their reports home should prove to be most interesting . You can follow their progress at www.couchconnect.com .
I started thinking besides not being able to speak and understand the language, what are we going to miss. Things like Pulling in for gas, saying thank you and driving off ...Renting a movie and not having to sign for it... The people you meet on the street know you by name....If there is more than one person ahead of you in the grocery store, they will open a new lane...... You hear a siren and everyone stops and looks out to see what is going on....then pray that it's no one you know.....the man at the hardware store knows the size of our furnace filter , and placing your order at the local restaurant is done by saying "I would like breakfast please",and it comes out just the way you like it......in fact in preparation for our trip, we put locks on the door of the house , something we did not have up until now. But then again, we will have electricity .......sometimes...and there will be running water......sometimes, and we will even have Internet connection.....sometimes. One thing that I am pretty sure of is that by the time we leave the people we meet on the street will know our names.

"Skunk Bunker"

I woke up yesterday morning to that awful skunk smell wafting into my room. Once again our dog had routed out a skunk. I have no patience for this, so I moved the dog to under a tree on the front lawn, and I was gone for the day. When I got home, I could hear the music blasting from behind the bathroom door. Both the girls had taken the lawn chairs and lap top a book and moved in there for the day. It turns out that the new bathroom is a pretty good skunk bunker..... it is the only room in the house that the smell could not permeate.....and here we had been joking about moving into the new bathroom!

Sergey and Anya are coming to Canada

I just got word that Sergey and Anya got their visa's to come to Canada. It is always exciting when our friends from Central Asia are able to come for a visit. It gives those that have been supporting them an opportunity to meat them face to face, and It gives them a chance to see that the support does not just come from the few that go over, but that there is a huge network of people behind the teams. So that's their visa's to come here now we just need to hear that our visa's have come through to go there. I will be heading over to another Central Asian country in a couple of months. While there we will be doing some repairs to a baby orphanage and hopefully visiting some of the projects we have worked on in the past. before heading home, I will be taking a small joint over to Central Asia to take care of a little bit of business in preparation for our family trip in Feb.

Micro Financing

I have been hearing for some time about micro financing. This is a small loan used to establish a business in an impoverished nation. It is something that has intrigued me. Every now and then you come across someone that you just know that they have what it takes to be a success.
I met someone like that in Central Asia . Her name is Olga. Olga worked as a translator for us, and has been a true blessing to us every time we travel with a team. She had asked me a couple of years ago to try to think of a business she could start that she could make money. We have come up with many different ideas over the years, from running a consignment
market to buying a plunger and going into the plumbing business. Until now, we over looked the obvious. Olga is such an incredible translator / guide. She has both business and government connections, and has a good working relationship with many that drive for us. For very little start up cost, Olga is now in business. You can check out her new project at www.kyrgyguide.blogspot.com . If you are ever heading to Central Asia , you really have to contact her . You will be so glad you did.

"And now you know the rest of the storey"

Every time I look at the profile photo to the right of Julie and I in the mountains I think of a funny story that goes along with it....or at least one of many funny stories....

We were on our way up into the mountains of xxxxxx to go for a ride on a gondola into the mountains. the road in was very long and made a large loop and ended up back where you started. as we headed to the Gondola we went to make a right turn at the fork in the road and were stoped by a police road block. We were told that the road ahead was washed out and that we could not go through and would have to go around, about an hour journey..... so around we went. On the way home our driver decided to see if he could go the short way and get past the spot in the road that was washed out. After carefully navigating the treacherous road, we Finlay made it back to the fork in the road. As we approached the back side of the road block, the guard came out and said...." you can not go through here because the road is closed..... we said yes we know we just cane through the washed out road, now please move so we can get through...."NYET" you guessed it he was told that no one was to pass and No one was going to pass. he wanted us to go back through the washed out road and an hour around the mountain only to get onto the other side of a 2x4 board he used to block the road.......

oh ya...the gondola was a 75 year old two seater chair lift with tinny tinny seats and no foot rests.....it made the Town Ferris wheel a "walk in the Park"

OH NO.....NOT ANOTHER FORM LETTER

In a perfect world, we would not need to do this........but in a perfect world there would be no need to do this !.....We have started sending out letters looking for support. It is always so hard . If you have ever had to do it you will know that it can be very humbling to have to ask for money. I was really dreading it, then a good friend of mine got after me. You see he heard that I was going to XXXXX in Sept, and would be stopping in Central Asia on my way home. He asked why I had not come to him for money for this trip. I explained that with such a big trip coming up in February, I didn't think it was right to be going to people for support for this trip. He looked a little annoyed with me and said, "Maybe I want to support this trip.... did you ever think of that ? Maybe I can't Go but I want to be a part of what is going on..... did you ever think of that ? Maybe you should let me decide where I am going to send my money ... did you ever think of that " He actually insinuated that I was being a little selfish, and robbing him of the blessing of giving. So just so I will never be accused of that again, I will post a letter that I am working on.

Oh No……. not another form letter looking for money….. at least that’s the felling I get when I receive letters like this in the mail. There are so many people and Organizations that are vying for our dollars….. how do we decide who to help? What I look for is a person or organization that I know will not only be responsible, but will make a difference. I like to see that the people I am helping have an invested interest in what they are doing. For me , it is important that I can go and see first hand the changes that are being made. That is how we ended up working in Central Asia.
Possibilities International and Loads of Love ( two organizations we know and trust) have been supporting workers in a region of Central Asia for many years. A couple of years ago, we were denied access to XXXXX due to political unrest, and as a result , found ourselves in Central Asia. What we found there was amazing. A nation that is so beautiful, people that are so warm and friendly, workers that are putting their all into helping the seniors and Orphans, and an entire economy that is in a state of near collapse. Many regions facing employment rates as low as 15%, and no social safety net, it is no wonder that there is such need.
With the support of many of you, we have been doing what we could. For a couple years now ,threw short term trips, and raising awareness we have seen incredible changes in the lives of so many. As we scrape away at the surface it has become evident to us is that much more is needed. Our new friends need the tools to make even more of an impact. We feel that we have the ability to help them realize their dreams.
In Feb Julie and I along with Emma and Bekah will be heading to Central Asia for six months. While there we will be working on several different projects. We will be giving over sight to “One” , an initiative to provide housing , life skills counseling , and Job training to families currently living in the local dump. We will be assisting our friends with the work that they are doing with the seniors and orphans, and helping them to bring awareness to the difficulties they face. Emma and Bekah will be focusing there energy on teaching English to a couple of orphanages threw art and music. But most of all, they will have the opportunity to spend some one on one time with many of these beautiful children, something every child needs, but something that these kids may never get. Another project we will be putting into place is a “foundation” that will provide necessary medical care to children in the orphanages. The most exciting part of this stay is going to be facilitating short term trips from Canada. We will be hosting several teams while we are there. Living in the region, we will be able to better tailor the missions experience to the team . If you are interested in coming as part of a team, or on your own as an “adventure holiday” let us know and we can make the arrangements for you.
For three years now we have been getting funds in place to cover all the expenses necessary to keep the home fires burning while we are away. We have our flights covered, and we have a project in place that we are trusting will provide the necessary funds to purchase and renovate the homes we will be giving away. What we need now is a working budget for our stay in town. What we are able to accomplish will greatly depend on people like yourselves. Please take a moment to read the information brochure and consider what you can do to be a part .

Blessings
John Julie Emma and Bekah.

You can find the brochure and more information on the P.I. web sight http://www.possibilitiesinternational.com/thewrightstuff.aspx
you will also find a link there to Canada helps where you can donate on line.
blesssings John

The light at the end of the tunnel !

Do you remember this photo ?

I think we are finally getting ahead of things.

I Know My Redeemer Lives !

On this blog I often have "guest postings from other missions minded friends". Well this is one of those postings. There are a new group of missionaries that I wanted to highlight today. They to are living James 1:27 to the fullest. For a short time now, Central Asia has allowed international adoptions, and there is a whole group of families stepping up to the plate to provide homes for many of these orphans.

I received an email from a couple that was interested in Adoption . They needed a mountain removed, and were relying on God to do it . Well the word says that God spoke the mountains into existence , and also says that if He tells them to be removed they will. I don't want to give away the whole story, ( I will post a link to their blog as soon as it is up and running) I will let them tell you themselves.

Here is a sneak peek of some of their adventures.

"We visited the mountains today. It was beautiful! It was also about 30 degrees cooler there, and the air was a little less polluted. The water melting from the mountain tops was beautiful rushing by and the sky was clear blue complete with puffy white clouds. I was wrong, there is some beauty (other than my daughter) here in Central Asia. How anyone can look at those mountains and not believe that there is a God in heaven is beyond me! Standing in the middle of all of that made me feel very small, and also very safe. The same God that spoke the mountains into existence, cared enough to bring me halfway around the world, to meet my daughter! There is no doubt that it is only by His hand that we have come this far!."

"we had a few street children approach us, begging for money we assume. They would grab onto your arm and plead with you, it almost made me physically ill knowing what kind of lives these beautiful innocent children lead. I wish I could bring them all home. I was truly not prepared to encounter the poverty that I have seen here, I will never look at life in the USA the same again. We are a VERY SPOILED nation."

I tried to get this song to play on the blog, but it is beond me at this time so you will have to read it yourself and amagin it being belted out

Who taught the sun where to stand in the morning Who told the ocean you an only come this far? Who showed the moon where to hide 'til evening Whose words alone can catch a falling star?
Well I know my Redeemer lives I know my Redeemer lives All of creation testify This life within me cries I know my Redeemer lives
The very same God that spins things in orbit He runs to the weary, the worn and the weak And the same gentle hands that hold me when I'm broken They conquered death to bring me victory
Now I know my Redeemer lives I know my Redeemer lives Let all creation testify Let this life within me cry I know my Redeemer, He lives
To take away my shame And He lives forever I'll proclaim That the payment for my sin Was the precious life He gave But now He's alive And there's an empty grave.
And I know my Redeemer, He lives I know my Redeemer lives Let all creation testify This life within me cries I know my Redeemer lives