Every child NEEDS to know they are loved.!

This Christmas party is Celebrated with another very special group of kids. This orphanage is one that is privately run, and specializes in children with learning disabilities... They do a tremendous job here... We do not spend as much time here as I would like, but that is because it is so well run, that we do not have a lot to offer, BUT like everywhere else in Central Asia, places like this will be the first to experience the hit of a recession, and the last to come out of one.. The organization that runs this orphanage has had to be very resourceful to maintain all of their commitments here, that is why I was so thrilled that we could have this Christmas Celebration with them... Some of the Children have gone home for the holiday, so the ones that are left are pretty much those that are truly orphaned... They all thought that this was awesome...

They certainly were not expecting it.....





For myself, and by now I am sure some of you, all of these photo's from the thousands of kids that we have celebrated Christmas with over the past few weeks, are more then just photos... I find myself blowing up and scouring every picture to see how my kids are doing..."Oh good Victors front teeth have finally come in..... Aisolo is still not growing....Aibek is looking sad"... and the list goes on...I have had emails from many of our readers telling how excited they are that they have been able to see there special kids as well....

That is what is so special about what we have here... Dream agents Like Anya and Sergey, shown bellow, who can be there physically for the kids when we can't be. I am so thankful that they are there to share my burden... but wait... the reality of this hits me again ... This was their burden first... that they have shared with me. That is the key to what we do, we don't hire people to work for us. We look for people who are doing the work without us, and we work for them... That is what makes this all so special....



Sergey here is standing with a young man that many of you will have seen grow up on this blog over the last 4 1/2 years since he first arrived at the orphanage....

Here is a re post of the storey from when we first introduced him...

On a couple of occasions this fall we had the opportunity to take teams to the village orphanage. We brought treats for the kids and even cooked them a good Canadian meal which is becoming a tradition (hot roast beef sandwiches, mashed potatoes and veggies) there are always a few kids that stick out, usually for their outgoing personality. One young boy stood out because he was not comfortable like the rest. He was almost in a panic mode, he ate everything he could find, cleaning up the plates of everyone around him. One of the teams
named him Marshmallow because of his appetite for marshmallows. It almost felt like a survival instinct for him. It makes you wonder what went on in this boys past that would make him this way. I wanted to know, but I did not want to ask,
Maybe I did not want to know the answer.

Over the next couple years he began to soften, and even warmed up to some of our friends who visited.....

He took a special liking to our driver Isar.... Isar is such a kind gentle man... it was good for our young friend, but he still remained a bit of a wild child... school was out of the question for him

Then we were able to get him transferred to the orphanage he is in now... last spring we went to his class , and he came up to the front of the class and demonstrated how he could now add and subtract.... we are so proud of him.... he is settling down now.. he is able to concentrate better, and he is feeling much more secure then he ever has before... you can really tell that it is not just us that love him, but that his new orphanage has been a true blessing to his development....

Today he stands not as just one of a couple thousand nameless unknown, unwanted kids, but a special individual , he reminds me that every child deserves to be loved, and every child needs to know that someone loves them.... sometimes we just need to "stop for the one in front of us"

This year that is happening all over the world because

iam1ru