It has now been 5 days since we have last been able to access any blogs... although we have found ways around that.
This morning We had the privilage of visiting a small foster home.. They had asked to see us, they had heard about the simple dreams concept, and were wondering if we could help... This family has three kids of their own, and they have taken in another 9 children. They also have 15 children who have timed out of their home and are now living in the capital.. some married, and working , and some in school... He said that 6 years ago when they started , they agreed to only keep kids there until they were 18, and in turn, children brought to them would not be moved around in the system... they said that was easy at the time to agree to because all the kids were small... now as they reach that age, it is tearing them up when they have to go, and it is very draining on them to try to provide tuition for them.. right now they have 6 children that are in school, averaging $350 a year each.
I asked how they were supporting themselves.. that is when I became amazed... they took us for a tour... beside the home is a large work yard with several buildings around the outside. the centre of this yard contains about a dozen shipping containers that contain the Samaritans purse Christmas boxes when they first arrive in Central Asia, and are distributed from here... In the first little building they showed us was a full mettle and welding shop... Here they teach the kids how to make boiler systems and heaters... this is something that we purchase on a regular basis... as it turns out , they will make anything we want for way less then the stores, and are able to make money to support the orphanage at the same time. ... The next room was a full wood working shop... starting from the full log, and ending with the laminated boards... then on to become beautiful furnature... When I talked to them about bunk beds , I learned that they are about 2/3 of the price of the bazaar... but are made of real wood, not press board... even the legs have been turned on the lathe...when I saw the beautiful workmanship, I was suprised when I saw that some of the beds they used were a little crude... but then I guess its the old adage that the mechanics car is always the worst..its too bad we did not know about this last week, our friends at Lamb just had two bunk beds delivered to a project they are working on yesterday... But I am sure we will be able to get them a lot more business in the future... unfortunatly most of the kids were at school, but we did get to meet some of the older and younger ones...
We had to get back to town to meet up with the team from Lamb to assist them in purchasing some carpets.. so we asked Talant to drop us at the bus station... and there was Ishar .. about 15 busses down the line... so we went strait to him and asked for 15 tickets to Town... he laughed and we pulled out with him and headed home.. It turns out we had a full day for him and it was a good thing we had him... after Acel and I worked our magic at the bazaar, we headed out to the village to pay for another round of dentist visits for the kids... as well as to have a little tune up conversation with a young friend.... it turns out that he just needed to know that he was loved.. and that no matter what people say... we are here for him... we have been a big part of his life for about 5 years now, and our friendship is closser now then it has ever been... it was a good visit.... but some where along the line I went from being called his (Dad) to his sisters dadushka (grandfather)... I understand it was ment as a respect thing, but I am just starting to get used to being a grandfather... I think he is pushing it a bit...haha... At the orphanage, they were asking about summer shoes for the kids... many are still wearing boots.. I explained that with the massive dental bills we are facing, we will have to wait until the final 6 have been seen then see where we stand.... We have just had the teeth that are hurting fixed in this round, and a list of work prepared for follow up visits... once we get this list complete, she can sit down with Sergey and Anya and decide a list of importance... teeth or shoes... its kind of a hard choice, but hopefully if we bite the bullet now, we can keep up in the future When we stoped at Acel and Talants, she showed us her new crapet... she had been saving for a long time, and wanted to get the carpet before Emma came to stay...
The photo at the dinner table was taken at Vera's community centre... it was an Easter celebration for the village... Sitting beside me is Turat and another young man we sponsor.. he had been just moved to the village, and was having a hard time getting settled in.. Turat will be his BIG BROTHER and help him fit in and get settled... it was great to see how kind and gentle Turat is.. it is such a blessing when we watch those we have helped become a part of the solution for others...
As I said earlier , the blogs have been blocked here, so if you read this before Julie has a chance to fix my spelling , I apologise... No apology is needed dear
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