Here is a photo of Cola and I many years ago
We got a call last night from a small home orphanage here in City that has 12 kids at it that Emma visited regularly this spring. They had been expecting to get some financial help from the City, but since the revolution and the crisis in the south, there is no extra to be had, and they did not get any back to school funding. They contacted us through Acel. They did not know that we were back in town , but knew that Emma had stayed with Acel, and they did not know where else to turn. They said that they has manages to raise 500 som ( about $22 ) , but that barely touched the surface of what they needed .
Acel Called us and we were there , All hands on deck , this morning. Our kids have been with us now so many times helping out that they have a good handle on the Bazaar and the shop keepers all know them now, and for the most part are eager to help and give us a good price because they know we are bringing kids from the orphanages. We went to see the director, I felt so bad , we do not have any budget to help this orphanage. We have no one sponsored there , and they are completely off the radar when it comes to big sponsors. But we had to do something . We found out what they would need , and really it was not a lot, about $200 all together. So we told them we would love to bring the kids with us so they could pick out their own new clothes and back packs.. I don't know how many times I can say that the kids were excited, but all you have to do is look at their faces and you know... especially these kids. They had never been anywhere with us before, and from the looks of it I would say that this was the first time to the bazaar for most of them.. and after being with a group of 5 little boys on the busiest shopping day, Julie knows why.
While in the Bazaar, I go a call from one of our friends we had lost touch with .. He was a great help in the past, but I had not been able to reach him this year . He had got his phone working, and had seen my calls so was returning my call. I asked him to come over and see us tonight .
When we got home, Emma and Bekah could not rest until they had found one last kid. So off they went in a cab to track down Cola. They found him and brought him shopping then to the river with us for a swim. I made a huge pot of pasta for supper ( we never know who will be here) we had about AHHHHHH Just as I am writing this I suddenly thought WHERE DID THAT LITTLE GERMAN GIRL GO WE HAD IN THE CAR ... hahahaha.. Ok with a quick phone call I found out she went to a home some were while I was shopping for supper... so any ways... we had about 14 for supper including My friend who stopped buy to say hi...
He has lost a lot of weight , and has been very stressed. His photo business we had helped him start was in a building that was fire bombed, and his taxi business was in a mess. He had traded his old car for a newer one, and while he was on a run to Lake Isykol the timing chain went and the engine is kapotsky. His son had a lot of medical problems and had to have a lot of surgery as well. I felt so bad, After about half an hour of visit I took him into the kitchen with me and asked how much to fix the van.. He said it would be about $150. I asked how much he had, and he said that he did not have any money. So I did some quick math, and figured that if I gave him the money, he could work for us for 7 days to pay us back.. this is a good deal for him and it gets him back to work... the plus for us is that we will have him back in business and we will have him driving for us again.
Last night while we were sitting at the table visiting with Jengish, Bekah was remembering a friend of hers that she knew from school. Her family are missionaries, then Bekah came out with the best one yet. She said " I wish I was in her family" we asked why, and Bekah said ... because " They go places"... we all burst into laughter, and said " Where do you think you are now" she replied " This doesn't count because it's home!"
Just got a call about our two little runaways. They had wanted to go to a different school, but if they went there they would loose one year. So it was looking like it was going to be out of the question. So I told the uncle to let me see what I could do. And once we were able to make a couple calls to the right place, and the verdict has just come in that they would not loose their year and would be able to start there tomorrow. We left the money for the first week bus, so this week we will find the driver and make arrangements for them to stay on the bus.
The next issue that we have to deal with is that this year , more then most, we have been having people coming to our door looking for food. We have tried to keep a no food from the door policy for safety sake, and so that there is somewhere that we can feel some what relaxed. We had broken that rule for a family last week, and now we are paying the price... a few times a day they are calling and stopping buy. We took them back to school shopping and then they were in the bus with the girls when we went for a meeting .. rather then walking the one block home when they got dropped off, they came in and ate all the food we had for the picnic of 25 for the next day.. the girls said they were so hungry that they could not say no. Today another man was at the door as well... he is one of the men that Larisa helps, and he has been missing her as she has been away alot dealing with her brothers affairs since his death. I sent Talant out with a hand full of cookies and he told him that it was not expectable for him to come to the house, and he had to work through those that we work with here... Talant can be a little intimidating , so I think that will work. It still does not make it any easier for us to close the door. I just don't know if there is a right way to do that . I remember a post I did back a couple years ago it was titled... Where do you draw the line ? I would put a link to it for you but I can not access the blog so if you are interested I think you will find it around Feb. 2008. I don't remember exactly how it went, but I remember the feeling !
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