Just love them !

Lots to do.   getting things in order here before we leave in a couple days.    If I am not careful, the home front can start looking worse then some of the projects in Kyrgyzstan.  Fix the front steps, paint the back porch, fill in the massive pot holes and grade the driveway.  change the water filters, and the list goes on.   Then there  is all the packing , we will be bringing 5 hockey bags of vitamins with us this trip along woth another bag of medical supplies, and still we have more that need to go.  

Emma and Bekah took lots of vitamins with them when they went last week as well.  Here is Bekah bringing them to one of the orphanages in Bishkek .  

As they have been staying in Bishkek in bishkek until we get there, they have had the opertunity to see some pretty funny things.  It is not every day you see a man and his camel having a rest on an old abandoned lounge chair along the side of the road.  

It has not been all fun for the girls.  They have been doing a lot of running around for us this last week.  There are lots of little things that could not wait for us to get there, like Maksat and Ibek.  They were out of food and needed some extra help on the home front.  It was perfect timing .. At the same time as they were coming to the end of what they could cope with, we had a sponsor step forward to sponsor them both .  This gave Emma the funds needed right away to take them shopping and get them what they needed for home and school . She was also able to assure them that we would be there in a week and be able to help them sort through there options .  Below is a picture of them taken in January when we brought them skating with a bunch of other boys that  are in the same position as them... learning about life outside the orphanage. It is such a difficult thing for them, and hard for us to watch.. we NEED a better system to help these poor kids ... 

Speaking of a better system,   I just received an update about the homeless that we have been helping .

We had sponsored a bunch of the older homeless to go out and live at the seniors home .  We had enough money to cover them until April when we knew that we would be returning, and winter would be over, not that spring makes life on the streets much better.   

It was such a blessing to us to be able to see them in a home , cared for and looked after.  I have seen many of them around the town over the past few years .  One man in  particular hung out around the dumpsters near Acels old apartment.  The kids there had tried to help him.  He has about size 15 shoes, and you simply can't get shoes like that in KG.  They would try to give him food or socks, but her would growl and lung at them to scare them off... he had a big beard and really looked the homeless part.. They would refer to him as BIG FOOT.    This winter as part of the work of our friend , they got to know and build the trust of BIG FOOT, who later became Uncle Sasha... 

  

 When we met Uncle Sasha, at the seniors home, it was so hard to believe that this was the same man.. I had to look at his feet to be sure .  As Love was poured into Sasha's life, the hurt and anger was striped away, and  a kind gentle man was reveled.

Well the first of April is tomorrow.  |The winter feeding program is over and the sponsorship money has been used up.  They spoke to the 6 seniors that we had living at the seniors home.  Not certain yet where the money would come from, they asked if they would like to stay on at the seniors home .. 4 readily agreed , but two of the men .. including Uncle Sasha have decided that they should return to the streets.  I am not sure why.. They were very happy at the seniors home, but I have my suspensions...    Many people who have never experienced love before, have a hard time receiving it.   With the uncertainty of where the money would come from to look after them, it is my guess that they do not want to be a burden to the seniors home.

One of our  first stops will be to go with our friends to find Uncle Sasha, and let him know that he like his other friends at the home , is loved, and Love is never a burden... Love is freely given and freely received.

LOVE.. Freely given and freely received.. that is a message that we seem to carry with us every time we go.. but it sure is a conundrum... How is it that our hearts can experience such pain as a result of LOVE.. how is it that if LOVE is free, yet we must sacrifice so much and put everything on the line sometimes , just to show our LOVE...
  I was always taught  ......

"If I can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. .  If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails."

Once when we first got to Kyrgyzstan ,  we asked one of our workers / friends,  How can we best  help the Kyrgyz people .. her responce was profound ... Just love us !  

In two days we will be returning to Kyrgyzstan,   At this point, we don't have a lot of finances to do grand projects, other then the new  hospital beds for the maternity hospital, but we can fulfill the mandate our friend gave us . Just love them!

The girls are back to work

Emma and Bekah have been on the ground in KG for 2 days now.   They sure did not take time to give the jet leg a chance , they have been hard at it.  The day they arrived they went out to Tokmok to see their friends.  They took a Bishkek city bus to the bus station, then went looking for the Tokmok Bus .  across the parking lot, the bus driver saw them coming and ran to them and gave them big hugs.. it was Isar.  he was so glad to see them , and they were pleased to receive such a warm welcome . 

thank you to every one who packed a Samaritan's Purse Box this year 

The second day began with meeting some good friends that are in town for a couple weeks .  then it was on to the orphanage for a day of fun and gifts .  

Our young friend here has just had another birthday.. one year closer to being out of the orphanage and on his own...  Bekah shared her concern with me this morning ..  

Some more of our wonderful friends at the Orphanage .  Can't wait to see them in a couple weeks . 

 I got an update from Tanya as well.. One of the things she shared was about the three young girls that we support with your help.  Tanya and her Mom check up on them regularly, and bring food our what ever else is needed .  This day the brought them some groceries,   Below you can see Tanya with a couple of them .

they needed some wood split, and some other yard work done, so Larisa hired |Sasha from the mens home to come with them for the day to help out .  

I am looking forward to to having a little more time this spring to be able to get to know the girls a little better, but then, there are lots of things I am looking forward to.

We have just over a week , then we will be on route ourselves.  This time we are bringing our nephew ( for lack of a better term) with us for 2 and a half months. It will be great to have him along.  He was a great help at Christmas, and fell in love with the people at that time .  We are soo excited to have him along now.

 Tomorrow we have another friend departing Ukraine and heading to Tokmok for 3 months to help as well.  He is from Canada , and has been working Ukraine  since before Christmas,

Lynn and Ruby, along with David will be arriving the day before us.    It sure felt like a long winter or at least a long 2 months.. It will be great to be back it it.  Still not sure how this is all going to work with Julie no longer working .. we believe that this is where we are called and what we are to do, so I guess we just believe for Gods provision.

a few catch up photo's

R & R

Holding out , waiting for Jengish as he has a couple days of meetings .  One more day and we will be on the road again.. It's hard to take, but hay someone's got to do it !

We found the sun

We found the sun !..   It has been a busy week. 

Up until Friday , we had no idea if we could actualy get into the US with Jengish.  He was only given a single entry visa, and used it to get here .  So there was a hole lot up in the air,  Emma and Bekah are also flying out of JFK with Jengish, so if we did not get across the border, I would have had to book flights for them, as well we really wanted to be in Cincinnati, so we would have had to drop the kids and head south on our own.    Fortunately the US boarder guard officer we finaly ended up with was very nice, and was able to work it out and let us back in .  

We had great fun at Kim and Randy's then on to Cincinatti where we had an incredible stay.  great friends and such encouragement to us.  And the weather was not half bad either.. sure is a big difference from the cold and snow we left behind in the north .  

Today we made it to Alabama with a few stops along the way to visit some friends along the way.
Tomorrow we will be having breakfast here with some great supporters, then it is on to  Pensacola . we get three days rest on the beach, and Jengish will be caring on to the Teen Challenge center for a visit. 

the last few days

Julie's rehirement party

The youth from our church did a great job with the smoothies, ice coffee, gourmet coffee...etc.

Drove 5 hours through a snow storm and 100km/hr , but it was worth it to get out fishing .

then relax by the fire 

beautiful drive Sunday morning on our way to speak in Espanola

supper with an incredible group of sponsors.  Jengish has been  hearing about them for years , and has been blessed by them for a long time, so it was really great to get to spend some time with them.

Sharing at the Anishinabe Spiritual Centre.

We had a great turn out,  It was a beautiful venue.  but most of all, it was great to visit with so many  who like us, care for the hurting in Kyrgyzstan.