2014 Calender sales to support Svetly Put Children's home

Let me tell you about one of the greatest places on earth ! 

 Svetly Put Children's home. 

"Svetly Put"   Childrens Home Calendar 

 In my books  Svetly Put is right up there with the best  .  This Children's home is more then just a place to house kids.   Here they work diligently to provide so much more .  This is often the first stop as children are brought in off the streets , as young as 4 or five years old, they find a loving  home waiting for them.   At Svetly Put, they work diligently to find parents or existing family , and work with them to allow the kids move back home . when that is not a possibility , they are that home.  The children have an opportunity to learn necessary life skills as well as extra skills such as sewing , felt work, and they even have a hair dressing studio for the kids .  The staff there are all  loving and kind , and are the kind of examples you would want for your own kids . 

Despite all this , This home has had some very shaky years.  First there was an attempt to take the building back from them to use it for other purposes.  Fortunately some high ranking City officials were able to see the great work that Svetly Put is doing with the kids, and they stepped in at the last minute to save the home .  Then last year the crisis hit again.   After ten years of funding from a single donor , the time came that the funding was going to come to an end.   

A plee for help went out around the globe, and enough funding has been restored to keep the doors open . 

We are so relieved , and grateful to those who have taken up the challenge to keep things going for these preciousness kids.    But it is not enough to just keep things going .   Jengish has been actively working at ways that we can help with things like upkeep and maintenance on the building , and the little extra things for the kids like the outing he took them on to dinner and a movie thanks to the Christmas pie challenge .. 

 But that is simply  not enough .  Jengish has determined that we will keep the doors open and we need to help them with more then just the basics.  And with this drive and motivation in mind, Jengish and some of his friends came up with the idea of producing calendars to sell to raise funds .  They are beautiful calendars of  featuring the kids of Svetly Put .   He was able to find a sponsor who covered the cost of the printing , and the calendar was produces ..

Jengish and his friend began selling the calendars at Sierra ,  a Bishkek coffee house where they kicked off with a gallery exhibition

As I promised , we have a Christmas Special .. just in time to help the kids over Christmas .  We want to beef up the pie challenge party for them with an outing for the kids, as well , over the Christmas holidays the ,kids will spend more time at home , so we would like to do a special food shop with lots of fun things like Fruit and special breads and rolls , and maybe even a bit of meet for them as well .  so here is the special 

Calenders $25 each .. or if you would like to buy them as a Christmas gift they are 1/2 price in a pack of 8 for $100 ... 

These Calenders  were printed by a sponsor, and we have a sponsor that will cover the shipping, so Jenish  will oversee that your full purchase price will go to help the kids 

to order , you can use the Christmas donation button below and in the info box type

  Calender  

 if your mailing address is different from the information on the donation, please email me and let me know . 

Christmas in Kyrgyzstan

Totals are in ..

WOW .. What a fantastic response to the pie challenge .. it is the kick off fundraiser for the Christmas parties in Kyrgyzstan every year.   So far we have raised $13680 .. that is almost 75% of our target this year, and still almost a month to go before we hit the ground.   The pay pal buttons will remain up and the fundraising Thermometer will hopefully continue to rise over the next month, but a good chunk of the funds necessary will be able to begin their journey.   Soon they will have made their way through the banking system and into the hands of our team on the ground so they can begin packing the gift bags ... at this point about 1500 of them.  
Those in the challenge that did not hit the target are off the hook.    So here is who gets a pie, and who has dodged the pie for this year  

As an added bonus, we have Tony Schneider and a friend of his joining us this year.. it will be great to have them along.   Julie and I will leave Canada on Christmas morning and will get in a day before the rest arrive  .  It is going to be another VERY busy month for us.    Parties will begin on the 28th of December , run through new years ( a big celebration day in KG) and be finished by Jan 7th ( the orthodox Christmas )  

Some of the things that I tend to take for granted when we are in Canada ... Knowing the difference between Shampoo and Conditioner because I can read the label ..     Not having to wait  for Emma and Bekah having to have a game of "rock paper sizzlers" every time my phone rings to see who will answer it for me. I start to take for granted  picking up a coffee from the drive through window...
There are so many other things that I start to take for granted here, but one thing that we never take for granted is the amazing support of so may like you. With the pie challenge, the operations and the emergency needs posted over the last few weeks ..you guys have risen to the challenge.   it is absolutely amazing .   Thank you all so much for the financial sacrifices you have made once again for the Hurting Helpless and Lost in the land that we love...   

AND NOW YOU KNOW THE REST OF THE STORY !

A few days ago I shared with all of you about a great story of provision. 16 kids medical needs were met in one night at the Norwood Ladies Christmas Gala event.  The night ended at around 10 pm .. 
that's 9am Kyrgyzstan time, So the moment the Gala was over, those on the ground in Kyrgyzstan began the process of getting the needs taken care of.  One of the first up was our young friend Tilek.  He was eager to get his new corrective glasses. but like most things, the story does not end there . 
   
   Here is what I did not share... 

Tilek will need one possibly two operations .  The they will know for sure at his next appointment in a few weeks .  The first operation would be scheduled for mid January, and the cost for the operation alone will be $400 (1/2 price because he is from an orphanage), then we will also need extra care for him, medications, and probably more glasses ..  my guess is that it will be about $550 total .  Julie and I were discussing it, and I said lets wait until we get the pie challenge over with before we share this need.... we have asked so much of people right now, and we are still so far off on the target for the Christmas parties ..   Julies response was her usual... " Its not any of our business where the donations will come from, and not to worry about it."   That was yesterday .  Today we were having a dinner party with a couple friends that were just in Kyrgyzstan with us, and one of them brought to the party a check.. they had someone come to them and ask that they bring us this donation.. $500 for the pie challenge, and $556  for Tileks operation... 

Its a good thing that it's not any of our business how this need was going to be met.. I have no idea who the sponsor is or how this all came into play, but like the need for our friend Acelbek a couple days ago, the finances were covered specifically BEFORE we ever shared it .. Thank you so much for helping us help them ... 

and now you know the rest of the story. 

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to an incredible group of people .

A special person to us once told me that "God blesses us so that we can be a blessing to others."  That statement rang so true with us, and we have seen it play out over and over.   Daily as we walk out our calling, we have people that are so blessed for the support that you have given us .. Over and over we are telling people that it is not us, but God using many incredible people all over the world to reach out to them in their need ..

So on this day when we collectively come together in body and in spirit to Give Thanks for all that God has done for us, around us and through us, I want to convey a great big thank you from the most vulnerable in Kyrgyzstan.   Thank you

Thank you for a first Christmas gift

thank you for sending people to visit me 

thank you for helping me start my own business

thank you for bringing water to my village 

thank you for showing us love 

thank you for my new bike 

thank you for helping me look after my baby 

  

thank you for meals with so many students sponsored  

thank you for suporting families 

thank you for warm mattresses, blankets and new heaters for the mens home 

thank you for supporting the hospitals 

thank you for the little extra's for the kids in the orphanages 

thank you for remembering the remote villages 

thank you  that I have a place to live 

thank you that you sent someone to
comfort me when I was abandoned 

 

thank you for the fun outings with our friends


And the list goes on .. This has been an incredible year because of so many of you .. and now as the day draws to a close in Kyrgyzstan, we pray that today as you look back over the year , you will be blessed by knowing how much you have blessed others.

Lets cover them all !

This is such a busy time for us all right now .. Thanksgiving is just a few days away ( for our US friends ) and right after that is Christmas and everything that comes along with it .  I have already been to one Christmas event this year and have another this Sunday night .

surgeon reviewing Acelbeks x-ray 

Emma shopping with Kolya 

  In Kyrgyzstan things are gearing up as well .. Renovations just completed at the Baby orphanage, preparing to start major renovations at the Baby hospital.  Caring for people in the hospital, like Jenishes friend Acelbek.  ( turns out he has a fractured skull, most defiantly would not have survived if you guys had not stepped up on this one ) Telik today to the eye clinic, lots of tests, and home with corrective lenses, 3 of our kids to the Dentist and more to go .. ( overwhelmed with the support and having a hard time excepting it, but more thankful then you could ever know, just hard for them to understand how someone they don't even know would reach out to them to help take away the pain they have lived with for so long  )  Several of Emma's kids have needed winter clothes , and the list goes on .  How many of you saw the wreckage on the news a couple days ago ?.. a bus and a car just outside of Tokmok .  18 injured , and 8 dead.  We have been asked to help those in the hospital who have no one to assist them .. I will share those stories soon , so Jenish is bringing food in to them today ... .

18 injured and 8 dead ...   close to home ... we have been asked to help . 

 OH did I mention planing Christmas for close to 2000 kids . ( the actual figure is 1943 )  Its hard not to become overwhelmed some times .. and that leads me to the next point...

We have just three days to go, and we are about $10 800 away from our goal .. our goal is that they would all get something special for Christmas , a little gift, maybe something special to eat , and some vitamins to help keep them healthy through the long winter.

Telik shows us his Cell phone .. 

I know that you have all given so much over the last few months,  so you know what it is to make a sacrifice for the sake of the kids .. but one more time I have to ask that you would help us create memories that will last  life time ..   We need an average of $3500 a day for the next three days . I am believing this is possible .. I have to , because the alternative is that we have to sit down and do the "naughty or nice" list to figure out who we reach out to this year ... lets not go there .. lets cover them all ..

Renovations complete just in time for winter

This spring when we arrived at the baby orphanage ,  it was pointed out so us by the director that the kitchen and food storage area was in very bad shape.  the holes in the window frames , and the walls collapsing were not thought to be able to withstand another winter .  On top of that the inside was difficult to keep clean, the tiles were old and cracked, and the wiring was bad.. even the doors could not keep the weather and the rodents out any more .  the total project was expected to be about 5 or 6 thousand dollars.    we bagan with the windows and the doors to keep the out side out and the inside in 

the window frams were so rotted that I could stick my fingers through like they were butter 

New plastic framed thermo pain windows 

New doors all around , including screens in the kitchen area

then during the summer , the kitchen inside was renovated 

finally this fall the outside walls were repaired and painted 

its hard to believe this is the same building 

the work men are puting the final touches on the walls , then we will call this project done ..  Just in time, the finances arrived in KG and Sergey met with the workmen and the director today and paid the final installment ,... ready for winter !

thank you to so many that had a part in this ..Kitchen renovations are not cute and they don't give you the warm fuzzys , but they are so essential to the  health and wellbeing of both the kids and the workers.. you guys ROCK!

They know first hand !

Over the years , many of you have made it possible for our team to bring a special Christmas to the children of Kyrgyzstan.   I have shared testimonies here from kids that have been the recipient of these gifts and parties, but I think that the greatest testimony is what we have started to see happen this year .   Children who have been in the orphanage and know how special this gift has been have started to step forward to do what they can to see that those that they have left behind have the same Christmas experience they did.  

Caleb and his friend having fun with team member Tabatha during a Christmas celebration 

   In fact it was long before the challenge even started this year that I was contacted by Caleb to find out when we could begin...   But it's not just Caleb.  

This year we actually have 4 challengers who remember what it was like in the orphanage when they got to celebrate Christmas because of this challenge.   If you are wondering who to sponsor for a pie in the face, why not chose one of these.  I have marked a green star beside the name of these special challengers .. lets make sure they get a pie

How does it happen ?

How does it happen that a person can have a job, a home and his health, and in a mater of seconds become Jobless , homeless and a crumpled mess... 

Jengishes friend here was having a hard time smiling for this picture.   Let me tell you a little of his story .      He came to Kyrgyzstan as a political refugee from Uzbekistan some time ago.   Life here was off to a rocky start , and he ended up in the treatment center that Jengish was the director of.   There he got his life in order , and committed to a new way of life.  After the center he found a good job, one that provided him with a comfortable place to live as well. 
   Yesterday our friend was simply crossing the street to buy some bread, and a speeding car hit him and took off.   Along with several cuts and bruises,  he has some internal injuries like a broken collar bone .  
  The treatments are $200 more then he has , and un able to work, he will not only loose his job , but his home that comes with it . 
  Battered and bused, broke jobless  and homeless .. this time he called out to Jengish rather then the bottle ... 
  His emediate need is $200 for medical expenses , and Jengish will see what he can do to help him keep his job and stay living where he was .. Jengish says that if anyone would like to help him with this , he sure would appreciate it .. 
   

Final count down for the pie challenge ..time to get your donations in .

So we are into the final count down for the pie challenge ..we are 25% of the way to our target, and we have one week to go .. We are doing great , it is always the last week when the momentum takes off, but we do need your help.  Please share this post with your friends, re post on your own blogs and even post on FB daily .. we need the word out.. the kids are worth it!  and they appreciate it .  We also need you to donate now to get the totals up.  
   Here is a re-post from the blog a couple years ago, but I think it sums things up well .

This morning we went bright and early to go get a young friend from one of the orphanages that we support. From there we headed into Bishkek to the Children's Hospital were we were meeting with a couple eye Dr's to have a check up. From the moment he got into the car until we got to Bishkek, he was telling me all about something really special that happened .. Some one from America sent them all presents.. every single kid got a present.. he said that in his bag he got shampoo, soap, body wash, tooth brush and tooth past, some fruit and candies , and a small toy that he had in his pocket to show me.. then he told all about what some of the other kids got as well.. he was so excited..In my head I was doing the math .. this is a lot of stuff for so many kids... I was so thrilled that someone had thought about these kids, it made my heart warm, then Sergey smiled and told me he was talking about the Pie in the face Christmas 3 months ago... I almost started to cry to know that we had a part of bringing something so special to these kids.. THANK YOU , so much to everyone that has had such a big part in really showing these kids in a tangible way that they are special and are not alone.... You know we help a lot of people with things that cost a hole lot more then this $5 gift, most times they never know us and we don't get to see first hand the reaction.. others we are there for, some times I wonder how much is done or said for our benefit or out of obligation.. but today.. This young boy shared his excitement and gratitude, not to us, but to someone who touched their lives in such a special way... YOU.

   We have some special guests joining us this Christmas , someone all of our adoption community will know.  A team led by Tony Schneider will be departing JFK on the 26th of Dec and will spend about 10 days in Kyrgyzstan helping with all the Christmas parties .. if you are interested in coming along, let us know ..

Here are a few photos of Christmas's gone by  . starting with Caleb Littlejohn .. He was the first one to have his name up for the pie challenge , in fact he was asking about it weeks before the challenge even started ... He is home now in the US, but he still remembers how special it was when we would come to the orphanage he was in to celebrate with them.. maybe if you are not sure who's pie to donate towards , start with Caleb... he really needs to do this ...