Trying not to be too discouraged.

I have not posted for over a week .. it was a bit of a hard week , but things seem to be getting back on track now.  

Last week we had a power pole come down at our house during a small rain storm.  The power surge

also wiped out my laptop and blew out our microwave.  The power company was quick to come out and secure the location, and even quicker to tell me that it was on my property so I have to pay to replace it.   All the private contractors were busy, so 10 am Friday they began placing the new pole. The new pole was in for $1200 .. but the real kicker is that to replace it there has to be disconnect / reconnect / inspection & permit fees.. totaling another $1000.  So I pay an independent contractor who does all the work and does a great job for what he has earned (and will have to pay tax on is earnings ), but  Ontario Hydro makes a thousand dollars off of my hardship.  Its not that we don't have corruption in Canada .. we just call it something else .. like fees and permits !  15 years ago we replaced another pole .. the guys doing the work charged $1000 and Ontario Hydro charged $150 .. so in 15 years the cost of the pole and the labor has gone up by 20% but the government fees have gone up by 666 % .. Coincidence ?  any of my conspiracy theory friend could have a heyday with that ..   

It never rains but it pours .. the day after my personal finances are wiped out, Jengish and Emma got word that the

car trouble they are having is a serious one, and the engine needs to be replaced on their SUV .. it will be about $2000 to fix.   This car is so vital for their work, not just on the farm and the food deliveries and humanitarian aid work they do.  Jengish subsidies his salary buy working as a driver / fixer for film crews coming to Kyrgyzstan, and he absolutely needs this 4 x 4 to get into the remote locations they film in. 
   As a father I want so much to be able to help them with this, but as I just shared , our emergency buffer for things like this was just wiped out.    If there is any one that would like to help them get the car back on the road, we sure would appreciate the help. 

"What so ever things are good .. think on these things"   It is at times like this that I have to just put those situations aside in my mind and focus on the good things that are going on .. or as my Mom says ... "Think of three good things." so here goes.

#1.  Aigula and those that stayed behind the last trip to Issyk-kul yurt camp are there now having a little R&R.  Nick  is looking after the farm and Mike is doing the cooking while they are away 

 

 

#2 .   We are experiencing another bumper crop this year on the farm 

#3 The construction projects are making headway .. the green houses, the addition on the barn and the hospital clinic... 

There .. that has me in a little better frame of mind now. 

We have a busy few weeks ahead .. next Wednesday we will be the Guest speakers at Ottawa valley youth camp , then the following Sunday in Saint-Andrè in Quebec, then the following weekend at the Light house in Espanola (Northern Ontario) where we will touch base with a team coming in September with Possibilities International.  Then on the 10th we will be hosting a Kyrgyz style picnic at our home in Norwood .. an open invitation to any one in the area.  then a few days later I will be on my way back to Kyrgyzstan.