Ready for new years

Tonight will be one of the largest celebrations of the year in Kyrgyzstan. What a great time to show up with some special gifts for some families and orphanages.  

We had a total of 6 ducks that were purchased from the farm for donations to families .  Jengish's brother was helping today as they delivered these ducks as well  as food hampers donated through our friends at Possibilities International . 

Joey, Jeffrey Nicholas, Harley Quinn , Pizza Head and Trumpkin all have new homes .

As part of the pie in the face challenge, along with parties and gifts, we are delivering beef to many of the orphanages .  Today they delivered to the baby orphanage as well as to our friends from Orlofka and Kemin. 

A few days ago we got a call from Olga.. she was giggling as she said that she may have accidentally invited 50 kids to the center for Christmas gifts this year .  Now you may ask how that can happen, but I have been there and I know exactly how that can happen .  We were so pleased to be able to help. I was even more encouraged by the support that came from the community as well.  As I was looking threw the photos this morning, I was thrilled to see others I recognized helping her out,  like the man we get our windows from .. seen here giving back . 

This year there was a change to the uniform rules for the schools, and a new uniform was chosen that is very expensive .  This has brought great hardship to many families who have not had the funds to purchase them.  Today some of these families found relief from friends of Olga's .. look how tightly this young man is hanging on to his jacket.  such a blessing. 

Another exciting day for the kids.

Today's party was for about 120 kids  Along with a big party complete with games and a concert, each of the kids got a gift bag and a bag of popcorn. 

The boys from the farm were excited to be able to be a part of the excitement 

everyone at the farm is busy helping make and bag popcorn for the parties  

the cucumbers are looking good 

all the little pigs like to sleep together .  the mothers share them and nurse both litters 

Rolling out the parties

Every one is getting ready for for the next round of Christmas parties.  Lots of shopping, packing bags and popping popcorn .  Every one is put to work .  Christmas holidays last for a couple weeks .. starting Yesterday with Christmas , ending on Jan 7 with the Orthodox Christmas, and new years in the middle .. Its a good thing we have a long holiday as there is so much to do. 

 

This morning actually tonight in Kyrgyzstan they had a special meal and a gift exchange at the farm 

Tomorrow they will also start preparing for animal deliveries to many families in need.  Jengish and Emma have been working with other NGO's supporting families to find the best homes for the animals sponsored .  

Here is what they will be delivering over the next few days from the Christmas Catalogue  .  

2 goats (Munch & Chomp) + 1 chicken (Mortimer) + 1 rabbit (Solomon) + 6 duck (Trumpkin, Joey Jeffrey Nicholas, Harley-Quinn and Pizza Head) + 1 goose (Goosey) 5 food hampers and 250 kg (550 lbs) of meat delivered to 7 different orphanages and many families and institutions we work with. They will also be picking up some craft supplies for the farm    

Merry Christmas

 Lilly is having a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit this year. 

But here is something that might bring her some Holiday Cheer.. 

Last night we reached our target with ranch. 

 We will now move forward with the purchase early in the new year. 

What a way to end up another amazing year.  I was feeling a little tired, and then put together a little video , sort of a year in review.. I guess its OK to be tired.. 

A Christmas adventure

Last night, the boys decided that they would like to go into Bishkek to see the new Star-wars movie. 

they had some Christmas money from some of our sponsors and this is how they wanted to use it. 

They got Ulukbek to bring them into Tokmok and they caught the express bus to Bishkek from there , then Bekah's favorite trolley bus #11 across town. 

After the movie they went to my favorite restaurant.   The Burger House and had a great meal ... as always .. 

Thank you to those who have invested in these great boys .. 

An opportunity to Double your blessings !

I have some exciting news to share. Actually two things, each deserving of its own blog post, so to see more great news, follow the link at the bottom ..

If you noticed on the Christmas wish catalogue , you will notice the last item, A mountain ranch.. 

There is a piece of property come up for sale  that is on the edge of the village where the farm is.  It is about 2 miles away at the end of the road.  The cool thing is that the next village is a 10 day horseback ride threw the mountains.  The mountain behind this ranch is public grazing land, were the animals can be turned out to graze.  

this is the Ranch shown here at the base of the mountain.  the photo was taken from the edge of the village where the farm is located. It's that close!

This settlement is known as "Uzun Bulak" or "Long Spring Creek".  It could not get any closer to the base of the mountain.  Right behind the ranch there is a plateau the looks out over the valley on one side and up into the mountain gorge at your back.  

It is such a beautiful spot that we have been bringing guests there for picnics and horse back riding.  

This property would be fantastic for us as a place to grow into.  There are large barns that we can send the animals too to be able to graze in the mountains.   The rest of the property we would plant more orchards, as well as build some small guest accommodations.    Maybe summer outings for some of the kids from the orphanages.. so much potential.  We began negotiations at $60 000 , and have settled on a price of $25 000.  with a closing date of just six weeks if all works out, we can have it for $24,000  

So here is the exciting part  We have had a sponsor come forward, and offer a MATCH GRANT.  That's right .. We are hoping to wrap this up by the end of the year .. a great way to get n your last minute tax credits and double your investment at the same time.  this will also allow time needed to transfer the funds in time for the closing of the deal. 

We know that the structures will require a lot of work, but that can come with time  This is an incredible location and is a place for the farm to grow into for years to come .. 

But wait to see more exciting news , check out this blog post .. 

Blessed to be a blessing !

I have some exciting news to share.  Actually two things, each deserving of its own blog post, so to see more great news, follow the link  at the bottom .. 

If you have been looking at the  Christmas wish Catalogue , you will have noticed that this year there is a slight change .. We are so blessed that the farm has matured to the point where we are not in need of more animals right now, but are in a position to start selling animals  What we do know is that there are many hurting around us that are not in the same position, so we have an opportunity to help. 

A few days ago we had someone donate a milk goat to go to such a family.  We had a few in mind, but at the same time as the donation came in we were contacted about a family in our area that is in a desperate situation.  There home is in very bad shape and needs a lot of work.  They have three kids, and the children are all very sick from malnutrition.   We had given them some  vitamins , but this is an opportunity to do more. 

Today the guys went out and picked out the best milk goat , and a few bails of hay, and delivered it to the family .  Can you just imagine  how thrilled they were, and the relief that a donation like this can bring to this family. 

What a great Christmas gift to get that hard to shop for person, the one who has everything they need.  Through a gift like this, a young family is able to start the long road out of poverty .   If you would like to support something like this , use one of the donate buttons on the side of the blog, and then print off this gift certificate .

Now for some more exciting news follow this link 

Working in the greenhouse

Working in the garden today .  -6 outside , but toasty warm inside.  

we finally have the coal heater up and running 

here is a short video of the process of building the green houses. 

Today they met up with Victor to get coal for he and his grandmother.