Update from the farm

We would like to thank everyone out there that helped us to get a new truck for the farm .  

Today we  were planting the hoop houses .  we planted one with carrots, one lettuce,  one beats and one with yellow beans.   The plants in the hoop house will get a three week head start on the rest of the garden .

 We where up at the Kashar.  One corner of the barn there is no roof.  We were looking at that and thought it would make a great place for a garden up there . We cane grow everything for Plof there , and the animals will not be able to get into the garden. we think it will look great when it is done .  Julie is calling it the secret garden.  

  Today was a special birthday at the farm. Our youngest turned two today .  Julie had a few little gifts for her, and tonight they will have a pizza party for her. 

Lunch is always a fun time at the farm .  

We have a property with a house and a barn that we have a family with five kids living in.  They came at the beginning of the winter since they had no where else to go.   Up until now we have not been charging any rent, but we spoke to them today to discuss the future.   He has agreed to care for the large garden behind the house for us as payment for living there. Then if we have other odd jobs that we need extra workers for,  we will offer them to him first before we go somewhere else .     After a short visit,  we walked the perimeter of the garden to discuss what we would be planting  

some of the girls were out today for some fresh grass 

So a bit more about the car.  It is a Subaru Baja . It has 4 wheal drive , 4 door .  It is both gas and propane.  it can carry 1/2 ton and can pull 1 ton.  

Mold problems at Olga's center ..

I got a call today from Olga , She has some trouble at her school / help center.  The windows are bad and had to be covered with plastic for the winter, then when she was opening them up for the spring she noticed that some of the wall paper was lifting.  When she investigated she found that there was black mold growing behind it . the more paper she pulled down the more she found .  then we found it under the vinyl  flooring as well.

We have decided that we better  get this solved right away before it gets any worse.  Some of the boys from the farm will help to pull off the old wall paper and bleach and clean the walls and floor.  Then we will need to re paper and put down more flooring .

while we are doing this we would like to put in two new windows so that we don't have this issue in the future. We have the boys to help with the labor and we thing we can get all the materials including the windows for $300.  If you would like to help Olga with this please let us know .

lets brighten up her day

Today we heard from Auxana .. many will know her from over the years from here on the blog.  She is the single mom that we helped to put the roof on the barn she had built herself, as well as bringing her coal for the winter. 

She has had a very difficult winter.   she had some problems with her leg that required medical help.  she ended up using all he money for treatment and for the last month they have not had anything to eat but her seed potatoes. She had felt ashamed to call and ask for help.  But now with no food left in the house and no potatoes left to replant she finally opened up to Sergey when he called her to check in .  He did get a bit of food to her right away. tomorrow we would like get a bit more food for her as well as potatoes and hire a tractor to plow her garden. 
 

It seems like every day I am sharing a new need, but that is life here in Kyrgyzstan after a long winter .  We are so thankful to everyone who has an invested interest in those we support.     If anyone feels to reach out to Auxana , we will be going at 8:00 pm eastern time to do some shopping, and any donations that come in for her we will put to use to brighten up her day and remind her that she is special. 

Return to The Farm

We had a nice visit to the farm yesterday.  On the way in we passed the playground that was installed by our sponsors a couple years ago .. it continues to be well used . 

On the farm we did a little walk around , The green houses doing well, the fish are ready to start eating soon.  I think l will look into making a smoker for them. 

We have two new calves on the farm , and three more on the way .  

Aigoola and Alina put on a beautiful lunch for us .   It was nice to sit with everyone at the lunch table .. We went for a walk through the poultry barn with Mirlan.  He was happy to tell us that they all made it through the winter .  They did all look great . 

Over at the mens home they have been busy working on the new showers for the men there, There are 5 showers that we would like to put in.  The cost of the shower room is $500 each .  We have been able to sponsor 2 of them so far, and with those funds they have completed 2 rooms and have put the new floor in the third.  

This will be an on going project that as funds come in we will continue , If anyone would like to take on renovating a shower room, the cost is $500. 

so why the picture of goosey

Last night I shared an urgent post about an expecting mom in need of emergency surgery , Friends here had raised $400 and there was $800 needed .  Well as soon as I posted , donations began to come in.  during your day, my night we were able to raise $675 to help her.

So why the picture of Goosey and her babies ? you might ask ...

The Farm  had sold her babies, and the money just came in , and it will be enough to cover the rest of the operation .   

Thank you everyone who has made this possible.  We will meet with them in a few hours to transfer the funds ..

urgent need

Well we arrived safe and sound , now we are spending a couple days with Bekah and the Bishkek peps, then will head to Tokmok.  There are always lots of needs that we find when we arrive, some of them are more urgent then others . 

I just got a request for help from a friend , A family in their group is in trouble ,  It is a mother and father with 2 kids, and the mother is seven months pregnant.  She has developed a hernia and needs it operated on right away.  They will do a c-section then put in a dissolving net.  The operation

n itself is free, but the netting and other supplies for before during and after the operation are costly .  It is about $1200 for the operation .  The friends in the group have raised $400 ( which is a very large some for a small group to come up with here ) this leaves them with an urgent need for $800.   

It left longer, both the mother and the baby will be at risk, the safest time to operate is NOW! that means that the best time for us to act is also NOW.   If you read this and feel let to help in any way , please use the pay pal or Canada helps link on the top right side of the blog, or contact me right away on FB or my email at sunmasterjohn@aol.com.  

Almost ready to go

Well our time in the west draws to an end.  We have had a very full schedule, We have visited 13 different states and provinces, shared the work 12 different times at churches and service clubs, traveled to the homes of and met with about 75 different  sponsors and friends, and met with two teams that had been in Kyrgyzstan this fall. We got to spend time with the family here,  four generations for Christmas and family gatherings .

  Our return to Kyrgyzstan this spring we are looking forward to reconnecting with our kids and those we work with .  Our son Benjamin and his wife Rachel ( who is our book keeper ) and their two boys Jonah and Eli will be coming to join us this spring.  We have also started to get bookings for the guest house and yurts. We will be staying until the end of June this year to help with the first weeding on the farm , then will be returning to Canada for a couple months .  We are starting plans now for a trip north , Sudbury, Espanola, North Bay, Winnipeg, and Cloud Minnesota  are in our sights. Stay tuned for more details.

Our bags almost packed with just a few more last minute items then we are on our way Monday with a stop at the Kabota tractor dealer to pick up parts for the tractor, a stop at the accountant to complete our taxes, then a stop at the seniors home for a final visit with Julies dad a supper with Benjamin, who is driving us,  before we head for the airport .
We are looking forward to the adventure ahead of us , and invite you to follow along the journey ...