Topping up the General Fund..

Right after Christmas and new years comes tax time .. Time to prepare the tax receipts, Time to prepare the books from the previous year, and time to pay property tax in Kyrgyzstan and vehicle taxes on the farm as well.   It is also the time of year when we book our return flights to Kyrgyzstan .    As we are preparing the financial statements, we are reminded of a few short falls this month. 

with our flights this spring we will be able to bring 100 lbs of Vitamins with us 

We are careful to make sure that 100% of every dollar donated goes to the intended designation. We do not take anything out for bank fees and currency exchanges, but they do exist.  We have received donations over the years for the purchase and projects on the farm , but taxes and licence fees still need to be paid .  We do not normally receive donations designated toward our flights back and forth from Kyrgyzstan, yet they are a necessary evil .   Its exciting to celebrate birthdays for our kids, but along with the minimal party cost seems to come an on-slot of experiences for documents, registry, passport and military documents ... they all add up and because of the cost, most kids do not have them when they come to the farm, so there are also penalties to be paid.  Then there are smaller needs $20 here and $40 there to meet immediate needs for medical and school expenses that we don't always have the time or opportunity to raise funds for.  All these things add up and all come out of our general fund . 

That is why every now and then we need to put out a plea to top up our general fund.  This is one of those times .. we will be preparing to head back in a month and it would be great to straiten this out before we go.. 

Here is an example of some of the extra expenses over the last six weeks .. 

Bank fees and paypal / Canada helps commissions from the Christmas wish list   $350
Short fall on currency donated in Canadian and paid out in US funds     $600
Taxes and licences paid this month in Kyrgyzstan for the year         $825 
Documents, passports and extra school fees paid for kids on the farm.    $400
extra Vitamins purchased and medications and emergency expenses paid  $125
flights for John and Julie   $ 2250
  ( Flights were booked quickly with out time to raise funds to take advantage of a three day sale that saved $1020 and included an extra 100 lbs of luggage )

This totals $4550 

As you can see, its time again to ask for help with some of these expenses to start the next journey on the right foot .  Please consider blessing  our general fund at this time so we can continue to be a blessing to others