making the best of a few nice days before winter starts

The Boys came to the Kashar and worked as waiters for the day .  We were hosting a couples retreat. What a beautiful day it turned out to be . 

all set up and waiting for the guests to arrive 

We set up a 4 course meal served to the couples, each at their own table, spread out for privacy.

The kids did great and had fun.  They had their own table and enjoyed the food and the activities.

Down on the farm we are working on a back up services building. 

It will have several says supply of water as well as back up generator.   This will allow us to have laundry and shower facilities available all the time, as well as a continuous water supply for the chickens and rabbits.  

 

Tanya is still working on coal deliveries out in the village . We will continue deliveries next in the Tokmok area starting next week. 

We are looking for a bit of help for Marat .  He is doing great, He works through the week in Bishkek and spends the weekends back on the farm. It had been a long time since he had his eye surgery.  It was time to get his eyes checked and new glasses .  The bill was $250 . He is hoping that we can find a sponsor to help him cover this need . 

A few projects on the go.

As we are finishing up for the season at the Kashar, we had some help giving the wood benches and railings a fresh coat of varnish.

Down on the farm the boys are making progress on the garage that has been cleaned out and set up as a wood working shop. The centre area will be kept clear so that the cars can be kept inside for the winter .

Here is a bigger project that we are working on .  We have regular water outages in the village , sometimes for days at a time.   The cafe house is also the laundry centre and has shower facilities , as well this is the water source for the chickens and rabbits.  We also use this house as the centre for all our humanitarian aid . and our living space is always full of hocky bags and suit cases full of supplies.   

We have recieved a grant to add a small addition onto the house . It will have both a sorting / storage room as well as two large water reservoirs for back up water supplies. 

The water tanks will be almost a meter below grade so that the roof is under and does not block the view out the window.  The rest of the addition will have a shed roof and be finished on the outside the same as the house . 

 

One by One by One by One....

 How do you fix all the problems in the world today ?

ONE by

ONE by

ONE by

ONE by

ONE by

ONE by

ONE by

ONE by

ONE by

ONE by

ONE 

And don't give up !

Busy BEES

 

Our friend Vlady has decided to retire from the bee business. So today we went up to the mountain to meet with Talbek. ( the guy who's land the bees live on) We worked out an arrangement for him to care for our bees for us. The honey that they produce is exceptional, and we do not want to move them from that mix of pollin. 

We have 10 double family hives ( bee duplexes) and 12 regular hives with families and 4 empty boxes ready for the next time the hives split. 

Lots going on

Yesterday Julie and I were in Bishkek with some of our city team as well as Breakfast club.  

We have a huge need right now that we are working through. Most of you Know Kamala.   A couple months ago Kamalas nieces  family life fell apart and they ended up in an orphanage.  Kamala had been a stable factor in their lives for several years , so she has started working on getting custody of them.  They have now been with her for a few weeks.  If this is going to work, we will need to come up with some support for them, Kamala's grand mother and brother will help as much as they can financially,  but with food and school transportation etc. we need to find a sponsor for $200 a month to keep this family together and not split up and in orphanages. 

We brought the kids out to a restaurant .   for the little one, this was only her second time ever to eat out. She was so excited. 

Now with the other issue with the little one.  She is just 4 years old and it is time for her to go to Kindergarten. All the government schools are full, but  there are plenty of private ones that she could go to that are close buy but they are expensive. In an ideal world , we would find a sponsor for $200 a month for the next year.    

On the coal front , yesterday we delivered bulk coal to two locations , and our friends there will bag up and deliver to the families in need in their areas .. this days deliveries will provide coal for approx. 25 families .

Yesterday our boys were up at the Ranch to cement in the edges of the new patio .   It looks great. 

 

We have arrived .

So great to be back in Kyrgyzstan again.  The trip was full of wonderous sights and sounds as we had layovers in both Iceland Amsterdam . We had time out of the airport so that we could do some touring . 

 The flights had a little bit to be desired .. very hot and very crowded . but we made it.   I think they have added a few too many extra rows into the plane !  The trip was long .. in total it took us 7 days to get here , but even with travel expenses and some touring along the way, we managed to save over $1000 buy flying the deals and breaking up the flights .  Something I think we will be doing more often .   

 

We got in on Saturday morning and spent the rest of the day sleeping and un packing, and spending time with our people.  Sunday we took a couple of the weekend boys out to the bazaar and shopping then out for supper .  Today we left the farm at 6:00 am to drive Marat to work here in Bishkek then are spending a couple days in Bishkek. 

Lots of work continued while we were in the air.  More coal deliveries to a couple rehab centres and some families.  The work of bagging coal continues .   

 

We still had some prenatal vitamins being delivered as well. 

Up at the Kashar the final touches are being put on the patio expansion.  This will be a great spot for larger groups .