Day 5 by Zac

“Zac you drive stick, can you go pick up the last few people from the farm?” Don’t know who told John, or maybe he just assumed correctly, but at 10AM that Saturday morning I got my first real taste of the dirt road down the mountain. WOW, what a ride! Say what you will about the taxes we pay on gas, but the road conditions alone are proof that we have $$ going towards construction infrastructure. Packed 6 or 7 people into a 5 seater, passed the AUX chord to the back seat, and danced our way back to the Kashar (we turned down the music before we got there, but I’m pretty sure they heard us coming). The bus that had normally been taking our whole group at once had been sent to pick up our guests for the day: a load of students. They were coming to the Kashar as an excursion, but also with an assignment.

This whole group had been taking English courses, and were to practice their conversational skills with us. We were expecting about 10, so when more than 20 arrived (plus another vehicle of guests came later on too I believe) some of our plans for the day quickly changed. We were going to have a time (set up as a game) where there would be one-on-one rotations where we would quickly get to know each other through a series of scripted questions, but it was immediately realized that would not be a successful way to navigate the time, nor to give them the best opportunity. So, our team intentionally joined them in all the activities (horseback riding, sitting

through Eagle Hunter demonstrations, over a meal and at the snack table, exploring the property and surrounding poppy fields) plus jumped in on their various friend groups and genuinely had great chats for the hours they were there. Hearing their hobbies and goals for the future, and apparently joking with them (tell us something about zac “HE’S FUNNY” was the group response 🤷🏻‍♂️🥰) was truly special. 

 Huge shoutout to Ruslan, one of the guys who works at The Farm. His task for the day was lunch. And I know I saw him starting to gather firewood that morning. When the people just kept coming and coming, I don’t know what was going through his head, but he executed things perfectly.

 Update from the farm

We are still looking for $500 for food hampers . I am  hoping to get them looked after quick because I know what's coming next ... COAL. 

The first of many truck loads of coal have  arrived.  last year we used 25 loads of coal to meat the needs .  One load costs about $650 USD if we start buying in a few weeks , but if we are able to get it now we can save about $100 a load . and that's a huge savings for us . 
We have also found the same thing with the fire wood that we give with the coal to get the fires going .. so any donations for coal at this time would be a great blessing .. On average a family will use 2 to three tons at $80 a ton .. we give out one ton per family (20 bags) to start them off and some we need to repeat during the winter. 

1 truck load $640

1 ton  $80

1 bag   $4

Day 4 with Zac

Friday, May 26. Our team was scheduled to spend another full day at the Kashar. John had a full stock pot of pork he had been marinating that was all ready for to bone-out, trim, and season for Shashlik that

night.. so Sabira and I took care of that while breakfast was being made. The ground we had dug out beside the Kashar was ready to have the sand spread, and we got started on digging post holes for the fencing being put up.

These landscaping changes were nice to have tackled as part of a large team, so that the work still to be done could be more easily handled by their workers still there after we left. A couple cool notes from these projects: 1) The ground. Rocky. Like, dry, solid, obnoxious to work with, rocky. BUT…that gifted us SO MANY stones to be used in various ways as we went along…in the fire pit to hold up the Kazan we cooked with, added to the cement in the retaining wall, and to line up/stabilize the 4x4s used as fence posts.

 2) The lumber. All the wood used for the posts and rails got burned (think, half way between a torch and a flame thrower, hooked up directly to a bbq propane tank 😎🔥) then sanded (grinder with the blade swapped for a circular steel brush) and treated (motor oil and a paint brush👌🏼). Honestly, so pragmatic and it looks amazing. 

Never needs to be stained or painted. The portion below ground got a heavy coating of roofing tar to prevent rotting.

 

Day 3 by Zac

The area of Kyrgyzstan where The Farm is located is in the northern part of the county, at the base of what are the foothills heading into the Himalayas. Travelling “up south” to the Kashar was a bumpy ride, or lovely walk. This is where the team would spend a large portion of our time working. It’s an area away from the village where groups can go relax, stay, and use for various purposes. Great accommodations for a tourist trip, or doing teaching/ministry a little more remote. Yurts, bedrooms, kitchen, all ready to be used. Our goal was to increase the usage of the outdoor space. 

There is a good size patio, but not comfortable for more than 20 people. Our team was able to dig out the side of the hill surrounding the building so that a retaining wall could get built, sand spread, then all that was still needed to do was lay patio stones to increase the usable space.

 

We worked on clearing thistles from the property, and more sand was dropped on the new sports area. This was also the day our final team members arrived, Igor from Texas, and our local translators Nikolai and Kamala. 

 

Working alongside the boys from the farm, especially with the language barrier beginning to be overcome, was very moving. It was hard work, but good work, and anyone who knows me knows I loved 

every moment of it. “We worked for God with all of our hearts” was the quote to come out of the day. I FaceTimed my kids later on and told them dad was playing real-life Minecraft—chiseling away the rocks from the side of a mountain. Ended the day with another trip to the hot spring, going back and forth between the steaming hot pool (fed right out of mountains) and the freezing cold pool (fed from the streams melting off the snow caps). I remember when John & Julie spoke in Brantford years ago as they began sharing their vision for The Farm, before the land was all purchased, and it was in the planning/fundraising stage and was being developed…. Seeing how it has grown and operates was so rewarding! In addition to the boys, they have 4..? other staff hired to manage the farm, care for the guest houses, and oversee all their infrastructure/operations/details.

Zac ... Day 2

John and Julie’s hospitality was on display from the moment they greeted us in the early hours of morning. They got our team settled into our rooms in the guest house, and let us know breakfast would be at 10, but coffee would be ready a few hours before that. Let’s just pause here and say I’m convinced John never sleeps. Not only is their back patio the most cozy cafe, but there was unlimited coffee, tea, and treats ready to go from before wake-up til after bedtime. Julie and John would be there sharing stories the entire time. 

After our first meal in Kyrgyzstan (the food the entire time was AMAZING) we began to be shown around The Farm. The Wright’s have worked closely with orphanages and homes for the disabled for years, and they have been able to provide a place for some of those who age out to come live, work, and learn. 

Being that our team had just come off our long journey to arrive, the plan was to take it easy for the day and begin some of the heavier work on Day 3. We sorted through our bags of team supplies (toys, scrubs, vitamins, kids cloths, menstrual products) that would be given out as our time went on. 

Our introduction to the boys who work on The Farm was over a time of fishing and a trip to the hot springs, which also allowed for bus rides where our team continued to get acquainted.

KG UPDATE 

 We have $250 for the food hampers for vera o deliver and are still waiting on another $500 if anyone would like to help at this time. 

 

 

14 Days

A few weeks ago we had the privilege of hosting a team from Possibilities International .   Since returning home, ZAC, one of the team members has begun to journal in an effort to get his head around all that they did. I thought that many of you would enjoy this adventure, so with his permission, I will repost his journal here .  ( at the end of the posts, I will post any updates or projects from KG as they come up. )

1 4 D A Y S Last month I had the opportunity to travel to Kyrgyzstan as part of a team through Possibilities International. We joined John & Julie Wright in the village of Rot-Front to serve their wide scope of ministry. Since returning to Canada, I’ve had time to sit with, remember, and ponder all the work done…as well as cherish the people we met and miss. Over the next couple weeks, I’m going to share some of the stories and my thoughts—some heavy and some minimal, but all sincere. 

 Day 1 was a day of travel. Late night flight out of YYZ, landing in IST 10 hours later, then a 5 hour flight to FRU. 10 time zones difference and all the travel was enough to disorient the calendar, but the adrenaline and excitement kept me pretty chatty on the midnight bus ride to The Farm (the team was starting to realize what they were in for having a zac on the trip). 

Side note, if you press play on track 12 of The Black Parade when your plane starts taxiing, the wheels will leave the ground as Gerard Way hits the high note in the bridge of Famous Last Words….

 Anyway, we grabbed a few hours of sleep before breakfast.

Update 

We are looking to raise $750 to provide food hampers for Vera to take to families from the boarding school for the disabled .  The kids are home for the summer and she likes to go around and touch base with them and make sure they are all doing well, and it would be great if she could bring some extra food with her when she goes 

Wellness Check

I received this photo a couple days ago of a nice meal with our farm folks .   Its nice to look around the table and see everyone. 

We also received a few other pictures .. A small child that we have helped the mom so they could keep her out of the orphanage.  with some on going support this family is going to make it!.  

We also continue to provide vitamins to many as needed .  

With the warmer weather , our weekly breakfast club was a picnic in the park . It so good for the girls to be able to spend some time with friends and to keep in touch.

  I was talking with Vera , and she is hoping to do the wellness checks again this summer .  She is the director of a boarding school for children with disabilities .  Many of the kids are from families in the mountains who don't always have the means to care for their kids especially if there are special needs . Vera would like to pack some food hampers and then go and visit each of the families.  the food is a great blessing to them, and it also gives her a reason to be able to spend some time with them and assess if there are any other needs .    We would like to raise about $25 per family and be able to provide for at least 30 families .   So that said we are looking for $750 USD to meet this need .