Blessed to be a blessing

6 am Julie we're up to start the fires for the ploff.    

 

I can remember as a kid going winter camping .. at 20 below I would be wide awake at 6am eager to get up and move around and get warmed up.   

 

I thought about that as I fought with myself to get up out of a nice warm bed . 

Between the dark and the smoke and steam, I might as well have had a blindfold on... But I have made ploff a few times so I pulled it off.

We made a double batch in two Kazans just to be sure to have enough 

Yesterday I had made Borsolk so that was a hit with the ploff. 

Along with the Kyrgyzstan food we also served sandwiches and snacks 

We had several stops around the city , one of them being a small in a moment.   

At one of the stops a young man who looked like my Misha and sounded like him, and was so incredibly polite.   What was amazing was he was so happy and brought a smile to everyone's face.  

We were blessed to spend the day with Scott Couper and his team at Street Level Advocacy.  I can rest knowing that some one is making such an impact here on the streets in Peterborough, but that does not let us off the hook , we all need to do our part when we can. 

We are home and warmed up, and have had a nice hot bath .. something our new friends will not get tonight.   

Lord we ask that you would set their feet on the right path.  Led them, guide them and reveal yourself to them, and thank you for Scott and his incredible team who on the streets daily showing your love. 
And thank you for allowing us to be part of today's blessing. 
 

Being an answer to someone's prayers

Today was a humbling experience for the guys .  Today they were used by God as a direct and timely answer to one families  prayers.  Actually I am sure it was more then one family but we don't always get to see the impact.  A few families into their deliveries , they came to a family that had NO coal, NO electricity, and all the last of there food was on an open fire outside where they all gathered to keep warm .. All they could do was to pray for Gods immediate provision.  He did not disappoint.   Here is the humbling part .   The family insisted that the boys stay for lunch .  They took the last of all that they had and shared it with us.   Sometimes we think that we are just not in a position to give .. but there is a lesson to be learned from this family when it comes to giving. One of you  gave $80 so that we could bring them this coal, and this gave them an opportunity to give.  They have so little but they still give.   It would be so fun to be able to take them on a shopping spree and then to top it off, get their electricity turned back on, but maybe that's just me dreaming. 

On another note, I received some more reports from the Blind society Christmas .   When I say Blind society, that is not exactly accurate because the same people also care for the def community . Yesterday they had a party for 150 people from that community.   

They were so excited , they gave a roaring ovation to show their appreciation .. be sure to turn up your volume .  

Well in their hearts they were making a lot of noise 

 

Blind society Christmas

 These last couple days have been full of  such blessings for so many kids who are connected to the blind society.  Here are a few photos to give you an idea how the special day went.. As I scrolled through these photos I recognize kids we have supported over the years .  What brings extra meaning to this is that on the years that we have not been able to sponsor this event, it simply did not happen . But this year it happened .   Thank you every one who helped by sponsoring this event. 

A great day with the Blind Society.

Today was an incredible day as the children from the Blind society has an opportunity to celebrate Christmas. Today they were not forgotten. They wanted me to express their appreciation. 

 Over the next few days there will be more visits to the ones that were not able to make it out to the party. I will share those pictures as they come in .  Thank you again to all those who sponsored this great day . 

Blind Society Christmas in the works

The room is rented and the gift bags are packed and the kids at the Blind society are getting so excited about the party you guys have sponsored .. I will have some photos of the big day shortly. 

The boys have been busy again bagging coal ready to take out on deliveries .  we have had a hard time keeping up this year .  The wait list continues to grow despite the deliveries being made.  

They will be back out on deliveries tomorrow. 

Its not too late to bye a lump of coal for that hard to shop for person .   $80 will buy coal for a family . 



 

Find the Joy

As we move into the Christmas season , I was thinking how great it is that we can bring Joy into peoples lives .. At the beginning of covid when we were not able to travel we had such discouragement , but we hung on to the Joy that we had, and even made this sign that is still on our porch today.  But maybe I was wrong , we do not choose Joy, we can choose Happiness , but JOY is a gift given to us. 

Last week I had a couple things that reminded me that Joy is not a man made or controlled occurrence.  It is a GIFT from God.  Our pastor shared last Sunday how there is a distinct difference between Joy and Happiness .. Happiness is a man made, but JOY is a gift from God.  We can be happy and have Joy , but at the same time we can be sad and still have the Joy .  As I was deliberating on this , we had a visitor stop by the house and out of the blue he shared an experience he had many years ago. 

He stopped in at a business that he often delt with. He always liked going there because the manager was a believer and was always so uplifting to be around.  While there the owner of the company stopped in and started tearing a strip off the manager and was nasty and belittling.  He was so abusive that even the secretaries started to cower and even left the room.  When it was all over and the owner left , the manager got up whistling a happy tune and started to go on with his day .  He then invited my friend home with him for supper .  My friend was concerned that it would be uncomfortable being there after seeing him treated so terribly.. but he did go home with him.  When he got home and dinner was served, he said grace and thanked God for such a Joy filled day.. My friend was totally shocked at how he still could find JOY.  That's when he realized that Joy Is DeVine, Happiness is mortal.  The preceding's of your day , good or bad can affect your happiness , but for those who love the Lord , there is the gift of JOY, and that can not be taken away. 

As I think more about this I have come to realize that we bring happiness when we are out doing things like delivering Coal . but I pray that through this action people will begin to question and then FIND THE JOY.   

That is my prayer this season , that through our actions people would noy only experience a bit of happiness, but that they would find the JOY .  That Joy is freely available for all ...

 Have you found the JOY ?  












 

The work continues

Its another snowy day in Rotfront , and the guys have been bust delivering coal to those in need .  As the weather has turned cold, it seams that the list of families in need is growing faster then the number of deliveries being made .  But we just keep trudging along.  For those who have received coal , they are so thankful and would like me to pass on to you a special thank you .   

Today we are back to an empty coal barn once again.  there are still so many on the list fortunately we do have one more truck load of coal arriving at the farm in a couple days that the boys will get bagged up and ready for distribution.  

The prices of coal have remained around the $80 US a ton.  If anyone would like to sponsor a family or two , please use the donate button on the top right side of the blog. 

Vera has been busy as well.  this week she was presenting gifts for children with disabilities and to orphans .

She was asked buy the mayors office to conduct some seminars about human trafficking, how to spot it and how to stop it.  They were very well attended  

A couple of days ago I shared a request about Christmas for the kids

from the blind society .   We have $100 in for this need so far and would like another $900 by the weekend so we can get the money sent.  you can use the  donate buttons here on the blog for this as well .. be sure to let me know where the donation is to be sent and we can make sure it gets to the right place .  Thank you all so much for making such a huge difference in the lives of those we are supporting . 
 

Open the eyes of their Heart !

Every year we send money through our workers for the blind society .  Here there are about 250  kids that their  lives are directly impacted by blindness , either themselves or their parents. They are living in a world of darkness.  This is such a great opportunity to share about Christmas and the impact that this special day has had on the world. We can bring the light.   It has been about 15 years that we have been bringing this celebration to them .  Something that I have noticed is the party and gifts are  in direct proportion to the funds that we are able to give . That's because there are no other sponsors for this event each year .. just those of you who donate through  us.   As I think about this I am reminded of the song "Open the eyes of my heart Lord".   I am praying that this year through your generosity , eyes will be opened .  

We would like to send a minimum of $5 a child , so that would be $1000 , but what ever comes in the next week will be given to them for this event.   Please donate now using the link on the top right side of the blog.