Barn is finished , time to clean up.

It was just one month ago that we started pouring the foundation for the new barn.  It is hard to believe the transformation.  Today was the clean up day and a day to put finishing touches on the pens .  We planted some more veggies , tomatoes, egg plants, more broccoli, and two peach trees. We also got some of the piles of gravel cleaned up and spread on the new drive way in front of the barn.   It was fun to watch the rabits and goats when they moved into there new digs.  They were so happy, Acelbek is pretty happy too. he is a gardener at heart , and is thrilled to get his hands into the dirt.  

We were going to bring out the bees tomorrow, but decided to hole off a few days. Tomorrow we will be having an open house and ploff . It is a custom here that if you get something new like a car or a new fence our basically anything new, you have to have a party and invite all your fiends to celebrate.  One friend told how he one a dance contest and it had a small cash prize, He said that the party cost him twice as much as what he won. So tomorrow we will celebrate.   We thought it was best that we not bring thousands of angry mixed up bees at the same time.

this fence is our second line of defense if the goats get out  they can't get to the garden.  we still have the fence on the other side of the garden to put up. something for next week.

this  spot we will plant grass . today we put in two peach trees 

Jengish and Emma in front of the old barn 

Jengish and Emma in front of the new barn

just finished the new manger 

the goats think its great 

Tomorrow is going to be a fun day.  There is still lots to do, but the rest can wait and be part of the "to do list for those who will come to live at the farm this summer .. Things are coming along nicely with the food shares.  we have 45 shares left, but just 20 shares away from our 50 share target for the month of April.   If you would like to join us with the food shares, please donate now.  You can use the "food shares from the farm " link on the header and every thing you need to know is there. 

    

Fences going up and planting at the farm

Off to a slower start today .  It rained all night so we decided to sleep in and start at 10:am.  Our first stop was to the bazaar to get sawdust for the goat stall. Next was a visit to to nursery section to pick up plants for the garden food shares.  Today we bought 250 early cabbages, 150 late cabbages, 100 broccoli plants, about 500 Spanish onions and  100 lbs of seed potatoes  

we went to this Dungan lady on the corner and bought everything she had 

We then stopped out to check on the field in Rotfront.  it was being plowed yesterday while we were seeding the field near Tokmok 

we started the fencing today. The goat pen will be about 7 feet tall and the rest of the fencing around the garden will be 4 feet tall.  

in the barn, we were able to get the flors cleaned, and a coat of paint on the floor at the end where the office /  meeting room will be 

the rest of the floor we put on a wood sealant .

the goats like their new homes, but were very curious about what we were doing 

cabbages planted around the fruit trees 

the fence polls are just set in place to mark so we knew where to plant, tomorrow the fence will go up 

 Tomorrow we will have an early start to the day , we have two kids that have contacted us looking for work, so we will certainly put them to work.  We are so blessed that so many of you have joined us by purchasing some shares from the farm .  This has allowed us to keep things rolling and not miss a beet.  We still would like to sell another 25 shares at $60 before the end of the month so that we will have funds in place for the workers over the summer.  There are kids finishing school and out of the orphanage soon that will be needing to figure them selves out .  Fortunately we have room for them now. 

The last couple days , Kamalla has been busy, so Julie and our friend Kolya have been covering for her at the homework club at Bacute orphanage, and will continue to  go there for the rest of the week.   They had one girl there that really wanted to have English lessons.   Julie posted the need on FB and in just a few hours she had a sponsor to help cover her lessons.  Once again we feel blessed to have the support network out there of people like you who join with us in this journey. 

planting the fields today, and update from the baby orphanage

Today they are out working on the fields getting them ready to plant. In a couple hours we will start loading the trucks with the seed and go out to meet the seeder.   Nurbek is helping today to get the rocks out of the way. 

At the farm, they are almost finished the siding. we are hoping to start putting in the stalls and the fences tomorrow . 

Over at the Baby house they are working on some foundations and putting up a new brick fence at the back of the grounds behind the playground .  I had posted about the need they had here a couple days ago.  We needed a load of sand and a load of Gravel $50 each.  It is amazing how things worked out .  I had a donation come in for $25 and was waiting for the rest. Today, someone here donated a load of sand, and someone else gave a really good deal on the gravel. so the total we needed was only $31 of which $25 has come in already .  

forms are up , ready to pour more foundation for the fence.

this half is finished 

sand delivered and gravel on the way. 

Thank you again to every one that has had a part in the many projects that we have had on the go here, we could not do it with out you . 

Getting ready to put up the fences

We have had a family here that we have been working with for many years.  The Husband, we shall  call "Joe", Is a good worker, and work keeps him sober.  We often have him working with Vlady.  A year ago we lost track of Joe, and despite searching the streets and parks, we could not find him. 

Today Joe reappeared, and was in need of some work.  A little while later we had a call from a young friend of ours working on his diploma paper.  We was in need of some money and was wondering if we had any work.   So we gathered them both up and took them to the farm with us.    

Joe taking a short break after an hour of heavy digging 

Our other young friend is busy clearing the fence line getting ready to put up the fence in a couple days .

windows are in front and back, up and down, and the roof is on.  Now they are starting on the walls .
Its nice to be able to spend some time with our friend Kolya as well.  We have worked with him for a long time now.  He has been working out at the farm since we started the barn.  He is such a hard worker.  Today Emma and I went and bought all the supplies the guys will need for the next couple days .    

Tomorrow we will be going to Lake Isikool  for a couple days .  We have a friend from Canada here visiting right now, and it will be a great opportunity for us to have a little R&R.  Jengish is working on a movie shoot right now, and will also be in the Isikool region for a couple days, maybe we will meet up with him for a little bit.  

Spring has returned , what a beautiful Easter Morning here in Kyrgyzstan

Spring has returned to the valley.  It was a beautiful day here today .. the sun is shining , the birds are singing, and lots of people and animals are out on the streets today enjoying the weather.   Happy Easter to all our family and friends back in North America. It seems a little funny , Easter will not be for a week or to here. 

Out at the farm today to plant fruit trees , bring more building materials and check on the animals . 

Bakal and the bunnies are fast friends and were having a little visit 

It was a beautiful clear day today and you could see the mountains so clearly across the back garden.
 Everyone was very encouraged today when I shared about what a great day we had yesterday with the food shares . We are now up to 22 food shares sold in the last week , and we just have 28 to go to meet our target of 50 shares sold the month of April.  To get your share , or to read more about the food share program, check out this link  

Jengishes family came and brought with them 30 plum trees from Talas. 

This is the other farm a little closer up .. thats Jengish and Emma in the field with the boy who lives there now  This field will have about eight rows of popcorn around the out side , then the center will have tomatoes , peppers and onions . along the side of the house there is a raspberry patch , and a nice size kitchen garden that we will likely use as an herb garden.   

While we were at the farm, I got a message from our friends at the rehab center.  They have a lady there that they have been trying to work with.  Now her daughter who is also an alcoholic is in trouble. Her husband was just killed, and she is at er bottom and would also like to come to the center.  The problem is that they don't have the resources for this and would like some help .  I still have some food left in the garage, so they will come into town today or tomorrow for some food.  I will cost them about $50 a month each to look after these ladies.  Thats the same as what we find it costs to look after the kids we work with .  They have asked if I could post this need on the blog and see if anyone out there would like to help these ladies turn their lives around.


The sky was so clear that the mountains felt like they were sliding down into the valley .  

the roof is taking shape,

This is the view of the new barn from the new farm field 

There was one other big need that was brought to our attention today .  Friends of Sergey and Anya and their family are building a new childrens center.  It is made from the shipping containers that Sergey has been receiving from Norway over that last few years .   They are ready to put in the windows now, but are short on funds for that.  There are eight large windows that they need to put in.  They will be about $1000 US in total.  This group has been such a blessing to so may, and this is important to them.. so that makes it important to us.  What a great thing it would be if we were able to help them with this need .  

Kids in front of the Childrens  center 

the center is made out of 5 containers 

starting the roof of the barn

Things are starting to take shape out at the farm.  The floor of the second level is finished, the windows are ordered and will be here on Wednesday .  We built the stairs today as well .  they will be going along the side wall to the right , and will come up to a platform then a door into the upper level. For now we have put them at the front so we have better access for the guys to bring up material. 

The roof will slope toward the back , and at the front we will ave a steep roof that will cover the 3 foot over hang there will also be three large access windows above each or the 2 windows and door on the first level, These will be in dormers , this will give light and be able to open for us to bring in hay.   The view from up here is so incredible.  The last 15 feet of the upper level will be the office / sitting room out at the farm .  the end wall will have a window that is 4 1/2  feet high and about 10 feet long.  and the two sides will have windows as well . from here we will be able to see the entire farm , as well as across the field to the new farm.

Thats right , the new farm.  As you look across the back field there is another farm with a western style home and a large barn..  We have a friends  who came for a visit to the farm the day that this new farm came up for sale.  They made an offer and it was excepted.  As soon as the family there finds a house to move to we will close the deal.   this will double the size of our market garden, it will provide housing for those staying with us, and the second barn will give us the room we need for all the animals as well as the hay and grain from the three fields.  As an added bonus, we will have room for when teams come that they may be able to stay out at the farm now.  The indoor plumbing is a bonus as well.  

This will be the view from the top level of the barn , you can see the new farm over on the right.

So with double the size of the garden, this is one of the reasons why we have put a push on to get some of the food shares sold .  planting time is soon approaching , and we don't want to wast any land by having it sit empty.  On the upside we will be harvesting twice as much produce as we had original expected..   The price of a food share remains at $60 a share .. with twice the bang for your buck .  Please take a moment right now and get your share at this link we have 35 shares to go to reach out target for the end of the month  

Back to work "ON THE FARM"

We had a little set back with the snow and extreme cold weather here this week . A lot of the seeds in the green house did not make it , even with the heaters, it was hard to fight the -11 temperatures.  We were at Isars and he was showing us that the apricots buds had all frozen as well. 

Along with a nice visit with Isar and his family, we also went to the Children's treatment center to bring them vitamins  

Back out at the farm, no one was enjoying the cold but the puppies did enjoy the snuggling with Emma 

so did the baby lambs 

farmer John 

Today the weather started to warm up a bit and the concrete has set up so we have been able to start on the next floor 

starting the second floor 

rafters and sheet mettle arrived today 

putting down the flooring on the second level 

the end wall will be mostly glass ,  the last 5 meters will be the farm office looking out over the mountains and across the fields to the other part of the farm

its exciting that by the end of the day tomorrow, we will have an " inside "

Emma got most of the seeds replanted in the greenhouse .   The fruit trees have made it from Talas , and will be out to the farm in the next couple days, the bees are just about to be moved and will also be here in the next week .  Today we got the incubator made and running, and we have 100 baby chicks

  We have sold 9 shares to the farm in the last week , allowing us to continue the work on the farm .  to keep things rolling and be able to provide for the needs of the kids at the farm this summer, we still need to sell 41 shares by the end of April.  Please consider purchasing A SHARE TODAY ...at this link

A cold day at the farm

There is a young girl that we have worked with for about eight years now.  She and Emma have kept in regular contact despite her being married and living in Bishkek  She even has a new baby now.  Many times she calls Emma just to touch base and have a little visit .  It is nice for her to have some one she can call.    Yesterday she called with a need .  because she never asks for help, we figured it was serious.  It turned out that she and her husband had a difficult winter.  they had fallen behind on her heating and electrical bills.  We were in the city, so we brought her a bag of produce, and decided to cover her bills.  She had asked for a loan, but we told her that it was a gift.  she was very blessed.    I have had plenty of experience falling behind on bills, and have always had the safety net of parents to bail us out.   I just felt so bad for her, I also was blessed to be able to have the opportunity to be that parental role for her.  the greatest part was watching the relief sweep over her face as she found out it was a gift.  no longer crushed under the weight of the $65 debt load.   

Another highlight of the day was meting a couple in Bishkek that we were helping to bless one of the orphanages.  It can be difficult to get donations of shoes into the country and they wanted to get new shoes for an orphanage of about 80 kids.  We came up with a solution. We put our guy on it, and he was able to get us an incredible deal on shoes. so we were able to get them here and bring them in to the city to deliver the shoes to them.    

Today we had a little later start in the day .  After Church we went over to Jeremiah house to get windows for the barn.  They had changed there  windows a short time back, and they donated the old ones to us. . Once we got the windows loaded up we went to Vladys house.  He was fixing a hand held cultivator for us , as well he had half a dozen grape vines that he is donating to the farm. 

Despite the snow and rain , the guys are coming along great on the barn. The block walls will be finished today , then we have do wait for about 3 or 4 days until the mortar hardens up, then we will start on the top floor. 

Windows donated by LAMb

Jengish planting the grapes 

Dr Tatyana made us wonderful pumpkin samsa's and monty, she did make a point of telling us that if her daughter Alona asks, she was eating carrots.

just one more row to go 

Jengish is putting in the back door.

The seeds are doing well.  they have started to sprout.  

 the lettuce and the spinach hanging on the wall are all up and doing well as well.  

We are ready to start planting the onions and garlic next, but will need a few more food shares sold before we can plant to much more.  please consider helping us out by purchasing a $60 food share now.  for more information or to donate follow this link

the puppies don't like the cold so much