Lots of opportunity to Bless

We have a couple great opportunities to bless.  We had the guys in to the dentist yesterday ... Not good news .  Between them we have 12 teeth that need to be fixed right away .  The cost for this is 85 000 som .. that's  $971 USD or $1400 CND .  We will need to move ahead with this as soon as possible 

But that's not the Big ask .  A few years ago we had Back to school celebrations and raised $7000 USD for 700 back packs of school supplies.  This year some of the official's have asked us if we could do this again and bring them in on September 30th as part of a welcome back to school and Kyrgyzstan Independence day celebration .. Just like everything else the costs of everything have increased , as well I brought a lot of stuff with me last time and this year I don't have the baggage to be able to off set those costs .  They would like packs for 600 kids and the cost to assemble a pack, including the pack is $15 USD a pack .. that comes to $9000 USD or $13050 CDN.   

700 packs ready to go 

Kids at the mountain school receiving their school supplies .

For the next few weeks I will be focusing on these needs . Please consider helping us .. A couple years ago we were able to raise the funds in just one week .. If it was not for the past miracles I might not believe it possible but we have seen what God can do and looking to Him again.  

Ready for summer .

 After returning from a missions trip to Jamaica, Julie and I had a short turn around time to get the yard cleaned up and ready for a party we were hosting for all the volunteers of Street Level Advocacy. 

This is a group who reaches out and cares for those living on the streets in a city near us .   We really appreciate all that they do so it was special for us to be able to open h our home to them .  It was also an opertunity to cook a huge batch of ploff , accompanied by borsolk and Chinese cabbage salad.

  They brought the SLA van with them and did. Deseart, and drinks . 

The rains held off and the slight overcast made it the perfect weather .  All and all a great day . 

We are still looking for some help to bring the farm kids along with many of our neighbouring children for a bus tour and camping their way around Lake Isykool.. we would love some help with this if you are able .  

Trip of a Life time .

A couple weeks ago I shared a bunch of needs , wants and desires coming up this summer .  We are so blessed that all but one has been covered. 

Time is now approaching when we need to make planes for a trip around Lake IsyKool with the farm and about 40 kids and their parents from the village .  For many of them, this will be the trip of a life time .  We have the use of a double decker bus, we just need to cover the gas.  

To keep the prices down , they will camp and prepare there own meals .   We are looking to raise $50 US.   per child to cover these expense's . Would you consider sponsoring a child for the trip of a life time ? 



 

Be the voice!

Julie and I often say the we need to be the voice of those who have no voice, and you can't do that effectively unless you go and experience what they are experiencing .. lots of times we have been in situations where we would ask "where is God in this".. but sometimes that is the very reason you are there... To bring Light into the dark places.

This last week Julie and I were with a group from our Canada church in Jamaica.  The dates of the trip had changed and it worked out that we would arrive home from Kyrgyzstan a few days before, so we were excited to be able to go. 

The team packed barrels of food and shipped them a few weeks ago and the arrived in time for us to pack bags of food and deliver them . This is something we have lots of experience with.. Half a world away and we find many of the same situations .

Packing the bags 

Then we went up the mountain with a friend who has been working with families in the area for a long time , so it was important that we work with him to bring food to where it would have the greatest impact.

We also had opertunity to bring  cooked meals to the homeless and the street sweepers.  

This lady has a little store where she sells frozen chickens ... I asked her what we a good day.. she said that if she sells two chickens that would be a good day.  I then asked how many she had , she had 12.  So I told her that I would take 10 so that she would still have some for the next days customers.  We added them to the food hampers .. 

Julie made conection with so many along the way .

Back at the camp, we had lots of work to do .  The playground had been destroyed by the hurricane so we built them a new one .
 

As well with the sustained winds , lots of paint was stripped off the buildings so we scraped and painted there as well

 

I have to be honest, JET LEG is real .  I was so turned around and just seemed to have no energy .. fortunately we were on Jamaican time and that included lots of little breaks .  

But despite that , we made some good friendships .  Maybe even better because I was operating at a much slower pace .. it gave time to focuse on the people . 

This was the family hosting us .

Our bus driver .

All in all , I feel blessed that we had the opertunity to make this trip.  Now when I speak up for this incredible community , I can do it with the first hand knowledge I have gained .   I believe that when it comes to missions.. we are all called to go , and we are all called to speak up for those who have no voice.   

If you ever feel it might be your time and you are not sure what to do next, reach out to me and I will point you in the right direction .. we except teams and also work with great organizations like possibilities International  who facilitate trips.  Be the Voice 

Urgent medical help need.

 Blessed to say that this need has been covered ..

As you know , we hired Rada,  a single mom with 5 kids to do some painting for us .. it was meant to help her out , but we were blessed , she is a good hard worker.  While she was with us Julie and I could see that there was some health issues , but could not pin it down.  

Word has just come back that she has a thyroid cyst.   They sent pages of Drs reports ,  she needs surgery . The cost is $685 USD or $1000 Canadian .

We will try to get this done as quickly as possible .. please consider if you can help. Thank you 

Summer Projects.

As we are preparing to head back to Canada , we spoke with some of our team to see what they have planned for the summer if funds were available ... Here are some of their dreams .   

Summer time at lake Isykool is a special time, but also something that many of the village kids from under privileged homes would only dream of .

The farm has access to a large couple decker tour bus that could hold about 40 kids and their gardians .. this is a big dream , but it would be awesome if we could take them all on a road trip for 4 or 5 days around the lake .

They would have beach time  as 23ll as experience camping. 

We have not worked out all the expences yet, but we estimate about $40 a kid . .. looking for 50 kids to be sponsored for this .

So on the farm we have 4 sheep .. not sure where they came from or who's they are  but I do know that when you turn you back they are standing in our flower garden 

Even when one of the boys stays out there with them , they do get distracted .

And steps away is our garden .

Our solution is to put up a fence over at the first house where we have a couple donkey's that way the donkey's and the sheep can have free roming with out getting into trouble .. the only thing on that farm is wood and coal getting ready for distribution 

 The cost of the fence will be about $400 

Every week they guys go visit Mirlan at the hospital.  There are about 75 people in His section and we like to bring toilet paper and cleaning supplies for them this costs about $50 a week. 

I spoke with Vera . She has a few ideas for the summer as well.  First is a summer camp for the kids in The village . It will run for the full week , possibly 2 weeks depending on funds .  She is hoping for a out $1000

This next need has been met ..thank you. Vera is thrilled. 

  Her next request is for a laptop.  She does trainings in the schools and for city initiatives.. they focuse on things like brid napping and human trafficking .. her old laptop is a small notebook we bought her about 15 years ago.. it is no longer stable and able to meet the need . A new laptop for her would be between $800 and $1000. 

So this next request is one that Julie and I would really like to get behind.  As you drive through the mountains,you will see garbage everywhere ... Our guys have started to recognize this themselves. They would like to go twice a month picking up garbage and make it an event that would incourage others to join in.    There are some coats involved .. Desil for the truck and dump fees when we take the garbage to the dump. As well we would like to provide snacks and beverages as well as the garbage bags ..  June 6 will be the first day of picking up garbage and I will know better then the cost and will update the blog then,but for now I am thinking it will be around $60 each time .
 

Let's keep beautiful Kyrgyzstan beautiful.

New fridge arrives

Today we bought the new refrigerator for the farm and returned the older one to the Kashar to replace the one we had given to the hospital.

The tractor came today and cut the hay field .. that will keep the boys busy for a few  days .

 

Over at the boys house we got the water connected today . 

Now there is plenty of work to do filling in the trenches .

This morning Baktigul in Turkey recieved the funds to get her work visa , and a bit extra to get some food .. she was incredibly grateful for the support.