Pouring out blessings as the sun goes down.

I remember being at a camp meeting a long time ago.  Pastor Sam shared about the mother who shared her oil .. she was told to bring every container she had and the oil would be poured out with out running out. He then charged us with bringing our containers to the next service.. It was hilarious all the different containers that showed up... But most of all we all came expecting.   

Today they all came expecting .. and the variety of different containers we just like that camp meeting so long ago.

some seeds were given out today as well 

House after house people were there to get water.  I actually found it to be a little bit emotional .. after just half a block I had had enough and decided to go back home.  I am so blessed to have friends and a team here to continue pouring out blessings as the sun goes down. 

 

We could use some help!

Some times things can just seem to close in around you,  like today,  All around us the drive ways have been dug up and will probably remain that way for a few months.  We did get our vehicles out and parked on the side of the road .  I guess first off, tomorrow morning we will need to build some sort of bridge across the trench.  

This is a small problem compared to the new one that came to light .  It is the responsibility of the home owners to reconnect there own lines to the new water lines.  We have 4 lines to connect on the farm and 3 more on the hoses of our staff.  The expected cost for the new house lines and reconnection will likely average around $200 each house .   We are now looking  for  $1400 to reinstall new lines and then likely another $200 to repair the driveways.  

Today we were out to Orlofka to visit Aigoola .  we had a great lunch. 

When we got home.  We purchased Baktaguls  flight ticket back to Turkie .  She will fly out in about 2 weeks.  It has been nice having her here with us for the last year, but now it is time for her to return . we are wishing her well.  


 

Working through some jet leg

We have been here at the farm for 6 days now.  Jet leg has not been kind to us , but we are moving ahead .  We brought with us some beautiful high end work jackets and gloves. Everyone was so blessed and right away they knew of some others who would really appreciate them. 

We brought  a lot of seeds with us then also purchased many more.  Baktagul and I spent a day sorting and packing. then we started delivering .  The first batch went to Vera and Oleg.  

We spent a day getting ready for when the water is being shut off. We added new leaf springs to take the weight of the water, then purchased a new tank.  We will be able to start water deliveries as soon as people start to run out of water that they have stored up. We have also set up an out door shower for the boys. 

checking out the new fridge to replace the one fried in the power surge .

the kids loved the new hoodies that a previous team member sent for them .

The apple trees are in bloom, the boys are out cutting grass. and we are preparing the gardens to plant.  With out water this spring we are going to have to scale back the size of the garden . I have weed cloth to go down over drip irrigation lines so although the garden is smaller we hope to increase the yield,  

    
The guys have come up with some interesting new lights over in the work shop.  I got to see them when I went over to pick up the lap top that they were re building for me.  It needed a new battery, more ram and needed a Russian operating system;  Its now ready to go to its new home.

 

Exciting opertunity

We are so excited about this great new opertunity to be an impact .. the concept is that you simply donate $1 and then share with three people who will do the same.  

Please take a minute and go now to www.iam1ru.com 

As you can see on the sight , we are one of the six campaigns ..  

Next , share with three of your friends... 

 The goal is to raise $1 000 000 that will spread out around the world making lasting impact in the lives of those in need. 

Your Dollar Is Handled With Care 

iam1ru is the fundraising arm of Possibilities International, a registered charitable humanitarian aid organization. 

 Registered Charity Possibilities International is a registered charitable organization with full financial transparency.

 Every Dollar Tracked they report exactly where funds go across their six campaigns and provide regular updates on impact. 

 On the Ground Our teams work alongside local partners in Guatemala, Ghana, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Ukraine, and Canada.

With out knowing it.

 Well we made it .  Half way around the world and only 3 hours later then we expected.  

We were ment to have a close to 2.5 hour layover in in Istanbul but things changed.  We pulled out from the gate right on time and started to taxi out... But after about 45 minutes on the runway the plane turned around and went back to the gate where they had to let someone off... Not sure what happened there ,  not really any explanation. About an hour later we were back on our way.  As I did the math it was clear that we were not going to make our connection.  

As we came off the plane they had people set up with new boarding passes and a meal voucher.  They had us booked on a flight leaving in three hours.  It was close to 3 km from where we had supper to where the gate was .. as a reward we we're heading to the Starbucks for a latte 

When we were getting ready to go I had a US Bill that had lots of ink marks on it. I knew we would not be able to use it here but figured it might come in handy in the airport.   There is a long standing tradition in my family , actually started by my mom's grandfather .  We always have extra money when traveling that is for travelers along the way that need help.  

When we were splurging on a Starbucks after our free supper, a young man, well dressed and very polite, but you could tell he was out of his comfort zone.  After coming back to the counter a few times he tried to buy a  sandwich.  There was some trouble with the currency he had, and there was a language barrier.  He was not bold enough , he just apologized and went away ... Julie and I looked at each other with that knowing look .. I said you watch were he goes and I ordered the sandwich for him . 

I brought it over to him , there was certinaly no hesitation , he looked so relieved and received it and right away started eating, but over and over he kept puting his hand on his heart and nodding.  Then a little later while we were enjoying our Latte he came looking for us ... He once again wanted to thank us.  

I have been trying to figure out why this has been so emotional for me..  We were so blessed that we were so well taken care of, and that we had the money to help, but I think that I am so blessed that I have a hearitage that always taught and inforced the need to " Care for the the travelers in the land ".  

 But the more I think about this incounter I was reminded in Hebrews 13 it says 

. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it. 

And the next question is "Is this why we were delayed?". If  it is, it was well worth it .

Getting ready for the water shortage.

Well the holding tanks are being filled and the pumps are all getting the once over to be ready for a few months with no water .  

The water container for the truck has been ordered , the gas pump is in being fixed and extra leaf springs are being installed in the truck so that it can take the extra weight . 

 We are blessed that we have the support of many of you that put us into the position to be able to help the community.  Thank you to all who make things like this possible.  

12 000 cups of cold water in my name !

As we reach the end of another coal season, you would like to think that the stresses of life would dissipate, but that is not always the case .  It was just announced  that starting next week there will be no water in the village for the next couple of months.  We are in good shape at the farm and guest house with our own back up system that we can refill as needed , but there are many in the village with out back up.   Thinking especially of the seniors and the disabled and those with lots of little children,  we realise that now is another great opportunity for us to reach out to the community to share and to show His love.   

Our plan is to retrofit our "coal truck" and turn it into a "water tanker" so that we can set up a daily route through the village bringing relief.  

 We do have an old gas pump we are taking in for a tune up, but will need new hoses for it . As well we would like to get a larger food grade tank.  We can take the truck to a friends to have it filled during the night, and head out in the morning sharing water with those in need. this would give us 800 gallons per fill up. 

the Water Tank, pump repairs and new suction lines and hoses as well as a extra leaf springs in the truck will be needed .   We have just 10 days to be retrofit and ready to go.  The cost of this we are expecting to be about $900.       It would be fantastic relief if anyone could help with this need.  Just one more way that we can impact our community around us  

Donations coming in .

A couple of days ago I shared about some of our projects for the spring and the funds needed .  I am so excited to be able to share that we have covered the seeds, and the money to replace the refrigerators and washing machines that got fried in the power surge. 

 

That just leaves us with needing $2000 to replace all the bees and relocate them to the mountains ... for those that missed the post, Our neighbour hired a drone to come in and spray his corn. the drone overshot and killed all our bees.   It would be great if we could get this covered before April 1 so that we can access it as soon as we get to Kyrgyzstan . 

 

Spring cleaning and repairs

Spring is in the air and our focus is turning to the gardens and spring cleaning . 

We are also getting ready to put together seeds to donate .  We will give about $10 worth per family, and with about 200 families that will come to $2000.  we are doing well and just need about $500 towards this. 

 

As soon as we get back to Kyrgyzstan we have a couple big needs to take care of.  The first is the bees.  We have bees in the mountains and bees down on the farm.  The bees, as you can see in the picture , are beside a corn field.  Last fall the farmer brought in a drone that sprayed the corn to make it dry faster , and in doing so, he over shot and killed all of our bees.  This was devastating.  We would like to move these hives up into the mountain away from farms as we think that the new modern farming is going to be an on going problem.  The cost to reestablish the hives will be $2000 . This will need to be done as soon as we get there so that the hives can be established for the season.  

The other problem we had this winter was also a big one.  There was a massive power surge in the village that did significant damage .  It destroyed fridges, microwaves, washing machines and dryers as well as any computers plugged in .  The computers we were able to fix, and because it was the off season we could bring a fridge down from the mountain , and we purchased  one .  But with the season starting up, we need to purchase three small fridges and one big one as well as one freezer and a dryer. .. Total will be around $1500 to cover this need .

We will fly out on April 6, landing on April 8.  My plan is to have the seeds , the hives and the refrigerators all taking care of by April 15.  any donations made before April first should be able to make it to me in time .  Thank you in advance for anyone who is able to help with these needs. 

Vitamins distributed

We are really enjoying our time in Verginia. Looking forward to getting together with many friends and sponsors tomorrow night in Richmond .   

We just got an update about the prenatal vitamins.  They are so appreciative. 

If anyone would like to help us restock, we have vitamins on the

Gift registry . Or you can make a donation at the top right side of the blog and I will look after that. 

Grin and bear it.

 We were able to purchase the load of coal today.  So now we are back on track with the seeds.  We are still looking to raise $1500 so that we can provide seeds for about 250 families.  If extra funds come in we will also put together a welcome spring " we made it " food package for them .. that way they don't eat there sead potatoes before the get into the ground. 

Julie and I are starting to get a little older, and although we are feeling good and have been getting regular medical check ups , it is a great excuse for the insurance company  to stick it to us.  With the amount of traveling we do and the time out of country, we have to pay $1988 for the year.  I have shopped around and that seems to be the same every where.  We will just grin and bear it.   The part that pains me is that there are so many other places that we could use those funds. 

Peace in God's hands

I am still kind of amazed at how God worked it out that we could have such a great day yesterday.  Now you would think starting your day at 3:30 am after being snowed in for an extra five days, then traveling 22 hours to get home could not have a silver lining.

When we arrived in Halifax at 7am  for a 2 hour layover we found some latte and really comfortable chairs looking out on the runway where they de-ice the planes.   Things started to unravel a little bit as I was tracking in coming flights and told Julie that our plane coming in still has not departed Montreal ,and doing the math, there was no way to pick us up and get us back to Montreal in time to catch out flight on to Toronto, and the next flight of available would not get us in to Toronto until midnight.  So before the connection was officially canceled, we found a very pleasent Porter agent and explained our dilemma . She was so nice and was able to get us a direct flight to Toronto leaving at 6 getting in at 8:30. Then she radioed someone who found our bag and moved it to the new flight holding box and personally came up and picked up a new bag tag.  She told us that the only seats available were to isles row 3 and 4 in the preferred seating. She also gave us some meal vouchers for lunch.   

So now with the extra time, our friend and long time supporter was able to come out to the airport for a visit.  

 It was such a relaxing time, we felt well loved .. 

We did get a donation in for one more tone of coal. I am hoping to get 4 ($320 usd) more sponsored today and I will send it in the morning so that they can pick up the money Monday morning to pay the truck..  we had thought winter was almost over there but they woke up this morning with a fresh dusting of snow, but significantly more up in the mountains.   

Donate buttons are available on the top right side of the blog.  Thank you so much.