The Grace to Forgive.....

Have you ever had that ANGER rise up in you... It has taken me some time to properly process this news.... and I must admit, my first reaction was not such a Christian one.... Here is the letter I received.

"Yestarday we went in the capital city with Aygula, and in this time when we been in the capital city all kids was in the school and in this time nobody not stayt in the house and for this time someboby killed two sheeps in the garden, just leave two sheep's heads and foots, and all meat is gone. Aigulya and kids is very sad, and kids cry. I think what somebody knew about what in the house long time not will have people. Is sad,and was mad, but I know what God know this and know who is did, they are very poor because God will work with them.
Please pray about Aigula and kids too, what they will have peace. And I mad about what this happend for Sabira's bithday next day. "

As I was dealing with such feelings of sorrow for the kids and anger and ill will toward whomever did this, I received this email from Acel ....

" Last Sunday Aiperi came church and told us their sad story. Their sheeps are stolen. Next day they found sheeps heads , skins, feet somewhere else. It was about 10 days ago. Soooo sad. But she says, we forgive thouse people and blessed in our prayers. "

It is one thing to Forgive, but to pray blessings on them... So close to the situation, and yet they have such grace to forgive. That does not mean that the hurt is gone, but I am sure they will over come.... I asked Anya what she thought we should do now.... My concern is that first it's the sheep, then where will this escalate to from here ?

"I think what need buy sheep for them because Turat was very sad and he cry. But If we will buy more sheep we need find a good big dog, is will good. I know what in Canada all dogs live in the houses :) And they all like baby in this family :) But not here :) Here dog work like security and here dogs eat food like people eat ( after people food ) and live outsaid. If some people will read this e-mail they will have shock I know :) But is truth our live."

I have asked Anya to start shopping for a BIG MEAN DOG..... Hay ! BIG MEAN DOG works for me.... I would just love to see it latched onto the back side of the next poacher..... OK ...so maybe I am still dealing with this and could use a little more of that grace!

Johnny-bek's "Magnum Opus"

You may have noticed that I have not had a lot of updates recently It is not that I have not been at the computer... it fact I have been glued to it for the last two weeks... With the help of our friends at Possibilities International, I have been working on my "Magnum Opus" . After six months of working in Central Asia with the helpless hurting and lost, We have come home not only with our hearts broken but our shoulders laden with a burden to find a way to help our friends that we have left behind. At the same time, Sam Welten ,executive Director of Possibilities International , has had a brain child of his own.... What if we could find a way to share the SIMPLE DREAMS of those that we are working with, and create an avenue for people around the world to experience the absolute JOY of fulfilling one of those dreams ? It really is the Perfect storm..... From this SIMPLE DREAMS is born.
here is how it works...

step 1. Our workers, (from this point
forward known as, "DREAM AGENTS") , identify a SIMPLE DREAM..., that is, a need
that would alter the course of a life , and that would likely never be achieved
unless someone steps up to the plate...
step 2. We post that SIMPLE DREAM on
line with a couple photo's and the story behind them so that a wannabee
"Philanthropist".., (from this point on known as "DREAM BUILDERS")can have the
opportunity to make a DREAM into a REALITY.
step 3. The DREAM BUILDER selects a
DREAM ,and pays using the attached PAY PAL button. and the ball is in
motion..... the funds are transferred to the DREAM AGENTS bank card, and the go
ahead is given for the SIMPLE DREAM ....
step 4. This is my favorite
step....The DREAM becomes a REALITY...
hearts are touched, people are transformed... futures are shaped... lives become
whole again...Hope and Dignity is restored to those with non.... all because "U did it"
step 5. The DREAM AGENTS take some
more follow-up photo's and send in a report.
step 6. WE post the
follow-up report at the bottom of the original post and move it to the "U did it" file , and the BREAM BUILDER receives an email notifying them of the update,
and the impact that they have made...
step 7. A part that I also
like ... You the DREAM BUILDER receives a tax receipt at the end of the
year so that our federal governments can also be DREAM BUILDERS .... now how does
it get much better then that.

This sight will be a work in progress as we iron out all the bugs, and find problems we never thought of, but what better place to launch the sight then with our friends.....

Before I send you on to the sight, I would just like to take the opportunity to again thank all of you that have decided to sponsor me personally... because of your support, I have been afforded the opportunity to make my DREAM into a REALITY....
Now go have some fun ... click on this photo and check it out.....oh ya... why not ad this photo and link to your own sight as well.... The DREAMERS in Central Asia will thank you for it.

NO MORE PINBALL

It's funny how things happen that catch you off guard ... simple things ... not life shattering... but things that jolt you to reality... The girls got out the lap top that we were using in Central Asia... they were playing pinball on it, and when the game was over, the top three players names are shown... in number three..... Shakeer..... Do you have any Idea what this means ... This means that no one is allowed to play that game again, because if any one beets his score , their name will replace his on the list..... Like if he had a bed room, we would have to close the door and lock it so no one moved anything...

You see Shakeer is one of the older boys from the orphanage . He was at our apartment for a boys day out when they were playing on the computer.... and that's one memory that the girls are not ready to let go of just yet... so for now..... no more pinball

Remembering

I have spent the last week putting together reports for children that have been sponsored, and preparing reports for those that need sponsors. As I pour through the photo's there is a constant wave of emotions. Some times it is nice to watch the video's just to hear the voices again. This is our friend Sergey... he really is the Man in Central Asia... Everything he does if focused around helping others. He and his wife put everything they have on the line to help the kids.... This is a video of us delivering supplies to one of the orphanages.

NOT ON MY WATCH !

The Orphanage in town that Altyni's brothers and sisters are now at is operated by the Mercy foundation. They just happen to run best grade schools in the country... Both there academic and moral standards are next to none. The "Flag ship school in their school system is the School of Blessings, and is located just a few blocks away from the orphanage. We received word today that despite the interruptions in there education and the instability they have experienced, two of the four siblings have passed the entrance exams and have been excepted to this school. The youngest is just to small but will go there next year. Aziz has not caught up enough from his time away. I have no doubt that if we can invest in tooter for him now , he too will excel. Just last spring, he won a country wide storey writing contest.......Aziz is a bright , intelligent and gentle young man , he does not deserve any of the curves that life keeps throwing at him .......I can think of many times in my life that my parents stood up for me and sacrificed, so that I would have a brighter future.... They took a stand , and did not allow me to slip through the cracks when I was assessed with having a learning disability. Now I am by no means an English scholar, and I still struggle daily with my reading and spelling abilities...or lack there of, but I find it ironic that the future of Aziz and many like him , will be shaped by my ability to "plead their case" The greatest obstacles I have faced in my life have now become my tools. Maybe that is why my heart aches so much for children like Aziz that just need some one to stand in the gap for them and say NOT ON MY WATCH!

Picking up steam !

Well this is going to be a busy week ahead...
We have had some real break troughs in Central Asia as well as the home front... One of the greatest burdens on our hearts was for Altyni's family , We just received word that the kids have now been excepted at the town orphanage... This is such a blessing ... This orphanage is only a couple of blocks from where Altyni is going to school, and is also where she is working on the weekends . Anya has worked so hard and has put so much of herself into this family... it is great to see the impact that she is having. This is a photo of Altyni with Anya and Captain Yang at the freshman celebration at the institute. The Hope and potential that is represented by the three in this photo is incredible...Three generations that are going to change a nation.
Now on the home front, We have had so much interest in the sponsorship program, as well as such needs to meet, that we have decided to fast track some of the cases. We will set up temporary sponsorship that we will roll into the full program once the web design etc. is in place. ... so watch in the next week as we begin posting some of the available sponsorships.
Also as We mentioned earlier, we are gearing up for what is going to be an incredible month... We have workers from Central Asia coming to raise awareness for the many programs that we support .
The month will finish with one incredible evening that we are believing will meet the entire years budget of $60 000 for our 22 employees and their projects in Central Asia... Between them, they reach out to literal thousands of hurting and helpless every day.
We have had a few more exciting things happen this last week... I will share a little more in the next few days. But for now I want to close with a comment I received a few weeks back that you may have missed...

In the deserts around the world,
people still live there, 99% of
the time, there is no water, but they still
stay, because every year the rains
come back, even for only 1% of the time.
And that's enough Hope to keep them
going, in that 1% they plant their crops
and advance a little further than last
year. That hope and Faith in the
rains coming every year is why they do not give
up.JJBE you are the rain in
many peoples lives in Central Asia, you are the living
water that they look
for every year, and even though you are not there at the
moment, they look
towards the day when you are again, and then they will build
their lives a
little better than the year before.Let it rain my friends, let in
rain
Blessings Dan :)

To the least of these !

If you are like us when you travel, you like to bring special gifts for those that you are meeting... little things for the ones that are our acquaintances, something a little nicer for those that will be hosting you, maybe even something really special for those that we would like to impress...... But how many of us would save the greatest and the best gift for someone that has nothing to offer in return ! Someone that has no hope, no future, and will likely never be in a place of honour or respect.... Now you know that if I was inclined to preach, there would be a message in here for you ... but I will spare you the lecture, but I will tell you the rest of the story.
At the home for Invalid men in the village, the change of the season is something that can bring fear to the hearts of many... Winter is a time of pain and suffering. Every winter, the cold claims a few more lives, and they may be the lucky ones.... This year, things are going to be different for many of these men. Larrisa is on the Job... She has determined in her being that they will not go down on her watch. We had brought some beautiful hand made blankets hats and quilts for her to distribute.... Quilts like you might find auctioned off here in North America... the type you would give as a SPECIAL presentation ... And that is exactly what she did with them... a special gift for some special people... Now that the days are getting colder, Larrisa brought the blankets etc. for the men at the home ... They could not believe that these beautiful blankets were for them, Here they are taking a closer look at the work that has gone into the quilts.....

I have to tell you that I look at these men, and recognise the faces, but they are so different now from the way that I remember them just a short time ago. They have smiles....

Soon they are going to have something else to smile about... Our friends at Lamb International are working on a food drop for the home, as well as working toward setting up a couple more of these rooms in other sections of the home...

I am reminded of something that someone once wrote... "As much as you have done it for the least of these , you have done it unto me" . I think I am starting to understand that a little better now.

OOPS

Have you ever gotten your kids mixed up? I do all the time ... in fact I usually go through parts of name before I get it right ... like BekEmma or EmmBeck, well today was one of those days. It appears that I got Oksana and Maria mixed up ... Oh I was right that Maria is the little girl from the dump, but the photo of the little girl with the dog is not Maria, it is her new sister Oksana. Oksana is the little girl that knew of Larisa, and walked for days to find her hoping and praying all the way that Larisa would not turn her away... that HOPE kept her going....

Well here is a photo of the family ... I will let you figure out which is which , I can tell you that Larisa is the lady standing in the back, her mother is sitting in the front, and the little boy in the front with the ball is Maria's brother Valera.

By the way don't let the "sour puss" faces scare you... it's a formal pose for any photo.. I know... I think it is a Russian thing....but I must say, I think that the Babushka has it mastered...

Devine Love... The story of two girls who never met.

"How fine to live in the divine love. But it is even better when there is an opportunity to give the divine love for others." ...Pi worker Larisa


One girl, Marina, ( seen on the header of this blog ) was abandoned by her parents and had learned not to trust anyone. Kids her age made fun of her and treated her badly. When we found Marina in the local dump (in Central Asia) Marina was hiding. She had grown skeptical of a world that had caused her unbelievable pain.
The other girl, Abigail , grew up in Canada but one day got a wild idea. She asked her friends, for her birthday, to bring a donation to her party (rather than gifts) so that she and her Mom, Karen, could send the funds to a child, out there, who needed it more than her. Abigail raised over $200! Abigail and her Mom saw Ed Dickson's last newsletter and the funds were sent to a girl named Marina, with a picture of Abigail, and a note from Loads of Love saying, "Someone halfway around the world cares a lot about you!" .

The Big day Here is part of the report received an hour ago from Larisa ...When there came Sergey and brought money and a photo for Maria. And he has told this surprising history about her birthday.It was unusual desire the gift to pass for other child.This my heart has very much touched.We prayed for this little girl with a greater generous heart.And Maria has decided as to buy for Oksana and Valera gifts too. They have been overflown by pleasure.......It was surprising and the first her birthday In their life there were no such surprises before . She cried ...and said " that happens birthday? I thought only in films so happens. "And when was her birthday, at them there were many drunk people which fighted and never gave her of gifts.

This is the newest photo we have of Marina ...... Learning what it is to love again.

Thank you Abigail