The girls are back to work

Emma and Bekah have been on the ground in KG for 2 days now.   They sure did not take time to give the jet leg a chance , they have been hard at it.  The day they arrived they went out to Tokmok to see their friends.  They took a Bishkek city bus to the bus station, then went looking for the Tokmok Bus .  across the parking lot, the bus driver saw them coming and ran to them and gave them big hugs.. it was Isar.  he was so glad to see them , and they were pleased to receive such a warm welcome . 

thank you to every one who packed a Samaritan's Purse Box this year 

The second day began with meeting some good friends that are in town for a couple weeks .  then it was on to the orphanage for a day of fun and gifts .  

Our young friend here has just had another birthday.. one year closer to being out of the orphanage and on his own...  Bekah shared her concern with me this morning ..  

Some more of our wonderful friends at the Orphanage .  Can't wait to see them in a couple weeks . 

 I got an update from Tanya as well.. One of the things she shared was about the three young girls that we support with your help.  Tanya and her Mom check up on them regularly, and bring food our what ever else is needed .  This day the brought them some groceries,   Below you can see Tanya with a couple of them .

they needed some wood split, and some other yard work done, so Larisa hired |Sasha from the mens home to come with them for the day to help out .  

I am looking forward to to having a little more time this spring to be able to get to know the girls a little better, but then, there are lots of things I am looking forward to.

We have just over a week , then we will be on route ourselves.  This time we are bringing our nephew ( for lack of a better term) with us for 2 and a half months. It will be great to have him along.  He was a great help at Christmas, and fell in love with the people at that time .  We are soo excited to have him along now.

 Tomorrow we have another friend departing Ukraine and heading to Tokmok for 3 months to help as well.  He is from Canada , and has been working Ukraine  since before Christmas,

Lynn and Ruby, along with David will be arriving the day before us.    It sure felt like a long winter or at least a long 2 months.. It will be great to be back it it.  Still not sure how this is all going to work with Julie no longer working .. we believe that this is where we are called and what we are to do, so I guess we just believe for Gods provision.

a few catch up photo's

R & R

Holding out , waiting for Jengish as he has a couple days of meetings .  One more day and we will be on the road again.. It's hard to take, but hay someone's got to do it !

We found the sun

We found the sun !..   It has been a busy week. 

Up until Friday , we had no idea if we could actualy get into the US with Jengish.  He was only given a single entry visa, and used it to get here .  So there was a hole lot up in the air,  Emma and Bekah are also flying out of JFK with Jengish, so if we did not get across the border, I would have had to book flights for them, as well we really wanted to be in Cincinnati, so we would have had to drop the kids and head south on our own.    Fortunately the US boarder guard officer we finaly ended up with was very nice, and was able to work it out and let us back in .  

We had great fun at Kim and Randy's then on to Cincinatti where we had an incredible stay.  great friends and such encouragement to us.  And the weather was not half bad either.. sure is a big difference from the cold and snow we left behind in the north .  

Today we made it to Alabama with a few stops along the way to visit some friends along the way.
Tomorrow we will be having breakfast here with some great supporters, then it is on to  Pensacola . we get three days rest on the beach, and Jengish will be caring on to the Teen Challenge center for a visit. 

the last few days

Julie's rehirement party

The youth from our church did a great job with the smoothies, ice coffee, gourmet coffee...etc.

Drove 5 hours through a snow storm and 100km/hr , but it was worth it to get out fishing .

then relax by the fire 

beautiful drive Sunday morning on our way to speak in Espanola

supper with an incredible group of sponsors.  Jengish has been  hearing about them for years , and has been blessed by them for a long time, so it was really great to get to spend some time with them.

Sharing at the Anishinabe Spiritual Centre.

We had a great turn out,  It was a beautiful venue.  but most of all, it was great to visit with so many  who like us, care for the hurting in Kyrgyzstan.

The first week with Jengish in Canada

Along with speaking almost every day and some times two or three times a day at churches, schools, service clubs, and businesses ,  Jengish has had a little time to experience some of the things that make us Canadian 

playing in the snow 

even the cold shoulder didn't deter him . 

It's not all fun and games this trip.  Here Jengish is sharing with the members of the Rotary Club 

New beds on the way for the Maternity hospital in Tokmok 

His  First Hockey game  ..view from the box...   Fantastic seats and great company.. not to mention an exciting Game , and Just enough fights tossed in to keep everyone on the edge of their seats .. Jengish wondered why he woke up with a sore throat.

Down town Toronto 

One of many coffee's  at Tim's ,  but this one was his favorite... must have been the company  .. Jengish came to the realization that the true Canadian sport is not necessarily hockey, but is actualy "Rolling up the Rim "

a man can always dream !

Jengish day 1

It sure did not take him long... Jengishes first day in Canada and he is having a blast.  We were sitting at the Snarrs home after lunch and all of a sudden we hear sirens.  When we get up to look out, we found Jengish playing with the fire men..... 

During the morning he had shared some stories, and made mention not feeling he could  trust the police in KG, so as soon as he was done, they took him off to the police / fire station.  What a great group of  people , he had such a good time .

It was nice for him to connect with the Snarr family again.. it seemed weird for everyone that it was happening on this side of the planet.

Jengish did a great job in the morning , he was sharing some stories of  how we got started working with the homeless,  how things are going at the rehab center, and as well shared about many of the experiences he has shared with us.  Everyone was thoroughly engaged .  

updates and plans

Vlady just sent a photo from his last visit to "The dump lady".. I really do need to get a better name for her.. I will work on that .. but like I said before , he really does care.  He just came back from bringing her a load of groceries. 


We have begun another tour , raising awareness for the work in Kyrgyzstan , along with bringing reports from the work completed.
We have received word that Jengish has received his Canadian Visa, and we are just waiting on word about his US visa.  He will join us as we travel.  So stay tuned, as soon as we have his travel dates, we will let you know where we will be going .  One date for sure is Friday march 2nd.  This is Julie's last day at her old job.  It's the day that she takes the big step.  We will be celebrating with a coffee house party for her , all are welcome .  

While I was thinking about the coffee house and the traveling , I got thinking about that .  We are so blessed.. every where we go, there seem to be people that want to take us out for coffee.. I wish we could just travel all the time and had the time to visit with every one.  It is such an encouragement to us, and we are always just so revitalized after a few weeks on the road.  But the work must go on, and the work in Kyrgyzstan in calling... then I got thinking what if ?  What if we did have opportunity  to  have a coffee with you. or at least virtually.  What if rather then treating us to a coffee, we put that money to use to make it possible to continue to help the hurting helpless and lost around us.  

please take the challenge , sign up now for a monthly sponsorship equal to one trip to the coffee shop of your choice.   On the top right corner of this blog you will find a donate button that will guide you in the Wright direction. 

Canada and Kyrgyzstan .. at the same time

Last week I received a note from our friend Vera from the rehab center and out reach center in Orlofka.  It is still very cold there, and the only had enough coal to last a week.. from my estimates, maybe one or two more days now.   I have mentioned it a couple times , but did not have any response, but at the same time I have such a burden for the work that is being done at the center.  It is the only rehabilitation center for women of its kind.  Jengishes center is working toward setting something up for women, but for now this is it.
   Women that come to the center are given both the skills and opportunity  to change their lives around .  We are always dealing with the down stream results of alcoholism  on a family, but here we have the opportunity to help set a family right again, and break the cycle of poverty and orphanages for these families.
  I had been asking how we can meet these needs, and God has been faithful.  Today the girls , my mom , and I cooked lunch for a seniors day at our church.  I was asked to make soup and sandwiches. usually about   20 attend.  when I was asked how much it would cost, I just said don't worry about it, just put out a basket and people can just put in as they can afford.    Well we got a little carried away, I made a nice butternut squash soup, garnished with fresh kettle corn chips.  Then for the main coarse we had individually rolled spinach lasagna served with a Mediterranean salad and a  calibresy loaf , garnished with a cheery tomato and miniature banana... then for desert we had NY style cheese cake with strawberry compote.  When I was shopping I got a little carried away, and bought enough for 40 people .... we had 38 show up for lunch.  
   When all was said and done, we had not only served a beautiful meal that was honoring to the seniors in our church, but we had also received enough in the basket to cover the cost of the food , AND THE COAL....
   It was such a blessing to be able to do something special for our family in  Canada and Kyrgyzstan at the same time .   Feeling blessed to have had the opportunity.

renovations under way

There is a lot to do for us to be ready to return to Kyrgyzstan this spring.  The biggest thing is that Julie gave her notice a few weeks ago and will be finished on Friday March 2nd.  We are still not certain how this is going to work out financially.   It is a natural feeling that we should change our focus to raising personal support,  but more and more, I feel that we are just to stay the coarse.   I believe that we are to continue to focus on the needs at hand, and have our time in the West about bringing updates and sharing the first hand accounts of what is happening , and not make it all about fund raising..   That is confirmed daily as I converse with our friends in Kyrgyzstan.  Like the email I just got from Vera at the rehab center.  She tells me that the winter has been very cold, and that she only has enough coal left for one more week.  She asks if I can help them to keep the fires going... that is only about $250 , but it all adds up.. It is difficult to turn your focus from a dozen people in care,  that are desperate for heat, and focus on personal support.    

    Jengish will be here with us for about a month , both in the US and Canada, and again , we have decided to focus on the needs and trust God for the support.   He is booked to speak at several different churches, service clubs, schools , and with individuals and businesses.   We do have one event planed that will be a fundraiser for our support  and that will be a coffee house night in Norwood... We will have it on Julie's last day of work...March 2nd.. We are going to call it a rehirement party, because that's the day they she will retire from her job as a mental health worker, and be rehired into full time missions with LAMb. If you are in the area and would like to attend, we would love to see you.  Jengish will be sharing at that event as well. 

I was talking to Ed, and discussing our plans, and the long term use of his apartment ,  to which he responded ,  "Well then we better renovate the washroom before you get there" ... Ed know how to treat you right !    Seriously,  Ed you are such a blessing to us , in your actions, in your words of encouragement , and most of all, in your example to us of what missions is all about ... 

We love our apartment in Kyrgyzstan.  It is comfortable and is a nice place to wind down at the end of a hard day.  It is not fancy by any means, but has everything that we need, and those that visit us feel at home as well... But having your guests relaxed and comfortable does have one big drawback for us.... here it is, if I dare say.......   We can't throw up when we have company..  Nothing worse then rushing to the toilet, then having company come to the door.  That's because the toilet room is so small that your knees bang on the door, and when you are sick you have to open the door and kneel down in the hall.. not conducive to company.. , but with renovations under way, that will be different now.  

They are now taking out the hall closet, and opening up the two room bathroom into one big bathroom.  We will also move the laundry from the kitchen to the new bathroom.  This will give more cupboard space in the kitchen .  So as we are preparing things on this side of the globe for more and longer travel, it's exciting to think that they are busy preparing for us to come more often and to stay longer .

Christmas Video update

Visit with Slavic

He is home 

  Slavic was happy to see his long time friends Victor and Ilea 

Anya was able to get them smiling again 

 The boys even got to go shopping for some new clothes 

There have been a lot of tears shed over our young friend, and I think just as many since he has been found . 

It will be some time before we hear the full story ... if ever ... But right now we are just so thankful to have him back. 

More exciting news,  Jengish has been given a visa to come to Canada, now we just need to get him a US visa , and we will be ready to start booking a winter tour from Northern Canada to the southern tip of the USA

Jengish brings an excitement and a passion with him every where he goes.

Breaking news about Slavic

I just received word that members of  LAMb team found Slavic a few hours ago.   At this point I have not confirmed directly from the source, but should have confirmation shortly...  please continue to pray with 

"Shameless audacity"