They are Never Far Away

I just looked at my last blog entry dated shortly after we came home. Time goes so very quickly, and now we are just weeks away from returning to a land and people we have grown to treasure.
These beautiful people are never out of our conversations and thoughts....everyday someone comes to mind whether it be young Maksat, Valera, Tedros, Melodie, Victor...all the special ones. Part of the joy of being involved in lives is to see how God intervenes.

Looking Back
Last spring a young man with a severe cleft palate came to the attention of our team. Before the surgery, he was kept hidden. We left before we could see the results and once home, we were eager to hear of the results. Look below and you will see.

Waiting for surgery

At the hospital with his father prior to surgery.

HOME AND DOING WELL!

What a beautiful smile - his life has been given back to him.

Stopping for a Family In Front of Us

While in Kyrgyzstan, our main method of transportation was the use of taxis. Overtime, we met a man by the name of Hymanot, who became our number one driver and took us everywhere. He was not just our "driver" when we are in Kyrgyzstan, he is also our friend. He serves us extremely well and we came to love him and later when we met his beautiful family, we fell in love with them, too. They live in a one room apartment near us. We talk to him often about his feelings about the future of the country, his children and what his hopes and dreams were for them.

Hymanot, his wife and his family....his two boys - Tedros, age 16, Abel, 11 and two daughters, Stehanie, age 4 and Anita, 2.

In one of those conversations, Hymanot told us something that broke our hearts for him.

"I have no hope left for myself and the only hope I have is for my children that somehow they will get an education."

We sat up and paid attention for we knew of a wonderful place where that dream could come true. We wanted to help. If Tedros could pass the English entrance exam to the Professional Institute (we teach there when in country) that dream would be closer. We were so excited to learn just a few weeks ago that he did pass with excellent scores and will begin classes next week. We are honored to be able to participate in his education along with friends from Ohio.

God didn't allow us to take our eyes off Hymanot's other children. Abel, also a bright, energetic young man has a dream to learn English, so he will be ready for college. We have been able to encourage him in that dream and he goes to classes three days a week, along with a few other children from the orphanage. Thank you to our friends who have supported these dreams with us!

On September 19, I leave for Kiev, Ukraine. David will join me there at the end of the month as we fly to Kyrgyzstan.

Thanks to the Institute for Human Services, in Columbus, Ohio, the International Leadership and Development Center of Ukraine and Holt International, our book, Telling the Truth to Your Adopted or Foster Child will be released in a Russian edition. We have been told a major media event is planned for a national adoption day on September 28, in which we will be training and giving out copies of the newly translated book.

We are eager to return to a very special group of people..thank you for your interest and support...as the journey continues....

Home Now and Reflections

We arrived home safely Friday evening and have been reconnecting with family and friends. Our young friend and translator, Natalia came with us so that she could participant in the meetings of ILDC for the next two weeks. It is wonderful to have her here.


Over the weeks ahead, I know David and I will be processing our experiences there and planning for the days ahead, both for work in this country, and our return to Kyrygzstan. One of the most powerful reflections is a video created by our friend, John and really speaks to how we feel and what we think about our ministry there.

A big van and a big day…..

8:00 am on Wednesday morning:
David, Natalia and I got into Iscar’s (our special friend) marshuka (van) and headed to Kemin about thirty miles away. We were on the way to pick up the first group for our big day at Flamingo Park, an amusement park in Bishkek. We were keeping a promise to a little four year old boy (Aziz)that we would take him and some family members, along with other folks who serve at the nursing home. We were a tad disappointed in that we had to tell Aziz’s grandmother that we only had room for four adults, which meant three family members had to stay behind.

8:10 About ten minutes out of Tokmok, David asked our driver – “how is the van working? Any problems? “ Iscar’s reply – “I have some minor problems, but nothing major.”

8:12 A mere minute or two after that question and the answer –we heard a strange noise in the engine that meant trouble. We were stuck on the side of the road with 18 people waiting for us to come for at different stopping points. Iscar got out, assessed the situation and told us, he couldn’t drive the van. He would call a friend to help.

8:22 About ten minutes later, a new, HUGE van, larger than any thing we have ever seen here pulled up. We looked inside and realized that we could take everyone from Aziz’s family that wanted to go. We couldn’t wait to tell them. We saw this as a wonderful gift from God to this family. We believe God sent the BIG VAN.

8:45 We arrived in Kemin – loaded the van and headed back towards Tokmok and on to Bishkek.

9:30 – We stopped back in Tokmok to pick up some more special friends.

10:25 – We stopped in Kant to pick up yet some more friends…now 20 with us….

11:45 – WE FINALLY ARRIVED AT THE AMUSMENT PARK – almost four hours after we left Tokmok!

12:00 – The fun started and the pictures will tell the story

Just beginning the day.....

A group shot before we all scatter....

David and Aziz on a boat ride

Aziz and his mom...the first time they have had a time to play together probably in years.

Maria and Renada prepare for the big one!

Yes, they both are in there!

Aziz on a little tamer ride. His "wows" were wonderful to watch.
Anita takes command of the ship.
Lola, in the middle is the beautiful daughter of friends of our...they adopted her just short of her 16th birthday.

Waiting for the little ones to finish a ride.

Last ride on the train....

3:30 - We leave the park with a van full of very tired adults and children!

The week in review – keeping a diary for ourselves

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, there are a number of reasons to blog. One, to share what God is doing through the ministry here. Second, to let our friends know of the needs here. And, third, to keep our own personal diary. So this week in review, I am really writing a diary entry for ourselves.

Dear Blog,
This Saturday morning, David and I left early to go to Bishkek. Tomorrow is our 34th wedding anniversary and we planned to take a long walk through the city, eat at a great restaurant and then come home. Last night, our plans for that great restaurant changed. We were at a gathering at a friend’s home where we learned the need of 20 Chinese men, here to work. They all live in one small dirty house with very little to eat, waiting on work. Both of us realized that we could not enjoy a meal at a fancy and expensive restaurant,(even though it was a special occasion,) while these men had so little. The cost of our meal would fund their needs for a number of days. So, we went to Bishkek, took a great walk through the city and enjoyed a modest lunch at a place where we usually go. We will look in to how to get the necessary supplies to this group of men on Monday.

From Saturday's walk through the streets of Bishkek. It is a beautiful city.

On the way to the city today, we talked about exactly what happened last week. Some of the events were major…others smaller, but no less significant.

On Monday – The morning started off with my bi-weekly Russian lesson. I cannot explain why I enjoy learning this most difficult language, but I do. I do feel God is helping me to make progress as I can read much more and understand more all the time. Speaking the language has been my greatest challenge and I am told that part usually comes last. My teacher and I talked today about maybe continuing when I go home – on skype. Maybe??

Monday afternoon, we went with our friends to take care of some necessary business in Bishkek. We forgot it was Children’s Day and major streets were closed. We experienced a long detour in the city, and major traffic jams added a couple of hours of travel time. It was okay because we enjoyed being with friends.

Monday evening we had dinner at Valera and Luba’s home. - I remember when we first met Luba and Valera last year. David had the privilege of praying with this man, who suffered with many problems. He had so many needs. What a joy it was to see him this year. He is doing better in every area of his life. He looked healthy and was happy and productive.

Praying for this special family as we leave.

On Tuesday – Getting up early to be in Bishkek by 9:00 is a requirement here and we left very early. We were invited to the Humanitarian University for a four hour seminar with their psychology and social work students. We arrived well ahead of time, spent a few moments in the office of the department head and then walked into a room full of 23 students, waiting for us. We were so impressed with them as they listened attentively and asked a lot of questions. The seminar focused on what is child abuse and neglect – a subject they have not had yet. The time flew by quickly with requests to return. They are so open to learning and it was a joy to be with them.

These young ladies are third year social work and psychology majors. It is a five year program for them.

Gathering after class for a group picture.

After the seminar was over, Natalia, David and I went to a favorite lunch spot. We were eating on a outdoor area with two young friends, when the young man received a phone call from a friend. The friend told us to take shelter – an incredible hail storm was on the way. Within just a very few moments, we were being pelted with the largest hail stones I have even seen. Natalia kept saying “this is a historic moment – this never happens here.” It lasted about ten to fifteen minutes….quite interesting!

Although the clouds were dark, it was calm and peaceful...then all of a sudden the hail started and we ran for cover.

Tuesday evening we met with a young couple in our home. They are soon to be married. David guided the time together as we talked about the five needs of a husband and wife. As we were finishing up, the young woman asked us if they could come back one more time. We were so honored as we really didn’t know what they were thinking. We will be leaving before their wedding and I am sorry we won’t be here.

On Wednesday –I really looked forward to this day – it was a final day for now training in Kemin. We have spent a lot of time there in meetings and training on the building blocks of a successful foster care program. Foster care is a brand new concept to the people of this Central Asia country. We have spent the last three to four weeks simply dropping seeds into the ground with the hope that some of them will take root. One of my biggest regrets is that I cannot talk to these precious people without a translator. I want to talk to them…hear their stories…learn about their families.

Planting seeds -with many, many challenges ahead, our group explored what a foster care system is. We talked about recruitment, family assessment and preservice training. One of the fun things we did was plan what a recruitment program might look like, planned an informational meeting and created recruitment flyers. Their creativity on the flyers was fun to watch.

These workers are from villages and had not experienced a training like this before. They feel they now have a beginning understanding of what foster care is and look forward to continuing program development.

The young lady in the middle is one that we have targeted to consider development as a trainer for preservice. She is knowledgeable, enthusiastic and wants to be considered.

Nagasyat on the far left, is the new director of the region's Family and Children Services. She has been the force behind the desire to start foster care in Kemin.

All of these workers were there for all sessions, worked hard - and we laughed alot. I really look forward to continued work with them.

After the session was over, we talked about the next steps. It is our hope to be able to return here in the fall and guide this group of workers through training and foster care development.

On Thursday – After morning devotions, we left for training. This was final day for training this round in the Chui region, as well. We also began planting seeds of the dreams of a foster care system. We have spent a great deal of time with this group of social workers – last year and this year and I do have hopes that from the seeds that were planted here, change will come. I told both groups – Kemin workers and Chui workers, that they are pioneers and that being a pioneer is exciting, challenging, discouraging, even sometimes frightening. It takes patience and perseverance through the numberless untold barriers ahead.

Last summer, we trained for six weeks here with this group and returned this trip for three sessions. There is real interest in the future for foster care in this Chui region.

On Friday - Friday morning started out just like Monday – I had Russian lessons . We knew Friday would be an unusual day filled with many different things. David walked down to the bazaar for much needed things for the house. Natalia and I went to fulfill a promise – to deliver a ball to a little boy in a small orphanage who broke his leg. He had been refusing to walk and we asked a friend, who is a physical therapist to intervene. She did and he is making great progress. We told him we would bring him a “get-well ball” which we did on Friday and we amazed at how well he is now walking. We ran a few other errands before we went home to get ready for a very special wedding.

Friday afternoon, we were invited to attend the wedding of the daughter of Foundation's Superintendent of Schools - Lydia. It was a beautiful ceremony and David was asked to give a blessing to the new couple. We had to leave a little early for one more stop - we were only mid way through a six course meal!

Marina and her new husband - She currently is a faculty member at the Professional Institute.

Blessing the new couple

Beautiful dances highlight the ceremony.

We now will begin our last full week here....many things we have planned...many things have not been revealed yet...we are so thankful as our journey continues.

The Week in Review -Blessing the Children, First Bicyles, Powerful Touches, School's Out, Training and More

This Sunday evening as David and I talk about the events of last week, we reflect on the richness of the journey here and the beautiful people we meet, work with and so enjoy being with. With the busyness of these last weeks, I have only time to blog once a week, before the next week begins, so here is a snapshot of the opportunities we experienced last week as we journeyed alongside our friends here.

Today – Sunday – Blessing the Children
As we say to each most every evening, “was that just today?” This morning seems along time ago. David had the privilege of speaking at the Chinese Church and we have come to really enjoy our connections with these people. Each Sunday someone will ask him to pray for them or to bless their children. The precious five month old pictured below, is the daughter of a very gifted and special young mom. She asked David to bless her every time we see her – even at the bazaar.


Preaching at the Chinese Church. This church is experiencing growth and it is so good to see. A number of children come each week from the neighborhood and we look forward to seeing them every week.


I have never seen one so young, smile so very much.

Saturday, May 30 – First Bicycles and Powerful Touches
Before we left the US last spring, a number of friends of ours gave us financial gifts to use as we saw fit. Most of those gifts have been given to serious humanitarian needs. However, a small portion of those gifts went to another very worthy cause – two young boys and first bikes. Having a new bike in this country is mostly just a dream for most little boys. Each week we spend time at the seniors’ home and every week we see a family and a grandmother voluntarily taking care of homeless elderly. No pay – little outside resourcing. Each week, two little boys spend most of their time there – playing as there family members meet the needs of the seniors. We felt impressed to take care of the caregivers with a small gift for their children.


Choosing the bikes at a local bazaar.

Charting our way through the crowd with our friend Hymannot. He gets us everywhere we need to go.

Little Aziz helps David and Hymnnot get the bike ready. We realized it is a little big for him, but he will grow into it. He has very mild CP and our hope this will strengthen his legs.

"Grandfather" as Aziz calls David helps him with his first bike tour of the grounds. Notice the beautiful mountains in the background.

Ignot, the youngest son of the primary caregivers, knew how to ride a bike, but has never had one. Once on it, it was almost impossible to get him to stop long enough for a picture. One quick moment for a pose with everyone - Tonya and Colya are next to David in the back. Next to Coyla is Oleg, Aziz's grandmother, Luba, his aunt and the cook for the seniors' home. ALeixi is sitting down behind Aziz.

After the excitement of the bikes, we went in to spend time with the seniors. They are precious people. We had with us something powerful and we didn’t know the power of it until we experienced it. Ruby and Lynn, our team leaders have invested much of their heart and soul into these people, spending a lot of time here. It was difficult for them to leave. Late last week, Ruby sent personal letters to them, wanting them to know they are not forgotten. Natalia translated them and we took the letters to them. Natalia read each one personally to each of the seniors. The look on their faces was so beautiful. It is the look that comes with the knowledge that someone cares for them, loves them and is important to them. It is almost too difficult to describe it. We left their deeply touched with this gesture from Lynn and Ruby.

Natali reads Nicholi's letter to him. This dear man, basically abandoned by family, is blind. All the other men at the seniors' home help him with all his needs. They have become like family.

Lydia could be Ruby's mother...and she cried as Natalia read her letter to her. She knows she is not forgotten.

This picture is for Ruby and Lynn - the stove is working beautifully. Can you see the steam coming from one of the pots?

Friday, May 29 – Celebrating the End of the School Year
Friday afternoon, we were invited to a special program- hosted by the School of Blessing and Mercy Foundation to celebrate the end of the school year. We were thrilled again as we watched these incredibly talented young people perform. We had the opportunity to see them in Rockford, Ill, just a week before we returned here and seeing them again was wonderful. We have never seen such gifted young people, so creative and full of life.

The Ambassadors of Grace

The Ambassadors of Grace

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday - May 26, 27,28 - Training in Three Regions

We are excited that training on the building blocks of a successful foster care system continues. We had the privilege of training over 60 social workers and psychologists in three different regions this week. The seminars continue for two more weeks. Our goal has been to simply plant the seeds of what can grow here as this nation continues to go through many, many changes in child welfare.
Social workers and psychologists examine the issues of attachment in this seminar, held in a town about 1.5 hours from our home in Tokmok. Twenty were in attendance at this workshop.

They have such special ways of saying thank you for coming. They are waiting for our team's return in the fall and want many seminars.

Monday, May 25 - The End of the First Year at the Professional Institute

This past week, David spent many hours talking with the students who are finishing their first year at the Professional Institute. This was just a dream three years ago of Elder Yang, and now it is a reality. One thing each student said, over and over again, "this Institute is my only hope for a bright future."

The young man, with David below, is Vitali. He represents to us, the students of this growing school. Sponsored in part by a friend of ours in Ohio, he finished the year strong. He will be working at the Institute on building projects this summer to earn money and plans to return in the fall.

Yeah...it is the end of the school year. This music group from two large universities celebrated with the students at the Professional Institute.

The week in review -A gathering at an ancient tower, a training first, touching the heart of a little boy and big birthdays

It is Saturday morning and the first opportunity I have had to capture last week’s activities. One of the main reasons we blog is to capture the memories for ourselves. The days and weeks pass so quickly, and the experiences we have so rich, that we want to make sure we have a record of them. Thank you to so many who journey along side of us in this Central Asian country.

Starting from yesterday – Friday the 22nd
Yesterday was a different sort of day in that we went to Bishkek for one reason – to seek help for a chronic dental problem I have had since arriving here two months ago. We walked into the dentist office, thrilled at what we saw and I walked out two hours later with a root canal. No big deal, but I am so thankful that the problem has finally been taken care of. Dr. Lena came recommended to us and it was a good experience.

After that we met some friends who work with disabled children. One of the orphanages we visited needed a walker for a little boy who broke his leg in the winter and now rarely will walk. Our friends had just the right one for him so we packed it along with us on the marshuka (public transportation van )back home. On Monday, we will go with a physical therapist to deliver the walker and instructions for its use.

Thursday-May 21 – Training in Foster Care Begins in the Chui region
Although Thursday was a cold, damp day, it did not dampen our spirits as we took the taxi to a regional office to begin a first of its kind – a seminar on the building blocks of a foster care system. This type of training has never been offered in this region and as representatives of the International Leadership and Development Center, we are excited to begin the work. With any new thing, it will take a lot of time to move toward a foster care system here. Whether it takes two years, five years or even ten, one has to start at the beginning and that is what we have done.

The first foster care training workshop in the CHUI region.

After a full day of training, a meeting afterwards, we made our way over to the orphanage to celebrate four birthdays with a hamburger feast provided by LAMb and prepared by John. He will be greatly missed as he leaves next week to return to Canada. He and his family hope to return in the fall.

John's hamburgers were a hit.

Albeck, Aziz, Tolick and Kanet celebrate their birthdays!

Wednesday – May 20 – Another Training First and Touching the Heart of a Little Boy

As we drove to the Kemin region, we had two very important tasks. The first was to meet with a work team who will be responsible for developing a foster care program in this area. The group of five leaders were excited and enthusiastic and when we left, I caught their excitement. We will be training two more days in this region before we leave in a little over three weeks, but they will have spent time learning about the first steps of creating a foster care program.

The work group in the Kemin area. We begin training 24 social workers next week.

The second task was David's. While I was training, David and the rest of the crew, had a fruit drop at the senior’s home and to visit Aziz, the four year old grandson of the nurse there. He has truly captured our hearts and we took some things especially for him. We plan to do some other things for him, including connecting him and his family with a physical therapist, who can teach them how to strengthen his muscles, as he lives with CP – a mild form.

Natalia, David and Aziz.....he loves stickers! Look at the wow!

Monday – a gathering in the village – May 18
Alisha, a teenager from the states spent her last day here with her new friends in the village. We joined the team from Canada (Possibilities International) as they met the village people that have helped. Before we met up with them, they had already had two earlier stops and two huge meals. They arrived to join us in the village for TWO MORE!

Yet, another full course meal!

Alisha and her new friends.

Not quite sure what this means for John....or

for Alisha....

Looking back at last Saturday – May 16

A group of men from Canada who serve with Possibilities International arrived earlier last week. This group was special, in that all of these men have invested time and money into the needs of Kyrgyzstan. For them to truly understand the impact of their ministry, John gathered over 150 people whose lives have been touched directly by the generous spirit of these men. Vans, buses and cars were sent to pick up these folks and bring them to Barana Tower, an ancient tower near Tokmok for a surprise picnic for these men. The weather didn’t corporate with this grand plan, but it was a memorable time just the same. What an opportunity for these men to directly see the impact of their generous giving.

The ancient tower

Some of our very favorite kids just hanging out at the tower.
Preparing to feed 150 people.
David serving the children.

It was a cold, damp picnic...felt more like March than May, but it was incredibly fun!

The week ahead

When thinking about the week ahead, we have a familiar saying here "it is too soon to know." We know what we have planned....an end of the year celebration at the Professional Institute, training in Bishkek, Kemin and Chui, but usually, we can count on many other unknown things. It hardly seems possible, but we are down to our last three and half weeks here. Our journey with this beautiful people continues....