Before The Story Gets Lost - An Extreme Makeover and New Beginning

(With the traumatic events of last week, I was afraid this awesome story would get lost, so I grabbed a moment to share.)

We (our Lamb team) have a slogan that is a reality for us.  "As we go, stop for the one in front of you."  We have learned that it is totally impossible for us to meet every need we see.  We also have learned that God will bring certain ones right in front of us and say to us..."stop here."  That is exactly what happened with "Jessica's family."

Last March, a team of social workers from Cleveland was on the ground here for two weeks.  One afternoon, we were in the park, playing with children, passing out ice cream and getting ready to serve dinner to children from a local orphanage.  We all went in the classroom on the park grounds with the children.  I stepped out a moment and saw Lynn Johnston motioning to three children. They were not with the orphanage, but were very obviously hungry. He escorted them into the room and sat them down.

These are the precious children that first caught our eyes and captured our hearts last spring.

Being the social worker Jessica is, she noticed the children and insisted on going home with them to see where they lived.  She packed up the leftover food, loaded the kids into the van and headed for their home. She was devastated when she came back. A small, dirty three room apartment...no running water, no heat and only a two burner hot plate to cook on.  She has never forgotten those children, nor have we. That is why we call them "Jessica's family."

Over the months we have always visited this family and the exciting thing is that we have seen improvement in the care of the children. Their mom is really trying hard....now enter the team from Canada.

AN EXTREME MAKEOVER - WHAT TWO DAYS CAN DO

In a matter of two days, the hard working team from Canada did an extreme makeover in their little apartment. Totally remodeling the kitchen, bedroom and living area...let the pictures tell the story.

Beginning the day...

The desparation of extreme poverty...basically what they had..

Corrie and Kristine...cleaning and painting

Everybody wanted to help

Carrying in the new furniture

Lynn - "I thought you said this would fit?  ( It did!)

The family watching and I am sure wondering who in the world are these people. We have been in and out of their home with food and other humanitarian needs over the last year, so they do know us. It wasn't until this day that mom asked our names.

A lot to smile about...a new rug, brand new beds and a restoring of hope and dignity.

New beds...before, well I just cannot describe.

At the end of a long day, a very tired crew and a job well done.

This says it all....

A post script, if you noticed in the very first picture, Madina's has had an eye injury. She has suffered with this disfigurement for a number of years.  We are interested in getting surgery for her to replace her eye with an artifical eye so she will look normal.  If you are interested in sharing in this opportunity, you can do so through the button on the right side of the blog or email us... jayeschool@aol.com

Just a quick note from today

We are back on the road again - cautiously, of course.  Today, our team set out early for a day of visiting a number of the humanitarian projects where we have all worked. Also, John Wright leaves early Monday morning for Canada and he wanted to say good-by.

After getting home, I had a haircut appointment with the young lady who always does it and as we were walking home, we detoured to avoid a large group of men who had gathered.  We have no idea what was going on, but Natalia felt best to avoid it. I shared with her my sadness at the loss of freedom and sense of safety we have had here.  She told me her friends and family were frightened about the days ahead. Our precious friends here have lost more than I can completely understand. 

On a great note: We will be sharing a tremendously warm story this week - the story of an extreme makeover for a family.


We are here another ten days and then have two trips scheduled for training - Ukraine and Poland.  We excited about these upcoming opportunities to speak to social workers and families in both countries about the joy of building a family through adoption. We return May 2 to finish out the univeristy at return home at the end of May.

Thank you for sharing our journey....

CNN ireport from the LAMb team plus magazine article

Our team leaders, Lynn and Ruby Johnston just posted the story of the harrowing escape through a mob on the way to the airport Wednesday night. You can find it as   http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-430501


Also,  a reporter from World Magazine contacted Ruby at the airport while they were waiting for the team's flight out on Wednesday. This link is good for seven days...

The article is titled Kyrgyzstan's chaos - Eyewitnesses attest to revolution underway for key U.S. ally.



http://www.worldmag.com/articles/article.cfm?eid=DE18AB93-0D57-AB4A-17A5F0DE8DF41765.

Pictures from the rioting

It is a quiet Friday afternoon and we are reflecting on how the world changed here for us in one day.  We are still extremely cautious being out, just because we have been told to be.  There is an eery sense of quietness. The streets, usually noisy and bustling with traffic are not busy.  There are people out, but far less than just days ago.  Stores are closed, the bazaar, which is the main shopping center of town is closed.  We are fine with what we are able to purchase, but finding food for many will increasingly become difficult.

We wanted to tour our town yesterday, but the driver that was going to take us around changed his mind and didn't feel safe.  However, as usual, John, our dear friend from Canada found a way around and was able to take pictures. The pictures here are within a short walking distance from where we live.  Please visit John's blog for the pictures and a precious story.  Scroll down the page past his latest entry.    actofkindness.blogspot.com

From David's Viewpoint

Greetings and thank you for taking a few moments to read of our journey here in Kyrgyzstan.


Just before we left our home in Lebanon, Ohio, to make our 5th trip here, I told Jayne that I had a sense that this trip was going to be very different than previous ones and that something would happen that would change things for us—and for many others. Little did I know that that “change” would come in the form of a revolution that would expel the present government and form a new one. That revolution reached to the government office next door to our apartment building, destroyed the grocery store where we shop, and looted the main restaurant where we eat and entertain those with whom we work. These are very small inconveniences for us as many have lost their jobs and livelihood in a country where there are so few jobs to begin with. Conflict, Confusion and Crisis best describe what is going on here and it will be sometime before we know how this will help or hurt the good people of Kyrgyzstan.

This is far from over. We get reports of various things happening even now as I write this short letter. The notes of encouragement and prayer we received—and they were many, are deeply appreciated—more than you could know. Thank you for your concern.

Our work here is on hold for now, but, we will still teach at the International University of Central Asia.I teach 3 courses and Jayne teaches 2. We love the students and they seem to have mutual love and respect for us. Our trip to Ukraine and Poland will still happen beginning a little later this month. We intend to be home the latter part of May.

Just as this was beginning, three men from our LAMB team and I were doing ministry in a men’s prison about 3 hours away from our home in Tokmok. I was once again reminded just how powerful the Gospel is to bring light and life to a dark place. The place was dark, to be sure, but there was light and life in many of the men as they shared their incredible testimonies with us.

Below are a few pictures that I took of some of the men—brothers in the Lord. Because of your gifts to us, we will be able to bless them with some much needed items that they can use to listen to Christian music, watch good videos, and make incredible items in the shop that they can give to those who visit them.

           This is the courtyard outside the prison barracks.

This is our first stop inside.  We met and shared testimonies with these Christian brothers who are serving life sentences.  They served us tea and cookies. Their testimonies were real and they were able to praise the Lord in these most difficult of circumstances.

Rather than living in cells, they lived in dormitory style rooms. The prison itself was a school when the  country was a part of the Soviet Union. Now it is a prison housing about 800 inmates.

In the cafeteria, we were shown what the men eat out of. They drink their meals which is usually some kind of soup. They have no silverware.  How I would have loved to bring them a treat of some kind. I saw the food. I cannot explain what it looked like. God bless them.

We met many men who spend their days working in the shops.  Some sewed shoes. Some made incredible wood crafts, such as in this picture.  He was so proud of his work and rightly so. They desparately need a new router and will try to get that done.

This is a group picture of some of the Christian men.  Just before this picture was taken we laid hands on each one and prayed a blessing over them. After that, they blessed us. They have very good spiritual leadership and it is very obvious.
On the Way Home
On our way home, we heard about, and got caught in the confusion of the Revolution—after which so much has changed. We have to take alternate routes around the city.  Many have emailed us or contacted us through facebook.  Thank you for asking and thank you for caring.

In the midst of the Krygyzstan storm

My husband and I have been ministering in Krygyzstan now for a month. Many of you may have caught the news on the toppling of the government here as a result of riots throughout many cities on the 6th and 7th. The government offices were taken yesterday in our town by the opposition party and they are within a block from our home. We were not at  home at the time, and after many hours of delay, we were allowed to return. A ministering team from Canada had to make an emergency exit out of town to get to the airport before all roads were closed. After a frightening mobbing incident, they thankfully made it safely to the airport and out of the country.

Today things are calm here, but there is an unsettling sense of what is ahead.  The events of the last 24 hours will have a deep impact on our work and ministry here. For example, a speaking opportunity with Krgyz women and men on Saturday was canceled out of concern for our safety in the capital city of Bishkek. Our work with government officials on child welfare and foster care issues is in question because the people we worked with are probably no longer there. We have no idea of what is the future for this country. It is unclear who is in charge and if there is any rule of law from anywhere.  We appreciate your prayers for many people who now are without jobs due to the destruction of many business and offices. Also many families are burying their dead as a result of the riots yesterday. We are staying very low and out of sight at this point.

Kyrgystan news video footage from events of yesterday

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCR--ZnyDzI 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L1srqYLnu8

When David and I got up yesterday morning, he was preparing to go with the LAMb men's team to a prison and I was preparing to be with the LAMb women.  I thought early yesterday we have so much to blog - the extreme makeover of a home for a destitute family, the visit to the prison and seniors home.  How a few hours can make such a difference.  We will be sharing these stories sometime over the weekend. 

As we have said...the journey continues and we are here for such a time as this. Our prayer is that God will use us as we minister to these precious wonderful people. Thank you for sharing our journey with us.

Waiting for You

Corrie, one of the gracious team members from Canada mentioned this morning that everywhere we have gone, the people are waiting. It reminded me of what we hear while at home. While in the US, we communicate often with our friends here through email and skype. As our conversations end or the email closes, it usually says, “come quickly, we are waiting for you.”

LAMb International (Lynn and the far left and Ruby in the red apron) bring mission groups over every year.  From left to right, Kristine, Cassandra, Debbie, Corrie, Jim and Carl.  It has been an incredible week - lots of hard work and alot of spilling out of themselves for others.

Who Has Been Waiting?

On Tuesday, the team made plans to spend the day at the seniors’ home in Kemin. The seniors were told we were coming the next day. From what we understood, the seniors rose at 7 am, dressed in their finest clothes and sat waiting for us to arrive.

                Gifts of afghans, made by a ministry in Canada, were treasured by the grandmothers.

Corrie gives Anya a hand massage and just loves on her.

This precious man delights everyone with his wooden spoons, tap dancing and gracious spirit inspite of his present life circumstances.  He lived for three years in the home for invalid men and now is here at this much better place.

With Ruby leading the way, the team prepared an incredible lunch, gift bags and an entire day of honoring these precious seniors - abandoned by family member.

For more great pictures of this day, visit lambinternational.blogspot.com
Also, visit another partner - actofkindess.blogspot.com   This is the Wright blog.


Who Else Was Waiting?
On Thursday late afternoon, we all took at 2.5 hour drive to visit the orphanage were our local children had been moved. As the van turned the corner into the school/orphanage grounds, we saw children sitting, waiting for us. We all went in to get acquainted and play games.

Some of the children listening to instructions for a game.

Victor and Rashid....two of the young boys we know from the orphanage near us, now moved to the new one.

Time to celebrate birthdays

Affectionately, we call these "our kids" as we worked with them and played with them for two years in our town. Now that they are two hours away, we don't get to see them as much, but will give it our best try.

                                                            More of our kids...

For What are They Waiting?

After Corrie’s comment this morning, I reflected on the meaning behind it. Yes, these precious people – the homeless seniors to the youngsters at the orphanage are waiting. Not necessarily just for us, but are waiting for people to know they are there. They are waiting for someone to wrap their arms around them and tell them they are loved and not forgotten. They are waiting for someone to give them something and that something is time.

We do our best not to rush in and say quick hellos and dash off. We spend hours at these places where people are simply waiting for something, we hope in some small way, we gave to them – HOPE.