The Last Day…For Now

Today is my last day in Kyrgyzstan for this trip.  I’ve got everything packed and the cleaning done.  Now I just have to kill time to go to the airport.  Needless to say I’m not in a jumping for joy mood at the thought of leaving this place again but I know I’ll be back sooner than later this time.  I am, however, looking forward to what might be going on in Ukraine this summer.  By the time most of you read this I’ll have already landed in Kyiv.

My last week here was busier.  On Tuesday it was the warmest day here so far this year - 94 degrees in the shade – which made it a great day to go to Hawaii beach.  Hawaii is a restaurant and park on a lake just outside of Tokmok.  They are also building a small zoo and have public swimming with a nice sandy beach.  I was also able to get to the baby orphanage to check up on Almaz and got to Orlovka Orphanage to spend some time with the kids this week.

Yesterday we took the kids from Orlovka to the beach at Issyk-Kul.  What a fun day that was.  The weather had cooled to around 80 degrees in the shade and, where it’s still the off season for a few more days, we had almost the entire beach to ourselves to spread out.  I’ll let some of the photos speak for themselves. 

So as I start another part of my journey I ask for your continued support and kind thoughts.  Thank you for seeing my heart.  

 Till next time…Я люблю тебя!

Hawaii Beach

It was so hot the squirrel just lay on his wheel.

Beach supplies

Winding Down

It’s remained very quiet these last couple of weeks.  The Wright family (minus Emma and Bekah) went home last Sunday and I haven’t strayed far from home.  For those of you who follow me on Facebook yes, I did get bored but those who know me know that I get bored VERY easily and I think not having a TV magnifies that.  But believe me; I am not bored of Kyrgyzstan yet.  I just don’t get tired of the mountain views and I have a huge peace knowing I am where I am supposed to be. 

I only have one week left to enjoy those mountain views (for now) as I’ll be going back to Kyiv next Sunday.  So this week will be tying up any loose ends before I leave.  But going back to the boredom, the question is what to do.  Well…you find a bunch of kids and go to the zoo.

There was a travelling zoo in Tokmok and tonight we took the girls from the Dayspring home as well as Sergey and Anya’s boys to see the animals.  There were some animals there that I have never seen before and it was so much fun watching the kids checking everything out.  They got quite a kick out of feeding the camel.  I knew tigers are big but they are really HUGE.

The zoo was also Dasha’s first outing since she came home from hospital.  If you remember, 8 year old Dasha was born with 2 holes in her heart.  We sponsored her heart surgery through our Operations CAN be Done programme which was performed on May 26^th.  After just 3 weeks I am amazed at how well she is doing.  Comparing before surgery and after I can see a big difference in her colour and her energy level and I notice that she is smiling a lot more.  Once she is totally healed in the next few months she will be able to run and play with the other kids and will finally be allowed to go to school and be a regular kid.  Her life has been dramatically changed. 

Also as part of my activities next week we’re taking the kids from Orlovka Orphanage to Issyk-Kul for the day.  For those of you who haven’t been to Kyrgyzstan, Lake Issyk-Kul is the world’s 2^nd largest salt water lake and has some of the nicest sandy beaches anywhere.  It is so nice there.

So that’s the latest goings on for now.  Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads…and as a friend mentioned…also to the single Moms who’ve taken on both roles.

Thank you for your continued support and for your kind thoughts.  If you wish to help with my ongoing support or any of our programmes (or help me with gas money and treats for Issyk-Kul) just click the donation link for LinK 127 at the right side of this blog.  You can donate on line or find the mailing address under the “Details and Contact info” tab to send a cheque.  When sending a donation please include a note to specify where you may like your gift to be directed to.  (There’s a drop down box for on line donations.)

Thank you for seeing my heart.  Till next time…Я люблю тебя!

At the zoo.  Dasha is in the red top standing in front of Anya.

Children’s Day

This past week was a very slow one for me as I was sick with cold and flu for most of it.  I thought I was feeling better on Thursday morning and started getting ready to go to the Children’s Day celebrations at Beikut Orphanage but then my energy just gave out and back to bed I went.  (The next time in Canada I must remember to pack some Neo-Citran.)  However, after another day in bed I was able to take in some celebrations on Friday.  I think I packed in a week’s worth of stuff in one day to make up for the slow week.

June 1^st is Children’s Day which is a HUGE deal here.  The closest Canadian equivalent that I can think of is Mother’s Day except it’s for children.  The first stop was to the Tokmok Baby Orphanage for their official celebrations where I was able to see baby Almaz again.  He is the baby that was abandoned at a bus stop likely because of his two club feet.  We will be helping him get corrective surgeries for his feet through our Operations CAN be Done programme at LinK 127. 

After that I tagged along with the Lamb International folks to the Dayspring home to pick up the girls for an outing.  I got a chance to see how the garden is doing that we helped to plant.  (The peas that I planted didn’t do so well.)  Then we stopped and they got some strawberries which the girls took to the folks at the Kemin Senior’s Home.  While there, Sergey introduced 2 more ladies to a special friend.  Sergey is amazing to watch in action.

Then it was off to Orlovka where a few of us stayed and the Lamb folks went on a picnic and swimming with the girls.  Sergey is hosting a friend, Osin, from Norway this past week whose organization (I forgot the name) donated the container of goods to Lepta Plus that I mentioned a few blog entries ago.  We stopped at the store and Osin bought some ice cream and cookies which we took to the kids at Orlovka Orphanage. 

After spending time with the kids at Orlovka we rushed back to Tokmok for a very quick freshen up and then off to an amazing youth service in Bishkek.  Then after returning to Tokmok we ended the day with a shashleek supper.

So that’s the latest news.  It’s hard to believe that in 3 weeks I’ll be back in Kyiv for another leg of my journey.  Thank you for your continued support and for your kind thoughts.  If you wish to help with my ongoing support or any of our programmes just click the donation link for LinK 127 at the right side of this blog.  You can donate on line or find the mailing address under the “Details and Contact info” tab to send a cheque.  When sending a donation please include a note (or make a selection in the drop down box for on line donations) to specify where you may like your gift to be directed to. 

Thank you for seeing my heart.  Till next time…Я люблю тебя!

Celebrations at Tokmok Baby Orphanage

Almaz

Some of the Dayspring girls delivering strawberries

Orlovka Orphanage.  Go team Kyrgyzstan 2007 might see a few familiar faces here.