Meeting Up with Old Friends

While in Elkhart this past week my mom hosted a special Open House and invited friends from high school, college and from my childhood. In order to give a taste of Kazakhstan, we made pilov, presidential salad, rainbow salad and several other items and set out some of the souvenirs I had brought back with me. What a joy to see friends I have known for over 20 years! We talked for a few minutes and got caught up some on how our lives have changed. I will try to make it back there in November so we can have a proper reunion!

A Day in a "Relaxed Life"

Some of my main goals for my time in the states are to play with horses, muck stalls and just relax! I didn't know that I would be able to do all of these things by the second week I was here.

I was able to visit my Uncle Gordon & Aunt Elaine's house in Battle Creek, Michigan where I maximized on these goals. For three days I got to hang out with their Arabian mare, “Whiskey” and donkey, “Elvis”…mucking a stall, lunging Whiskey and taking a rest in their hammock. We took a relaxing drive in the countryside and in the evenings it was hanging out in the field with the animals. The only thing that would have made it more relaxing would have been an afternoon nap!

Divine Appointments

A few months ago our Youth Impact Manager, Olya asked me if it would be possible to bring someone over to Kazakhstan to teach about therapeutic horseback riding. Of course anything is possible; we would just need to find the right people and figure out the financing for it. Although I think I responded with an enthusiastic "yes", I really wasn't sure where we might find instructors.

Well earlier last week my Uncle Gordon, knowing my interest in therapeutic horseback riding (THR) suggested that we head out to the Cheff Center which specializes in such services. Unbeknown to us, this center’s founder happens to be the person responsible for starting THR in the US and certifies instructors through the National Association.

We introduced ourselves and of course it came out that I was coming from Kazakhstan at which point the woman showing us around said, “you are not going to believe this, a few weeks ago we had a group from Kazakhstan here to learn about what we do”. The facilities were amazing and the two instructors I talked to said that if ever given the opportunity, they would love to come to Kazakhstan to provide training in THR. So who knows, this might be a future open door to bring training to Kazakhstan!

Princess "poised for travel"

So this past week I got to meet the newest member of the family ~ “Princess”. I had to tease my mom in that she’s raising her quite different from the way she raised me and the word “spoiled” is an understatement!

Here is Princess and my mom going for a ride in the car together and yes, Princess rides this way the entire trip. The good thing is that she’s a little bigger than a drop kick dog and really is quite smart and sweet so I think we will get along just fine.  That is a good thing considering the fact that we will be riding out to California together in the RV next week!

The 26-hour journey from Almaty to Elkhart, IN was pretty uneventful and other than the redundancy of watching movies, eating and sleeping ~ it was actually and enjoyable trip! Getting off the plane in London I had the chance to help a young mom with getting her luggage and daughter to passport control and then got through security to my terminal with about 5 minutes to spare. Definitely much better than the usual 8-hour layover I get with other airlines!

Because of the direction I was traveling it remained daylight the entire time. Culture shock began as I looked out the window to see the city of Chicago below me with its towering skyscrapers and never ending streets of houses and businesses. I got to passport control and was sure I would miss my bus as I looked at the 150+ people waiting in line to get through. However, after a few minutes of waiting a woman came over and pointed to a sign that US citizens were supposed to be in a different line ~ whew! What looked to be a 2-hour wait turned out to be only 15 minutes. I then got to the area to pick up my luggage only to discover that it didn’t make it on our plane and would be sent to my house a few days later. Found my bus and headed out for the remaining 3-hours of my long day.

Arriving at the South Bend airport I was greeted by mom, dad and Annie who had just arrived a few minutes earlier. After such a long absence, it was so good to see their smiling faces! And although I had seen Annie earlier in the year when we vacationed in England, I was very thankful that she made the drive up to meet me! The long day finally came to an end and the adventure of the next four months was to begin!

Saying Goodbye

On the evening of September 5 it was me who was boarding the train rather than seeing someone off. It has been almost 3 years since I have been home to the states and I was starting the first leg of a long journey home. Of course, one thing that makes such departures so special is when friends come to see you off. By the time the train was getting ready to load, I was surrounded by those who have been my “family” on the other side of the world. And as usual, everyone had to get a little silly while waiting for me to pull out much to the entertainment of the conductor and those sharing my coupe.  It was a wonderful "send-off" and a great reminder of how precious and meaningful it is to have friends on both sides of the world.  It wasn't easy to leave but knowing who I will be coming back to made it easier. 

Facilitating Friendships...

Dr. Nurgali Ormanov has been practicing medicine for 30 years in the small village of Vanofka about an hour outside of Shymkent.  His salary is decent for being in the village and makes every effort to increase his knowledge to better serve those he treats.  Being along the main thoroughfare from Shymkent to Almaty he encounters many seriously injured in accidents.  As head of the regional hospital, he supervises over 150 staff who treat thousands of patients a year.  

One of the privileges of my job is being able to facilitate on-going relationships between friends from America and nationals here.  One of our delegates met Dr. Nurgali for the first time in 2000 and was touched by his kind heart and care for people.  Since he worked for one of the largest medical distribution companies he clearly saw an opportunity to provide quality medical instruments at no cost for the hospital's operating rooms.  They met again this last April and a "wish list" was given as to desired items.  These items came in July and a few weeks ago I had the honor of delivering these to Dr. Nurgali.  He was pleasantly surprized and very grateful for the generosity and friendship of someone half-way around the world.  He marveled at the quality of the instruments and I am confident that having these tools will enable his surgeons to do their jobs with more precision and ultimately save more lives.

Rainbows and Sunsets

One of the wonderful things about Kazakhstan is the beautiful nature!  Although I miss the emerald fields of green from home, there is a stunning beauty that can be found in the rolling hills, snow capped mountains that tower over villages and the simple landscape dotted with shepherds caring for their sheep, goats, cattle and horses.   

My friend Nadezhda and I have been talking about going camping for some time now so when a time came open in our schedules, we jumped at that chance to head to the mountains.  Radick, her husband came with us, mainly for security I think since I don't think the idea of sleeping outside really appealed to him that much (although by the end of the trip he said next time we needed to go for 2 days!).

There is a favorite spot (yes, another one) about 45 min. outside of town.  A 15 min drive on a dirt road winds back through the mountains to an open clearing next to a small stream  ~ a perfect spot to set up camp.  We got everything unloaded and set up just in time for Nadezhda and I to head up the hill to watch the sunset.  At the top we sat on the rocks and reflected on life, friendship and the blessings of our lives.  We marveled at the beauty that was a welcomed feast for our eyes after so many busy weeks of work and just "doing life".  As we talked we felt a light sprinkle on our faces and noticed darker clouds to the east.  We climbed higher to the next ridge to get a better view of the sunset.  As we reached the top we turned back to see where we had been and saw a complete rainbow!  It was definitely a sight to behold and we enjoyed giving thanks for the faithfulness it represents.   

That evening we enjoyed a roaring bonefire and fell asleep to the light of a full moon.  In the morning we climbed up the other side of the mountain to enjoy the sunrise (ok...I am not always an "early riser" so we were a little late for the actual sunrise).   We enjoyed a casual breakfast, broke camp and headed back to Taraz feeling rather rejuvinated from our over night getaway.  Next time we will have to go for an entire weekend!  

Puzzles and More Continued....

Awhile back I wrote an entry entitled the "Golden Tree" a small tree made from a cigarette package by a young teen at the local rehabilitation center where we visited.  He gave it to me as we were getting ready to leave.  In that brief encounter I was touched by their stories and wrote about their need for things to do while using up the hours of their day.  

In a more recent post, I wrote that my aunt Margie was able to collect a substantial number of puzzles, games, coloring books, and other things for these kids to do and these were delivered by one of the delegations coming over.  We got instructions translated and Olya, Ember and I had the privilege of delivering these items a few weeks ago.  

We walked into a room where 5 boys were talking with one another.  We showed them the different games we brought and Ember got a great photo as one of them showed us the puzzles he completed.  Another young man showed us some of the pictures he had sketched and it was obvious that he was particularly gifted at faces.  

The three of us sat down with a deck of Uno cards and taught them how to play.  Who would have guessed that a simple game most of us have played since childhood would bring them such enjoyment.  Although we were only able to stay about an hour, it was one of the highlights of the week.  As additional items arrive we will deliver them as well and hopefully be able to pass along some sports equipment as well.  For us, we were blessed by the opportunity to give and their smiling faces and inquisitive questions certainly made the time enjoyable for all.