Thursday, March 4, 2010

New blog page!



Hello dear family and friends;

Here in Kazakhstan things have been finally settling down into somewhat of a normal routine. Due to some difficulties with not being able to access blogger I from Kazakhstan I have had to start a new one at http://kazakhvictoria.viviti.com . I will try to update them both when I can but you may want to check them both.

I’ve been back in Taraz for almost three weeks now and I definitely hit the ground running. I’ve loved being back in Kazakhstan and am ever so thankful for restored health. It has also been great to have spent the last two weekends in the same location which is something I haven’t done since November. Even better, that location has been here at home!! I did visit with some friends but kept things pretty low key after some very busy weeks.

During the last two weeks, the team and I have had fun at the orphanages with the children. I want to share some pictures and tell you about one particular boy.



Arman is a sweet boy who was new at Ulan Orphanages when I returned from my time in the States. He is bigger than the other children in his group and didn’t come running when we entered their room. When I asked about him, I was informed that he was deaf, dumb and mute. Well, he most definitely is deaf. He doesn’t make many noises but does have the ability to make sound because I have since heard him make many. He is trapped in his own world with little or no attention having been paid to him. This young child is not dumb by any means, from what I can tell.




With a little work he will give eye contact. I was thrilled to see him pick up a crayon when I directed him to the table and demonstrated with a crayon what to do. Arman explored the many colors and made many marks on his paper before turning his attention to playing with the crayons like Lincoln Logs. He lined up 5 side by side and, using his hand, rolled them simultaneously back and forth. Then he stacked 4 crayons on top in the opposite direction and again rolled them, observing how they rolled back and forth depending on how he pushed them.

The next week the class decorated book covers and title pages with stickers and their names. We wrote their names both in Kazakh and in English but they did all the decorating. I placed the pages in front of Arman, then handed him a foam sticker and placed the sticker side towards his fingers. After several minutes of exploring the stickiness against his face and hands, he placed it on the cover. I was so pleased to see him work right along with the other children who were decorating.
It has been a challenge getting the other children to realize that we will not tolerate their grabbing things from Arman or hitting him. Whenever a hand goes near him, he flinches. It breaks my heart.

I also let him explore the buttons on my camera. This is not something I generally do! Many of the children in the younger groups have impulse control issues and are not very gentle with things like expensive cameras. Arman very methodically and gently pressed the buttons and soon it became evident to me that he was searching for the button that caused the flash to go off. Once he identified the button, he stood in front of the camera getting it to flash several times. He also found the button that allowed him to scroll back through the pictures I had taken. He touched an image of a child and then searched the room looking for that particular child. Several times he looked directly into my eyes, seemingly to ask me a question and then he turned back to the camera. Oh, how I wanted a way to communicate with this child.



I started researching, looking for resources to help reach Arman. American Sign Language wasn’t what I needed. I needed Kazakh or at least Russian. I talked to Beth and send several emails to various people. This past Monday I found out that Gulnar, who works here at Interlink with the older orphans after they leave the orphanage, actually knows Kazakh sign language! And her mother is a translator for the deaf community right here in Taraz. Amazing!! What an answer to my prayers! It turns out there also is a deaf boarding school here in Taraz. We are looking into seeing what kind of facility this is and if Arman could go there and what kind of services we can get for Arman right now. I am so excited about this.

Last Thursday I was greatly encouraged when Arman let out a heartfelt giggle while I was playing with him. To see this precious boy smile and laugh made the hardships I encounter living here more than worth it.

Thank you, dear friends and family, for your continued support and encouraging words. I love hearing from each of you.

Love,

Vicki

Friday, January 1, 2010

Remembering a year so full of blessings and adventures!

This past year was bursting at the seams with an abundance of blessings and treasured memories. I've started this new year in the same place I started last year! In Virginia! And my travels since my return 15 December to the States are taking me back and forth from Virginia to Pennsylvania and soon to Indiana and then returning to Virginia to leave again for Kazakhstan on 2 February. Last January I went from Virginia to North Carolina back to Virginia to Indiana back to Virginia then to Texas back to Virginia down to North Carolina to Virginia to Pennsylvania and then back to Virginia before boarding the plane that would take me to Kazakhstan. I am still amazed at the most amazing people that have crossed my path as I've traveled on the journey. Sweet friendship have been made and memories that I will treasure for a life time.

Kazakhstan filled my heart with great joy in 2009, as well as breaking my heart for the hardship and conditions facing its people. I count it a great joy and privilege to be able to serve the people but especially the children of Kazakhstan. They captured my heart in 2000 and this love has only grown.

I have been so amazed and touched by all of you who help in so many ways for me to carry out this work that I have been called to do. It wouldn't happen without your financial support and for that I am eternally grateful. I am even more grateful that you not only give of your finances to help in the work here but in the notes and encouraging words I receive. Each one I hold close to my heart especially on the days that the great needs all around me can seem a little overwhelming. Thank you, dear friends, for joining me and Interlink to care for the least of these.

To use well the time I have been given and to finish well the race before me takes preparation, discipline and the support of my dear friends who carry me through with their prayers. I am ever so thankful for each one of you.

Since arriving in Richmond, Virginia, I have been checked head to toe by my regular doctor, GI guy, eye specialist and a neurologist. The Neurological doctor made me laugh with his dry "Well, if it was a brain tumor making your pupils fixed and unequal for this long, you would be dead. Since you are sitting here, I'll assume you aren't dead!" That was a good thing. So, no brain tumor, though he did do a through examimation. My blood work does show a predisposition to having auto immune issues which bilateral Iritis is, but otherwise my report was good. With eye drops the pressure in my eyes are within normal range so, all in all, I'm good to go.

The nutritionist I've been seeing identified some food allergies and reconfirmed the need to eat food that is truly good for me. Range feed meats, eggs from chickens that have run free, raw non-pasteurized milk, fresh veggies and fruit from locally grown sources that don't use chemicals and pesticides, whole grains soaked and not processed, no processed foods, no artificial sweeteners and very little sugar is the basic diet. In other words, eating like our ancestors did. What is put into the body makes such a difference to how it is able to heal itself and run properly. It is amazing how much money is spent on drugs and running to the doctor yet people don't want to spend on food that is actually good for them. If the body is feed well, it can preform well and medical cost would be lower.

Well, that is my little soap box lecture for the new year. I never have eaten much processed food but have now identified with the nutritionist's help a few foods that I'm allergic to. With the changes in diet I am feeling so much better.

I am excited about this new year and all it holds. I know I am blessed and have much to be thankful for -- no matter what! I will rejoice in all things because rejoicing is a choice not a feeling. I will count my blessings even in the midst of storms. I will cling to the dear friends I have been given and not hide during the times life seems overwhelming.

I am truly thankful for each one of you who are joining me on my "Epic Adventure," whether it is for a short walk on the trail or for a long haul. Each one of you is a treasured and most valuable gift.

Happy New year, dear friends.
Love,
Vicki