Interlink Blog

One of the projects I have been working on these last couple weeks has been to set up a new blog for Interlink.  You can receive a compilation of the week's posts in email form by clicking on the newsletter button in the top right corner of the blog.  We have also started posting to our Twitter account.

It has been fun to work with the staff to get ideas of things to post.  Today at lunch we talked and laughed about some of the Kazakh proverbs that exist.  We will also be posting some interesting stories about the culture and our work.

Also, tomorrow Aben and I will be heading to Shymkent to pick up the last installment of wheelchairs from Crossroads.  I have several contacts of people to start connecting with in order to find the best homes for these wheelchairs.  The process will take a while because we want to make sure it is done well, but the time will be worth it.

Support Needs:  I still need $480 in monthly support

Fun with Friends

A couple weeks ago I had the chance to get out of the city and have some fun with friends.  On Friday, the entire office and their families went to a river for a picnic.  We had a great time eating shashlik, swimming, and spending time together.  It was a nice time to get to know the spouses and children of my co-workers.  We enjoyed the day together as we celebrated a successful delegation season!  Also, I had fun riding too and from the picnic with Assel.  We talked about ways in which we could improve my Kazakh and her English.  We have started implementing some of those things this week and I think Assel is going to be hard task master, which is great!

A few days later I got to go on a camping trip with some youth.  It was fun to hang out with them and teach them how to roast a marshmallow without burning it.  I got to sleep out under the stars. We also had a great time swimming and playing nine square in the air.  The only challenge for me was that most of the youth were Russian speaking (whereas I speak Kazakh).  However, we figured out ways to communicate enough to even trash talk a bit while playing nine square.  Although I was exhausted at the end of the time, it was so good to get out of the city and enjoy some time in nature.  Here are some pictures from my time!

Buying a Dog

It is very important to have a guard dog here in Kazakhstan.  Some just want the dog to be fierce (they chain these up during the day and then let them loose in the yard at night).  These usually tend to be large dogs.  Others what a "doorbell" to let them know when someone is at the gate.  These tend to be dogs that I usually refer to drop-kickable dogs (the ones that are the size of a soccer ball and like to bark a lot).

In September, the team house needs a new dog.  Since it is best to buy a puppy and by September we want the dog to be able to bark and be comfortable caring for the property, we decided this is the time to buy one.  It will give the puppy a chance to get used to a new house and learn how to guard the house from Mika.  Since Jim and Liz's departure has been delayed a bit, I had the fun of picking out a dog for them.  I thought you might enjoy hearing about my adventure.  

Earlier in the week, we had gone to the bazaar to find out where dogs are sold.  We were told they were sold near the chickens, but only on Sunday mornings from 9-12.  So, on Sunday I went back to the chicken selling location.  At first, I thought someone had told me wrong because all I saw were a bunch of cars (where I had been told dogs would be).  However, I started to hear barking and realized I must be nearby.  Then, I noticed that all the cars had their trunks open.  Everyone was selling the puppies that were being stored in their trunks.  There were about 50 to 100 dogs waiting to be sold.  

It was at that point when I realized I was not at all prepared to buy a dog.  First, I had no idea what kind of dog was staring at me.  Second, I realized that most of the sellers spoke Russian, not Kazakh.  Third, I realized I was one of very few females in the entire area.  I guess mostly men buy and sell dogs.  I made a first pass at all the dogs, just looking and not speaking to anyone.  I tried a second pass, but all it did was add to my sense of being overwhelmed.  I did ask a few people prices and realized all the dogs were pretty reasonably priced.  The third time down the row I saw a woman encouraging (by dragging a bit with a leash) a puppy down the row.  She looked out of place and a little concerned about being there.  I couldn't quite figure out what she was doing.  

After a while, I ended up in a conversation with the woman.  We spent the next 10 minutes talking.  She kept telling me why her puppy was great and I kept agreeing with her and asking about buying it.  She would respond that she didn't want to sell it, but wanted to find it a good home.  I kept wondering, how do I convince her that I am a good home.  My connections with the director at Sarmoldaeva Orphanage helped convince her, as she puts on a yearly competition at the orphanage and knew of the work that we do.  So, I walked away from the bazaar carrying a very scared black puppy who I paid 50 tenge for.  Some money need to exchange hands for it to be an official sale and that was the smallest coin I had with me.  

Now Vella is getting used to being at the team house.  Mika is adjusting to having a puppy around as well.  Hopefully, Vella will be good company for Mika and Mika will teach Vella how to be a great team house dog.  So far everything seems to be going well!  

Support Update:  I still need additional monthly team members totaling $500 

Life is a Team Sport

As many of you, I've been watching the Olympics recently.  As I watched yesterday, I was struck by the importance of team.  This is the case with every sport, including the individual sports.  The team is not just the individuals you play the sport with, but it includes those that have gone before, those that are cheering you on, coaches, peers, sponsors, family, and everyone else included in an athlete's success.  Each person on the team is there in a different way when you win and when you lose.    

I think often we make the mistake of pursuing life as an individual sport.  We forget that we have a team of people (even in an individual sport) that come alongside us and make what we do possible.  In my life, I have to acknowledge the need for others a little more than some might since my job depends on the sponsorship of friends.  However, even so, when things get tough, my natural tendency is to try to tough it out on my own.  I think we all tend to do that.  When life gets rough, we try to figure out how to fix it.  Often that means that we push our team away and try to get things figured out before we reach out to our team again.  

However, the more I think about it, the more I think we are called to something completely different.  I think we are called to live life in community.  It is in those hard times, when I want to pull away from everyone,  that the best thing I can do is remember that I have a team of people surrounding me.  

I also think about how Olympic athletes have a group of people scrutinizing them and being honest with them about their mistakes in order to make them better.  We expect this from athletes, but often when it comes to our personal life, we want to hide our failures and our shortcomings.  Why do we have different standards for athletes?  Why do we recognize that growing and getting stronger requires recognizing where we struggle when it comes to them, but not when it comes to us?  Why do we think we can do it alone?  This challenges me to be more of a person that invites people into my life to live every aspect of my life with me. 

The other night as I was watching team gymnastics, I recognized one other way in which I often live differently than an athlete.  In the team competition only the best three individuals get to compete in each event.  Team members have to rely on each other in areas of their own weakness, even though compared to me they are all amazingly gifted in even their weakest areas.  Why do we want to be good at everything?  Why don't we want to admit that someone has a gifting in something that we don't have?  

These are the things I have been trying to implement in my life.  I want to live in community in a way that causes my reliance on others.  This goes against my natural reaction to life, but the more I chose to rely on others, the richer my life becomes.  

I also realize how blessed I am to have such a large team of people living life with me, from those that have known me a long time to those that I am just meeting.  I have a wonderful support system here in Taraz of friends and family that have been here for me for nine years.  I have people encouraging me from the all over the world.  I also have a team of people sponsoring my work here.  Thank you for being part of my team and helping me to live a richer life!  

Thankfulness

I figured it was time for another chance to just list some things I am thankful for.  So much has been going on and I sometimes have the tendency to forget the many ways I have been blessed.  I thought I'd share them with you in case they might provide you with some encouragement.  

• Time in Almaty with a a good friend!
• Canasta playing
• The chance to have deep conversations about life
• A safe and nice apartment to live in
• Work that I can get behind 100%
• An air conditioner in my bedroom
• A washing machine that works when I employ the tricks I have learned
• Time with friends in the mountains
• The times when a choice in attitude produces a great day
• A car with 4WD to get around town and cart people and things 
• People who come all the way over here for a few weeks/months at a time to build into lives
• The book "Love Does" and its encouragement to me this week
• Medication that can help with allergies and asthma
• Overall good health
• Indoor plumbing
• Windows with screens
• Text messages from friends
• A great staff that I get to work with
• The mountains that I see each day
• Friends and family that support me
• People that ask the hard questions and want answers
• The chance to sleep in
• A train with air conditioning on a 95 degree day
• Encouraging emails
• A shared train room with a woman and her small children
• The manholes without covers that I have not driven my car into
• The train conductor who had never met an American before and was thrilled
• Finding good deals while shopping for souvenirs
• The ability to buy bacon in Almaty
• Surprises
• Safe taxi drivers
• A refrigerator covered with pictures of friends from all over the world
• The joy on a person's face when they meet me for the first time and realize I speak Kazakh

There are so many more, but these are the things that come to mind immediately.  I hope each of you is able to be encouraged by the small blessings that come your way throughout each day!