Everyone is well - just tired. The ladies went to visit Sevince this morning while Jim and Logan cooked up hamburger helper and mac and cheese for the students. The guys will go finish the fence at the children's home this afternoon while we stay here to do English class. The students have LOVED the hot popcorn - our biggest hit. We also had jello for them today with the mac and cheese, but they say you don't eat something cold when it is cold outside. We will have dolma for dinner tonight which is much better than mac and cheese!! We will go to language classes at S&P this evening before dinner.
It was cold and rainy yesterday, but even colder and more rain today so we are looking forward to the warm weather at home. The high here today is 7 degrees Centigrade - you'll have to do the conversion as I don't have it in my head - just know it is bone chilling cold. The streets run with muddy water when it is raining so we are becoming good puddle jumpers too! The people have been so gracious and we have really enjoyed being here. Bonnie and I are staying with a lady who is working here at CARD. She is a magnificent hostess - she won't even let me sweep the floor. Mallory will be staying with her for the month she is here. We leave tomorrow about 11:00 to begin the drive back to Baku. It is about six hours as the road is still under construction. You might think of us during that time - our driver is very good but it is a very long trip. We then will spend a portion of the night in Baku - leaving the hotel at 4:30 am to go to the airport. Thanks so much for all your support. See you soon!
Mary Ann
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Central Asia VIM Update, Monday, April 26, 2010
Greetings!
We arrived safely to Baku on Friday and spent a lovely day Saturday touring a bit of the city and even had some traditional Azeri food. We also met up with local American friends Ryan and Amy and their three lovely young children Jacob, Jadyn, and Jasmine. The family is doing well and is adjusting to life in Baku nicely, though they had some fun stories to share about learning to live in a foreign country without a Costco and other such daily amenities that we often take for granted. On Sunday morning we left for a long ride on the bus! From what Jim and Mary Ann told us about previous commutes, ours involved much more paved road as the highway is closer to being completed. Nonetheless, we were so grateful to arrive at Neil and Lucy's where we had a chance to relax and eat a delicious dinner they had prepared for us and meet their adorable 10 month old daughter, Annabelle. After getting acquainted with our hosts, we adjourned for sleep in preparation for a busy and exciting week.
Monday morning we all visited the Psychiatric Hospital which was truly a moving experience, to say the least. After touring the grounds, it was painfully clear that the facility is in far worse shape than any we have seen in the United States. That being said, there were several bright spots including the new windows provided by fundraising from Asbury that prevented hypothermia in the cold winter months. We spent most of our time in the art room admiring some stunning works created by the patients, yet most evident was their sheer joy at having visitors. The women especially enjoyed posing for pictures with their newfound friends. After the hospital visit, we walked back to our host humanitarian organization, CARD, and toured their site. Students were hard at work in classes ranging from woodworking, cooking, rug-weaving, computers, and English language. With every administrator we met, the endless enthusiasm for their work and their kids spoke of G’s love.
In the afternoon, the ladies and gents split up to different projects. The ladies participated in a cooking class with a couple of the female students at CARD. Since the girls in the town are very unfamiliar with baking and American food, we thought it would be fun to introduce them to some Yankee favorites while we are here. During this class we made two yummy batches of cookies. First, we made gingersnaps where the girls had a blast learning to sift flower and wrinkled their noses at the thought of tasting the raw batter. We also made a batch of thumbprint cookies where the girls had their very first lesson on separating eggs, quite the challenge for even the most seasoned of cooks! The girls seemed to truly enjoy taking the raw ingredients and turning them into a delicious treat and it was such a pleasure to watch the joy of achievement and smiles on their faces when they were praised. On the other hand, the men began day one of the project to build a fence for the garden at a local orphanage. The garden is directly next to their basketball court, so in the past all sorts of balls have kept the garden from reaching its full potential. With our goal in mind, we began by digging holes for our fence posts and fixing them in cement without such conveniences as a post-hole digger, which is quite a feat given the rocky Azeri soil that even broke one of our shovels! The children were eager and excited to help us with our task, and hopefully when we are done they will have a beautiful garden to tend and watch bloom, quite the metaphor for their own lives in G's beautiful and consistent presence and love. We finished the night with a traditional Azeri meal and some share time before heading off to restful sleep before starting again on the L's work come morning!
Jim, Mary Ann, Bonnie, Stephanie, and Logan
We arrived safely to Baku on Friday and spent a lovely day Saturday touring a bit of the city and even had some traditional Azeri food. We also met up with local American friends Ryan and Amy and their three lovely young children Jacob, Jadyn, and Jasmine. The family is doing well and is adjusting to life in Baku nicely, though they had some fun stories to share about learning to live in a foreign country without a Costco and other such daily amenities that we often take for granted. On Sunday morning we left for a long ride on the bus! From what Jim and Mary Ann told us about previous commutes, ours involved much more paved road as the highway is closer to being completed. Nonetheless, we were so grateful to arrive at Neil and Lucy's where we had a chance to relax and eat a delicious dinner they had prepared for us and meet their adorable 10 month old daughter, Annabelle. After getting acquainted with our hosts, we adjourned for sleep in preparation for a busy and exciting week.
Monday morning we all visited the Psychiatric Hospital which was truly a moving experience, to say the least. After touring the grounds, it was painfully clear that the facility is in far worse shape than any we have seen in the United States. That being said, there were several bright spots including the new windows provided by fundraising from Asbury that prevented hypothermia in the cold winter months. We spent most of our time in the art room admiring some stunning works created by the patients, yet most evident was their sheer joy at having visitors. The women especially enjoyed posing for pictures with their newfound friends. After the hospital visit, we walked back to our host humanitarian organization, CARD, and toured their site. Students were hard at work in classes ranging from woodworking, cooking, rug-weaving, computers, and English language. With every administrator we met, the endless enthusiasm for their work and their kids spoke of G’s love.
In the afternoon, the ladies and gents split up to different projects. The ladies participated in a cooking class with a couple of the female students at CARD. Since the girls in the town are very unfamiliar with baking and American food, we thought it would be fun to introduce them to some Yankee favorites while we are here. During this class we made two yummy batches of cookies. First, we made gingersnaps where the girls had a blast learning to sift flower and wrinkled their noses at the thought of tasting the raw batter. We also made a batch of thumbprint cookies where the girls had their very first lesson on separating eggs, quite the challenge for even the most seasoned of cooks! The girls seemed to truly enjoy taking the raw ingredients and turning them into a delicious treat and it was such a pleasure to watch the joy of achievement and smiles on their faces when they were praised. On the other hand, the men began day one of the project to build a fence for the garden at a local orphanage. The garden is directly next to their basketball court, so in the past all sorts of balls have kept the garden from reaching its full potential. With our goal in mind, we began by digging holes for our fence posts and fixing them in cement without such conveniences as a post-hole digger, which is quite a feat given the rocky Azeri soil that even broke one of our shovels! The children were eager and excited to help us with our task, and hopefully when we are done they will have a beautiful garden to tend and watch bloom, quite the metaphor for their own lives in G's beautiful and consistent presence and love. We finished the night with a traditional Azeri meal and some share time before heading off to restful sleep before starting again on the L's work come morning!
Jim, Mary Ann, Bonnie, Stephanie, and Logan
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Central Asia VIM Update, Saturday, April 24, 2010
We arrived without any delays or luggage problems – PTL! A good night’s sleep was welcome but we are all fading this afternoon. It is extremely windy here so walkiung around is not much fun. We met with Ryan and Amy for conversations and then lunch. Their three children were real troupers as we walked quite a distance. They collected all their “gifts” and headed back home. Greetings to all.
Mary Ann Smith
Mary Ann Smith
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