The senior couple in Almaty, Elder and Sister McClelland took us to a little town outside of Almaty called Talgar. There are some orphanages there that we wanted to visit.
The first place is run by a Father Guido from Italy. The name of the camp here is "The Ark." He has taken over a former Soviet youth summer camp and converted the buildings to be livable in the winter. He makes it feel like a home to these young orphans.
Some recycled tire art
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| Some kids in their "home" |
They are allowed to decorate their home and rooms however they want to. Some art students come from the college to help with their art projects. They keep their rooms very neat and tidy.
This young man is severely handicapped, but is an artist. He told us about the painting of the tree. He said he had a dream about it and wanted to paint it. The wall in the back of the tree is supposed to represent the wall of Jerusalem.
His version of the Tree of Life!
Father Guido and the McClellands are admiring his art work. They will sell it at the bazaar so he can earn some money.
The school's dining room. They sleep in separate homes, but they all eat together.
A few more rooms and crafts that this school has.
This school even has a dentist that comes from time to time for the children here as well as to help others in the community. They are very well organized and supported by other organizations.
The other orphanage is called Wholesome Family Children's House. The church provided a new stove to this organization in the beginning of this year. Some boys were excited to have their photo taken when we arrived.
We were going on a tour of their facility. We saw the library. The director had been a literature teacher for many years before she retired to run this organization.
Then we went to see the kitchen, and they had prepared a lovely lunch for us! And, insisted that we eat. A lot! When we were full and thought we were finished, they brought out plates with more food for us! They are lovely, hospitable people!
Then we finally got to tour the kitchen. I thought they use the bathtub to wash their dishes, but they said that would be silly! It has filtered water. I'm guessing it is to wash their food to prepare for cooking.
This is the dishwasher!
The dorm rooms have 10 to 12 beds to a room. They are only for sleeping. "Big Mama" made that very clear to us. She said they need new bedding and closets for their clothes and things.
These girls look so cute in their school uniforms.
So, where do they shower? In the shed across the parking lot behind the garden!
This is my friend Timulon. He is learning English too. He was happy to hear that I would show his photos to my friends in the United States.
The school has a little clinic for the children
As we were leaving, we noticed that they were slaughtering a goat.
We stopped at a produce stand on the way back to Almaty.
Many people have noticed that Almaty resembles Salt Lake City a bit, but the mountains are on the wrong side of the city.
This is our hotel, The Mercury. It is like an oasis, safe and secluded. This is a big bed or dining area outside.
Here are a few of the native costumes at a museum of Ethnography. All of the "stans" have their own styles and designs on their clothing. Tajikistan has very bright colors in their clothing.
Musical instruments, heavy winter socks and gloves, tapestries, jewelery and interesting hats. Tajikistan lacks the natural resources like oil found in other countries, but they do have some beautiful gem stones.
Love this baby cradle
The Tajik flag. This flag pole is supposed to be the tallest in the world. And some federal buildings surrounding a park.
Alan and George Bennett, the leader of our team.
This girl was especially lovely. Out with her boyfriend.
More lovely young ladies.
On Sunday we were invited to the home of an LDS family that lives in Tajikistan. Their oldest son is the only Aaronic priestholder in the country. We definitely increased their attendance this week. It was a very sweet experience. One of our translators lives in Bishkek, Kygyrstan. There are a few female members there, but they don't get to have the sacrament very often. It made me feel like we are in the center of Zion in Astana!
Sister Elaine from church (whose husband also works at the embassy) showed us around town a bit after one day of our training. We visited a sewing factory that had once been run by the Soviets. The women here are refugees from Afghanistan. Elaine's friend (above) has started this group to teach the women some marketable skills so they can earn money and have dignity from working. They make amazing table runners, place mats, aprons, etc with fabric with a Tajiki design. And Elaine is teaching them English.
