Kyrgyzstan

A story of hope from Kant, Kyrgyzstan

Story and photo courtesy of Sue Pfeil (pictured), missionary.

April 20, 2007

This little guy is Victor and he is three years old, going on 12. His father died of TB and his mother, who is 36 years old, is dying of breast cancer. He has a 17 year old sister and a 7 or 8 year old brother. A relative brought him to the orphanage because there is no one to care for him. His mother recently signed all papers for him to become a ward of the state as she is close to going to her heavenly home. She wanted him to be baptized, so he was!

The story doesn't end. Victor has a hole in his heart, not just an emotional one with his family's problems, but an actual physical one. He needs an operation to repair it. Gulnara, our office doctor, has helped many others who needed medical help, but she said this one really spoke to her. She contacted a classmate of hers at the Children's Hospital.

The hospital agreed to perform the surgery without charge, except for the medications needed before the surgery and an 'oxygenator' (needed during surgery), which had a price tag of $600. And we thought, ok, we can help with the $50 or so for the meds, but where would we find the $600?

Gulnara talked with the Chief Doctor of the Children's Hospital and since he knows of our work in Kyrgyzstan, waived the $600 if we could help the hospital with some humanitarian aid, such as blankets, sheets and pillows and other second-hand medical supplies. Praise the Lord for all the Orphan Grain Train supplies many of you have sent! Victor will have his surgery sometime in the next couple of months when they think he is strong enough and we pray he will live to be 12 and beyond!

Orphan Grain Train's 1,000th shipment

Photo Gallery (updated Nov. 15, 2005 - The shipment has arrived!)

Last August, when Orphan Grain Train’s Faythe Jaroska started listing shipments for September 2005, she realized the 1,000th shipment in Orphan Grain Train’s history would be sent to Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia. This was exciting because the Nickels, a missionary family from Kyrgyzstan, were already scheduled to visit Norfolk on September 7th!

“How wonderful it would be if they could see that shipment packed while they’re here to see us in Norfolk,” Faythe thought, and called a quick meeting of others in the office to make sure the necessary details were in order to make this event happen.

Then, in late August, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. By September 3rd, shipments began leaving Orphan Grain Train warehouses for Louisiana and Mississippi, and the “normal” count of shipments was not a top priority.

September 7th came and so did Tim and Rita Nickel, right on schedule. With them was their Iowa host, Mr. Gary Thies, mission developer for the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Rather than re-number all the shipments, it was decided to keep the celebration as originally planned and to enjoy the day as it was originally hoped.

Orphan Grain Train shipments to Kyrgyzstan began in the late 1990’s, soon after Orphan Grain Train transported a 53-foot mobile hospital tractor-trailer to the country. This mobile hospital unit makes a circuit of villages that have had no established medical care since the collapse of the old Soviet system in 1991.

Sue Pfeil (at left) hosted the visit of Mrs. Nola and Dr. Gary Treece when they visited Kyrgyzstan in August 2003. They are seen standing in front of the mobile hospital.

The humanitarian medical outreach to these villages is something the Kyrgyz people have responded to with great joy. The mobile unit is staffed by interns from the University of Wisconsin Medical School at Madison, Wis., who make a staff rotation throughout the seasons of the year. Supplies for the clinic are sent from several Orphan Grain Train warehouses each year, including Norfolk. The constancy of this on-going effort, year-in and year-out, made the “1,000th shipment” a celebration of the long-term partnership of Orphan Grain Train, the University of Wisconsin Medical School, and LCMS World Mission in Kyrgyzstan.

Click here to learn more about Kyrgyzstan at Wikipedia.org.