Cookbooks are in!

The cookbooks are in and they look great! There are over 200 family favorite recipes as well as Kazakh recipes included in this cookbook. They are $17 (shipping included) and will make a great gift for anyone on your holiday shopping list! Order soon to guarantee Christmas delivery.

All proceeds from the cookbooks go towards our continued efforts to bring HOPE to the orphans in Kazakhstan. Now that Kazakhstan is closed to international adoption we are needed more than ever.

http://www.twoheartsforhope.org/shop.html

Lada update

Lada's Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) was closed by a procedure known as cardiac catheterization*. When she went in for surgery the doctors thought the hole was only 1.5 cm but upon seeing the defect they realized it was 2.5. The doctors told Lada's parents that without this surgery she probably would have not made it much longer. She should live a normal full life now.

*Cardiac Catheterization ~ A flexible tube (a catheter) is inserted into a blood vessel in the leg that leads to the heart. A cardiologist guides the tube into the heart to make measurements of blood flow, pressure, and oxygen levels in the heart chambers. A special implant, shaped into two disks formed of flexible wire mesh, can be positioned into the hole in the septum. The device is designed to flatten against the septum on both sides to close and permanently seal the VSD.

Thank you so much to all who supported Lada through donations and prayers! You truly saved a life.

Lada and her dad on the train to Almaty

The hospital in Moscow

Pre-op check up

Cards of support, prayers and well wishes

Post-op

Ready to go home

Ornament

Our 2010 Christmas ornaments are in!

This ornament is the second in our continuing Christmas series and features a sketch of the playground we built this year at the Children's Home in Almaty City. It is 2 1/2'' in diameter, custom pewter, hand sculpted with satin pewter finish, and has a red ribbon! Cost is $20 (includes shipping) and will make the perfect holiday gift for anyone in your life! Give as a gift and we will enclose a note card stating a donation has been made in honor of the recipient. All proceeds will go towards our continued efforts in Kazakhstan.

Quantity limited to 100 ornaments. Get yours before they are gone!

You can purchase the ornaments from our online shop by clicking here!

2011 Cherished Children calendar

Our 2011 calendar is in the final stages of being printed and it is beautiful! Once again Ann Hochstetler did a fantastic job creating it and we thank her very much!

To pre-order your calendar and to guarantee holiday delivery please visit our shop today and place your order!



http://www.twoheartsforhope.org/shop.html

Shelek - 13 regions reached!

We were contacted by a representative from an orphanage in the region of Shelek, Kazakhstan, about 100 miles north of Almaty. She informed us of the overwhelming need facing the 47 mostly special needs children at this orphanage. Hardly any adoptions are ever done from this orphanage and because it is so small, it is often overlooked by the government. It truly has no support. In addition to lacking basic necessities for the children, they also have no toys or games. We were able to purchase a new refrigerator, washing machine, snow suits, clothes, diapers and toys/games. We look forward to continuing our support of this orphanage in the future.





Also this month we were able to purchase snow suits and clothes for the orphanage in Taldy Korgan! It is very exciting to see how the Lord is using us to touch these lives!

Word from Moscow

Lada is in Moscow now and made the flight extremely well. She needed to undergo more tests so the surgery was pushed back. Here is an email we received from our Kaz contact:

"In Kaz they were told that a cut is necessary from the back now. But Moscow doctors say it may be a new technology surgery without opening a chest. The commission is supposed to make a conclusion about the type of treatment and surgery. They are staying in a rented apt as every day they come to hospital for examination. Lada can be put in hospital only for serious manipulations. We all pray for her and when the conclusion is ready, I'll inform you."

Thank you for continuing to pray for Lada.

Tuesday

We received word this morning that Lada and her family are in Almaty. They will leave for Moscow tomorrow and she will have surgery on Tuesday.

Please remember to keep this little girl in your prayers.

Thank you to all who supported her!

Lada update

Lada's surgery has been scheduled for October 26th in Moscow!

A GREAT Success!

Our first annual Walk for Kaz was a great success!

Our goal for the walk was to raise money to put towards the $10,000 we need for the 100 Beds for Sleepyheads Campaign. With the help of the 104 registrants and sponsors, Walk for Kaz raised $10,123.28! We are overwhelmed, shocked, amazed and genuinely thankful that we will be able to purchase 100 new beds and 100 new mattresses for the children at the Ulan Orphanage in Taraz, Kazakhstan!

The weather was great, the families were wonderful and everyone had a blast! Please "like" Walk for Kaz on facebook to see some pictures!

Congratulations and thank you to the following winners:

~ Team Kazmanian Devils for raising the most money ($3831.25), having the most team spirit and the most members!

~ Joanne Morley of NY for raising the most money for an individual, $1795!

~ Nick Kitzman of KY for raising the most money for a child, $876.25!

~ Lory Printy of OH for the fastest finish with a stroller!

~ David Prud'homme, Angela Reinoehl and Michele Torre for placing 1st, 2nd and 3rd!

A sincere and heartfelt thank you to Alaina Falk and family, Ann Hochstetler and family, Gretchen Bilbro and family and our many sponsors and volunteers for putting on this great event!

Blessings,

Kim and Stacy

Walk for Kaz

In 11 days 92 walkers will take to Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis to raise awareness and money for the orphans in Kazakhstan. Please consider being part of the fun!

The schedule of events are as follows:

Friday, September 24th:

~6:30-8:30 pm: "Meet and Mingle" pizza party at the Clarion Hotel. This is a separate fee of $8 per adult, $4 per child. Pizza party is optional but is great way to meet the other families walking for Kaz.

Saturday, September 25th:

~8:30 am: Registration begins. A registration table will be set up for check in and to pick up bags.

~9:30 am: Walk begins

~11:30 am: Family fun! Including lunch, bounce house, face painting! There is also a playground on site! Prizes will be handed out for the largest team, most team spirit, best decorated stroller or wagon, and most money raised by a team, individual or child.

Families and individuals can register up until 9:30 am on 9/25. Cost for the event is $20 per person or $50 per family (up to 6 members). Children under 2 are free. For each additional family member there will be a charge of $5. Lunch will be provided only to those that register.

Check out Walk for Kaz and register today!

More photos

New toothpaste and toothbrushes for the older children

Second floor installations complete

New pipes and faucets installed

2011 Cherished Children

WE HAVE REACHED 75 CHILDREN. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Please check back in December to purchase your copy of this great calendar.

If you have any questions please let us know. photos@twoheartsforhope.org

All the proceeds from our 2011 calendar will go to our 100 Beds for Sleepyheads campaign.

Update on Lada

Lada will have surgery in Moscow at the A.N. Bakulev Research Center for Cardiovascular Surgery. Her parents chose to continue using her Russian doctor who has performed Lada's two previous surgeries. The appointment will be made in the next two weeks at which point we will wire the donation money directly to an account set up in Lada's name at the hospital. Your donations have also allowed us to bless Lada and her family with plane tickets and a room at the hospital hotel for the duration of her stay in Moscow.

We are still continuing to pray her surgery will be done late fall/early winter!

Thank you again for supporting Lada!

Water filtration pictures

Here are some pictures of the systems that have already been installed. Pipes were replaced in two locations and two systems were installed last night, one in the cafeteria and one in the older children's area. Our team is working on replacing more pipes this weekend and will put more systems in on Tuesday.

We thought you might like to see some of the faces of the beautiful children at the Karakastek baby home who will now have clean water:

Water filtration update

This week our team in Kazakhstan began working on the water filtration systems for the Karakastek orphanage. When they started to drill the pipes were crumbling into dust and 6 faucets needed to be replaced. We decided that we needed to replace all of the pipes leading into the places that the water filters were being installed. The director has asked for government assistance to replace plumbing but have yet to receive it.

We are installing 8 systems:

- 3 on the baby floor, floor 3

- 4 on floor 2 where the older children live (bath, brush their teeth and drink)

- 1 larger unit in the cafeteria where they prepare all the food.

We were also asked to install 8 soap dispensers in the bathroom, one by each sink on the older children's floor. Right now the children are using laundry soap to wash their hands so of course we said yes to helping provide this basic necessity. In addition to the soap, each child received a new toothbrush and toothpaste.

Pictures of the progress coming soon!

2011 Cherished Children

We are now accepting photos for our 2011 calendar!

If you would like your child to be featured please send us ONE photo of your child along with the region he/she was adopted from by October 1st!

Photos need to be 90KB or higher.

In order to create the best possible calendar we are limited to 75 pictures. When we reach this limit we will stop accepting photos so ACT FAST!

Please send your child's photo to photos@twoheartsforhope.org

All the proceeds from our 2011 calendar will go to our 100 Beds for Sleepyheads campaign.

Goal reached!

A very heartfelt thank you to all who donated towards Lada's surgery! We have reached our goal and Lada will have surgery by the end of the year. Check back for updates!

Latte for Lada

Would you consider giving your morning coffee to save a life? Please consider donating $5 tomorrow, Monday August 23rd to help us reach our goal of providing Lada with a life saving heart surgery.

Our goal is to collect the funds by September 15th so she can have late fall/early winter surgery.

To read about her story, please click here!

We are only $670 away from our goal, help us reach it TODAY!

Deadline

Sunday is the last day to send in those family recipes for our cookbook!

If you are interested in being included please send ONE or TWO of your favorite family recipes with the following information by August 15th!

- Name
- State you live in
- Name of children
- Region your Kazakh cutie was adopted from
- The date your adoption was finalized


Please send recipe(s) to recipes@twoheartsforhope.org.

Our 2nd edition will feature more Kazakh recipes along with great family recipes!

Thank you for your support!

Mission Trip 2011

Who
Those who are interested and willing to make a difference in the lives of orphans by carrying out God’s will. All members of the team should have a flexible attitude and be ready for some good old fashion hard work while also understanding that this will be a very emotional trip. We only have 8 spots for this trip and will not hold any. Members will be taken on a “first come, first serve” basis.

What
A mission trip to Taraz, Kazakhstan to build and replace 100 beds and mattresses.

When
Friday, September 23, 2011 – Sunday, October 2, 2011

Where
Ulan Children’s Home in Taraz, Kazakhstan. The orphanage is home to 100 kids, ages 4-16

Why
We were asked to complete this project because most of the bed frames are broken and the mattresses are falling apart. They are very old and have not been replaced in many years. The orphanage has been trying to replace them since 2006.

How
In order to get to Kazakhstan, we need to supply the beds. Please consider making a donation towards our "100 beds for sleepyheads" campaign.

Cost
The cost of the trip will be $3500 per person. The cost includes airfare from your nearest international* airport, train ticket from Almaty to Taraz, lodging, driver/translator, insurance, food within Kazakhstan, and travel visas. All donations made towards your trip are tax-deductible within the guidelines given by the IRS.

Schedule of fees
A $1000 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your spot and is due by February 1, 2011.

Your balance will be due by June 1, 2011.
A person is not considered a part of the trip until the deposit has been made.

*You are responsible for purchasing a ticket on any domestic flight you would need to reach the International airport.
To request an information packet or if you have any questions, please email Kim at kim@twoheartsforhope.org.