At the beginning of January 2010, we, clients of Astana Hesed, went to Zhumbaktas resort located at the Shuchie Lake shore. We express our sincere gratitude to Joint, President of Mitsva Association Alexander Baron, Astana Hesed Director Elena Levina, and our sponsors from Astana. This trip would have been impossible without these people.

We had a wonderful time at the resort; it was like a real miracle in our lives! We are elderly people and we understand that we should accept with gratitude the warmth and care given to us, and we should love our age. It is well known that the older the person gets, the more he feels that his life is a short past. How wonderful it was to socialize with our eldest person - Lyubov Leibovna Monastyrskaya. When we are looking at this nice woman we forget about our age and that she is already over 85 years old. It is amazing how she loves life and takes joy in every new day! Together we were going for long walks to the lake and to the forest. The pine trees air was wonderful to breath.

Our fastest team - Lilya Kirson, Albina Olhovskaya, Lyudmila Tsymbalyuk, managed to make several kilometers walks 3-4 times a day. In the evenings we shared our impressions of the day, what we had seen and heard in this fairy place. We will never forget how we met the timid roedeers, hiding behind buckthorns bushes, and cautious marals. This seemed to be a miracle.

Our positive impressions are also due to the great health care procedures: thermo and aroma therapy, mud treatment, massage. For those who practice kumys treatment, there was always fresh kumys available.

Everybody, adults and children, will particularly remember Shabbat conducted in the "new house". Our large family has done everything according to the tradition - lighting candles, blessing on wine and bread, holiday table, greetings to each other. There was a lot of fun. Every day we had quizzes, competitions, KVNs to select the best connoisseur of traditions, holidays, Jewish attributes. Many questions were about Jewish Saturday, its meaning and importance of Shabbat prayer. The strict jury, Tatyana Isayeva, Lyubov Monastyrskaya, and Lilya Kirzon, helped us learn the tradition of Shabbat.

Our wonderful time in "Zhumbaktas - Magic Stone" Resort has finished. It is time to go back home. We would like once again from all of our hearts to thank the people who made our vacation possible and so good. Special thanks to the coordinators of our cheerful mixed-age group - Hesed Director Elena Levina and Director of Social Programs Oksana Baetova, who were always with us.

Lyudmila Tsymbalyuk