September 28, 2009
Prayer meetings are often a weekly occurrence in the US. The church usually has a fraction of its members come to an hour of prayer, often on Sunday or Wednesday nights. But here, prayer services are daily, around what we would consider lunch time, and go for about an hour each. It’s kind of neat; there are guys there on break from work, women, some kids, etc. We start at 11 and usually go till about 12. Today, though, Chloe and I found out it was a special prayer service.
Right after breakfast (around 9:45), the girls enlightened us to the fact that we were going to church for a special service at 10. Well, by 10, they meant 11. But, Chloe and I had no idea, so we walked over there, only to sit in the church till 11. To be honest, I was ready for a nap! Eating straight carbs for breakfast (and dinner for that matter) leads to a big ol’ crash about 2 hours after breakfast! I suppose I’ll get used to it :). But, around 11:15, right before the praise band started playing, Uncle walked over to us and told us that he wanted us to do “Sunday School” with the kids as they would be distracting after the worship part of the service. Thankfully, he brought colors and paper with him for us to use!
So the praise band played for about 35 minutes, then we prayed and Uncle sent us downstairs with the kiddos! Well, the Nepali woman who came down with us asked, “what are we teaching the children today?” Chloe and I looked at each other, and she jumped right in and asked, “Does anyone know the story of Noah and the Ark?!” A couple of kids started wrestling for mic time, telling about the animals, the boat, the rain, the branch, etc in turn. Glad that they knew what she was talking about, she said, “Ok. Let’s draw pictures from the story!” So, the kids who understood English jumped to it, and those who didn’t watched those who did and quickly figured out that we were making rainbow animals dancing around on multi-colored boats. Not entirely sure they understood the Biblical background, but they enjoyed the colors :).
So, about 10 minutes later, the boys were finished and beginning to wrestle and pinch and hit and cause no end of commotion. So, Chloe, used to this thinking on her feet thing, said “Let’s make paper airplanes!” A FANTASTIC idea. So, they made them (that alone took like 15 minutes, showing each of them how to do it), and she took them outside while the girls and I continued to color. A few minutes later, they came jostling back in, with semi-crushed planes and laughter in tow.
We asked some of the older girls who had come downstairs if they were almost finished upstairs, since we were now pushing 12:30. “No, they’re still praying upstairs.” Well, we were both very thankful that they were so diligently praying, but we were running out of ideas of what to do with 10 children for an unknown amount of time. Seeing as how the planes seemed to be a hit (and took them a long time to learn) I jumped in and showed those interested how to make an Origami star box. This took about 20 minutes, and then we decorated them all bright like the Ark. The boys quickly realized, hey, we can use these as flying UFOs, so soon colors were swirling through the air as the boxes flew between boys. Unfortunately, the amazingness of the boxes wore off as well, and we were back to slapping, pinching, and yelling.
So, when you’ve got nothing else to do, Duck-Duck-Goose (played on your knees; running was just not an option!) is a great solution, and this game brought much laughter and occupied them for probably another 45 minutes. By that time, my knees and back were “paining” me (as the kids would say!), so I said, let’s play ANOTHER game. “Down by the banks” was my solution, and to my dismay, the kids didn’t have a song to sing in Nepali while we went around the circle slapping hands. They rather enjoyed the game though, so Chloe again had the brilliant solution of counting to ten at the end of the song, so the kids would know that if their hand got slapped on 10, they were out! They loved it, and I don’t think I’ve ever had to sing that song so many times in a row. The kids still didn’t know the song, but wanted me to sing it, so over and over and over again I sang, and then they’d count to 10. This went for another 45 minutes (they have incredibly long attention spans for ridiculous games!), and then we were relieved to find the adults had finished. This was around 3, and we had an afternoon snack at the church. Although it was a loud and sometimes a little stressful afternoon with the kids (mainly due to the short notice!), it ended up rather enjoyable, and I made some little friends :). I guess I’ll be more ready for “Sunday School” each week now!
Monday, September 28, 2009
YOU explain free will to a 14 year old Nepali!
September 27, 2009
The Garden of Eden. Such a complicated and yet simple story. You have God, you have man, you have woman. Oh yeah, and that devilish snake enticing mankind to turn on their maker and creator. I understand temptation, yes, but temptation coming from a snake?! Maybe that’s why they’re so often despised and feared... Anyway, Laxuman looked at Chloe and I after dinner, and with a smile said, “Sister, I have a question.” Chloe, realizing what was coming, said “No no no, ask your other sister!” as she said to me, “Good luck explaining free will.” Sure enough, Laxuman said, “Sister, God knows everything that’s going to happen, right? So why did He put the tree and the snake in the garden? He knew that we would choose to sin!”
I have trouble with free will when talking with people from my church and Bible studies in the US; you can’t imagine the brain pain that went into explaining something I don’t fully understand to a 14 year old Nepali boy speaking English as a second language coming from a background of Hinduism! As confusing as that sentence was, I think my explanation was even more confusing for him. I tried to liken the fact that if God didn’t give us a choice, then we’d be like dolls, who go everywhere with God, but can’t really do anything on our own as we don’t have choice so how can we love God? He followed with me really well, surprisingly, but then he stated simply, “But sister, dolls aren’t alive. I am.” Analogy shot. So I kinda tried again, stumbling a bit here and there, but feeling a little better when he said, “Sister, it’s ok. My pastor and uncle Krishna can’t explain it to me either.” Chloe laughed and said, “When we get to heaven we’ll ask God, ok Laxuman?!” With a grin, he decided that for now that will have to work.
But our conversation didn’t end there. Then came, “Why did people choose to sin in the garden? They knew what God wanted, but they chose the fruit instead!” This one was a little easier. See, we’ve been fighting the battle of the motorcycle recently. There’s often a really old motorcycle parked in the house driveway, so when Uncle Krishna leaves, Laxuman will get a spoon or some other metal object and start the thing. Don’t ask me how. But waiting until Uncle leaves is key. Because, naturally, Uncle does not want a 14 year old boy playing on an old motorcycle. And it’s been hard for me to explain just why that’s wrong to him, and how we should honor those in authority over us, as Uncle is our authority.
But with that question, God gave the perfect opportunity to dive into it! So, with a grin, I said, “Laxuman, why do you wait until Uncle leaves to ride the bike?” A small look of repentance mingled with a smile of excitement as he laughed, “Because Uncle does not want me to ride it!” “But you know it’s wrong to disobey, so why do you do it?” “Oh. Well, Uncle’s not God. He doesn’t know what I’m doing.” Chloe then stepped in, saying, “Well if I kill someone, but don’t tell anyone, have I still done a bad thing?!” Sheepishly, seeing where this was going, Laxuman said, “Yes, I guess so.” She continued, “So if you’re not supposed to ride the bike without asking Uncle, and you do, but he never finds out, have you still disobeyed him?” “But Sister!” Stepping in, I added “No buts Laxuman! I imagine the same reasons you choose to ride the bike helped lead Adam and Eve to sin.” With a sigh, he accepted the answer. I don’t know how deeply it sunk in; he surprised me with the depth of his free will question, but he is still a 14 year old boy, so I won’t be too surprised if tomorrow I hear the bike roar a few minutes after Uncle leaves :).
The Garden of Eden. Such a complicated and yet simple story. You have God, you have man, you have woman. Oh yeah, and that devilish snake enticing mankind to turn on their maker and creator. I understand temptation, yes, but temptation coming from a snake?! Maybe that’s why they’re so often despised and feared... Anyway, Laxuman looked at Chloe and I after dinner, and with a smile said, “Sister, I have a question.” Chloe, realizing what was coming, said “No no no, ask your other sister!” as she said to me, “Good luck explaining free will.” Sure enough, Laxuman said, “Sister, God knows everything that’s going to happen, right? So why did He put the tree and the snake in the garden? He knew that we would choose to sin!”
I have trouble with free will when talking with people from my church and Bible studies in the US; you can’t imagine the brain pain that went into explaining something I don’t fully understand to a 14 year old Nepali boy speaking English as a second language coming from a background of Hinduism! As confusing as that sentence was, I think my explanation was even more confusing for him. I tried to liken the fact that if God didn’t give us a choice, then we’d be like dolls, who go everywhere with God, but can’t really do anything on our own as we don’t have choice so how can we love God? He followed with me really well, surprisingly, but then he stated simply, “But sister, dolls aren’t alive. I am.” Analogy shot. So I kinda tried again, stumbling a bit here and there, but feeling a little better when he said, “Sister, it’s ok. My pastor and uncle Krishna can’t explain it to me either.” Chloe laughed and said, “When we get to heaven we’ll ask God, ok Laxuman?!” With a grin, he decided that for now that will have to work.
But our conversation didn’t end there. Then came, “Why did people choose to sin in the garden? They knew what God wanted, but they chose the fruit instead!” This one was a little easier. See, we’ve been fighting the battle of the motorcycle recently. There’s often a really old motorcycle parked in the house driveway, so when Uncle Krishna leaves, Laxuman will get a spoon or some other metal object and start the thing. Don’t ask me how. But waiting until Uncle leaves is key. Because, naturally, Uncle does not want a 14 year old boy playing on an old motorcycle. And it’s been hard for me to explain just why that’s wrong to him, and how we should honor those in authority over us, as Uncle is our authority.
But with that question, God gave the perfect opportunity to dive into it! So, with a grin, I said, “Laxuman, why do you wait until Uncle leaves to ride the bike?” A small look of repentance mingled with a smile of excitement as he laughed, “Because Uncle does not want me to ride it!” “But you know it’s wrong to disobey, so why do you do it?” “Oh. Well, Uncle’s not God. He doesn’t know what I’m doing.” Chloe then stepped in, saying, “Well if I kill someone, but don’t tell anyone, have I still done a bad thing?!” Sheepishly, seeing where this was going, Laxuman said, “Yes, I guess so.” She continued, “So if you’re not supposed to ride the bike without asking Uncle, and you do, but he never finds out, have you still disobeyed him?” “But Sister!” Stepping in, I added “No buts Laxuman! I imagine the same reasons you choose to ride the bike helped lead Adam and Eve to sin.” With a sigh, he accepted the answer. I don’t know how deeply it sunk in; he surprised me with the depth of his free will question, but he is still a 14 year old boy, so I won’t be too surprised if tomorrow I hear the bike roar a few minutes after Uncle leaves :).
Mmmm... Give me some of that Red Meat!
September 27, 2009
“Everybody’s got a water buffalo; yours is fast and mine is slow...” Ok, well, maybe not everone has a water buffalo, but people do enjoy eating buffalo meat here. To start the adventure, Lauxman asked Chloe and I if we wanted to go with him to the butcher’s to buy some of this rare but coveted meat. And I was all game; I love buffalo in the US, so why not here, right?
Well, we walked down the street, past all the butchery’s I know and see on a daily basis, and turned onto a street I’ve never been down before. To my complete surprise (and the surprise of my stomache as well!), there, in a vacant plot of land, overgrown with weeds and overrun with wild dogs, we had set up the butcher’s shop. There was a random buffalo leg lying next to the road, and a huge (VERY unsanitary) blue tarp with over 30 piles of chopped buffalo meat, bones and all. Actually, I don’t know why that leg got left out; you eat everything here. Never mind. I don’t want to know what was so awful that even they wouldn’t eat that leg.
So, anyway, back to the piles of meat, bone, and other indiscernible pieces (I don’t know where the skin was... I didn’t ever see it)... on top of each pile was a small black bag, and Chloe and I decided it must contain the “choice” cuts of meat. And there was a man standing in the middle of the piles, smoking, and waving this stick as if to ward off the millions of flies dancing over their new find. He was losing his battle, badly! And all the while, the wild dogs were growling and fighting (real dog fights; not the Michael Vick kind. Real life, “you’ve got a bone and that’s the first bone I’ve seen in years” dog fight). So, when Lauxman finally got his 3 kg of meat for us to take home, I was more than happy to be off from that pristine butchery!
So, we get home, and Lauxman starts chopping the meat into small pieces, with the ease and skill of someone who’s done this hundreds of times before. In humor, he asked Chloe if she wanted a whack at it. She said she would, as long as we didn’t laugh at her with the knife (remember the whole chicken episode?!). We agreed with our fingers crossed, and she began chopping the meat. She wasn’t bad, really!
So, then, she finished the meat, and all that was left was in the little black bag. So, Lauxman asked me, and I said sure, why not. So, I look at the contents, and I knew I was looking at the stomach, but I wasn’t sure what everything else was... probably better, to be honest. So, he shows me how to hold the knife with my feet and rub the meat on the blade to cut it. I was pretty sure I was going to amputate my own finger with this method, but I tried it and did ok.
Pastor Krishna came home when I was about halfway through, and he laughed and said, “Oh, you bought a Hebuffalo!” In confusion, I said, what’s a “hebuffalo?” Looking for help in explaining from his wife and Chloe, his wife attempted to explain more clearly. “From what you’re cutting, it’s a son of a buffalo.” And I definitely thought I was cutting intestines. And my very city-slicker stomach turned a little funny, and suddenly the smell was overpowering. I just stopped and looked at them. And Pastor continued to laugh, and said “We don’t cut that until after we’ve boiled it.” Lauxman was laughing so hard, but he came to my rescue and grabbed all the meat to go boil it and clean it (well, I hope!)! So, I calmly got up, and went to the sink, and scrubbed my hands like they’ve never been scrubbed before. And today, I suppose I will eat the fruits of my labor, or would that be the meats of my labor?!
“Everybody’s got a water buffalo; yours is fast and mine is slow...” Ok, well, maybe not everone has a water buffalo, but people do enjoy eating buffalo meat here. To start the adventure, Lauxman asked Chloe and I if we wanted to go with him to the butcher’s to buy some of this rare but coveted meat. And I was all game; I love buffalo in the US, so why not here, right?
Well, we walked down the street, past all the butchery’s I know and see on a daily basis, and turned onto a street I’ve never been down before. To my complete surprise (and the surprise of my stomache as well!), there, in a vacant plot of land, overgrown with weeds and overrun with wild dogs, we had set up the butcher’s shop. There was a random buffalo leg lying next to the road, and a huge (VERY unsanitary) blue tarp with over 30 piles of chopped buffalo meat, bones and all. Actually, I don’t know why that leg got left out; you eat everything here. Never mind. I don’t want to know what was so awful that even they wouldn’t eat that leg.
So, anyway, back to the piles of meat, bone, and other indiscernible pieces (I don’t know where the skin was... I didn’t ever see it)... on top of each pile was a small black bag, and Chloe and I decided it must contain the “choice” cuts of meat. And there was a man standing in the middle of the piles, smoking, and waving this stick as if to ward off the millions of flies dancing over their new find. He was losing his battle, badly! And all the while, the wild dogs were growling and fighting (real dog fights; not the Michael Vick kind. Real life, “you’ve got a bone and that’s the first bone I’ve seen in years” dog fight). So, when Lauxman finally got his 3 kg of meat for us to take home, I was more than happy to be off from that pristine butchery!
So, we get home, and Lauxman starts chopping the meat into small pieces, with the ease and skill of someone who’s done this hundreds of times before. In humor, he asked Chloe if she wanted a whack at it. She said she would, as long as we didn’t laugh at her with the knife (remember the whole chicken episode?!). We agreed with our fingers crossed, and she began chopping the meat. She wasn’t bad, really!
So, then, she finished the meat, and all that was left was in the little black bag. So, Lauxman asked me, and I said sure, why not. So, I look at the contents, and I knew I was looking at the stomach, but I wasn’t sure what everything else was... probably better, to be honest. So, he shows me how to hold the knife with my feet and rub the meat on the blade to cut it. I was pretty sure I was going to amputate my own finger with this method, but I tried it and did ok.
Pastor Krishna came home when I was about halfway through, and he laughed and said, “Oh, you bought a Hebuffalo!” In confusion, I said, what’s a “hebuffalo?” Looking for help in explaining from his wife and Chloe, his wife attempted to explain more clearly. “From what you’re cutting, it’s a son of a buffalo.” And I definitely thought I was cutting intestines. And my very city-slicker stomach turned a little funny, and suddenly the smell was overpowering. I just stopped and looked at them. And Pastor continued to laugh, and said “We don’t cut that until after we’ve boiled it.” Lauxman was laughing so hard, but he came to my rescue and grabbed all the meat to go boil it and clean it (well, I hope!)! So, I calmly got up, and went to the sink, and scrubbed my hands like they’ve never been scrubbed before. And today, I suppose I will eat the fruits of my labor, or would that be the meats of my labor?!
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Beautiful Feet
September 26, 2009
Church in Nepal is something to behold. To start, the women sit on the left, the men sit on the right, and everyone sits on the floor. You leave your shoes at the door (as you do before entering any room!). And church is 2 to 3 hours long. Oh, and it’s on Saturday. Sunday is just another day here!
To start, we sing songs, many of which I recognized from the tune, but couldn’t quite remember the English words as they sang Nepali. This is sprinkled with prayer throughout, lasting up to an hour or so. As it was my first week and Chloe’s last week in the church, Pastor Krishna asked us to sing and play a song for church. No pressure, right? We sang How Great is Our God, one of the few overlaps in the songs Chloe sings in Australia and the ones I sing in America.
Then, there was a pastor visiting from Australia (of no relation to Chloe, though they live rather close in Australia) and he preached a sermon on “Beautiful Feet.” We started in 2 Kings 7:3-16, the story of the 4 Lepers sitting outside a besieged Samaria, contemplating whether it was better to starve as lepers in Samaria or to risk everything by seeking the kindness of the enemy camp, the Syrians. Now, understand that lepers were the bottom of society in Samaria. They were unclean, not to be touched, mocked, ridiculed, considered to be like dogs. Now, in Nepal, there is the Hindu Caste system, and in the past untouchables were the lowest caste in the system. Well, a new lowest caste has stepped up to the plate, and they are the Christians. For a devout Hindu, there is nothing lower than one who chooses to love and follow Jesus Christ and Him alone.
So, this story began to shape a new meaning, as I looked around me, and realized no longer was I in the America where “Christians” are everyday people. Rather, the people around me, myself included, are like the lepers in this story. We have no worth to many Hindus. But as the story went on, the parallels became incredibly beautiful. These 4 lepers decided to go out to the enemy camp, to try to find food to live another day. So they did, and to their great astonishment, God had driven the Syrians away in such a hurry that everything else was left- food, treasures, animals. So, they feasted, this probably being the first time in their lives that they ate so well, as they were the despised in Samaria and were restrained to begging for food at the city gates.
But after awhile, they realized, though they had discovered these riches and supplies, they could not wait until morning to share them with Samaria. So, they rushed back to the king and the very people who shunned them, and brought the life saving good news that God has provided food and supplies and their enemy has fled! As I listened, I began to see the reality of this story in the people around me. They are the shunned of their culture for choosing to follow one God, rather than hundreds of thousands of gods of wood and stone. Yet, they choose to continue to go to the very people who shun them and share the Good News that God has given life once again through His Son Jesus! In a very real way, they are modern day lepers bringing the hope of Salvation to a desperate and dying Samaria.
Isaiah 52:7 is the “theme” verse of the orphanage here; it states, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news...” It’s a verse that I’ve been claiming, and the pastor likened the lepers to those feet who bring good news. There’s a Christian rap song that I love called “Beautiful Feet” by Lecrae (you should Google the lyrics; they’re beautiful!). It’s a story of the desperate situation in America’s streets (and honestly in the world in general), but there is hope because “You hold the truth that saves so run and shout it to the world! They can’t believe in something they ain’t never heard so go, go, go with those beautiful feet!” So wherever you’re at, know that God has sent you out with anointed feet to share his Good News with everyone you encounter! Go, go, go with those beautiful feet :)
Church in Nepal is something to behold. To start, the women sit on the left, the men sit on the right, and everyone sits on the floor. You leave your shoes at the door (as you do before entering any room!). And church is 2 to 3 hours long. Oh, and it’s on Saturday. Sunday is just another day here!
To start, we sing songs, many of which I recognized from the tune, but couldn’t quite remember the English words as they sang Nepali. This is sprinkled with prayer throughout, lasting up to an hour or so. As it was my first week and Chloe’s last week in the church, Pastor Krishna asked us to sing and play a song for church. No pressure, right? We sang How Great is Our God, one of the few overlaps in the songs Chloe sings in Australia and the ones I sing in America.
Then, there was a pastor visiting from Australia (of no relation to Chloe, though they live rather close in Australia) and he preached a sermon on “Beautiful Feet.” We started in 2 Kings 7:3-16, the story of the 4 Lepers sitting outside a besieged Samaria, contemplating whether it was better to starve as lepers in Samaria or to risk everything by seeking the kindness of the enemy camp, the Syrians. Now, understand that lepers were the bottom of society in Samaria. They were unclean, not to be touched, mocked, ridiculed, considered to be like dogs. Now, in Nepal, there is the Hindu Caste system, and in the past untouchables were the lowest caste in the system. Well, a new lowest caste has stepped up to the plate, and they are the Christians. For a devout Hindu, there is nothing lower than one who chooses to love and follow Jesus Christ and Him alone.
So, this story began to shape a new meaning, as I looked around me, and realized no longer was I in the America where “Christians” are everyday people. Rather, the people around me, myself included, are like the lepers in this story. We have no worth to many Hindus. But as the story went on, the parallels became incredibly beautiful. These 4 lepers decided to go out to the enemy camp, to try to find food to live another day. So they did, and to their great astonishment, God had driven the Syrians away in such a hurry that everything else was left- food, treasures, animals. So, they feasted, this probably being the first time in their lives that they ate so well, as they were the despised in Samaria and were restrained to begging for food at the city gates.
But after awhile, they realized, though they had discovered these riches and supplies, they could not wait until morning to share them with Samaria. So, they rushed back to the king and the very people who shunned them, and brought the life saving good news that God has provided food and supplies and their enemy has fled! As I listened, I began to see the reality of this story in the people around me. They are the shunned of their culture for choosing to follow one God, rather than hundreds of thousands of gods of wood and stone. Yet, they choose to continue to go to the very people who shun them and share the Good News that God has given life once again through His Son Jesus! In a very real way, they are modern day lepers bringing the hope of Salvation to a desperate and dying Samaria.
Isaiah 52:7 is the “theme” verse of the orphanage here; it states, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news...” It’s a verse that I’ve been claiming, and the pastor likened the lepers to those feet who bring good news. There’s a Christian rap song that I love called “Beautiful Feet” by Lecrae (you should Google the lyrics; they’re beautiful!). It’s a story of the desperate situation in America’s streets (and honestly in the world in general), but there is hope because “You hold the truth that saves so run and shout it to the world! They can’t believe in something they ain’t never heard so go, go, go with those beautiful feet!” So wherever you’re at, know that God has sent you out with anointed feet to share his Good News with everyone you encounter! Go, go, go with those beautiful feet :)
A Trip to the Zoo and other fun Games!
September 25, 2009
Today was a fun filled day of laughter, fighting, and shouting. Well, the laughter and shouting are daily occurrences (even with only 6 kids here, there’s plenty to shout over; and shouting’s not always bad, often it’s just the way to be heard as a little person!). And, well, when you introduce games and the zoo, well, fighting happens :).
To start off, I’ve been teaching the kids one by one the game of speed with cards. If you’ve never played, it’s kinda like Solitaire if you stretch your imagination and tilt your head a little to the side! But, with four kids wanting to play with me, adaptation and mutations happened quickly. So, we changed it into a multiplayer game, and just used more decks of cards. And the kids loved it! So we played over and over, and Chloe jumped in, adding to the excitement. Because she and I have grown up on this game, we typically came in 1st and 2nd, so when one of the kids won, you could probably hear the screaming in Tibet!
Then, we had the brilliant idea of teaching the kids Spoons. Now, if you’ve ever played this game, it can be brutal. Basically, you pass cards around trying to get four of a kind. Then, there are enough spoons (well, we used pen caps) for everyone except one person. The first person to get 4 grabs a spoon, and everyone else rushes in for the rest. The person left without a spoon is out. Now, this game gets really fun when you play on the rooftop (as we were) and then put the spoons (caps) on the other end of the roof. Thankfully, there’s a railing! You’ve never seen kids fight and wrestle so much over a pen cap, I can assure you! But there was much laughter and fun for all!
And then it was time to head off to the zoo! And by time, I mean Chloe and I were ready, and the girls spent 45 more minutes getting perfectly beautiful (I don’t know, I guess if I had known there might be boys I know there I might have cared... probably not though!). So, we set off, walking to the zoo in Kathmandu! Exciting right?! Well, we get there, and because Chloe and I are foreigners, we cost 150 rupees each, while the kids cost 15 or 35 depending on their age. Our total came to 415 Rupees, a mere 5 dollars with a little change on the side! Cheap, huh? Well, they did charge 2 Rupees to use the restroom, so add that on to the cost of the kids. Still rather affordable.
In the zoo. I’m not sure there are words to describe it. The cages for the animals were sad, but kinda funny (I really don’t mean to be mean, but when you see spotted deer living in a fenced area with brick walls on the sides and bricks covering the ground, eating out of a trough, you can’t help but think, “Yes, I am definitely overseas!”). So, there were deer, a few cat animals, a couple of hippos, lots of rodents, and more birds than you can imagine. We walked all the way around, and to conclude the outing, it started raining. No, that’s not right. The loudest thunder I’ve ever heard in my life rumbled through the earth beneath our feet, and sheets of rain plummeted upon our ringing heads. And the kids were shivering (scratch that, I was shivering!), and we waited for Uncle (Pastor Krishna) and Auntie to arrive. So we waited, and waited, and it rained and rained. You see, in Nepal, “We’ll be there around 3” translates to “We’ll be there within 2 hours of 3.” So, around 5 they showed up, and a herd of drowned rats clambered over to the restaurant to eat dinner. It was quite the outing!!!
Today was a fun filled day of laughter, fighting, and shouting. Well, the laughter and shouting are daily occurrences (even with only 6 kids here, there’s plenty to shout over; and shouting’s not always bad, often it’s just the way to be heard as a little person!). And, well, when you introduce games and the zoo, well, fighting happens :).
To start off, I’ve been teaching the kids one by one the game of speed with cards. If you’ve never played, it’s kinda like Solitaire if you stretch your imagination and tilt your head a little to the side! But, with four kids wanting to play with me, adaptation and mutations happened quickly. So, we changed it into a multiplayer game, and just used more decks of cards. And the kids loved it! So we played over and over, and Chloe jumped in, adding to the excitement. Because she and I have grown up on this game, we typically came in 1st and 2nd, so when one of the kids won, you could probably hear the screaming in Tibet!
Then, we had the brilliant idea of teaching the kids Spoons. Now, if you’ve ever played this game, it can be brutal. Basically, you pass cards around trying to get four of a kind. Then, there are enough spoons (well, we used pen caps) for everyone except one person. The first person to get 4 grabs a spoon, and everyone else rushes in for the rest. The person left without a spoon is out. Now, this game gets really fun when you play on the rooftop (as we were) and then put the spoons (caps) on the other end of the roof. Thankfully, there’s a railing! You’ve never seen kids fight and wrestle so much over a pen cap, I can assure you! But there was much laughter and fun for all!
And then it was time to head off to the zoo! And by time, I mean Chloe and I were ready, and the girls spent 45 more minutes getting perfectly beautiful (I don’t know, I guess if I had known there might be boys I know there I might have cared... probably not though!). So, we set off, walking to the zoo in Kathmandu! Exciting right?! Well, we get there, and because Chloe and I are foreigners, we cost 150 rupees each, while the kids cost 15 or 35 depending on their age. Our total came to 415 Rupees, a mere 5 dollars with a little change on the side! Cheap, huh? Well, they did charge 2 Rupees to use the restroom, so add that on to the cost of the kids. Still rather affordable.
In the zoo. I’m not sure there are words to describe it. The cages for the animals were sad, but kinda funny (I really don’t mean to be mean, but when you see spotted deer living in a fenced area with brick walls on the sides and bricks covering the ground, eating out of a trough, you can’t help but think, “Yes, I am definitely overseas!”). So, there were deer, a few cat animals, a couple of hippos, lots of rodents, and more birds than you can imagine. We walked all the way around, and to conclude the outing, it started raining. No, that’s not right. The loudest thunder I’ve ever heard in my life rumbled through the earth beneath our feet, and sheets of rain plummeted upon our ringing heads. And the kids were shivering (scratch that, I was shivering!), and we waited for Uncle (Pastor Krishna) and Auntie to arrive. So we waited, and waited, and it rained and rained. You see, in Nepal, “We’ll be there around 3” translates to “We’ll be there within 2 hours of 3.” So, around 5 they showed up, and a herd of drowned rats clambered over to the restaurant to eat dinner. It was quite the outing!!!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Are You a Christian?!
September 23, 2009
Today we went to one of the local shops to pick up some odds and ends. While there are many closer shops, Chloe and I walk further than necessary because this store says “In God We Trust” on the overhead sign as you walk in. And Chloe said that they sometimes play Christian music in there.
Well, we did our shopping, and walked up to the checkout counter. The man behind it is very friendly, and as we are the ONLY white people in this entire area (this is not even a remotely touristy area, so anyone around here lives here, which makes us stand out!) he recognizes us each time we come in. Well, as we went to checkout, he asked “Are you Christians?” Chloe and I froze, not sure if there were police right around the door, or if the Maoists were nearby waiting to prounce on us. It’s legal for locals to become Christians now, but there’s still a lot of tension with radicals wanting to return Nepal to a Hindu kingdom.
So, we briefly considered the fact that we might get in trouble for answering this question, but then we both responded, “Yes, yes we are Christians.” With a bright smile (and definitely enough joy to qualm our concerns!), he responded “So are we!” With a breath of relief, we laughed and said nice to meet you!
While the chances of anything happening to us are slim to none, there is a very real reality that Christians are actively persecuted here. A few months ago a church in Kathmandu was bombed by radical Hindu’s during their church service, killing 4 and injuring many others. As the church in Kathmandu is really one body (there aren’t petty divisions over denominations; they believe in the same Jesus, what else is there?!), the entire local church in Kathmandu pitched in to help this hurting sister church. In a society where close to 99% of the people are NOT Christians, you can imagine this man’s joy (and ours!!!) when we said, yes, we are one in Christ Jesus with you! I can’t really describe that feeling, knowing that you’ve met a stranger who is your brother and instant friend out of the millions of people who are Hindus and Buddhists and who knows what else here! It’s pretty awesome :).
So, we walked home, and when we got here, I asked Chloe, “How did he know we were Christians?! Do we have some sort of aura about us? All we bought was paper and juice!” And she laughed and said “Look at your t-shirt and mine!” So I did, and I realized we’re not all that discreet; her shirt says something like finish the race strong with a picture of a Bible, Cross, and a reference to Acts; mine says “This is the day that the LORD has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!” with a picture of 3 crosses above it and “Christian Business Leaders” below it. Not to mention the fact I have on a cross necklace (thanks to Liesl!). I bet that the A&M Christian Business Leader’s would’ve never expected one of their t-shirts to unite believers in a Hindu nation! Pretty cool, right? So, never underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit in the body; He’ll use whatever He wants to bring God’s children together!
Today we went to one of the local shops to pick up some odds and ends. While there are many closer shops, Chloe and I walk further than necessary because this store says “In God We Trust” on the overhead sign as you walk in. And Chloe said that they sometimes play Christian music in there.
Well, we did our shopping, and walked up to the checkout counter. The man behind it is very friendly, and as we are the ONLY white people in this entire area (this is not even a remotely touristy area, so anyone around here lives here, which makes us stand out!) he recognizes us each time we come in. Well, as we went to checkout, he asked “Are you Christians?” Chloe and I froze, not sure if there were police right around the door, or if the Maoists were nearby waiting to prounce on us. It’s legal for locals to become Christians now, but there’s still a lot of tension with radicals wanting to return Nepal to a Hindu kingdom.
So, we briefly considered the fact that we might get in trouble for answering this question, but then we both responded, “Yes, yes we are Christians.” With a bright smile (and definitely enough joy to qualm our concerns!), he responded “So are we!” With a breath of relief, we laughed and said nice to meet you!
While the chances of anything happening to us are slim to none, there is a very real reality that Christians are actively persecuted here. A few months ago a church in Kathmandu was bombed by radical Hindu’s during their church service, killing 4 and injuring many others. As the church in Kathmandu is really one body (there aren’t petty divisions over denominations; they believe in the same Jesus, what else is there?!), the entire local church in Kathmandu pitched in to help this hurting sister church. In a society where close to 99% of the people are NOT Christians, you can imagine this man’s joy (and ours!!!) when we said, yes, we are one in Christ Jesus with you! I can’t really describe that feeling, knowing that you’ve met a stranger who is your brother and instant friend out of the millions of people who are Hindus and Buddhists and who knows what else here! It’s pretty awesome :).
So, we walked home, and when we got here, I asked Chloe, “How did he know we were Christians?! Do we have some sort of aura about us? All we bought was paper and juice!” And she laughed and said “Look at your t-shirt and mine!” So I did, and I realized we’re not all that discreet; her shirt says something like finish the race strong with a picture of a Bible, Cross, and a reference to Acts; mine says “This is the day that the LORD has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!” with a picture of 3 crosses above it and “Christian Business Leaders” below it. Not to mention the fact I have on a cross necklace (thanks to Liesl!). I bet that the A&M Christian Business Leader’s would’ve never expected one of their t-shirts to unite believers in a Hindu nation! Pretty cool, right? So, never underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit in the body; He’ll use whatever He wants to bring God’s children together!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
The Demise of the (poor) Chicken
September 23, 2009 *DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE SQUEAMISH OR WEAK STOMACHED!!! YOU’VE BEEN WARNED.* Today we killed a chicken. Well, actually, Didi asked me if I’d like to kill the chicken, and I burst out laughing and said, absolutely not, but I will video it! Then Asa asked me if I’d like to catch it’s blood spurting body after the head was chopped off, and again, my answer was, absolutely not! I will before I leave (cut it’s head off; I probably won’t ever want to run to catch a chicken with a volcano of blood spurting from it’s severed head!), but not today. So, Chloe, the brave and exciting Australian stepped up to the plate. She quickly stated that she was a little squeamish at the idea herself... So, the girls went up to the roof to pick out the chicken. That poor chicken. I wonder if they know that when they’re selected as “The One” they’ll never come back to their friends. I hope not. I hope they’re surprised at their sudden fate. Kinda like The Island (that one’s for you Katie, Phill and Brandee; see I didn’t sleep through that movie!). Anyway, back to the killing of helpless animals... We (ehem... THEY) brought the chicken outside, and Didi came following with this crude thick metal knife and a wood stump. So Chloe bravely stretched the neck over the wood block, and the girls started screaming, “DON’T CUT YOUR FINGER, SISTER! YOUR FINGER! WATCH YOUR FINGER!!!!!!” So, Didi ran over and grabbed the body from Asa, and pulled it out further, to ensure there was enough room to slice the neck. I don’t know if you’ve ever going to kill a chicken, but if you do, please make sure the knife is sharp first! With a “Whaphk!” Chloe brought down the knife! Only to have the chicken quickly retract it’s head and neck close to it’s body! For a split second, no one could figure out what happened, then, we couldn’t stop laughing. The knife had barely made a mark. So, Chloe stretched out the neck again, and “Whaphk Whaphk whaphk...” over and over again, and slowly, the head began to come off! The chicken’s poor little legs thought they were running, but Didi held tight. After over 20 strikes at the poor little soul, Chloe determined that the most humane way to finish this delicate job was to saw the head off. So, she finished the job, and the chicken had not energy left to run. Didi, laughing as hard as I’ve ever seen her laugh, just looked at the head and the body then back to the head, and shook her own head! It was quite possibly the funniest thing I’ve seen since arriving (please don’t take offense, animal lovers, it wasn’t intentional!!!)! With a quite anti climatic finish, Didi laid down the body, and it’s legs just kinda moved as if underwater... and then it rested. After, we sharpened the knife (what? well, when I kill the chicken, we will sharpen the knife beforehand!!!) and Didi began to strip the chicken... We’ll be having that for a few days now. Innards and all! I’ll try to upload the video from it, if it’ll work :). Hope you enjoyed the killing of the chicken!
Life without the kids... :(
September 22, 2009
After my busy experiences working in Africa the past two summers, I never imagined working in an orphanage would lead to slow days and lots of down time! However, the kids went on holiday this weekend, and have 2 weeks off of school. It’s a Hindu holiday, where families gather together and have a celebration. Since the kids go to a local school, they have off, and all of them except 2 went home to be with their families. Suddenly, the house became very quiet!
After listening to 20 children run around day in and day out, the stillness is almost unnerving! However, we play games with the girls still here (they are a big fan of any card games that involve slapping the deck or each other, whichever is easier at the moment), and walk to the market with them (about an hour and a half round trip), and do daily chores with them (wash the dishes, clothes, etc.).
In the mornings we can sleep in (usually till about 6:30) and then we get up and rinse off, read our Bibles, sing, etc. This morning, Joshua (Pastor Krishna’s 9 year old son) was doing his homework across from me at the table while I read, and it slowly evolved into him mimicking everything I did. It got to be very humorous as I would make faces and he was a near perfect mirror to me! This went on throughout him finishing his homework and my reading, until I brought out the guitar to play for awhile. Then, he broke mirroring with “Sister, WAIT!” And off he scampered... and he came galloping back with a ping pong paddle. Just one. And I looked at him like he was one brick short of a load and he smiled and sat down next to me and grabbed my song book. He turned to a song and said, “Let’s play!” So, I played guitar, he played the Ping Pong paddle until his fingers turned red from the dye on the sides, and he sang the words in English along with me. He did extremely well, as he could stay with the tune and sing the words clearly! Pretty impressive :).
I then went downstairs and Punam was helping Didi (the cook/cleaner/live in sister who helps with everything) fix breakfast. So, I went outside to find Benjamin, Krishna’s older son, kicking a soccer ball alone. We had filled the water canisters earlier in the morning (we don’t always have running water, so we have to have canisters as a back-up), so the courtyard area was soaked. So, he and I began “playing soccer,” in flip flops, on wet concrete... He was very kind and said “Sister, be careful! The ground is slippery!” Pretty much I just chased him while he kicked the ball at every stationary object yelling “GOAL!” at the top of his lungs.
We then had breakfast of rice and curry around 9, and since most of the children are gone, Chloe and I got to eat with the girls. My eating with my hands is improving, and I really like the curry now. I actually prefer it without meat, because often the meat kinds has intestines, stomach, etc that are hard for me to eat. A good start to the day :).
After my busy experiences working in Africa the past two summers, I never imagined working in an orphanage would lead to slow days and lots of down time! However, the kids went on holiday this weekend, and have 2 weeks off of school. It’s a Hindu holiday, where families gather together and have a celebration. Since the kids go to a local school, they have off, and all of them except 2 went home to be with their families. Suddenly, the house became very quiet!
After listening to 20 children run around day in and day out, the stillness is almost unnerving! However, we play games with the girls still here (they are a big fan of any card games that involve slapping the deck or each other, whichever is easier at the moment), and walk to the market with them (about an hour and a half round trip), and do daily chores with them (wash the dishes, clothes, etc.).
In the mornings we can sleep in (usually till about 6:30) and then we get up and rinse off, read our Bibles, sing, etc. This morning, Joshua (Pastor Krishna’s 9 year old son) was doing his homework across from me at the table while I read, and it slowly evolved into him mimicking everything I did. It got to be very humorous as I would make faces and he was a near perfect mirror to me! This went on throughout him finishing his homework and my reading, until I brought out the guitar to play for awhile. Then, he broke mirroring with “Sister, WAIT!” And off he scampered... and he came galloping back with a ping pong paddle. Just one. And I looked at him like he was one brick short of a load and he smiled and sat down next to me and grabbed my song book. He turned to a song and said, “Let’s play!” So, I played guitar, he played the Ping Pong paddle until his fingers turned red from the dye on the sides, and he sang the words in English along with me. He did extremely well, as he could stay with the tune and sing the words clearly! Pretty impressive :).
I then went downstairs and Punam was helping Didi (the cook/cleaner/live in sister who helps with everything) fix breakfast. So, I went outside to find Benjamin, Krishna’s older son, kicking a soccer ball alone. We had filled the water canisters earlier in the morning (we don’t always have running water, so we have to have canisters as a back-up), so the courtyard area was soaked. So, he and I began “playing soccer,” in flip flops, on wet concrete... He was very kind and said “Sister, be careful! The ground is slippery!” Pretty much I just chased him while he kicked the ball at every stationary object yelling “GOAL!” at the top of his lungs.
We then had breakfast of rice and curry around 9, and since most of the children are gone, Chloe and I got to eat with the girls. My eating with my hands is improving, and I really like the curry now. I actually prefer it without meat, because often the meat kinds has intestines, stomach, etc that are hard for me to eat. A good start to the day :).
Saturday, September 19, 2009
My first "Road Trip!"
September 18-19, 2009
On Friday, Chloe, Pastor Krishna’s father, Pastor Yim, Prokesh and I drove to Gorkha. If you Google map it, it doesn’t look that far; maybe 120-130 km to the district. However, the road we traveled was unlike anything I’ve ever been on, and it took us 6 hours each way! Imagine this: the most mountainous two lane road you’ve ever been on, twisting and turning through the mountains with a sheer drop on one side. If you get stuck behind someone, oh well, you deal with it because you certainly wouldn’t pass with that blind turn up ahead and barely enough room for two cars across! Now imagine semi’s driving it, one after another. And busses. With people hanging out the windows, doors, and packed on the roof with goats and market items. And if someone’s going too slow in front of you, you pass them, pretty much regardless of where you are, laying on the horn just in case there’s another car coming the other way. And as you round the corner, you see a car quickly approaching, so it becomes a dangerous game of chicken with whether or not you’ll be able to cut back over in time! Needless to say, there are many many accidents on this road, and it’s one of the best one’s around (I hate to think of the worse ones!). In the words of Chloe, “We made it there and back alive, so it was good!”
Once we reached the district of Gorkha, we reached the end of the “drivable road.” There’s a huge river there (I have no idea what it’s called, google it!), and there’s no bridge to cross it for vehicles. So, Pastor Krishna had asked if we were able to walk about 2 hours, and he wasn’t kidding! We started with a 30 minute hike through the jungle and then walked for 1.5 hours on this flat road like trail. It was BEAUTIFUL country though, so Chloe and I took hundreds of pictures walking there. The area was all green, with rice patties terraced through the mountains and homes peeking through the jungle trees. Once we reached the village where we were staying, we washed up (we were soaked through with dirt and sweat!) and had dinner. Then, exhausted, we collapsed into bed for the night.
The next morning, we awoke around 6 and went to see the home were Pastor Krishna grew up. And by went, I mean we hiked through the jungle another hour and a half or so up this mountain. Definitely the hardest hiking I’ve ever done! But there were homes scattered along the path, with chicken yards and goats and buffalo. Way cool! So we get to his home and I took a video of all of it (which is really why I was there; he’s making some video of his home there and here and the churches), and then we start hiking back down the other side of the mountain. We ate fresh Guava fruit off the trees (I couldn’t get through the tough outside without a knife, but the inside was AMAZING!), and enjoyed the views as we descended. As I am slightly unsteady on flat lands, the mountains are just an accident waiting to happen, and I fell once, but only once! I came close some other times, but I was saved by my amazing walking stick :).
We made it back down to the church, and Prokesh said to take our shoes off. I did, and the heel of my right sock was filled with blood. I was very confused, until he matter-of-factly stated that I had had a leech. A leech. And he grinned and said, “I didn’t want to tell you until we were down because I didn’t want you to be afraid.” Well, they still disgust me a little, but I’m def not afraid of them now, because I never even felt them. So we squeezed the poison out of the bite mark things, and I was thankful that I had some Neosporin with me (I know; that’s so American! but the last thing I want is some leach mark getting infected!).
We then had lunch followed by church, which lasted 2.5 hours! It’s pretty neat how the church there has grown; a couple months ago when it opened it only had about 25 people. Now, it has over 60! It’s the only church within a 2 hour radius, so some people walk a long way to come to church! It was my first real view at how much the Gospel is spreading here! It was amazing to watch these brothers and sisters sing and pray to God with a fervency. While I couldn’t understand their words, I could read their hearts on their faces as they cried out to God in desperation. They have a type of faith and dependency on the Lord that is not comfortable, but is fully humbled and awed by the love and grace of God and His changing power. I long for that change in my faith! It was beautiful, and I’m excited to see how the local church here in Kathmandu relates!
We finally left to head back, walking the 2 hours again. When we got to the river this time, I took my extra shirt (which was beyond dirty and soaked from the day before!), and washed it in the river. I don’t know if I’ve ever been as dirty as I was then, or felt so clean (and been so not clean) as I did after the river! I “washed” my hair in it, and Prokesh, Chloe and I splashed each other with the water! As I had run out of bottled water, I got to use my really cool “will kill anything and everything” filtering water bottle, and it was wonderful to drink cold water! And, so far I’m not sick, so I think the bottle worked :). The we drove back, mostly in the dark, which was kind of nice because then you could see the headlights of a vehicle around the bend before you heard their horn! I slept most of the way, as my Kansas legs are not used to 5 hour climbs! It was quite the adventure to end my first week in Nepal!
On Friday, Chloe, Pastor Krishna’s father, Pastor Yim, Prokesh and I drove to Gorkha. If you Google map it, it doesn’t look that far; maybe 120-130 km to the district. However, the road we traveled was unlike anything I’ve ever been on, and it took us 6 hours each way! Imagine this: the most mountainous two lane road you’ve ever been on, twisting and turning through the mountains with a sheer drop on one side. If you get stuck behind someone, oh well, you deal with it because you certainly wouldn’t pass with that blind turn up ahead and barely enough room for two cars across! Now imagine semi’s driving it, one after another. And busses. With people hanging out the windows, doors, and packed on the roof with goats and market items. And if someone’s going too slow in front of you, you pass them, pretty much regardless of where you are, laying on the horn just in case there’s another car coming the other way. And as you round the corner, you see a car quickly approaching, so it becomes a dangerous game of chicken with whether or not you’ll be able to cut back over in time! Needless to say, there are many many accidents on this road, and it’s one of the best one’s around (I hate to think of the worse ones!). In the words of Chloe, “We made it there and back alive, so it was good!”
Once we reached the district of Gorkha, we reached the end of the “drivable road.” There’s a huge river there (I have no idea what it’s called, google it!), and there’s no bridge to cross it for vehicles. So, Pastor Krishna had asked if we were able to walk about 2 hours, and he wasn’t kidding! We started with a 30 minute hike through the jungle and then walked for 1.5 hours on this flat road like trail. It was BEAUTIFUL country though, so Chloe and I took hundreds of pictures walking there. The area was all green, with rice patties terraced through the mountains and homes peeking through the jungle trees. Once we reached the village where we were staying, we washed up (we were soaked through with dirt and sweat!) and had dinner. Then, exhausted, we collapsed into bed for the night.
The next morning, we awoke around 6 and went to see the home were Pastor Krishna grew up. And by went, I mean we hiked through the jungle another hour and a half or so up this mountain. Definitely the hardest hiking I’ve ever done! But there were homes scattered along the path, with chicken yards and goats and buffalo. Way cool! So we get to his home and I took a video of all of it (which is really why I was there; he’s making some video of his home there and here and the churches), and then we start hiking back down the other side of the mountain. We ate fresh Guava fruit off the trees (I couldn’t get through the tough outside without a knife, but the inside was AMAZING!), and enjoyed the views as we descended. As I am slightly unsteady on flat lands, the mountains are just an accident waiting to happen, and I fell once, but only once! I came close some other times, but I was saved by my amazing walking stick :).
We made it back down to the church, and Prokesh said to take our shoes off. I did, and the heel of my right sock was filled with blood. I was very confused, until he matter-of-factly stated that I had had a leech. A leech. And he grinned and said, “I didn’t want to tell you until we were down because I didn’t want you to be afraid.” Well, they still disgust me a little, but I’m def not afraid of them now, because I never even felt them. So we squeezed the poison out of the bite mark things, and I was thankful that I had some Neosporin with me (I know; that’s so American! but the last thing I want is some leach mark getting infected!).
We then had lunch followed by church, which lasted 2.5 hours! It’s pretty neat how the church there has grown; a couple months ago when it opened it only had about 25 people. Now, it has over 60! It’s the only church within a 2 hour radius, so some people walk a long way to come to church! It was my first real view at how much the Gospel is spreading here! It was amazing to watch these brothers and sisters sing and pray to God with a fervency. While I couldn’t understand their words, I could read their hearts on their faces as they cried out to God in desperation. They have a type of faith and dependency on the Lord that is not comfortable, but is fully humbled and awed by the love and grace of God and His changing power. I long for that change in my faith! It was beautiful, and I’m excited to see how the local church here in Kathmandu relates!
We finally left to head back, walking the 2 hours again. When we got to the river this time, I took my extra shirt (which was beyond dirty and soaked from the day before!), and washed it in the river. I don’t know if I’ve ever been as dirty as I was then, or felt so clean (and been so not clean) as I did after the river! I “washed” my hair in it, and Prokesh, Chloe and I splashed each other with the water! As I had run out of bottled water, I got to use my really cool “will kill anything and everything” filtering water bottle, and it was wonderful to drink cold water! And, so far I’m not sick, so I think the bottle worked :). The we drove back, mostly in the dark, which was kind of nice because then you could see the headlights of a vehicle around the bend before you heard their horn! I slept most of the way, as my Kansas legs are not used to 5 hour climbs! It was quite the adventure to end my first week in Nepal!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Humor in Lalitupar...
September 14, 2009
Today was a rather humorous day! It was “Children’s Day,” so the kids didn’t have to go to school! So, we played Uno for about 2 hours, and some of the boys wanted to play with the guitar, so we played guitar the rest of the morning (understand, everyone’s up for prayer at 6am, so, it was slightly odd to be playing Uno at 6:45 in the morning!). I don’t think if you added up all the times in my life that I’ve sung “Come Thou Fount” it would be more than it was today! The boys wanted me to teach them that song, so, that required me to sing it for 3 hours straight! And I had to define the entire thing, which isn’t an easy task with words like fetter and Ebenezer and melodious sonnet. But we got through it, and now every few minutes one runs up and says, “Sister! Sing Fount!” And then we sing together. It’s great! And some of the boys are really good on guitar! Surprisingly (at least to me), one of the only songs they know that’s in English as well is Days of Elijah, which totally rocks. I love that song, and so we played it with me singing English while they sing Nepali! They’re writing down the words for me in Nepali, and I’m giving them the words in English!
Then in the afternoon it was hardcore study time. The next 3 days are exams for them (the equivalent of our finals) and everyone was pacing around spouting Nepali words at 300 words/minute! Because I teach math, I’m the designated math helper, and wow, that has been a stretch for my shriveled brain! After teaching the last 2 years in the US, I knew we were behind the “Asian” world, but I never knew how far! I was working with 12 year olds on completing the square and factorization, without a calculator! Then there was simple and compound interest and systems of equations for our 13 year olds, plus a ton of geometry (also without a calculator or graphing paper... slightly challenging!). At one point I was helping 6 different kids with 6 different levels of math; I hope I got them all straight!!! I asked one of the boys, Laxman, a question about his math, and to my utter confusion he replied, “Because of gravity.” And I stopped, and did a double take, and said, “What are you talking about?!” And without the slightest break in his serious face, he looked at me and said, “The answer for everything is gravity. What color shirt is he wearing? It’s because of gravity! How do you do math? Use gravity!” And then we both burst out laughing! And for the rest of studying, someone would only have to say, “Gravity!” and we’d all start laughing! Laxman has a great sense of humor. When he got up to retrieve his workbook, I moved his stool behind another kid I was working with (so surprising, right?!). Well, the kids thought this was hilarious. So, he walked back, and stopped, and looked around confused. Then, he saw all the kids laughing and said, “SISTER! Where is my seat?!” So, I gave it back to him, and he said, “Americans.” and shook his head. It was great.
Then, this evening I had my first experience with no power. Apparently this happens at least 3 times a week for about 3 hours. Quite exciting! Maybe more so than showering with a bucket :). And then during dinner, Pastor Krishna asked me if I’ve eaten with my hands yet. I had not, so he said I should try. And so I ate my rice with this spiced water gravy on top and curray all with my hands! Little did I know that there’s an art form to eating with your hand. You scoop the food with your fingers, then use your thumb to push the food into your mouth. But only use your right hand; your left one is used for dirty things... Well, my elbow was too high, and I moved my arm too much. I think it’s easier if you’re shorter, because I had the strangest sensation that I was kin to a turtle trying to eat without moving my arm. Pastor Krishna told me that I am a very slow learner, and I just laughed :). It was quite the end to a rather “ordinary” day!
Today was a rather humorous day! It was “Children’s Day,” so the kids didn’t have to go to school! So, we played Uno for about 2 hours, and some of the boys wanted to play with the guitar, so we played guitar the rest of the morning (understand, everyone’s up for prayer at 6am, so, it was slightly odd to be playing Uno at 6:45 in the morning!). I don’t think if you added up all the times in my life that I’ve sung “Come Thou Fount” it would be more than it was today! The boys wanted me to teach them that song, so, that required me to sing it for 3 hours straight! And I had to define the entire thing, which isn’t an easy task with words like fetter and Ebenezer and melodious sonnet. But we got through it, and now every few minutes one runs up and says, “Sister! Sing Fount!” And then we sing together. It’s great! And some of the boys are really good on guitar! Surprisingly (at least to me), one of the only songs they know that’s in English as well is Days of Elijah, which totally rocks. I love that song, and so we played it with me singing English while they sing Nepali! They’re writing down the words for me in Nepali, and I’m giving them the words in English!
Then in the afternoon it was hardcore study time. The next 3 days are exams for them (the equivalent of our finals) and everyone was pacing around spouting Nepali words at 300 words/minute! Because I teach math, I’m the designated math helper, and wow, that has been a stretch for my shriveled brain! After teaching the last 2 years in the US, I knew we were behind the “Asian” world, but I never knew how far! I was working with 12 year olds on completing the square and factorization, without a calculator! Then there was simple and compound interest and systems of equations for our 13 year olds, plus a ton of geometry (also without a calculator or graphing paper... slightly challenging!). At one point I was helping 6 different kids with 6 different levels of math; I hope I got them all straight!!! I asked one of the boys, Laxman, a question about his math, and to my utter confusion he replied, “Because of gravity.” And I stopped, and did a double take, and said, “What are you talking about?!” And without the slightest break in his serious face, he looked at me and said, “The answer for everything is gravity. What color shirt is he wearing? It’s because of gravity! How do you do math? Use gravity!” And then we both burst out laughing! And for the rest of studying, someone would only have to say, “Gravity!” and we’d all start laughing! Laxman has a great sense of humor. When he got up to retrieve his workbook, I moved his stool behind another kid I was working with (so surprising, right?!). Well, the kids thought this was hilarious. So, he walked back, and stopped, and looked around confused. Then, he saw all the kids laughing and said, “SISTER! Where is my seat?!” So, I gave it back to him, and he said, “Americans.” and shook his head. It was great.
Then, this evening I had my first experience with no power. Apparently this happens at least 3 times a week for about 3 hours. Quite exciting! Maybe more so than showering with a bucket :). And then during dinner, Pastor Krishna asked me if I’ve eaten with my hands yet. I had not, so he said I should try. And so I ate my rice with this spiced water gravy on top and curray all with my hands! Little did I know that there’s an art form to eating with your hand. You scoop the food with your fingers, then use your thumb to push the food into your mouth. But only use your right hand; your left one is used for dirty things... Well, my elbow was too high, and I moved my arm too much. I think it’s easier if you’re shorter, because I had the strangest sensation that I was kin to a turtle trying to eat without moving my arm. Pastor Krishna told me that I am a very slow learner, and I just laughed :). It was quite the end to a rather “ordinary” day!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
September 12, 2009
My first day in Kathmandu was filled with firsts. When I got to the airport, I couldn’t find pastor Krishna’s brother, and as a very white, very blond female, that made me the immediate target of every cab driver around! However, Pastor Krishna forewarned me of this, so I had already practiced my “I’m sorry, I don’t speak Nepali and someone is coming for me. I will not need your help.” But finally I let one of them talk me into calling Krishna, and he gave me his brother’s cell number, so I could call him and find him. We were actually just across the way from each other, go figure!
We loaded into Pastor Krishna’s car, and that began of the next 45 minutes of sure death. Now, I’ve been to Africa, but their driving is like a chauffeur compared to this! There are marked lines (occasionally), and they mean nothing. They’re more for the aesthetic relief of foreigners pretending they know what to do in Kathmandu. People drive as if there’s no tomorrow (maybe they know something I don’t?!) and drive on whatever side of the road will get them there the fastest; basically, there’s never a solid yellow line, it’s all dotted! And there are motorcycles everywhere. With huge TVs tied on the back or people stacked on 4 or 5 deep. Pretty awesome, right?! There are 2 motorcycles here at the house, but I don’t know who drives them. Amazingly, I was never that concerned. We played chicken probably 40 times on the drive, and the closer we got, the more we and our opponent would honk, until a the literal last second one would swerve in front of another car to “avoid” collision! What an exciting way to start :)
Then, when we got to Pastor Krishna’s house, there were people everywhere for his son Benjamin’s 12th birthday party. Basically, the whole church came over. Like, 70 people. Can you say chaos? And they had butchered a goat in the yard just before I got there (so sad I missed that!)! So, we had this huge party with a short sermon and lots of singing and cake and Rice with 3 types of curry (which I will learn to like!) and plenty of goat. Well, maybe not plenty for everyone, but for me it was definitely enough :). Actually, I liked the goat. I think.
The kids were so fun. They’re trying so hard to teach me Nepali, and they will, in time! One of the boys told me his name, but where there are over 20 kids you’re meeting, you quickly forget names. So, I asked him again, and with a glint in his eye, he replied, “Anneliese.” So I said, “No, your name!” And he goes, “Anneliese!” He actually pronounces it great! So I started laughing and told him my name is Billy Bob. So, now, he calls me that and I call him “Anneliese.” His real name is Rajkumar. But Anneliese works for now ;).
It was a great first day! And I haven’t gotten sick yet. I’ve been very proactive taking medicine for stomache problems before they develop, and hopefully I’ll get used to the food soon! Hope all’s well there! Love you all!!!
My first day in Kathmandu was filled with firsts. When I got to the airport, I couldn’t find pastor Krishna’s brother, and as a very white, very blond female, that made me the immediate target of every cab driver around! However, Pastor Krishna forewarned me of this, so I had already practiced my “I’m sorry, I don’t speak Nepali and someone is coming for me. I will not need your help.” But finally I let one of them talk me into calling Krishna, and he gave me his brother’s cell number, so I could call him and find him. We were actually just across the way from each other, go figure!
We loaded into Pastor Krishna’s car, and that began of the next 45 minutes of sure death. Now, I’ve been to Africa, but their driving is like a chauffeur compared to this! There are marked lines (occasionally), and they mean nothing. They’re more for the aesthetic relief of foreigners pretending they know what to do in Kathmandu. People drive as if there’s no tomorrow (maybe they know something I don’t?!) and drive on whatever side of the road will get them there the fastest; basically, there’s never a solid yellow line, it’s all dotted! And there are motorcycles everywhere. With huge TVs tied on the back or people stacked on 4 or 5 deep. Pretty awesome, right?! There are 2 motorcycles here at the house, but I don’t know who drives them. Amazingly, I was never that concerned. We played chicken probably 40 times on the drive, and the closer we got, the more we and our opponent would honk, until a the literal last second one would swerve in front of another car to “avoid” collision! What an exciting way to start :)
Then, when we got to Pastor Krishna’s house, there were people everywhere for his son Benjamin’s 12th birthday party. Basically, the whole church came over. Like, 70 people. Can you say chaos? And they had butchered a goat in the yard just before I got there (so sad I missed that!)! So, we had this huge party with a short sermon and lots of singing and cake and Rice with 3 types of curry (which I will learn to like!) and plenty of goat. Well, maybe not plenty for everyone, but for me it was definitely enough :). Actually, I liked the goat. I think.
The kids were so fun. They’re trying so hard to teach me Nepali, and they will, in time! One of the boys told me his name, but where there are over 20 kids you’re meeting, you quickly forget names. So, I asked him again, and with a glint in his eye, he replied, “Anneliese.” So I said, “No, your name!” And he goes, “Anneliese!” He actually pronounces it great! So I started laughing and told him my name is Billy Bob. So, now, he calls me that and I call him “Anneliese.” His real name is Rajkumar. But Anneliese works for now ;).
It was a great first day! And I haven’t gotten sick yet. I’ve been very proactive taking medicine for stomache problems before they develop, and hopefully I’ll get used to the food soon! Hope all’s well there! Love you all!!!
Flying to Nepal...
September 10, 2009: DFW
My first layover (out of five!) was in Dallas. I don’t mind layovers; they give me a chance to watch people and think about where they’re going and such! You have your casual walkers, you have your sprinters (chances are their plane left five minutes ago, but no one has the heart to tell them that, so people just clear the way!), you have your families wrangling their kiddos, and you see so many more! Everyone’s going somewhere, or they’re sitting down waiting. But for seven minutes in DFW, everyone stood still.
The shop keepers came out of their stands, airport personnel were everywhere, and slightly confused bywalkers quickly became bystanders. And there was clapping. Lots of clapping and cheering. I thought, man, there must be some crazy group leaving on some cool trip to somewhere! But it was even better than that. Up in the glassed in skywalk, there were hundreds of military men and women returning from duty overseas. And they just kept coming. And for seven minutes, everyone set aside political differences, racial differences, gender differences, and any number of other absurd differences we come up with to divide ourselves, and we welcomed home men and women who fight for this country. Some of them were crying, some were tired, some were just excited. And it made me think that no matter what the state of our country, there are always people out there sacrificing for my well being! And that, in itself, is a blessing :)!
September 10, 2009: IAH
So, on my way out of Dallas, I looked out the window and saw my guitar packed on top of the luggage on the little cart thingy. And I thought, “United Breaks Guitars, but I’m on American!” And then I thought, “where’s my duffle bag?!” And I looked, but I didn’t see it. And I started talking to the guy next to me and assumed it came on another cart thingy.
Then, when I was gathering my luggage in Houston, my guitar came out, but not my duffle bag! And I thought, “Oh boy.” But it wasn’t a frustrated thought, more of a humored thought! So, I went to talk to the agent, and she just said “Just give me your address and we’ll drop it off.” And I just laughed and said, “Well, I’m leaving for Moscow at 5:30, so I need it before then if possible!” And it came in on the 2pm flight, so we were all good :).
For lunch before I left Grandaddy, Sandra, Uncle Kurt, Grandaddy’s pastor, and 2 other women from his church came to see me off! And Katie and Phill and Hannah were there to round it out! We ate lunch and then prayed and then I headed off to check in! And now, I await my flight to Moscow... counting down the minutes!
My first layover (out of five!) was in Dallas. I don’t mind layovers; they give me a chance to watch people and think about where they’re going and such! You have your casual walkers, you have your sprinters (chances are their plane left five minutes ago, but no one has the heart to tell them that, so people just clear the way!), you have your families wrangling their kiddos, and you see so many more! Everyone’s going somewhere, or they’re sitting down waiting. But for seven minutes in DFW, everyone stood still.
The shop keepers came out of their stands, airport personnel were everywhere, and slightly confused bywalkers quickly became bystanders. And there was clapping. Lots of clapping and cheering. I thought, man, there must be some crazy group leaving on some cool trip to somewhere! But it was even better than that. Up in the glassed in skywalk, there were hundreds of military men and women returning from duty overseas. And they just kept coming. And for seven minutes, everyone set aside political differences, racial differences, gender differences, and any number of other absurd differences we come up with to divide ourselves, and we welcomed home men and women who fight for this country. Some of them were crying, some were tired, some were just excited. And it made me think that no matter what the state of our country, there are always people out there sacrificing for my well being! And that, in itself, is a blessing :)!
September 10, 2009: IAH
So, on my way out of Dallas, I looked out the window and saw my guitar packed on top of the luggage on the little cart thingy. And I thought, “United Breaks Guitars, but I’m on American!” And then I thought, “where’s my duffle bag?!” And I looked, but I didn’t see it. And I started talking to the guy next to me and assumed it came on another cart thingy.
Then, when I was gathering my luggage in Houston, my guitar came out, but not my duffle bag! And I thought, “Oh boy.” But it wasn’t a frustrated thought, more of a humored thought! So, I went to talk to the agent, and she just said “Just give me your address and we’ll drop it off.” And I just laughed and said, “Well, I’m leaving for Moscow at 5:30, so I need it before then if possible!” And it came in on the 2pm flight, so we were all good :).
For lunch before I left Grandaddy, Sandra, Uncle Kurt, Grandaddy’s pastor, and 2 other women from his church came to see me off! And Katie and Phill and Hannah were there to round it out! We ate lunch and then prayed and then I headed off to check in! And now, I await my flight to Moscow... counting down the minutes!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Preparing to leave...
Hey y'all! So, I'm getting ready to leave, and thought I'd do a "test drive" on this blog site :). It's been awhile since I had any sort of blog, so bear with me! I think you can subscribe to my site on the left, and hopefully that will send you an e-mail when I update my blog! I will also try to send out an e-mail to let y'all know when I post new stuff in case that doesn't work! Thank you all so much for your love and support for me! I'm so excited to see where God leads, and your love is such an encouragement to me! Please stay in touch; my e-mail and mailing address are listed on the right! I'd love to hear from you! Thanks so much and God Bless!
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