home sweet home

we live in a compound...which houses the church, a medical clinic, offices, the new boys living area, a carpenter's shop and a room where they sell product made by the women of the church. pastor shem and his wife sumi also live on site.

above is a picture of anya standing in the doorway to our living area. we have access to 3 rooms. we all sleep in the big room -that has been a big adjustment!! we share space with rats, ants and cockroaches - another big adjustment!

we live in community which has its ups and downs...they hear the tantrums of a frustrated four year old and the whining of others...mmm..not to mention any names. we are learning how to share with those in need and in return, to ask for help when needed. we share food, have afternoon tea, play cars with the boys, exchange stories, sing and dance in the courtyard under the stars.

women part 2 - the power of words...

don't tell anyone but i skipped out of church today to sit with a couple of friends in the sun. we were talking about our siblings and when it came to puja's turn she seemed hesitant...
she said, didn't i tell you my story?
no, i replied.
she began to share about when her mother was pregnant with her, she was given an ultimatum - if this baby is a girl you have no place in my house unless you get rid of it. if it is a boy you may stay. well, puja was born and her mother left her as a newborn in an orphanage. she said, i have no mother, no father, no brother, no sister and no husband - just my 2 children. and i have you, elisa and my family here at church who are brothers and sisters to me.

you see, one month ago i was walking with her and 3 other ladies. i was so caught up with being with friends...sisters exploring the forgotten streets of kathmandu...laughing and holding hands. i looked at each one of them and told them i had always wanted sisters and here i have found it.
she never forgot my claim. neither will i.

women...

i went to a meeting...no boys allowed...12 x 12 room...37 women gathered to sing and pray in a language foreign to my ears but not to my eyes. i saw tears and smiles and glowing faces. i listened to an elderly woman's testimony...i watched her weathered hands create a mime of her life thruout the years. i witnessed her eyes light up as her voice rose in a rush of animated jargon. and i was mesmerized - her hair streaked with grey, her nose pierced, her chin marked with tribal tattoos, her arms decorated with colored bangles, her feet bare. she is beauty filled - her life had been filled with hopelessness, death and despair and yet in the middle she found jesus, a community and a place to belong.

i have found friends...

Ready for school....

Gatlang....a village near the Tibetan border.

As I took this first journey into the mountains I grimaced with abdominal discomfort with every bump of this nasty road(worse than any logging trail I've been on in B.C.) wondering if I should have just stayed home. Earlier that morning I asked Jesus whether I should go and he reminded Elisa and I... "I can do all thing through Christ that strengthens me!" I than focused my attention to Shem Dai and thought to myself that this man (approaching 60 yrs old) makes this journey over and over again with a smile on his face often having to go on a terrible bus ride with people vomiting (travel sickness) and than having to hike for a day to this village while carrying a heavy backpack. I asked him what first brought him to these villages and he stated "when I was a guide I would see the people dying of sickness without Jesus.. it made me very sad so I decided I would go and help these people I love." The feelings of "poor me" quickly faded and my admiration for Shem and his heart increased. The morning prior to our last ascent into Gatlang was hard for me to get moving, but Raju and Shem prayed for my tummy. I felt a last nudge from Jesus and a shot of energy just like he promised earlier.
When we were entering the village of Gatlang there soon became a parade of little children chasing the vehicle with smiles and laughter. The rest of the day was so joyous for me despite my abdominal discomfort. God's love for these people filled my heart. There are so many sick people here in Gatlang who have no one to give them simple medicines like tylenol for fever or electrolyte powder for dehydration which many children die from. A young man from the village came to my side to pray for my stomach as I layed on the floor in a tiny Tamarang house and I became overwhelmed.
We are so blessed! I cannot forget these people!.... I cannnot foget their faces!...I cannot forget their stuggle!
please read caption on last Gatlang picture

Children of Gatlang


Beautiful Tamarang Woman

Newly Weds

Mountain Children

Shem and I with friends from Gatlang
p.s. the man on the right has been suffering with terrble pain and diarhea for a long time.I didn't know what what causing it(pin worms, bacteria, amebic, protozoa or viral) or what to give him which broke my heart so I ended up giving him Tylenol, and electrolyte powder. Please pray for him.

At the riverbed

Earlier this year Corina Lewis had taken this lady to the hospital to deliver this beautiful baby boy(baby was named by Ken Lewis). When I went to visit the family at the Riverbed with Shem the baby was lethargic, fevered and mother said that the baby had ++difficulty urinating. The Dr. had told her that the the baby needed an operation. Shem asked if there was any medicine I had to give to the family but I had none. Shem with Faith and Rod (with a mustard seed amount of faith)prayed for the baby to be healed.The next visit we made the baby and mother are all smiles and saying after we prayed the baby got better. Looks pretty healthy eh!

p.s. Corina,the mother say's she misses you!

the honeymoon is over....

yep, it is official....the honeymoon stage is over. the doubt has crept in, with the questions of "why am i here? i could be somewhere else....doing more exciting things...maybe i have made a mistake...."
editors note(please take all of this with a grain of salt since my emotional state is a little off balance because of lack of sleep and a headache that has settled in.)
i am wondering.
i am waffling.
i am pondering.
i am missing...
i am unsure of what my place is in this world of great need. everywhere i look, everywhere i walk i am accosted with poverty and i am overwhelmed. i can see why westerners rent beautiful flats with high fences up on a hillside away from the noise, the pollution, the cries, the needs. even as i write this i am somewhat embarrassed that i am even thinking that way but yet a part of me gets it and a part of me would never partake.
i just would like a to-do list and maybe if i could check things off i would feel a little better. here there are no lists...it is a matter of survival.