Treasures in Nepal

          It is August, and July was a whirlwind.  We celebrated the 4th of July with the anticipation of having Doug and Brooke fly to Nepal for a visit.  They arrived the following week and we took a break from our schedule to show them the sites.  They were brave souls because this is monsoon season and humidity takes its toll on you.  We were fortunate that it didn't rain during the day - only at night most days.  Still it was fun to show them a little of where we live and what we do.  We did have a scheduled wheelchair distribution in Pokhara so we flew there.  Normally that is a 6 to 7 hour drive, but since time with them was short we flew there in 30 minutes.  That was a real treat for us too.  The pictures below will show you a little of our time together.  

Doug and Brooke came in late one night after a rough 30 hour flight over.  We met them at the airport and presented them with the ceremonial scarves.  To say the least they were exhausted so we fed them a snack and sent them to bed.  They were up by 6 the next morning and off to India for a 5 day excursion - without us.

A treasure that came with Brooke and Doug was a suitcase full of worldly treasures like a swiss army pocket knife for Jim.  His was confiscated in the New Delhi airport on our way to Nepal.  On the bed are marshmallows for heavenly popcorn, coconut, my favorite old Merrill sandals, spices, clothes, and of course for me - bottles of hair product.  It was like Christmas!!!!

One of the favorite treasures were these 2 dog repellers from my brother.  Some times the dogs pester me as we walk home with groceries.  They leave Jim alone. Rabies is common here so instead of risking it, my brother sent me these repellers that emit a high frequency sound.  His question was would they work, and they do!!!  After the kids left we were on our way to the store and here came the pesky black dog.  Jim hit the button and the dog stopped.  He came at us again and Jim hit the button and this time he stopped and turned around and went the other way.  Success! We keep them in our pockets so no one sees that we are using them.  

Doug was treated to an old fashioned straight edge shave.  We are not sure if he enjoyed it or not, but it was one of our treats for him.  Besides the common scruffy look that most American guys are sporting nowadays is just not that acceptable here in Nepal.  Nepalese men for the most part are very clean shaven except for a mustache or the Hindu priests who have so much facial hair that they can weave it into dreadlocks.

Another treasure we got for Doug was a trip to the tailor shop.  These are plentiful and Nepalese are excellent tailors even though they use the old fashioned treadle sewing machines.  Nepal has load shedding so there are long stretches of no power. Consequently they use the treadle machines.  Doug picked out his fabrics and had 2 button down shirts made to fit him.  They were ready in two days and we paid $12 a shirt.  I had 3 shirts made for $9 each.  Most clothing is hand made here.  Western type clothing is beginning to show itself however.  We didn't forget about Brooke even though we don't have any pictures of her treasures.  We took her to the typical Nepali jewelry store.  She looked at the gems - rubies, emeralds, etc.  She chose topaz and although we thought she would choose a ring, she chose to have earrings made.  They are very pretty and set off that gorgeous hair she has.

We flew to Pokhara which is a beautiful place sitting right below the big peaks which we call the Himals.  They have a sunrise hike to an observation point below the mountains so you can see the sun peak over these spectacular mountains.  So we were up by 4:30 am and off to the hike.  Unfortunately the sunrise was hidden by the clouds and the fog.  It was still beautiful.

In Pokhara there is Lake Phewa.  People fish and tourists go boating.  Tragically this lake is highly polluted, and we were not sure we wanted to be out in these boats.  Before dinner we took a walk around the lake and enjoyed watching the boats and the people.

We spent the afternoon at the Mountain Museum outside of Pokhara.  They have a replica of the Mount Everest.  Doug and Brooke did the climbing and this was as close to Everest that they got.  If it had not been the rainy season, there is a mountain flight that buzzes the big peaks.  Perhaps in the winter months, we will splurge for that.  

We are ready and waiting outside a rehab center for the wheelchair recipients to arrive.  We are under a tarp to protect us all from the rain.  The wheelchairs are lined up and even though you can't see it, each wheelchair has a name on it for a certain person who has been assessed and measured for a wheelchair.   LDSC only gives wheelchairs to those who can't afford to buy a wheelchair.  We came early so we could greet the people as they arrive.  

This lady is an exception to the rule here in Nepal.  Her mother is behind her, and she says that her family has always believed in her so she has not been mistreated in any way.  She and her mother had smiles on their faces.  She owns a little shop, and her wheelchair has helped her to become more independent.  This is her second chair from LDSC.  Her other was worn out. 

Doug is greeting the main administrator for the Independent Living Society who has sponsored this event in Pokhara.  The young men who have gathered around are just interested in what is happening and are watching.  Doug likes people so he engages them in conversation, and before long, , , , , 

They are walking down a path in hopes of playing a pick up game of basketball.  Doug is on the right.  The  court is on the campus of the rehab center and it was all locked up so they had to return.  It was pretty tempting to climb the fence, but they resisted and returned to the distribution.  

Doug got his wish to play basketball though.  After the distribution, the recipients wanted to play basketball.  Those who didn't want to play were the spectators.  Doug went along to retrieve the ball that went out of bounds, but it wasn't long and someone brought him a wheelchair (too small for him) so he could play too.  He had the best time with them, and we think they thoroughly enjoyed playing with Doug.  Anytime a handicapped person can do the normal things, it makes a huge impact on everyone.  Everybody becomes a believer that handicaps are just a challenge, but never should they be a stopping block.  Doug got a blister on his hand from stopping too fast, but he said it was all worth it.  In fact I think he would tell you that this was the highlight of his whole Nepal trip. Afterwards he and the team just hung out at the distribution point.  They looked like a bunch of old friends.  

One of our other duties is to hand out white canes to the blind.  Doug and Brooke took care of this for us.  They were a wonderful set of people. They live in a home for the blind.  They came on the bus from this home to the distribution venue all on their own.  They came as a group by themselves all holding on to each other.  Now with white canes they can have more independence.  

This picture has nothing to do with Doug and Brooke and wheelchairs, but this young man and his dog showed up to see  what was happening.  I wondered about the spots on his dog.  His answer was if you really love your dog (and we rarely see any affection towards the dogs) then you "dot" him.  That is how people know the dog is owned and loved.  There is no need to buy a dog collar.  Just paint dots on him.  Awesome!

We made it back to Kathmandu and it was time to see the sights where we live.  We found ourselves a taxi and squished inside.  This was an old, old van which is unusual.  Most of the taxis are compacts.  We are headed to Pashupati, the sacred Hindu cremation area located on the Bagmati River.  We were held "kidnapped" by a tour guide who wanted a lot of money, but I will say we got a great tour.  Doug and Brooke saw the decorated Hindu priests and learned about the ceremonies and the dedication of families to make sure their dead are cremated in a way to take them to wherever they are suppose to go.  It is too hard to explain.  If you are interested, you will just have to look it up yourselves.

Also riding in taxis is always fun.  It didn't take me long to learn how to say  "bistari, bistari" which means slow, slow.  Most drivers are very nice, but I have picked out a few that I will NOT ride with in their cars.  Manos is my favorite taxi driver.  He is pleasant and has a bigger taxi and speaks some English and is willing to share some of his culture with us.  He has a wife that he married for love (not an arranged marriage) and a little 8 year old son.  He does not drink or smoke and is a devout Hindu.  

At least our Pashupati tour guide offered to take a picture of us as we stood among the temples.

Another stop was at Boudanath, the largest Buddhist stupa in Asia.  Buddhist stupas differ from Hindu temples because Buddhist temples have a set of eyes on top that look at you.  Doug is at the prayer rolls.  People turn them in a certain direction to send their prayers to heavens.  One of the other main differences between a Buddhist and a Hindu is Buddhists believe in the sanctity of life and do not sacrifice.  Hindus sacrifice animals.  There are lots of other differences too.

This is for Alissa.  There are pigeons everywhere in Kathmandu.  But here at Boudanath, there are masses of pigeons.  They sell some type of seed to the public so they can feed them.  The little boy didn't buy any seed.  His fun was chasing them when they swoop down to get some of the seed that has been thrown to them.  He had those birds in quite a commotion.

Bhaktapur is one of our favorite places to go.  It is an ancient city and was once an independent kingdom.  Now it is a city known for its artisans.  It is quite clean and the villagers take good care of it.  Brooke and Doug did a lot of their souvenir shopping here.

This was our day for Monkey Temple (Swayambunath). Here there are 3 massive Buddhas - and a lot of monkeys.  They roam freely.  And if you have ice cream or candy or something they want, they sneak up and grab it from you.  Unbeknown to us, Brooke didn't like the monkeys and she kept a careful eye on them and a whole lot of space between her and them.  Unfortunately Jim and I are a little directionally deficient and Manos told us he would meet us on the back side of this temple.  We went off the wrong back side and got lost.  It took 2 Nepali men to talk to our driver on the cell and then lead us to where he was before we got back to our taxi.  It is all just part of the adventure.

This monkey doesn't look too threatening, does she?  We are not afraid of them, but we also keep a healthy distance between them and us.

This is Jim's and mine favorite little oasis in the middle of noisy Kathmandu.  It is a restored palace garden.  There is a terrace restaurant that we love to go to for lunch when we have been stuck in the office for days.  They serve European dishes rather than Nepali.  We didn't take Doug and Brooke there to eat, but we toured the gardens.  All the park benches are occupied with snuggling young people.  It appears the days of arranged marriages may be declining, but it is very slow.  

We were very careful with food and Doug and Brooke.  We didn't need to ruin their trip with exposure to bad food.  But we did want them to get a taste of Nepali food.  We have this dear housekeeper, Rukmina (front) who we adore.  She doesn't live far from us and her sister is standing behind her.  Rukmina knows what us Americans can tolerate food wise and when she cooks for us, she tones down the heavy Nepali spices.  She wanted to cook a traditional Nepali dinner for us and Doug and Brooke at her home.  It was delicious and we think even Doug and Brooke enjoyed it.  Nepali homes are small so we sat in the living room around a coffee table.  She had all of her cooked dishes sitting on the table, and she served us chicken, rice, razma, shrimp chips, vegetables and rice pudding.  She would not eat with us or even let her son, Hitson, eat with us.  That is considered impolite so she waited until after we left.  I don't know what we would do without her.  She helps us with all of our questions, language training, and safety tips.  She is one lady we will miss when we return.  I could learn so much from her about love and generosity and singing while you work.

This was a last minute invitation from our Nepali partner, Rakesh, and his wife, Sunilla.  They took us to dinner at a Nepali restaurant that offered food from northern Nepal.  There are 127 different ethnic groups here with their own type of dishes.  It was delicious too, and Rakesh and Sunilla knew how to order for Americans.  We had no spice and they had lots of spice.  We put Brooke on the other side of Doug because she is not the adventurous eater and there were things she just didn't want to eat.  It worked well, and everyone was happy.  Rakesh and Sunilla gave Doug a Gorkha knife.  I suggest no one mess with him because he is now armed and dangerous.

     It was pure joy to have Doug and Brooke here.  I know they thought we might struggle to say goodbye when they left, but we have a lot of work to do here before we can fly back home.  We are only suppose to have 2 to 3 open projects at a time but we have 7. We also have 2 major projects, wheelchairs and neonatal resuscitation, that take up our time, besides working with our little church.  So, time is flying by and there is His work to do.

     There are treasures everywhere in the world.  We don't do any preaching of Christianity here in Nepal, but our faith in Christ is still what motivates us and is our real "treasure."  In Luke 12 Christ is talking to his disciples and telling them to go out and teach and not to worry about where they sleep and what they eat.  Then he says,"But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you." So first seek Him.  Then four verses later he tells them, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."  So for now, we are trying to do our best to be the very best disciples we can be in a very mortal kind of way because our treasure is truly Him.  

     Hope you enjoyed Doug and Brooke's adventure in Nepal.