Home sick

“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.” (Psalm 103:8)

Last night I went to bed feeling great. I was excited for my last day at the hospital and happily anticipating our trip to Pokhara on Saturday for our week-long trek. Well, a few hours into sleep, things went from great to okay and from okay to bad. I seem to have come down with some bug - hopefully of the 24-hour variety - that kept me up all night and kept me from going into work this morning. Feeling sort of down and pretty crappy, I curled up in my bed (so thankful to have a bathroom just steps away) in hopes of feeling better.

I write this post not to seek sympathy, but to share the power of community and prayer. Libby offered to do anything at all, as soon as I broke the news that I'd not be joining her at the hospital today. In fact, she is doing a number of favors for me today. Miley - our house "didi" - busy washing laundry, cleaning dishes, keeping everything tidy - came into my room to check-on me... she had a sense without even have seen me that I was sick today. Not too long after her visit, Ross - another housemate - a man who has diligently been coming here for over 30 years to work on Bible translation, came to offer any help that he could be. Just now I wondered downstairs to find a DVD in our common room. There I met a Canadian couple, about to head out from the house here to do some Christian ministry work in a village outside the valley. They prayed for me.

I'm not feeling 100%, not by any means. But, my spirit feels much refreshed. As you go about your day and decide whether to reach out to another (or not), know that Jesus will work through you to heal in so many ways, in tiny ways and big ones, if only you call on Him.

I'm supposed to head over to Kathmandu later tonight to meet Emily and bring her back to my guesthouse so that we can prep for our journey that's scheduled for an early morning departure tomorrow. I know it is all in God's hands. Pray that His mighty will be done!

From our rooftop on laundry day: black socks, solar water heaters, and mountains in the distance.

Rhinos, Tigers, and Bears, Oh My!

On Friday I took a 6-hour bus ride to Chitwan to meet up with Emily. On Saturday we took a 1- hour bus ride with her Habitat for Humanity group into Chitwan National Park.

Our destination was the Island Jungle Resort. We arrived via dirt road and knew we were in the right place when we saw the sign above. However, there were no buildings around - all we could see was the jungle, river, and a couple of wooden canoes. Oh right, we're staying on an island! So we took the wooden canoes across the river, packed in with our backpacks and about 10 people per canoe. Ours gained a bit of water as we crossed, but we made it safely!

We were greeted with a cup of mango juice and our "schedule for the weekend." Our first activity was an elephant ride!! We had four people on our elephant - Emily, her Habitat roommate Sonia, our driver, and myself. It's hard to get a picture of yourself on an elephant, but here's a glimpse at us while riding the elephant; you can see another group of riders in the distance.

We journeyed through tall grasses, rivers, and jungle trees. Splashing, crunching, crushing whatever was in our way!

Here is a closeup of our little lady:

After returning from our exciting ride to our gorgeous riverside resort, it was time to eat lunch. After lunch we changed into our "bathing costumes" (shorts and t-shirts, since we didn't bring bathing suits) and headed down to the water...

So that we could wash (and ride!) the elephants. Here is Emily surfing on an elephant who is lazily lying on her side.

Later in the afternoon we went on a walk through the jungle looking for rhinos, tigers, and sloth bears, among many other animals. Here are scratch marks that a tiger has left on the trunk of a tree, in order to mark his territory. We saw fresh tiger poop, fresh claw marks in the sand, and the half-eaten carcass of a water buffalo - but we never actually saw a tiger up close. Fine by me.

Hard to see in the photo below, if you look close - on the sand across the way - is a crocodile bathing in the evening sun.

We returned at dusk via wooden canoe.

"For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains

and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and

all the trees of the field shall clap their hands."

Isaiah 55:12 (NIV)

We enjoyed watching the "stick dance" performed by a group of teenagers. The dance was originally danced with the intent to ward off malaria. Later in the evening, Emily and I joined the dancing fun.

I woke at 6am the next morning for an early morning "bird watching walk." Though the weather was a bit too misty to see the birds, we definitely heard them. Best of all was when we saw a giant rhino rise from the water into the mist. He's hard to see below, but he is there! The scene was quite majestic.

We enjoyed breakfast, another hike, reading by the river, and lunch before heading back to Emily's hotel in a nearby town. Who ever though Em and I would end up in Nepal together?! God works in crazy ways.

Momos in the Dark

A reflection from David regarding our first day in Nepal...

On our very first night in Nepal, Krista and I headed from the airport to the touristy district of Kathmandu called Thamel. The guesthouse we stayed in, Kathmandu Guest House, has been around for a long time, and many things in the area are measured by how far away they are from the Kathmandu Guesthouse. We got in at about noon so we had all afternoon to explore. Strangely,  it was 10:15pm back in California and when you are in airports and airplanes for nearly 40 consecutive hours, you're body becomes confused. Am I tired, or am I just being irritable for no reason? Am I hungry or is that pain in my stomach from eating four airplane meals in a row?

We walked around town a little bit where every store front sells knock off North Face and Marmot clothing gear. The streets are teemed with honking motorcycles and tourist vans wiz by forcing pedestrians onto the sides of these roads that were clearly not designed for vehicles at all.

After settling in and finding some snacks, we fell asleep mid afternoon, waking up with a big appetite at about the right time for dinner. Now, we had never looked at a menu in Nepal before, nor did we know the standard rate for different types of food, so we explored. We went to six or seven restaurants and asked to look at their menus. What's a doso? How about a momo?

Krista probably could have went on looking at menus for 30 minutes, but after walking into several restaurants just to walk back out again, I was turning into a kid at a candy store. I didn't care what I ate, so long as I could eat something, and eat it soon. So we landed on a restaurant called the "Momo Star." it had a long, skinny dining space elevated three or four steps up from the entrance. The split level was then filled with the kitchen underneath the dining area. There were maybe 10 tables that could seat four people each. After staring at the menu trying to determine what type of food would come if I ordered this or that, we decided it was only fitting to order a plate of Momos, the namesake of the restaurant. After a few minutes, we were served milk tea (delicious!) and the Momos canes out shortly afterwards. Momos turned out to be a thin layer of steamed dough with some sort of filling. They are really quite tasty and usually come with some spicy sauces on the side.

By this time, the sun was long gone, but we felt confident finding our way back to the guesthouse. As we were munching on our Momos, a strange a unexpected (by me) thing happened: all the lights in the entire neighborhood shut off. My mind started racing: there's about to be a massive earthquake, people are going to get robbed, we didn't bring a flashlight with us, hold Krista tightly!

A few seconds later, a few lights turned back on, but not at the same brightness as before.

The majority of Nepal's power is generated with hydroelectricity. With H2O flowing from the highest point on earth to nearly sea level in about 100 miles, there is a lot of potential energy. But this time of year is dry season in Nepal, which means not much water flow and not much energy.


Without their primary source of energy, the Kathmadu Valley is subject to "load-shedding" which means that everywhere household, store, restaurant, hospital, etc. only has 10 hours of electricity each day. We had a schedule posted at our guesthouse for each day of the week and when the power would be on or off. Each day was different, and we would generally have two five-hour chunks of time where we would have power. Sometimes it would be in the middle of the night, sometimes in the middle of the day. If we ever wanted to turn on a light, use the microwave, or try to have a semi-warm shower, we would have to wait for the electricity to come on.

Our adventures had only just begun.

Through the years

 

 

Friday afternoon

Traditionally, Saturday morning has been my favorite time of the week. A chance to sleep in, to wake up to chirping birds and the morning air, and to experience the delight of a new day. However, Friday afternoons give Saturday mornings quite the competition for being the best part of the week. And for David, Friday afternoons are his favorite. So instead of seeing these two times as competing for the best part of the week, we embrace both and get to celebrate two “favorite times.” Guess that’s all a longwinded way of saying… I was excited for it to be Friday afternoon because I know how much David loves Friday afternoons!     

_______

Today was Libby’s parents last day in Nepal. They have a flight out late tonight. Her mom had been wanting to get a custom-made kurta. So we brought them back to the place where I had a couple kurtas made for me.  

  

[About ten days ago we had accompanied Olga and friends to Neeva Fashion: Kurta Salwar, Sarees, and Fancy Ladies Wear. We had gone in hopes of picking out fabric for a kurta (tunic-topic), trousers, and matching scarf. It’s quite the process and can be overwhelming at times, as the women who work there have all the material organized in neat piles on shelves and as a customer remains unsure about this color or that pattern, they will unfold and present more and more choices. By the end of the process, we had probably seen over 100 unique color, pattern, and material combinations! They come in every color imaginable, have varying degrees of “bedazzlement” with sequins and sparkle, and may be made of cotton, pashmina, silk, or probably some others. I couldn’t decide on only one, so I splurged for two! They took many measurements of me with their cloth tape measure. As recommended by Olga’s friends who have had many kurtas made over the years, I asked for the tailors to measure “loosely” – as I was much taller than the average Nepali and wanted to be sure to fit into my new clothes. We paid on the spot and were instructed to return in about a week’s time for the finished products.]  

As you can imagine, I was incredibly excited that Libby’s mom wanted to have her own kurta made, as I had the chance to experience this rainbow of fabrics all over again. I also thought my own kurtas might be ready for pick-up. They were! So as Libby’s mom was choosing between materials, I was trying on my new kurtas. They are wonderfully comfortable and elegant looking. We even found an already-tailored beautiful tunic top that Libby liked and looked gorgeous wearing.     

After our kurta extravaganza in Kupondole, Laltipur (Patan), we took a 15-minute taxi ride into Thamel (Kathmandu) for dinner at an Israeli vegetarian restaurant suggested by our guidebooks: OR2K (http://www.or2k.org/).

The menu was filled with delicious salads, soups, Mediterranean combos, and more. We had a special treat because the vegetables were all pre-treated in filtered water, so visitors such as ourselves could actually eat the salad! (a very rare occasion here). In addition to the delicious food, the seating arrangements were padded mats on the floor with low tables, the room was lit by black lights making everything that was white or bright glow fluorescently, and the walls were covered in colorful paintings. I would gladly return here for another meal!

After dinner, Libby’s parents prepared to head to the airport and Libby and I headed back home via a series of two taxi rides, as the first driver seemed a bit confused about his whereabouts. All in all, it was one superb Friday afternoon here and though I am missing David to share it with, I’m happy to know he spent the exact same hours enjoying a morning golf outing!

A mighty sky

A striking scene of sun and clouds, as viewed from my rooftop this afternoon. How awesome is it that we have a God that creates such beauty and enables us to see it!

The rain continues...

Let us acknowledge the LORD; 

let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises, he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains,
like the spring rains that water the earth.

-Hosea 6:3

It has been sunny everyday that I have been here. I don’t think it rains too often during winter here. So it is a special day when it does. The thunder and lightning continued all night long. Multiple times I woke to the boom and flash of light that I’ve grown to miss so much while living in California. Having the day off from the hospital, I planned to sleep in. When I woke around 7:30am, the rain had slowed to an occasional sprinkle and puddles could be seen everywhere. I’ve always loved running in the rain and though I’ve been working to get over a head cold, I thought what better way to commune with God in the moment than go for a jog. I’m sure I elicited some strange looks directed my way, but I was excited to be hopping over puddles and finding sure places to put my feet. The air was a welcome relief from most days because even though there was still much exhaust from the vehicles, the normally constant layer of dust had been beaten down by thousands of raindrops. I ran on narrow dirt roads and wide paved roads, dodging taxis, buses, bicycles, and children waiting for school buses. Not too long after returning home, did the steady rain start again – resounding with an occasional boom of thunder.

Today I have no plans. I love days like that. They do not happen frequently enough. Correction – I had one plan - to talk with David! We skyped after returning from my jog and the strangest thing happened: our video call that was initially working just fine decided to make me mute. I could see and hear David and he could see me, but he could not hear me. Definitely was interesting to have a conversation where head movements and facial expressions became the only way I could communicate.

With the rain coming down hard, I’m happy to stay curled up inside. Better yet, Miley our “house mom” offered to cook a meal for Alice (a housemate) and myself. We pieced together what food we had on hand. I had bought lentils and rice in hopes that someday I would get to experience Miley’s cooking – today was the day!  We had only to walk ten steps to the kitchen to enjoy a hot delicious meal; all three of us eating together.

I’m not sure what I will do this afternoon. Libby is gone with her parents to Nagarkot and possibly Bhaktapur, though I’m not sure how their plans have changed with the abnormal weather.  I’m thankful for this day of rest and reflection. 

Rain

It's been sunny everyday here... until now: A thunder and lightning storm! Ah, what will it look like in the morning after a night of rain? Excited to see. Could be pretty muddy...

The Nursery

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven." Matthew 18:10

After spending my first two weeks on the children’s ward at Patan Hospital, I transitioned to the nursery this week and have now spent two days with the babies.  Each morning I attend a teaching session, yesterday it was about the previous day’s admissions and today it was on chronic kidney disease, after which the residents disperse to their respective teams to pre-round and round. There are two intermediate nurseries and also a NICU. I have spent the first part of the week in nursery A and will spend the last couple of days this week in nursery B.  Thus far the babies have ranged in gestational age from 27 weeks to full-term and have varied in birth weight from less than 1 kg to over 3 kg. There are a couple of incubators in the intermediate nurseries, but any baby that requires intubation is transferred to the NICU. 

"Nursery A"

After morning rounds at the bedside of these babies, the team scatter to various duties. One resident will go the post-partum ward to exam the healthy babies “rooming-in” with their mothers. Another will cover the OT (Operating Theater) for c-sections and the Delivery room for vaginal deliveries. I’ve been waiting for my opportunity to attend the deliveries. Today I was granted that chance!

After trading my tennis shoes for “slippers” (plastic shower sandals) upon entering the OT area and donning scrubs atop by street clothes, a blue hair cap, and green facemask, I was dressed to observe my first c-section delivery.

The resident showed me how he prepped the bed with a warming lamp, set up the facemask, bag, and O2 if necessary, and prepared the suction. After watching him receive and care for one new baby, it was my chance to “catch” the next one. 

Ready for the hand-off!

“Catching babies” is a role medical students can fill for healthy babies and one that I have filled multiple times back at home. However, little did I know until today that there is a big difference here related to how the baby is later presented to its mother. In the U.S. we make sure the child is stable with an exam and necessary support, swaddle them tightly in a blanket, and bring them to the parents’ sides. Here in Nepal, the naked baby is carried to the mother’s side. When it was my turn to show the baby off for the first time, I supported the baby with one hand under its rump and the other hand under its head. Well, when I brought it to the mother’s side, I quickly learned why the baby had to be naked. It seemed the most important part of this encounter was to be able to visualize the baby’s private parts, as words alone were not enough. With that first baby, I quickly learned how to present the baby properly to its mother. Despite the emphasis on visualized the sex of the child, all the mothers today appeared equally thankful to have a boy or a girl.

He's a squirmy fellow:)

As I reflect on today, I just keep thinking how words really cannot describe the miracle that each life is. I love being there for the transition from a baby swimming in a sea of amniotic fluid to one breathing air and crying for the very first time. When their little eyes open up to the world around them, I am moved to my soul. I sense such ultimate innocence and dependence, yet such wonder and awe. Of course a healthy baby is such a blessing, as there unfortunately are many complications with the grueling birthing process. Today the babies were wonderfully pink.  

"Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation– if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good" 1 Peter 2:2-3

My Birthday

I was born twenty-eight years ago today. This is my third birthday that I have celebrated outside of the United States. This coming year will be the longest year of my life thus far. Why? Well there are 29 days in February this year, but as we know that happens every 4 years. However, I started celebrating about 12 hours before the rest of you in North America. So as I get ready for bed here, I still have all day to celebrate in the United States with you!

How does one spend their birthday in Nepal? Well, from what I’ve learned from conversations here, most Nepali people do not know the day they were born. Historically most Nepali babies were born at home, perhaps delivered by a family member or, if you were lucky, a midwife lived close enough to come assist in the delivery. Nonetheless, most people live in rural villages and the sense of an exact birthdate had little, if no, value. Today there are incentives for women to deliver in hospitals and, increasing over just the last several years, children are now growing up to know their birthdays. That being said, birthdays in Nepal are just not that big of a deal.

Sticking to the Nepali attitude regarding celebrating (or even knowing or recognizing) one’s birthday, I made no special plans. Of course, I ended up having a splendid and special day. I woke up to a birthday call via skype with David. Enjoyed breakfast with Libby. Had an awesome morning at the hospital – my first day in the nursery (I loved it!). Ate at our favorite lunch spot right across the road from the hospital. Took a chiya break in the afternoon sunshine before finishing our time at the hospital in outpatient clinic with some precious kids.

The streets seemed extra busy today as we walked home from work. As we turned off the main road and headed towards our house, we were greeted by a magnificent surprise. It has been quite hazy lately. When it’s hazy here, you can’t make out the mountains at all. The “haziness” can be so thick sometimes that you can barely even make out the nearby foothills. I had prayed that I would get to see the mountains today, my birthday. I know God answers prayers in so many different ways.  Some are answered in ways that we would hope for and other times they are answered in not so obvious ways. They are heard and they are answered. Well today this prayer of mine was answered exactly as I had hoped for. The snow-capped Himalayan mountain range rose about the dust, noise, buildings, pollution, and the foothills. Even though the day was far from being perfectly clear, those mountain peaks jumped out of the sky, soaring where you would think only clouds could be. Thank you God for allowing us to come right to you in prayer. Thank you for caring about the big things and the small things. Thanks for showing off your gorgeous creation for us to see here in Nepal today.

Rooftop view of the mountains, from our guesthouse. Look in the distance, there are mountains - not just clouds (Better in person!)

After an extended viewing of the mountains from our rooftop, Libby and I headed into Kathmandu via taxi. We met up with her parents who had quite the day of walking and touring, and headed into Thamel for dinner. Since her parents were to be having traditional Nepal food in coming night, we decided on Korean food for dinner tonight. By map and guidebook, Libby meticulously led us through the disorganized streets to the alley of a well-reviewed Korean restaurant. 

Libby with her parents, excited we found our dining destination.

I don't think I’ve ever had Korean food and was excited to try something new. Based on Libbys’ recommendation, I ordered bibimbap and was served a piping hot bowl of rice, vegetables, stir-fried beef, and a freshly cracked egg – all of which you mix up together as soon as it is served, as the dish is so hot that there is still some more cooking to be done! There were lots of little side dishes and steaming hot soup as well. 

Missing Libby from the photo. Now if only David and Mike could have been here too...

After dinner we made a surprise stop at a bakery to look for a birthday cake or some other celebratory dessert. I picked out a “chocolate ball." We enjoyed our desserts on a second-level outdoor café with reggae music in the background overlooking the streets of Thamel.

My birthday dessert: a "chocolate ball" - it really was all chocolate.

After a short taxi ride home and a hot shower, I’m now warm and cozy, curled up in bed, missing my husband, but excited to extend my birthday celebration a bit longer when I wake up in a few hours to watch the Super Bowl via Skype with David. Let the celebration continue….

Places We've Stayed

Here are some of the guesthouses and hotels we've stayed at while here in Nepal!

One Day

Today was a typical day here, as typical as any may be. Wake up around 7am, body stiff from having slept so soundly at night that I must barely have moved. Emerge from my cozy, sleepingbag-lined bed to the chilly morning air. Use my curtain to wipe condensation off the windows; peer out towards the Himalayan mountain range (and hope it's clear enough to see the snow-covered mountains).

Wander out to the kitchen to cook up so oatmeal, this morning mixed with brown sugar, though most other mornings I’ve mixed it with jam. Read and reflect briefly while eating the steaming oatmeal. I want to work my way through the New Testament, obviously not to be finished in my time here, but a place to begin nonetheless. True confession, this morning I checked email instead of reading the Bible.

Yesterday though I was reading from Matthew. In chapter 1, verses 22-23 it says: All this (the birth of Jesus Christ) took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” – which means, “God with us.”  Have you ever made a promise? God made a promise years and years before Jesus walked this earth. He made a BIG promise. In the Old Testament, in the book of Isaiah, it is written: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” He made a promise and he fulfilled it. Fulfilled it in a mighty mighty mighty way. What an awesome God we have.

Libby and I leave the house between 7:30 and 7:45am to reach the hospital by 8am. It takes 15 minutes, almost exactly, to get there. We are at the hospital until about 4pm. When we arrive we are warm from walking, we quickly get cold while rounding in the unheated wards (I don’t know of any buildings that are truly heated here in Nepal), we may warm up with a few minutes of sunshine at lunchtime (like today when we drank “chiya” (milk tea) in the sunny hospital courtyard), then likely get cold again while observing outpatient clinic appointments.

By the time we get home at the end of the day, we are ready for a snack. Today it was mouth-watering pear juice and digestive biscuits. Yum yum. Then we decided to get some exercise. Aside from the one jog David and I went on the day of the strike last week, I haven’t done any proper exercising since being here (excluding walking/hiking). Libby brought some workout DVDs from home and today we did our first one. Kickboxing! We set up our own workout studio in the common room on the second floor by moving a coffee table out of the way and rolling up a rug. For over an hour we punched, kicked, ducked, and dodged invisible boxers. If we had a mirror to see ourselves moving, I’m sure I would look ridiculous. Lots of room for improvement!

As Libby had yet to try Nepali dal bhat, we asked the residents today for suggestions of a good local place to eat. Upon their recommendation we went to a Thakali restaurant for dinner. It was wonderful spot located less than a 5 minute walk from our home here. We sat on the floor on low-set chairs and enjoyed a vegetarian Thali set meal (with milk tea for dessert, of course). After dinner I showed Libby some photos from David and my adventures in our first week here and then brainstormed some fun activities to do with her parents, who will arrive this weekend. Both Libby and I miss our husbands dearly, but are so thankful to have each other’s company to adventure here together.

I topped off my night with a video skype call to David. Seeing the one you love makes all the difference!

Life in Patan

1/23/12-1/30/12

The taxi from Bhaktapur dropped us off close to Jawalekhel. He couldn’t go all the way into the center of this district of Patan because of a potential “strike” causing a traffic disruption. We climbed out of the tiny taxi, strapped on our backpacks, and though we really had no idea where we were, we started walking. After walking along a busy street with racing buses, taxis, cars, motorbikes, and bicycles, with larger storefronts than we had yet seen, we pulled our a map to try to make sense of our whereabouts. David, “Mr. Awesome Sense of Direction,” pointed us the right way and soon enough after crossing the street and changing direction, high up on a telephone pole we spotted a blue-and-white sign pointing us to “Shalom.” After a few left and right turns taking us down some smaller alleys, we arrived at the gate of our new home. We rolled back the heavy metal black gate, glanced up a series of small balconies on the corner of the 4-or 5-floor structure, and made eye-contact with an older Nepali woman who had just come to the window. Unsure of our next best step, we waited in the courtyard. This woman, whom we would soon learn was our house “didi” (older woman, helper), waved us in through the front door. She showed us to our room, offered us a bottle of water with a couple of glasses, and gave us our key. Our room had a giant bed – 2 twin beds pushed together creating an almost seamless union, two walls of windows, a desk, and our very own bathroom.

That first afternoon we ate at the nearby Bakery Café (a Kathmandu/Patan chain of restaurants offering delicious fair in a relaxed environment, served to you by an entirely deaf wait staff). We then found our way to Patan Hospital, in order to scope out our route for the next morning (Krista’s first day of work). Later we picked up our larger backpacks, which we had left at Olga’s during our trip to the outer rim of the Valley.  We arrived home for the night, unpacked, and went to bed.

Throughout the course of the next week (1/23-1/30), David explored Patan during the day while Krista worked at the hospital. She is there from 8am until 4 or 4:30pm, with full days off on Wednesday and Saturday. Many of the adventures we experienced that week will be described in posts to this blog dedicated entirely to each unique event; however, in summary, we visited a couple of children’s homes, ate at a friend’s restaurant, experienced a full-on-no-vehicles-allowed “strike”, ate Dal Bhaat with our hands (or rather David did), went for our one-and-only jog, journeyed to Bodha (including Kopan Monastery), observed end-of-life practices at Pashupati Temple (cremation grounds), and learned much about Hindi and Buddhist culture at the Patan Museum in Patan’s Durbar Square. David was a busy man, meeting with a few different people that he was blessed enough to be connected with by some dear friends and family. Krista will write about her time in the hospital in more detail, but thus far - despite a very different set of available resources compared to what we get used to in the U.S. - she has observed compassionate thoughtful care of these most beautiful and precious Nepali children.

David’s last day here was Monday the 30th of January. He walked Krista to the hospital and then took a taxi straight to the airport. Krista arrived at the morning teaching session with tears in her eyes and sadness in her heart. Thankfully there is free internet in Singapore (first layover spot) and Skype, once home, to look forward to!