Praise God, we're in Nepal!!!

Welcome to our very first post from Nepal! Thank you all for your faithful prayers as God has safely delivered to Tansen, Nepal. Here's a glimpse of our short time in Kathmandu, our travel to Tansen, and a look at our new home. Enjoy!

Video 1: morning commute in Kathmandu (warning: if you are prone to motion-sickness, be careful when watching this video!); you'll see why we were thankful to leave after 2 days in the city

Video 2: monkey see, monkey do

Video 3: the winding and not-so-paved road to Tansen (warning: see the warning above!)

Kathmandu Valley

just outside of the city center of Kathmandu

men at work

after a successful summit of Swayambunath "hill"

Kathmandu Valley

Swayambu is more commonly known as Monkey Temple

very punny (that is, if they meant it to be a pun :o)

Thankfully, these were not from the above restaurant! Momos are like Chinese dumplings, but have curry and cinnamon spice in the ground meat of your choice (being wary travellers, we chose the chicken). They are quite delicious!!!

safely on the ground after a prayerful flight to Bhaiwara

We have been in Tansen for two days now, and are feeling a bit overwhelmed with all that needs getting used to. Thankfully, we have a loving and faithful God and we trust that He has us right where He wants us. So in spite of the challenges, we are overjoyed to be here! The Nepalese people use the saying "ali maathi, ali tala" to describe life in Nepal.  They say life here is like the country itself, "there are little ups, and little downs." And they say it with this endearing little head bob and a warm smile. So we've learned that things like sharing a tiny room with twin beds (we'll move to a larger place in couple of weeks), not-so-warm showers, bucket-pouring toilet flushing systems (observe the water tankless toilet), 20 minute walks to the store with 40 minute walks home due to carrying the load of what you bought at the store, and purchasing an electric water boiler that is missing a certain (and apparently crucial) heating element, are all part of life here, are all to be expected, and with a joyful and thankful heart for God's grace, are all to be dealt with an endearing little head bob and a warm smile. The missionaries here are very encouraging and understanding of our transition to this new way of living, and more than once we have been greeted with a warm, "welcome to the REAL world!" 

We have about a week and a half left of daily language classes and observation in the hospital before either of us start work. But we'll share more about daily life and serving in the hospital later! For now, we continue to pray for the large majority of the support staff and the patients and families who do not know the Gospel. And we pray that God may speak to them through our actions and words while we are here. We thank God for providing such a supportive missions community to welcome us, show us around, and pray with as we transition into the community. And we thank God for the faithful love and support of our family and our church, Lighthouse Community Church, who lovingly hold our hands as we walk through this experience in Nepal.