VACATION!!!

Last week we were blessed with the opportunity to get away from Tansen, and for the first time in three months, play "tourist" in this amazing country. One may think that spending five months away from home qualifies as a really long "vacation," but we've learned that no matter where you are living, a "vacation" from anywhere is almost always appreciated. The primary objective of our time in Pokhara was to obtain a two month extension for our visas to allow us to stay in the country until the end of August. Though knowing all that Pokhara has to offer, we were quite willing and excited to take care of such "official business." So we headed out with our good friends Graham and Elaine Wetzig (who also had to renew their visas) on the four hour drive from Tansen to Pokhara. 

Thank you all for your prayers with regard to our safe travels during this very wet monsoon season. The roads were quite muddy, and there were land slides across some areas of the road which slowed us down a bit, but by God's grace, we made it safely there and back again! We also thank you for your prayers for God to bless us with a happy and understanding government official the day we went to apply for the visa extensions. There were definitely a few nervous moments and several beads of sweat upon the brow when he told us the extension we were asking for isn't given at the Pokhara office. As we "played it cool" on the outside, we were frantically figuring out how we were going to get to Kathmandu to get the correct extension, or even possibly a flight out of the country before our first visas expired! But by God's grace, the nice man decided to do us a "special favor and make a call," and with our 20,000 rupiyaas in his hand, he signed our visa extensions. Praise God!

As for the rest of our time on vacation, we figure the photos will give a clearer picture than our words. Here are a few stats to help round out the picture of our time in Pokhara:

- # of pizzas devoured: 4 (each)

- # of milkshakes consumed: 2 (each)

- # of close calls with donkeys: 2

- # of rupiyaas spent in souvenir stores: a lot

- # of times we said, "thank God for AC!": at least 11

- # of times we got to flush a toilet: EVERY time we used one!!!

- # of leeches found on our person: 17 (but not to worry, there were no "Stand By Me" moments)

- # of stairs ascended and descended: 4252+ (see photo below)

- # of times we praised God for His amazing creation and the blessing of experiencing it: countless

Enjoy the photos from our three-day, two-night trek to some of the more remote villages in the foothills of the Himalayas, and the rest of our time while on VACATION!!!

the first day of the trek: the town of Landruk is behind us across the valley, and that's where we were headed on the second day of the trek (sidenote: although we have lost some of our extra poundage, the Nepali diet of intestinal parasites and amoebas is NOT recommended!)

the trek: started in Nayapul and spent the first night in Ghandruk; second day through Landruk and Tolka to spend the night in Dhampus; third day a short 2-hour walk downstairs to Phedi and then a 45 minute drive back to Pokhara

Nepali traffic jam. A note about donkeys: it's best not to follow them on the trail as they tend to leave a mess in their wake; and once you hear their bells, if they are behind you, move faster; if they are coming at you, move out of the way! 

we weren't sure what these two were doing, but they were quite obliging for their photo to be taken

added note about donkeys: try not to be on the bridge at the same time as they tend to make it bounce and sway more than you'd like

all in a day's work

the blessing of rain: lush valleys and beautiful waterfalls

most of the homes, paths, and stairs in Syauu Bazaar are built with this gorgeous rock

due to the fact there are no roads in this region, the donkey trains are the only means of transporting goods and supplies in and out of these villages; as we bought bottles of clean water at each village, we grew in our appreciation for these large, and sometimes scary, beasts of burden

sorry, we were too tired to verify this number

stairs were definitely a theme on this trek

rice, millet, and maize are the primary crops of this region

as this is the monsoon season, rain was the second biggest theme of the trek

the village of Ghandruk: this a Gurung village with traditional Gurung homes

early morning in Ghandruk: this was the closest we got to seeing the mighty Himalayas; at least the clouds revealed their own unique beauty

on the second day of the trek, we descended down one side of the valley, crossed the river, and ascended up the other side of  the valley; the town of Ghandruk, where we had stayed the night before, can be seen at the top of the photo just below the clouds

we met this girl carrying her little brother when we had stopped to administer some first aid to a young buffalo herder; the little one was a bit skeptical of the camera (or maybe just the strange looking foreigners behind it)

in the foreground is a traditional raincoat that makes the people in the fields look like diligent turtles plodding along in their work

how many leeches are there?
aside from the obvious creepy factor of these creatures, they are quite resourceful and persistent little things: Niraj, our guide, had us walk in front of him and Kishna, our porter, because once someone passes them, due to scent or vibration, they start reaching from their perch on the leaves for the next "meal opportunity" to come by; this small plant represents the average number of leeches that could be seen on each plant along the trail if you were willing to stop and risk the chance of them hitching a ride and a meal on your person

at the end of the trek: Kishna is on the left, and Niraj is in the green shirt

dinner with our Australian friends, the Wetzig's
(that is indeed a large scoop of ice cream on top of a crepe filled with nutella in front of us!)

this is why your prayers are so very appreciated as the monsoon tends to cause a lot of landslides and damage to these hillside towns

our drive back to Tansen: a river swollen with the rains of the monsoon

moments in time...

As God is continually at work here and all over the world, we are constantly amazed and in awe of how He uses the Body of Christ to love others as He loves us. This first photo was taken just before many of the long-term families left Tansen for their furloughs. It's pretty mind-boggling to think that God has brought all of these people from all corners of the world to this place at this time to carry out the mission of the Gospel. We are from all different countries, cultures, and ethnicities, but we are all here for the same purpose. In this moment in time, it's encouraging to know that God is using each of us in a unique way to work together as just a small part of the Body of Christ. This photo represents a sampling of how He binds us together as one family in one faith. The rest of the photos in this post aim to reveal His presence in each and every moment in time. Enjoy!

countries represented in this photo: Australia, Britain, Korea, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and the United States

Next week we are headed to Pokhara in order to renew our visas. It's hard to believe that we are almost half way through our time here, but we are definitely looking forward to this vacation for some rest and refreshment. Please pray for safe travels as the roads are winding and the rains are coming. And pray that Kim continues to grow in her tolerance of creepy crawling things as there are many leeches to deal with during the monsoon. Thank you all for your prayer and support, and for your interest in this amazing country of Nepal! We hope to blog in two weeks once we return from Pokhara!

aath paath ("ahht pahht")

This blog title means, "lesson 8."  To be more accurate, we should have titled this post, "aath haptaa," which means "week 8."  But we enjoy so many of the melodic alliterations in the Nepali language, we couldn't resist this one.  It's official though, we've been in Tansen for two months now!  We were thinking it would be nice to try and summarize how the experience has been thus far, but with EVERYTHING being new and different, putting into words the last 8 weeks seems an insurmountable task.  So instead, we thought we'd give you a few examples of how God faithfully carries out His sanctifying work in our lives in the more "unexpected ways."  We know He brought us out here for many reasons, and even though we may not see the fruit of His works at this moment, we trust that all of those reasons are for His glory and for our good.  

the novelties of being in Nepal...

- Calmly removing large spiders, beetles, or other stinging insects from the home is now a daily routine

- Cooking rice without a rice cooker is actually easier than we thought

- Teaching Sunday School is now something we know how to do together

- Walking a mile to buy groceries or have a meal at a restaurant helps to decrease the guilt of having eaten too much

- Listening to the high-pitched "munchkin-land" voices of the kids out here has become our daily dose of laughter 

- Talking about the functions of your GI system with others in the mission community no longer seems embarrassing, rather, quite entertaining

- Although we come from many different cultural and ethnic backgrounds, as part of one Body of Christ, it's fascinating to see how the many differences come together in seemingly perfect unity for His glory! 

Feeling loved and seeing how God answers your prayers is perhaps the most encouraging experience of all. Thank you and we praise God for you all!

a quiet afternoon

the field just outside of the hospital compound where we go to listen to the children play in the evenings

this is why Kim sees so many people with neck and back pain in Physio

chores before school

chores after school

rangi-changi!

Kim's personal favorite of Tom's photos thus far

several weeks ago, we posted a photo of these boys looking at themselves in Tom's camera... this is what they saw!

our apologies: we know these types of photos are not very pleasing for some of you to see, but we just can't get over how crazy amazing the critters out here in Nepal actually are (fortunately we met this character out on the trail and not in our bathroom!)

    

  

a Baptism in Tansen, Nepal!

[4] We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

[5] For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. [6] We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. [7] For one who has died has been set free from sin. [8] Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. [9] We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. [10] For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. [11] So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

~ Romans 6:4-11 ESV ~

On April 30, 2011 twenty-four Nepali people were baptized into a new life in Christ Jesus.  It was only the second time we had attended Tansen Church for worship when they announced the reminder of the baptism service to follow that day.  Not sure if the opportunity would present itself again in our time here, we quickly grabbed our cameras and made our way to meet the bus that would take the lot of us down to the river for this blessed event.  

God's presence was palpable that day.  He was in the bus as joyful and fervent praise songs drowned out the loud diesel engine for the 45 minute drive.  He was in the refreshing waters of the river as people cooled off with splashing and laughing.  And He was in each of us, His children, as our hearts overflowed with joy in celebrating the new lives these 24 Nepalis were born into that day.  God blessed us all as we prayed and sang Him praise for the work He has done in all of our lives.  We pray He will continue to work through the Body of Christ here in Nepal, and all over the world, to call more people to His kingdom.  We also pray you may be moved by some of these photos of the day in the same indescribable way we were.  Praise Him for His grace and mercy in our lives!     

the Hulandi Khola in which the baptisms occurred

creating the pool for the baptism

Rina (on the left) was baptized last year. She was there that day to celebrate the baptism of her father, stepmother, and younger sister, Bipinaa.

Bipinaa's baptism

there were 24 Nepali men and women baptized that day

Praise God for His work here in Nepal!

Rebecca (on the left) is the Christian Occupational Therapist Kim works with at the hospital and has become good friends with; Elaine (middle) is a missionary from Australia with several years of experience here in Nepal. Her husband, Graham, is a general surgeon at the hospital, and the two of them have been a huge blessing to us as they have taken us under their wing during our time here. 

[4] There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— [5] one Lord, one faith, one baptism, [6] one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. [7] But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.

 ~ Ephesians 4:4-7 ESV ~