:: Reaching Nepal ::

Taken from Dave’s Blog

“Just as a preface to this and future posts, I am unable to get an internet connection at the convenient moment most of the time, so I have resorted to journaling at night before I go to bed and then posting when I get a chance. Therefore, the times of the post will not always be accurate, though I will at least change the date to reflect what day each post was written on.

Today was great. I slept somewhat better, although the jet lag still made it hard to get back to sleep if I ever woke up during the night. The dogs and roosters were slightly less noisy than on Thursday night. We have been staying in the orphanage since we arrived because Nathan?s apartment was not furnished. By mid morning, when the sun is up, the temperature is probably in the upper sixties and its fine to walk around in short sleeves and sandals, but during the night it is cold. The orphanage has no heat and I?m going to guess that it was about in the low forties in our room the last two nights. The blankets they gave us were plenty warm, though, and the worst part for me was that breathing the cold air made my throat a little sore.

Saturday is the holy day in Nepal, so most Nepali churches meet on Saturday rather than Sunday. This morning we got up and walked to Sham?s house (which is also Nathan?s house, just a different floor) for breakfast. On our way we passed a Hindu woman offering sacrifices on top of the wall that surrounds her house and ringing a bell to wake up the gods. Needless to say, when you?re getting ready to go to church to worship the true God, a sight like that can be a depressing wake up call.

After breakfast, Nathan, Daniel, Chrissy, and I met for prayer and just to talk about what we had been learning so far. We figured we probably wouldn?t get a whole lot out of a church service conducted in Nepali, so we wanted to be sure to have some kind of fellowship around the Word.

Church started at ten and was over about 12:15. They sang many songs I knew (in English at least) and the message was from Colossians 2. They do love to sing! And I loved listening.

After the service we had lunch at the orphanage. We had dal bhaat, which is a lentil soup and is sort of like the national dish, chicken, rice, curried chicken, vegetables and fruit for dessert. That was probably the first meal that I have actually been hungry enough to eat a decent sized portion. I think all the food from the plane ride took my already small appetite down another notch. I?ve felt great the entire trip, just not really hungry. Until today.

After lunch, Sham, Nathan, Daniel and I went out to start the chore of furnishing Nathan?s apartment. That sounds like an easy thing, but when you need everything, where do you begin? We ended up with some dishes, soap, toilet paper, a mattress, sheets, a comforter, and a pillow. Nathan just finished making a list so that we have something to go off of tomorrow.

When we got back from our shopping expedition, we ran over to the orphanage and got all of our stuff and moved it into Nathan?s apartment. I guess that means he?s officially moved in, though right now all the stuff is just sitting here. It is good to feel like we have some sense of privacy and permanence. I still can?t believe this place. It?s massive and nice on top of that.

For supper we took a taxi to the Banchha Ghar Restaurant and had supper with Jim (the regional administrator) his wife and a man named Sujan. Sujan is a believer (we think) and is a doctor here in Kathmandu. The restaurant puts on a? short presentation about the different cultural groups of Nepal. There were about five groups and for each one, a group of four girls would come out dressed in that tradition and do a dance from (what we assumed) was that culture. Like we would know if they were just making it up, right? Most of the dances were strangely similar to the others. After the presentation they served supper. We had chicken, wild boar, cooked spinach, marinated vegetables, and rice (betcha didn?t see that coming). After supper, which was about 9:30 we took a taxi close to home and walked the rest of the way.

I think the apartment is a little warmer than the orphanage, and I am sure that it is farther from all annoying dogs and roosters, so hopefully we will sleep well tonight. I am looking forward to not getting hammered with the uncontrollable urge to sleep about five or six at night. I resisted well today and we?re up later than before, so hopefully tomorrow will be a normal day.

I am praying for my youth group while I am away. If any of you are reading this, leave me a comment and let me know. Talk to you later.”