Dreaming of Nepal

I was discussing with a coworker our trip to Nepal and he asked, ‘If I was dreaming?’ I had no idea what he meant and thought I might but be really losing it as it was my first day back and I was also at the office. I now understand what he was asking.

The last few nights I have been dreaming about Nepal. Dad says this says that I miss it. And to be honest with myself I do miss it. I miss the life and how everyone takes the time for the important things instead of rushing around like crazy people. 

If my dreams really do show/say what I miss about Nepal – I am definitely warped. So far I have dreamt about making soggy French toast, hiking up the Himalayas (this may have something to do with my cracked tailbone and the fact that it hurts), teaching English to the women up at Her Farm (of course in my dreams I can speak perfect Nepali so it’s easier to teach English), and the children (of course!).

Jenessa

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things

I love the song form the Sound of Music called ‘My Favorite Things’. It’s a song about when you are feeling sad, scared, missing something, etc. that then you think of the things you love and then you don’t feel so bad anymore.

I can’t believe I’m saying this but I miss Nepal. As people ask me about it I miss things. So here is a list of my Favorite things from Nepal, things I miss.

-          The Children (OH THE CHILDREN!! I miss them terribly), especially doing homework in the mornings with them.

-          Samosa’s for Breakfast

-          Soggy French Toast (let me just say that while in Nepal we did not enjoy this one)

-          Negotiating for a Taxi (unbelievably I also miss this one)

-          Mid-morning naps (or study time for me)

-          Work days that start at 10am. The Nepali people are happier and get more done and I believe it’s because they start later and end early.

-          No alarm clocks

Freaking out Tastebuds

If any of you have been on a Pioneer Trek you will totally understand the feeling of starving and then getting to the first night’s camp at about 2:00am and you get that hot broth. It’s the best meal you have ever tasted. IT’S SO GOOD! However, if you make that same meal on a regular day it’s nothing like that night and honestly it’s actually, well sick.

Well this post is nothing like that. Maybe a little but it’s the story that came to mind as I tried to think of how to express the feelings we were having as we ate our first meals back in America.

Our very first meal was at FOSTERS GRILL. It’s one of my favorite burger places on a regular basis but when you haven’t had beef in 6 weeks, it ends up being the best burger ever. The atmosphere is also really great. It’s almost like a 70’s diner and sports place. It has the shell of a race car on the ceiling. It’s really cool. Both Keturah and I agree that it’s a place our Uncle Michael would enjoy. French Fries and a Burger you can’t get much better than that for your first meal in the USA. 

The next thing we wanted was pizza so for our first dinner in the states we ordered in from Dominos. Pepperoni Pizza, oh my goodness it was absolutely divine. Filled with tons of cheese - Yummy.

Both meals didn’t sit too well with us but they were delicious. It’s so weird to have so much verity in food options. We as Americans take for granted how much food we get and have in the US. In Nepal literally it’s curry and rice; breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We are so VERY blessed.

Jenessa

An Early Thanksgiving

It’s been said that you don’t fully appreciate your life until you have lived in someone else’s shoes. I can tell you from experience that this is so true. I am so grateful for my time in Nepal and for the knowledge it has given me. It has made me so grateful for things that I had never really noticed before. It’s an early Thanksgiving this year for me as my heart is full with the many blessings I have each day.

Below are a few of the very first things I was grateful for as we arrived back in the United States.

Toilets: 

Yes I really missed my bathroom while I was gone in Nepal. And toilet paper. In Nepal the toilet is a hole in the ground and you use a hose to clean up afterwards. Now we were very blessed to have western toilets available to us as volunteers however there was not always toilet paper available. 

Stop Lights:

We did not see a single stop light while we were in Nepal. We almost died multiple times as we got into a taxi or bus and they rushed off, not obeying any traffic laws at all.

Ice Water:

Clean, pure, cold, ice water! Enough said.

Padded Carpets:

I didn’t miss this – I don’t think. However coming home and being able to stick my toes in the carpet it was amazing. Next time you are home, if you have carpet in your house go stand barefoot on it and enjoy every second of it. Also sitting on the carpet. In Nepal you sit on a mat that is as thin as ever. Or you just sit right on the ground.

Mirrors: 

I still have not decided if I am grateful for this or if it’s a mixed blessing. No one in Nepal owns a mirror. So you just go as you are. It’s great and people are not worried about how they look all day long. So it was a realization of how much of our time we spend trying to look good for others. I was however grateful to have a mirror when I got home.

Washing Machine:

My clothing has been washed in the shower or a bucket for the last 6 weeks. It was so nice to have a washing machine that actually ‘cleaned’ my clothing. Everything smells so good now.

Jenessa

Our Last Act in Nepal

Our whole trip to Nepal started out with a feeling and desire to serve the Lord and his children. I find it very ironic, maybe ironic is the wrong word, I find it amazing and something very special that the last thing we ended up doing in Nepal was attending Church. The branch (a small congregation) was absolutely amazing. We met so many wonderful men and women who though the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not officially recognized in Nepal they are faithful members who love the Lord. We were so blessed to be a part of their congregation for a few weeks.

The Lord works in many ways, mostly it’s all small and simple ways. I’m grateful for the many testimonies that were shared with us. They have helped build me up and strengthen my Faith.

Jenessa

Volunteers

We may not always know why the Lord asks us to do things. Sometimes it isn't until after we've finished what we needed to do that we look back and see what we learned. Sometimes we may never know why we felt to take the long way home instead of the usual short and safe route. But the Lord knows!

For us here in Nepal we are still not sure why the Lord wanted us here at this particular time. However we are seeing some wonderful tender mercies that are happening with the volunteers here that would not have been happening had we not been here at the same time they were. 

Verity & Fynn:

This mother and son are from the UK. Verity has visited India before so the culture shock for her was not as high as first timers. This trip she brought her 12 year old son Fynn, who is so cool. Verity was out at Her Farm working with the women and studying women's rights and using the experiences of these women who had come to the Farm after being domestically abused. 

Two things happened with Verity and Fynn which are worth mentioning. The first was the almost dessperet need Verity had to have someone care about her and what was going on with her family. As Americans this type of almost small talk is something so natural that at first we didn't even realize we had asked about it. It wasn't until a bit later that Verity expensed her appreciation for that simple act. 

The second experience we are still unaware if it was even helpful. However both Keturah and I had the same thought and feeling so we acted on it. Fynn had gotten really sick and had been admitted to the hospital. Verity came back to the Kathmandu house and in a rush packed up some needed things and ran back to the hospital. It doesn't matter what we did, we just pray that it helped ease some of her burden as she headed back to the hospital. 

 

 

Sarah:

Sarah has traveled the world. Her passport is completely full and it doesn't expire until 2028. She is well learned and loves life. She also happens to be vegetarian and a cheese maker by trade. 

For Sarah who was craving to attend a religious service and pray. After not being allowed in one of the places of worship because she was a women we ended up being her relief. She asked many religious questions which lead to a very enlightening religious discussion between us all, which we hope filled her 'spiritual bucket'. 

 

Misha:

17 and here on her own we have become like the three musketeers. We all are now working in the community hospital which means we leave together, we eat together, and we come home together. Keturah mentioned Misha probably just needed an older sister figure to be there just in case anything were to go wrong or if she needed help. 

Misha is very sweet and has a brain like no other. She is pre-med and wants to get into Oxford for medical school. We have no doubt that she can make it. 

 

Those are just a few of the volunteers we have had good experiences with. Experiences that though for them, have changed our lives because of them. 

Something I learned from my mission is that you learn the most from those you serve. That statement is as true here in Nepal as it was in Germany 5 years ago. 

Jenessa 

The Bus Boy Who Thought He Knew Better

We may not speak Nepali or technically know where we are at all times. However we have been here for 5 1/2 weeks now so we know are way around and we know when we are being led astray.

We walked up to the bus(van) and as always asked where it was going. The creepiest man, with the creepiest smoker voice, said while puffing smoke into our face "this bus is to Thamel". If you've ever watched the old Alice and Wonderland and Alice is speaking with that wise old caterpillar  and as he does he puffs blue smoke at her. That's was basically what happened to us. I for one thought smoker man was much creepier than the caterpillar, which as you must now is quite an impressive feat. 

Then the little man in charge of calling out everyone and making sure he squeezes as many people as he can on the bus, he looked at us and then at the creepy guy and smiled. This usually means that we are going to get played. And then as we pulled away the smoker man looked right at us and smiled (if you could call it a smile, it had a bit too much evil in it to be called a smile). At this point my imagination is running wild. I was convinced that they were going to drive and not tell us where we were or to get off, until everybody else was gone. And then they'd drive us into some creepy ally, smoker man would be waiting, and they'd kill us. 

Here we are on the bus and we see where we were supposed to stop and instead they continue on. Luckily for us we have been here for 5 1/2 weeks so we quickly got off. As we left the little bus man smiled as if we had caught him in the act. I'm telling you he was totally going to murder us.