Last blog posted as Nov. 5, but was written weeks ago. OOPS! So we have been in Kathmandu now for 2 1/2 weeks. Overall impression is ...sensory overload! The incredible colors, textures of the women's clothing, the Pashmina wool, the weavings, the Hindu prayer flags, the smell of coriander and garlic in the streets, the steamy milk tea with its sinus-clearing spices, the men's colorful hats, the mass of humanity on motorcycles or buses or bike-rickshaws, the honking of the horns, the odor of humanity in the narrow alleys..... and over all that, the awareness of how blessed we are to be having this opportunity, praying constantly not to miss ANYTHING the Lord has for us in this land.
We spent our first 5 days being a bit touristy, wandering the streets of Patan where LB and Jeff live, and getting used to again being where we understand nothing of what is going on around us!
Took us back 5+ years to our arrival in Honduras! Jeff and LB's pastor from Vashon, WA flew in with a friend of LB's dad to participate in all the doings, so joined us on our wanderings. We wandered out in a rural village near the city, amazed at some of the similarities to our villages in Honduras. It is harvest time, so rice was drying on evey available space of gound, the window openings were full of drying corn unhusked. I stopped to stroke the soft head of a baby goat- and he began to suck my finger... then chomped on it. Hm, they sure teethe early. I have trouble resisting baby goats. We spent one afternoon going thru a famous large Hindu shrine here, and then bussed to a Buddhist site and wandered in and out of the shops, stopping to enjoy a big meal for about $2 in a typical restaurant. Those first 2 weeks we ate lentil and rice (dal bhat) almost daily- and we have not grown tired of it. (Hm, I smell it cooking in the kitchen right now!)
For me, a touching and emotional memory of the "before dedication" events was a visit to the printing press that was pumping out the New Testaments and song books for distribution. Because of strikes and Hindu festivals, they were much delayed and it sure looked like right up to the last minute that there would be far fewer ready than Jeff desired.
But to see the intricasies of the process, the dozens of people sitting crosslegged in a dark workroom under lightbulbs doing the cutting, folding, gluing, sewing... and to know how many years, tears, and prayers had gone into this endeavor was momentous. At the last minute, we were able to transport all the needed books to the dedications!Along with about 7 other folks from the US from the Seed Company (a Wycliffe affiliate that works with this type of project to fund it), we flew out to the east on Sunday, Oct. 25, and settled into the accomodations the Limbu committee has secured for us. Ours was right on the main highway, up a dark stairway, a spacious cement room that showed no signs of having had clean linen for a long time nor a cleaning of any kind. Workers slept on mats out in the hallway. But we had no bugs or rats, unlike our companions in a neighboring hotel. We were able to participate in a church service in the Limbu church a fair walk away the evening before the celebration, which was really neat- seeing them singing THEIR songs with THEIR instruments, ones they had composed themselves, not just english hymns that had Limbu words. They did their traditional dances and had their traditional dress, giving us a peek at their lives.
The dedication ceremony was 5 hours long, with many dignitaries speaking, some christian and some political. Jeff felt that the location, the local municipality building, very public, and the banner over the entry for all to see, was a real first. No effort was made to hide the purpose of the celebration. Jeff was honored both here and at the India dedication for his years of devotion to the Limbu translation.
There was a huge feast on the grounds afterwards. Because of a strike closing down transportation and businesses the following day, some of the visitors left for the airport area that PM to be sure they arrived in time for their flights. LB, who had made the long journey over just for the cereomony but had to return to her teaching job the next day, chose to stay overnight...then had to take a bike rickshaw the 1 1/2 hrs to the airport in the early am as there was no taxi service!
From there, we piled into vans like sardines with all the Limbu folk who were also traveling the 8 or so hours into Sikkim, India to a town called Jorthang. The border crossing and journey are a blur...not easy. The believers awaited us at the church there with a meal specially prepared. We sat outside and gradually several got brave enuf to attempt the use of English. Much more personal interaction here, as it was a smaller group, probably only about 350. We were taxied by the Limbu committee out of town to a guesthouse on a rushing river, far from the highway, where we enjoyed a small supper and a deliciously quiet night- WITH hot water, a rare commodity. We attended the second dedication Thursday, where the highlight for me was to hear Jeff give an address, the only one who spoke Limbu! Apparently the Nepali are hesitant to use the language in public- there was an obvious response to him! We drove the incredibly curvy, narrow roads (yes, Dr. Don, worse than the road to Sattal!) thru the mountains over the border and down to the lowlands before dark, but still a long drive to the border thru awful traffic. I will never again complain about Honduras traffic. We stayed at a $7 a room place near the bus terminal, the nicest hotel in town! Think we were all relieved to get to the little airport in the AM and fly back to Kathmandu.
We rested up over the weekend, enjoyed the international church that meets at the school LB teaches at, and prepared for an overnight trek. John had gone out biking with Jeff and a group of men for 4 hours that morning, and had a nasty fall when some schoolgirls crossed in front of him in the mountains. He did a 4 or 5 point landing, striking his sternum also so is having some residual discomfort. Despite all his ouchies, and wondering up to the point of departure if he could do it, he took off with Jeff and I at 6:30 Monday for an 8 hr, 13 miles mountain hike. He survived better than I did- there wasn't much that didn't hurt by sunset! But the views were worth every ache and pain! We arrived at an awesome mountain retreat right before sunset, with time to shower and snuggle beneath 4 layers of down, wool, and 2 regular blankets to warm up while sipping Nepali milk tea. We watched the full moon come up on our right and the sun go down on the left- with the snowcsapped Himalayes in front of us. Then limped to the dining room for a wonderful hot meal- yup, dal bhat! Slept deeply beneath all the layers for warmth as we were a mile high and it got cold. Jeff had to wake us up to view the sunrise! Hated to leave the view behind, but we descended the mountains after a leisurely quiet time facing the mountain range in front of us. May we never forget the many showstopping views we were privileged to see! Winding down our time for departure next Monday.
Thanks to all of our supporters who in one way or another made this trip possible.
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