a week can take you far away

Its crazy for me to look at this photo (one of my students gave it to me today) and realize that it was taken exactly a week ago. A week seems like a short time, but it can take you so far away! Those clothes are in a laundry bag under my bed, that historic square is a memory, those pigeons are ...well, still remembered actually, but only because there is a green smudge from their droppings on my purse. The point is, I could scarcely feel further from Kathmandu than I do right now. I am sitting by a window with sun and a salty breeze, a friend is making me pulled pork and sweet tea for dinner, and I can pick up my phone and call my sister anytime i want to. I am a world away from where I was last week.

Durbar Square, Kathmandu

five minutes in Nepal

I wanted to share this little nutshell video to give a glimpse of the last few months of my life. It was an intense trip- feeling the burden of the need in the church, keeping a rigorous travel itinerary, moving about on foot or on wild transportation, often living in rustic conditions... we lived hard and so we laughed hard. Joy was an earmark of our outreach. Our contact was always reminding us to "Enjoy the joy of our salvation" as we lived and ministered in the Himalayas; that joy was a reality, even on the hardest days. Its a wonder how some difficult days I would still come out the other side wondering if I should be allowed to have so much fun:) Such a blessing to do what we see our Father doing and share His joy. 

Due to the upload resolution, the video is probably not good quality on full screen- sorry:(

reflections from home

After two days of travel, I am home in Maui:)  Our overnight layover in Seoul was a blessing- and a sort of decompression chamber. It was great to sleep in a real bed at our hotel, and the airport there felt like a luxury itself so we were happy to sit around there (and in my case, eat Burger King:). 

Now I am settling in at home- I unpacked easily and have hardly had jet lag worth speaking of... altogether, I find its been a rather grace laden homecoming for me. As I prepare photos and videos for a testimony night later this week, I have the opportunity to reflect on my trip- a kind of natural processing and debriefing. Its been pleasant. 

I just wanted to share a few random pictures I enjoyed during my reflections from home- and hopefully eventually I will post a short video as well- standby for that in the coming weeks!

Exciting cable footbridge (obviously reasonably sturdy- which is good since it was long and high up...) as we trekked out of our last ministry location...

Teaching pastors, elders/ leaders, and representatives from a dozen churches in a valley district...

With my great team:)

Hello, Everest! The view of the Himalayas from the crest of the last mount we passed over.

Starbucks Via packets were my constant companions- this was my last cup of coffee in East Nepal before heading back to Kathmandu to fly out. 

loving and leaving

Bittersweet.

Thats the best adjective for these last few days in Nepal. These months have been saturated with the good, the bad, and the challenging... brim full of mountain highs and valley lows- often literally. There is satisfaction in my heart knowing we walked in obedience and did all that God sent us here for. Yet as my understanding of the desperate need for discipleship in the Nepali church has increased, so has my heart for contributing to that need.
Still, its time for me to go home now. I am truly happy about that, but I have embraced so much of being here that its a little sad to move on. I have loved it and now I'm leaving it. Then again, welcome to my life:) Its kind of an occupational hazard.

Day after tomorrow, I'm "...leavin' on a jet plane" and I honestly "...don't know when I'll be back again."

Yeah, bittersweet.

so you had a bad day (or Trailside Curiosities of Nepal)

Worst amateur taxidermy ever. I found this hideous specimen in a trailside lodge where we overnighted- it cracked me up. Still does. Every time i see this picture i just think, so you had a bad day...? 

somewhere high up and far away

The last couple week's conspicuous absence of posts is due to my being up in the mountains with my team- trekking, teaching and enjoying the joy of our salvation. I will have to give a better and fuller account later; for now, know that its been an intense couple weeks with steep dawn to dusk treks, high altitude, stunning vistas, and hours of teaching the truth in a land marked by spiritual darkness.

A twenty hour jeep haul (yes, twenty hours with eleven people in a jeep) brought us back to Kathmandu. Most the roads were so rugged that it was literally like off roading; I am bruised, sore and tired, but glad to finally be back in the capital after a month and a half in rural areas. 

 

With that wild ride behind us (praise the Lord), we have only one week left in Nepal- I can hardly believe it. Its bittersweet for sure. But more on all that later when i have slept more and had some coffee:)

 

off the grid...again

As if i have not been infrequent enough on my contact, tomorrow I will drop off the grid for another couple weeks. We have been circuiting villages within a days journey of a certain town in east Nepal, occasionally stopping back through that hub town to take a rest day or restock supplies (like toilet paper-or almost as importantly, chocolate...) . Now we are about to head off on a five day trek into a neighboring district to meet pastors and leaders from that area who have been requesting that we come with training for them. The first days of the trek are steep and challenging- so much so that we are hiring local porters to carry our backpacks those days to reduce the difficulty level! Sounds like a challenge for not-wildly-athletic me at the best of times...and I am not at my best, as I will explain in a moment.

My team is actually in a village still- having taken a half day bus from a village in which we just finished teaching. Unfortunately,it was there that  I got knock-down drag-out sick for (unbelievably) the third time this month. Due to this situation, i returned to our hub town since it was less travel strain. With only a few days before our trek, i needed to recover and the longer busride and hike weren't what the doctor would order;) My absence is a good leadership exercise for my team, anyway- so there is no worries being away for two days. They are a solid group and will embrace the opportunity to grow in new ways.

I have recovered well and consider myself stable- just not very energetic or strong yet. I will leave tommorow to rejoin the team and continue on to our trek's jumping off point. That translates to 13+ hours on buses and rough roads... a long day. And then, of course, the trek. Prayers appreciated.

The next time I write will likely be post-trek, and post-east Nepal; I will probably be back in central Nepal- in the capital, Kathmandu. But there is alot of ground to cover between now and then. Lots of miles to bus, hours to trek, churches to serve, altitude to ascend, and... yet surprisingly few showers to be had.

Let the adventure continue!

If you are going to be sick in a cold cement hotel in Nepal, hope that  it at least has a good view:)