Sarita

Oct 6. Simon and I went to church at KISC and Wendy stayed home to prepare for her friends coming for lunch. I met a nice lady there named "Dora" who directs performances with the Nepali schools. She was lovely.

Sarita and 2 other of Wendy's Nepali friends came and Wendy had a feast ready for them.   Mashed potatoes, curry veggies, veggies and roasted chicken was great. We had fun and found out they loved Candy Crush, so we played....so fun!

Later I returned my bags and got replacements from the paper Kraft store. I also picked up my pencils and note pads.

We ate our leftover pizza and Wendy and Simon had a surprise for me....Beer. Oh did it taste so refreshing after being out in all the dust!

Church

Oct 5. Today were went to a Nepali church in town. As we approached, it was so nice hearing the voices of the redeemed fill the streets. So good to see so many adults and children. The message was on Romans 8. since in was in Nepali, I just kept reading the chapter over and over. 28 is packed with truth and assurance. i was blessed. The children Wendy and Simon tutor were there also. The younger girls were in tattered clothing but the older children were dressed nicely. I'm not sure if the girls like wearing boy clothing or if that is all they have.

We then went to a Naan bread restaurant for lunch and had bread and Marsala. After we went to the new building to check it out. The computer store was great and actually had some good deals on laptops. i might have to change my plans about the DVD player for Rajendra. .Later we went upstairs to the cafe and it was not opened but they offered us coffee....for free. It was wonderful on a cool rainy day.

We returned to the flat and rested and then decided on pizza for dinner. It certainly was yummy. And there was enough for leftovers.

Sayoni's New Baby

Oct 4- it is another rainy quiet morning, but I ventured out on my own (with my phone of course) to the German Bakery around the corner. Everything looked so yummy, I wanted one of everything! I ended up with brown bread rolls, some chocolate croissants, and cinnamon pinwheels and went back to the flat.  They were great especially with the plum jam Simon had shown me.

Wendy had some friends to meet so Simon brought me to where Sayoni lived.  On the way there, a Nepali yelled out " Al's wife". It was Arjun, a friend from years ago who helped us in YWAM. I don't know how he recognized me, I had a raincoat and hood over my face because it was raining. T I informed him of Al's death and he had expected it after hearing he had cancer. Arjun has left YWAM,he got married and is working for a big company, in fact, next week he will be traveling to India. We might met up with each other after he returns.

 Umesh  met us at Apple Pie and took us to his flat to see the baby and Sayoni. It was so close to his work which is wonderful to have him close by. Sayoni looked well and Natasha was precious. I stayed with Sayoni for awhile catching up on what has happened to us during the last 4.5 years. She is breastfeeding, which was going well. She seemed a bit disappointed that she had to have a C-section but I told her the last 3 grandchildren I had were born C-sections. 

In Nepali culture the woman can not leave her house for 4 weeks after having a baby. They also have to keep their head covered, keep bundled, and only eat rice. The baby also has to keep bundled. Both Sayoni and Natasha had a cough. The doctor said they both were fine and needed no medication.

I could not get over what a good husband Umesh was. He is doing all the housekeeping, cooking and laundry (even the diapers) plus work. I was surprised at how joyful he was to do it. I offered to help but they said it was all under control.

We discussed the HIV home and the project I had for them. She suggested I get with them and said that there was another program that might want to do it if the HIV home did not work out.

I left Sayoni's and went to the carpets district to look again for carpets. I found one I liked but again no matching door 2x3 carpet.  I ordered pencils and pads from Umesh's brothers shop and a transformer for Wendy and Simon.

I did well for being out all day, it was almost dark when I got home. Wendy made homemade potato soup for dinner and I took a shower and went to bed.

Getting Around

Oct 3- woke up to a quiet rainy morning. So peaceful, the birds are being so quiet and still this morning. I was well rested after a wonderful nights sleep with the weather being a bit cooler. 

Wendy made a nice sausage soup for lunch, so perfect for the weather. I took a nice hot shower and washed my hair with new shampoo.  It has a stiff greasy feel and I don't know if its the water or shampoo.

After lunch Simon and I went to get my Pokhara tickets and SIM card.

The roads were wet and slippery with all the mud. It was like I was ice skating.  Everywhere the streets are under construction. dusty when its dry and a mess when its rainy. But we were successful in getting all we needed. To my surprise the agent was a believer and gave me a wonderful reduced rate on my air tickets. I was expecting to pay $214 rt but he only charged me $166...that's a $50 savings.

More children came to get tutored. Simon and Wendy do such a great job with these children and you can see how much the children love them. Today's children were a little older than yesterday's.  Amos, Kumar, Asa and Simrun..two girls and two boys. They enjoyed the session and the airplanes also.

We went to have some more local food for dinner and met Luke and Alicia, some other missionaries about the same age as Simon and Wendy. It is so cheap to eat here. I think my meal was $1.80 and it was all-you-can-eat. Unbelievable and so tasty. 

On the way back we stopped at a store and ordered toothbrushes, soap and toothpaste to take to the villages.

We called Sayoni and arranged to go and see her tomorrow. I can't wait to see the baby and how she is managing.

I texted the kids and the phone works! Yeah...I'm sure they are feeling better now.

Oct 2- good nights sleep....many new sounds, crows, roosters, people starting their day and the dog barking.

Started with Simon cooking pancakes that were great (almost the same texture as crumpets) and topping them with pomegranate  and Nutella. Wendy and I had Nepali coffee on rooftop and then ventured out to the city. We met Simon for lunch of Mo- mos (5.50) and then went to get pictures taken and a phone sim. Needed my original passport.

Went to bookstore and bought a Childrens Bible story book for the children Wendy and Simon tutor and Nepali Bibles to bring home. Also went to the Tibetan carpet factory and could not find some I like.

Found Diet Coke at Saleway :) and ate a custard apple....so yummy

Children from the childrens home came to be tutored. Subeeta, Upsara, Purna and Oxsa, what precious children they are! Fun time...started with snack and intros, reviewing the English  alphabet,  acting out verbs and after workbooks Wendy read Bible story with Purna and then we did "Jesus Power" song and airplanes. 

I met Edwin a Chinese friend from downstairs and we went to dinner for $1.60 a meal. Good

OFF TO NEPAL

I am heading off to Nepal to see friends Al and I had met years ago and that are dear to our hearts. In a way Al will be with me! From some of the donations that the church received in Al's memory, I will be purchasing a sewing machine for the women in the HIV home. I also had a plaque made to say " In Memory of Al Benoit" to attach to the machine. I am also packing some Tootsie Rolls that he used to hand out to the kids. That always brought smiles to their little faces.

What will I be doing there?  Some people have asked me to make them a Scripture quilt like Al's. I really am too busy to do that but I will be taking over 200 squares to the HIV women and have them embroider (if they want) and I will come back and assemble them here in the US. I plan on paying them $2-3 a square so that will be a good income for them. I will be selling them for about $100..no profit..if you know of anyone who wants one let me know. It makes a great gift for those facing chemo treatments or other diseases. I have many colors and themes to choose from. Now off I go!

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We made it to Bahrain so far.... but now we have a big delay. We originally had a layover of 12 hrs but now our flight has been delayed an additional 5hrs. Thats a long time to hang out at an airport. We are thankful that we have a frequent flyer card and can stay in the business lounge for food and rest. We are also thankful for the flights that got us this far. We had an hour delay in Norfolk and snow in Detroit and rain in Amsterdam. Its our last and final flight that is giving us the most trouble. We will be happy when we finally get there.