January 25 – Trip to the Bankariya people

Another 8 hours of rough roads up and down mountains, through flat lands, over metal and sometimes wooden bridges that creaked as the jeep went over and thru small rivers to bring rice and blankets to a people displaced from the mountains. The team was up at 5:30 am to get ready, blankets were assembles and we waited for the jeep. Sher and Kalpana, Sandip and Saru, I and Rajan got into the jeep and all the blankets were on top. We began our way on another very cold morning in Kathmandu. I don’t think my nose has strayed this cold for years.

January 17, 18, 19 – children’s ministry classes – Kidz at Heart

This week has been full of wonderful opportunities to learn about Childrens Ministry and place it in Nepal. A group originating in Arizona ( so funny) is here with team members from different states they are doing such a wonderful job making childrens ministry appropriately encouraging and engaging for all ages. We went with Kidz at Heart and helped them deliver warm clothing and evaluated this village and the people for further work in Dhading while another team went to Dolakha and delivered book bags to 100 school children who lost everything and Sandip and team went to a village in Nagarkot to deliver blankets to a small village of 20 families we heard about.

Saturday night we separated 200 blankets from the bound 40 piece bundles that were delivered. Sandip and David tied rope around 12 at a time and mounds of blankets were everywhere. Dani at 5 saw them as a challenge to climb and fall on! The blankets were close weaved wool which will be good in all types of weather for the Chepang people.

Sunday morning thick grey fog was swirling around the building as we woke up at 4am. We waited for the micro bus to come around 5am to excitement in our hearts. It took us an hr to load up all the blankets even with Sher Lama, his wife and two teen boys helping. WE piled in at 6am, the eight of us and began our 6 hr journey in the pitch black crowded conditions but content. As short as I am my knees still cramped and the seats were narrow and hard. Traffic is better this year because of the shortage of petrol. Petrol is available if you wait in long lines ( we are talking lines of cars and busses parked for days and a mile long) or purchase on the black market. And so the streets are not as crowded. People can be seen everywhere surrounding little trash fires to get warm. Smoke fills the air as we fly by. Busses wait curbside waiting to be over stuffed with people to make their journeys across Kathmandu. We drive slowly thru Kalanki Chowk ( cross roads) to start our journey up into the mountains, then down again and up and down numerous times. Thick fog surrounds us as we slowly wind our way around the various loops in the mountains, upon bumpy gravel roads and pray we don’t go off a side cliff. I am glad it is dark outside. Construction is being done to widen the road which I am told will take ten years to complete and lots of “stopped” traffic for travelers. WE were blessed and were able to drive at a pretty steady pace. We stop at several places to use the restrooms which can only be described as overused and cleaned once a day after hundreds of uses. I roll my pant legs up and pray. On our way again after some noodle soup. I purposely drink less than I should for obvious reasons.

Up to Babare, Dolakha Nepal consisted of an 11 hours bus ride through various small towns into the mountains that required many stops and back ups to accomplish getting around bends on the very narrow gravel road. We were up at 5:30 am to catch the 6:30 bus.

This taxi was the slowest I had every been on! He kept cleaning the windows that left a residue of oil smeared on them and his head lights too low to see. My patience was wearing thin but we made it in time and met up with our other team members.

Nick Abraham from Australia brought two other members from “From the bottom Up” a building team and Rajan, I, Sandip and Simon were from ChangeforHope. The seven of us huddled in the cold bus and finally got to Babare when the sun had set and it was pitch black. Out came the flashlights and up we went through rice fields for about 30 min. Tired is not the word I could use to express how I felt but we made it and the young people cheered me on! Great team work and God was obviously wanting me there again!