On Wednesday morning Shawna and I took the boys to a neighboring village named Godawari. Godawari should be named the village on a hill, or the village of many stairs. The village is literally cut into the side of Pulchoki Mountain and nothing there is horizontal. Everything is cut into terraces or stairs. It has a reputation for having beautiful gardens and flowers and is often used as a place of retreat by people in the Kathmandu Valley looking to get away from the pollution and stress. We were seeking solitude and a good place to get away and pray. In our hearts we have many questions that we wanted answers to.
We arrived in Godawari and enjoyed a little peace and quiet. The kids were able to breath the fresh air and for a moment life was peaceful and quiet. The moment did not last long though. We soon found out that we were stuck in Godawari. A rioting mob has shut down all traffic in the district and we were unable to make it back home. At first it seemed like a Godsend. A mandatory break from the struggle of life in the city. I mean if you have to be stuck somewhere this would be a good place to get stuck.
In Godawari we were unaware of the fighting that was going on in the city. The police had told the leaders of the riot that they would not be permitted to hold any more demonstrations. If they refused to listen to this order they would be met with grave consequences. I do not know how much more grave they could be. They had already been met with riot batons, water cannons, and shotguns.
The students refused to listen to the warning and so the fight resumed in the streets just minutes from our house. Bricks were thrown at the police and tires burned in the streets. Hundreds were arrested and or injured. Maybe we were spared from the fighting and should have been thankful for the strike that kept us grounded.
Meanwhile in Godawari Kody and I met a group of children and began making friends. The people here are amazingly friendly. Had we not stayed in a hotel we would have found it easy to stay in anyones house. Nepali culture requires the host to treat any guest like a god. Everywhere we walked we found people emptying out of their mud houses to greet us in the street.
When the kids slept I took a walk and spent some time thinking about what was going on and the future of our family in Nepal. At what point do we know when it is too dangerous to continue? For the most part people are looking to me to tell them when it is time to leave. The parable about the frog in boiling water comes up often. How do we know the water is not about to start boiling around us while we just sit here and think its OK. I can tell you that the water is hotter, but when does it get too hot? These are questions that I wrestle with often and I depend on many contacts and other people to help me make that decision.
I met a group of boys when I was walking down by the river. While we were talking a group of young men on motorcycles drove by at a high rate of speed. They turned around and made it clear to me that I was not welcome there. Despite the language barrier I can understand and speak enough Nepali to know when I am being told to leave. I asked the friendly bunch what was wrong and they did not want to answer. They soon left me alone and returned to their homes.
I began walking home when I suddenly heard a voice of a young man behind me. I slowly turned around expecting to find a small mob of young rebels wanting to fight.
The young man said "Whats up man,,,,,,, Why are you here?"
He said it in his best Bob Marley accent. The young man was clad in the trendiest apparel that a poor villager could afford. I stared at him in disbelief.
"Do you not speak English?" He said.
"Uhhhh, Ya I do, I just did not expect to hear someone speaking English like that." I replied
He went on a short dissertation trying to incorporate as much American slang into each sentence as possible. When asked where he learned such English, he replied that he learned it from his favorite rap music.
I soon felt at ease with my new found friend and welcomed his company. I was trying to make it back to our hotel and was glad to not be alone. At least if the angry gang returned he could try and help me talk my way out of being assaulted.
Before we said our goodbyes my new friend bought me chia and insisted that I join him for a short break. Despite his desire to incorporate himself in American culture he still held on to the Nepali tradition of sharing chia with a new friend. Despite his poverty he still bought my Chia. As we said our goodbyes he shook my hand with some handshake that he must have seen in a gangster movie. He told me to be careful in this village.
"I don't like the people here," he said.
"They appear to be friendly and nice on the outside, but on the inside an infection grows."
"Rebellion will eventually eat them up if things don't change."
"They are tired of being uneducated, overlooked, and mistreated."
My friend gave me new insight to what is going on here. The rebellion in the city raged on and in the country it appeared undisturbed, but inside it grows.
After another day we were permitted to ride the bus back to our home. It was nice to be home. It was still cold and the bathroom still stunk. We still had very little water and none of it was hot, but it was nice to be home.
We went to the village on a hill to seek some answers to questions, but came back with even more questions.
For more information about the condition of the country read the article in Time Magazine online.
Today is important for a couple of reasons. First it is National Leprosy Day. Leprosy affects thousands in Nepal and the Mission Hospital in Anandaban is treating thousands every year. The disease is a treatable disease. It is caused by a bacteria and can be cured by an antibiotic. You cannot walk the streets or go to the hospital without seeing the grave results of what Leprosy can do to
you.
Today is also important because our neighbors are having a wedding at their house. A wedding in Nepal is much different from a wedding in the west. First of all the bride and groom may not even know each other. Weddings are arranged by the parents and if they are hindu or buddhist the local Sadhu will help arrange the whole thing. The parents of the bride will pay a dowry to the groomes family and often times poor castes cannot marry off their daughters because they cannot afford a dowry.
The brides are usually pre-pubescent girls. This is because Hindus believe that the parents of the bride will have a better chance of making it to heaven or enlightenment if their daughters are married that early. After the wedding she becomes property of the husbands family. This is often a bad thing because many will fight with their motherinlaws. The bride will often have to stop going to school and begin working for her new family.
There are many religeous rituals that are part of the wedding. The bride will begin to worship her husband as a god. She will have to wash his feet every morning and drink the water that she used. She will always wait to eat until he is finished and she will work around the house from that point on. She will never walk in front of him or go through a door way first. Women in Nepal work harder than anybody I have ever seen.
The wedding will often involve a marching band that will march through the streets throughout the night carrying the new bride and groom. There will be dancing, eating, and drinking throughout the night. Needless to say tonight we will probably not get much sleep.
Despite what you may think, divorce is very rare. Western women are much more likely to leave their husband than a Nepali woman. Maybe the reasons are financial and maybe the reasons are because of the culture.
Many of you have asked about how things are going. The truth is that things are going good, but they are hard. You can read some of our previous entries and be able to see some of the challenges we are facing. I am studying language full time and only working part time right now. I love the opportunity to learn a new language. Being able to communicate with others in a foreign language is terribly difficult for me. I love the opportunity to devote all my time and attention to being able to do so. I am sure that all the mistakes I make provide hours of entertainment for my teachers. I am becoming very fluent in speaking Tarzan Nepalglish.
My closest friend in Nepal is leaving this Saturday. Fortunately, we are making many new friends but I will miss his friendship once he is gone. He is from the US and he has helped me through many hard adjustments here in Nepal.
One of our newest friends is a family from New Zealand that has served in Mongolia for the last 8 years. We instantly connected with them with a shared love for Mongolians. They were able to show us pictures of other Mongolians that look just like Kody. They were able to tell us about what Kody's people group was like and what it is like living in Mongolia.
The country remains in a state of conflict. We are usually kept out of it, but you constantly have to keep your guard up to keep from falling into a bad situation. Every day offers a new challenge. One day all the roads are closed and all motorized traffic is halted. Another day all the schools are evacuated due to a strike. Other days go smoothly and you forget about the war altogether.
Most of the problems around our flat revolve around our proximity to the countrys capital. Living in Kathmandu means that 2/3 of the Royal Nepali Army are in your little town. It also means that the British Gurkha army is next door as well as every other countries embassy and their soldiers. The problem with all this show of force is that many people have had to evacuate their village and move to Kathmandu for their own safety. The overpopulated capital is now growing at an even greater rate. Many are even fleeing the country for their safety and to find work. It is estimated that on several days last month over 1000 people crossed the border into India in one location. This is not counting all the other locations that people have fled the country.
Being in the capital means that all the political demonstrations and riots are in your backyard. It is not uncommon to drive down the road and see the streets lined with buring tires and remenants of the latest riot. Last Sunday night Shawna and I nearly drove right into the middle of a huge mob that was marching down the street. This last month has been the busiest month for
rioting since the wars inception and this is the closest the fighting has come to the royal palace.
One of my favorite times is just after a storm. I love to see the clouds start to break and the winds die down. The rainbows that follow are a reminder of our Creators promise. The past few days have been like a calm after the storm. Let me explain.
The week prior to our trip to Pokhara was a turbulent week. There were 2 earthquakes in Kathmandu and 6 in the Pokhara area. This is a bad place for earthquakes. Its not a question of "if" but a question of "when." On average Nepal has had a earthquake that was an 8+ every 70 years. To put that in perspective, the one if Iraq was a 6. There are several smaller ones throughout the year and people just learn to live with them. The problem is that when the big 8+ comes there will be alot of people hurt because the buildings are just not built to handle such a catastrophe. This month marks the 70th year since our last big 8+ earthquake.
The political parties were also becoming more and more agitated and there were many political demonstrations in Kathmandu. The demonstrations led to riots and the streets were lined with burned out police vehicles and tires. Strikes were called and it was hard to tell if you would be able to travel anywhere or not. Kody's school was cancelled when one of the parties demanded that all schools be cancelled or face the consequences.
The storm only got worse when we went to Pokhara and there were ambushes on military convoys and a local bank robbed. To make matters worse Luke became terribly ill and we were faced with the possibility of placing him in a hospital.
The hospitals here are not like the ones in the west. There are huge crowds of people lining up to get in the hospital and the level of care and hygeine is much different that what many of us are used to. This just added to our level of stress and we asked for prayer.
Soon after we posted our need for prayer for Luke things started to change. He began eating and driking again and the vomiting stopped. He started running a high fever and you continued praying. Now his fever is gone and he is starting to feel so much better. Our God is a God who heals and we are so thankful for your prayers.
The agitated political parties have continued protesting but they have calmed down some in the past few days. The fighting continues but there is hope for a peaceful future.
It seems that we have weathered another storm and every time I see Luke smile it is like the rainbow after the storm. I am so thankful for his improved health and I think it is important to reflect on each storm so that when the next one comes we remember the outcome of the last storm and find hope. Thanks for all your prayers.
I cannot thank you for the outpouring of support that we have received since Luke became so sick. People are praying for him all over the World. The prayers are being answered and I wanted to share with you the progress.
Luke did not eat or drink for about 7 days. We were able to keep some fluids in him but he continued vomiting. Three doctors looked at him and decided to start giving him an anti protozoa medication. We were unable to keep the medication in him due to the vomiting so there was little improvement.
We flew him back from Pokhara and that is when we posted about our trip and how sick he was. Many people began praying for him and he began drinking soon thereafter. It was not long before he started eating also. We were able to keep the medication in him and it appeared that he was starting to get better. Now he is running a high fever but we are able to control it with some medication. He has been to another doctor at Patan Hospital and they have run some tests but still cannot determine what is wrong with him. Please continue praying for him.
This has been a terribly hard time for us. Holding your one year old son when he cannot lift his head is the most horrible helpless feeling. He would only find the energy to cry for a little while then go back to sleep. His eyes were sometimes open but it looked as if there was nothing inside. It was like he was asleep with his eyes open at times. Thankfully, he is improving now and there is no doubt that it was thanks to all of you who lifted him up in your prayers. I know he still has a long way to go before he is healthy again, but I am comforted in watching him start to improve. Our God is a God who heals. I pray that He will be glorified through Lukes illness and him being healed.
Nepal is the land of extremes. Everything is black or white, nothing is gray. You can go from near sea level to over 29,000 feet above sea level in a country the size of Tennessee. The south suffers from the heat of India while the north is frozen year round. You either love it here or you hate it here and you can do both within minutes of each other. That is what I have been told and that has been my experience so far.
Last week we were to travel to Shangri La, a hotel named after the fabeled heaven on Earth. It is located in Pokhara. The promise was for unlimited amounts of hot water, warmer temperatures, all meals were free at the buffet line, and the mountains were in your back yard. The timing could not have been better. Were are freezing here in Kathmandu without any heat in the winter fog. The purpose of our visit was our bi-annual missions conference. It would be a time of spiritual renewal and rest, but we had to get there first.
If there ever was a Shangri La it would have been in Pokhara. It is a small town located on the side of a huge glacier fed lake while nestled beneath Macha Puchre, Annapurna, and Dhauligiri. It is beautiful. The temperatures there are very mild even though it is surrounded by huge mountains covered in snow.
The problem with our trip to Shangri La was that there is still a war going on all around Pokhara and Kathmandu. The week prior to the conference was a week of fighting and rioting in Pokhara and Kathmandu. There was a strike, or bandh, the day before we were to leave, but on the day of our departure the roads were open and in the early morning hours we boarded a bus in the freezing cold and left our worries behind.
We did not make it far before our first obstacle faced us. Kody turned to me and said, "Daddy my tummy hurts and I gotta go potty!" This is not cause for alarm in many parts of the world, but here in Nepal it means one thing, "the Kathmandu Shuffle."
The "Shuffle" hits us all at one time or another here in Nepal. It has many different names, Amoeba, Giardia, Dyssentary, Typhoid, just to name a few. It involves massive movements of diarrhea and vomiting. Not the kind of thing you want at the start of a 6 hour bus ride with a 3 year old who is potty training.
We stopped five minutes into the trip to get gas and we made a run for it. The toilets in Nepal are not what you might call "Western." We call them "Sqatty Potties," but they are nothing more than a hole in the ground. Kody had never seen such a thing so he received a crash course in "How to crap in the woods." He was so sick that it did not matter where we were. We were shivvering in the filthiest place that I think I have ever been. At this point I did not think I could get any lower but I had no idea what the day had in store for us.
We finally returned to the road to Shangri La. We did not make if far before we entered our first military road block. These are common around here. The soldiers will enter your bus and order off anyone who looks suspicious. Then the suspect will march down the road and have his or her items searched. Fortunately, we were not selected for this and eventually we were back on the road.
Approximately two hours into the trip Kody decided that he was going to be sick. The bad thing was that I had no influence on where we stop. The public bus would only stop at predetermined stops so we were going to have to tuff it out. Luckily we stopped and I again had the priveledge of squeezing into the filthiest place on earth to hold my son out of the "Pit of Death." I cannot imagine that Hell smell a whole lot worse than this. It is probably just alot hotter.
After three trips to the "Pit of Death" we were back on the road again. We were just starting to fall asleep when our bus came around a corner on the edge of a cliff and stopped. I arose to see the worst traffic jam that I have ever seen.
The roads in Nepal just snake around carved lanes into the side of mountains. They are frequently washed out with land slides and other times they just fall away into the river 2000 feet below. As I looked out the front of our bus I could see cars in both lanes snaking around the mountains for miles. There was simply no place for them to go.
Some of you may remember that I described traffic in Nepal like a river. Well what happens when several logs flowing in the same direction run into a seive? You guessed it. They don't neatly line up in their lane of traffic so that when the seive is cleared traffic can resume. No, they drive into the oncoming traffic lane so that when the problem is fixed, the bigger problem becomes the miles of traffic lined up in both directions. I could not see any way possible that this could be fixed.
We decided to walk to the nearest town and just wait it out there. On the way to the town we learned that the problem was from a attack on a military convoy. The insurgents mined the road and tried to blow up several vehicles ahead of us. Once they detonated the mines they attacked and many people were injured or killed.
As we walked we saw a helicopter fly out the injured. Soon after that the military convoy decided that it needed to get through the traffic. This made everyone nervous. First, we had to do something with all the vehicles blocking the road and there was simply nowhere to go. Secondly, the convoy was a target and when you slow down the target with the traffic we all become targets and I did not want my children getting caught in the middle.
You would be surprised how fast traffic can clear out when soldiers with M-16s start telling you to move. A line cleared out and the convoy passed. This opened up a lane of traffic for the oncoming traffic to pass through. This is great, now the traffic log jam can be cleared right? Wrong! Everyone of the bus drivers just filled in the gap behind the convoy like water flowing around a rock in the river. I should have known.
We hiked to the nearby town of Mugling. The walk was a journey in itself. There were thousands of people on the road and buses everywhere. On one side of the road was a two thousand foot drop into the Trisuli River. On the other side was a huge rock wall.
Once in Mugling we had lunch in an open air restaurant. The only thing on the menu was Dhal Bhat. Dhal Bhat is the staple of the Nepali diet. Most Nepalis eat it twice a day and I too have eaten it twice today. It is rice and lentils. It is sometimes served with other vegetables. If you don't like rice you will starve to death in this country.
Poor Kody was still sick and the break gave us enough time for him to purge his insides as often as he wanted to. The break could have been a disaster with two kids except for the fact that Luke is blonde headed and blue eyed. With this on your side you are sure to make friends in Nepal. Nepali women love blonde haired blue eyed boys more than anything and they are almost worshipped. This is not a bad thing when you are stranded in a strange town. Pretty soon we had lines of women wanting to play with the kids and before the day was over they were having their shoulders massaged in front of the restaurant owners television inside her house. Nepali hospitality never ceases to amaze me.
Finally traffic started to move again. It had taken 6 hours to clear up the mess and we had only 10 minutes left before the curfew would have grounded us in Mugling. We left the city limits with only minutes to spare.
Shortly down the road we encountered another obstacle. The military was blocking the road and they ordered us around a short section. The reason was that the road was mined. We gladly did as we were told and you would be surprised how well a huge bus handles off road when it has to.
Shangri La was everything we had heard it would be. The water was hot, the food great, and the mountain views spectacular. I have never seen anything as beautiful as Macha Puchre. It towers over 20,000 feet above the town of Pokhara. It is no wonder that the Nepalis worship these mountains. They truly are an awesome site to see.
We had not been in Pokhara long before Luke started purging his insides. Luckily Kody was recovering and doing well, but Luke was getting really bad. He stopped eating and drinking and it was all we could do to keep him hydrated and out of the hospital. Luckily there were three different doctors at the conference who helped look after Luke. The problem was he still did not seem to get better. I would spend most of my time trying to get spoonfuls of water down his throat only for him to purge the water up and start the process over again.
By the end of the conference Luke was too sick to travel back to Kathmandu. We were able to stay at this hotel for free since it was the mission conference but now that it is over we had to find our own place. We found a room at a local hostel for $6 a night and decided to stay there for a few nights. This was one of the lowest points in our time in Nepal. Holding your 18 month old child while he just stares into space and does not have the energy to even lift his head is one of the hardest things a parent will ever have to do. I am completely helpless. The doctors have tried to fix it but nothing seems to work. He just does not seem to get better.
Water born pathogens claim many childrens lives in Nepal. Many simply are not able to get the medical treatment to kill the parasite in their stomach that eventually kills them. With this in mind I am fighting the temptation to just leave. I cannot stay here and watch my son die. Some friends assure me that the doctors in Nepal are better suited to treat this kind of thing because doctors in the west never see these types of illnesses, but I must confess, "I am really tempted to give up."
The day after the conference was over was another day of fighting in Nepal. Rioting mobs in Kathmandu burned tires and overturned police cars. Many people were injured and arrested. The roads were all closed due to another bandh. We were unable to even get a taxi ride to the airport if we wanted to fly home.
Finally after another day Shawna and Luke flew back to Kathmandu while Kody and I took the bus. The trip to Pokhara took us 13 hours and the flight home took 20 minutes. On the drive home there were smoldering vehicles on the side of the road. Evidence that someone tried to drive during the bandh. We encountered a small army of protesters marching down the road. Later we saw a huge convoy of protesters flying flags traveling the other direction. Despite all the show of force we encountered no problems.
We returned to our little green house thankful to be home. Luke is seeing another doctor at Patan Hospital and is being tested to determine what exactly he is fighting. Please pray for Luke. I cannot go on here with him sick. My family is the most important thing in the world to me and I realize that they too belong to God. They are not mine to hold on to but I will do anything to protect them. This is a hard time for us and I would give anything to be back home. It is one thing to serve in a country during a war but another to bring your family along. The stress of seeing bad things all around you and praying that your family will not be caught in the middle is starting to take its toll.
Last week, we had the opportunity to travel to one of the most beautiful places I've ever been, Pokhara, for our InterServe conference. We had chartered a bus and all of us from Kathmandu were headed toward Pokhara for a six hour journey. We made it about halfway to Pokhara, and were stopped by an insane traffic jam. We decided to walk 4 kilometers to the nearest village, Mugling, to have some lunch.
On the walk to Mugling, I was nearly crushed between a bus and a truck, and I felt totaly out of control. I looked around and I couldn't find Jon and I panicked. I am finding that this feeling of being out of control has been becoming more frequent each day in Kathmandu. Not knowing the language or understanding the culture has presented many challenges for living in Nepal.
On my walk to Mugling, I felt a sudden overwhelming urge to pray. As I was praying, I looked up and saw a convoy of 6-8 army trucks with soldiers perched on top holding REALLY BIG GUNS. Jon noticed that the trucks had bullet holes in the side. I felt an overwhelming need to pray for our safety at that time--for often where the army is, conflict with the Maoists is also. I felt very vulnerable at that moment.
I am ashamed to say that I did not continue in my attitude of prayer. Rather, I found myself cursing the idiots that blocked the road. (The bus and truck drivers thought it would be a good idea to pull into the oncoming traffic so that they might get ahead, but ALAS! They only made the traffic jam worse, preventing anyone from either side to get ahead.) I found myself very angry and I was ready to go back to my country, where I was very comfortable.
Deep in my heart, I know that we are called to be here in Nepal. But at that very moment, if I were offered a one-way ticket back home, I would have jumped on that plane without looking back. I was ready to throw in the towel. But again, I know that is not what God has for us right now. God has us here for a reason....I must press on. We were stranded in Mugling for 5-1/2 hours, and our 6 hour journey turned into a 13 hour journey. We later learned that the reason for the traffic jam was because of a conflict between the Maoists and the army--thus the bullet holes in the truck.
We made it safely to Pokhara. I was looking very forward to three days of spiritual renewal. Instead, Luke ended up getting very sick. He wasn't holding any food or drink down. He had giardia, and it was coming out of both ends. This lasted for the rest of the conference, and so I did not get to attend many of the sessions, which was a disapointment. It was very hard for me to see Luke so sick.
We stayed in Pokhara for 2 nights after the conference to give Luke an opportunity to get better. He didn't seem to get any better, so we decided that I would fly back with Luke. Jon had the option of flying, too, but of course he'd rather travel by land than by air when given the chance. Luke and I flew home on a short 20 minute flight while Kody and Jon came back on the bus.
Fortunately, this time their journey only took the expected 6 hours. So we praise our God for bringing us back safely to Kathmandu. We also offer praise because Luke is getting better each day and is getting his appetite back.
I know that many of you who love us are tempted to pray for our trials to end. But I would ask you instead to pray for God to be glorified in the midst of these hard times. Please pray for our hearts to be turned toward God as we face difficult times. As I wrote earlier, I am ashamed to say that it is not always so.
Often the stress of living in Nepal gets to us and we lose sight of why we are here. We have been stripped of everything that makes us comfortable--our language, our cozy home, our friends, our church, our family.....We are forced to depend on God, as we have never had to before. I am finding that my time in Nepal is more about changing me rather than what I have to offer the Nepali people.
Brother Yun, a Chinese believer, said in his book, The Heavenly Man, "If persecution stops, I fear that we will become complacent. Don't pray for persecution to stop,b ut for God to be glorified in the midst of persecution."
Isaiah 57:9-11 I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.