Nepal in Pictures

In lieu of the very recent and tragic earthquake in Nepal, I thought there was no better time to share about the trip we took to Nepal last October than right now. Heads up: this is going to be a long blog post. It feels like an impossible feat to tell you each and every detail in a perfectly written story about our trip to Nepal. Instead, I am going to share stories behind the pictures as the words come to me. From jet lag to walking through the slums... we experienced so much... emotions... relationships... adventures. It was truly an adventure we are thankful for.

We are heartbroken over the news of the earthquake. As continued updates inform us that our friends are sleeping outside in tents and their homes are damaged, we are thankful that (as of now) we have not heard news of any deaths in our immediate network. We are grateful for God's grace but will continue to pray for all of Nepal during this time. There are years of healing and rebuilding ahead (all created from a twenty second earthquake - it seems so unbelievable) and we look forward to helping in whatever way we can. 

Allow me to share with you our trip through pictures... I am using a lot of the same pictures I posted on social media during the trip to help with timeline purposes. But there are a lot of other "big camera" photos sprinkled throughout the story as well! I hope you'll hang in there with me until the end!

Traveling / Sunday - Wednesday

We departed the U.S. at 10pm-ish Sunday evening, flying through the night on a thirteen hour flight. The first seven hours held strong turbulence - I honestly didn't even know it was possible to have turbulence for such an extended period. The flight attendants on our Qatar Airways flight were incredible - they were ultra attentive to both Sunday's needs and my own (I was 27 weeks pregnant, remember). The food was great and we all slept pretty decently. We landed in Qatar and got to our hotel around 7pm Qatar time. We ate a late dinner and crashed.

Layover Quarters

This was our room during our layover in Qatar. Qatar is actually a very nice country (think Dubai!) - we just stayed in a lower budget hotel. :) But this was completely comfortable for us with both warm water and AC! 

The best kid ever

Our second night out of the US (the first night we slept on the plane) and Sunday slept until about 3am Qatar time. She did great entertaining herself for about two hours with her new toys from the flight and the ipad.

BK in the House!

Good morning! Who wouldn't want Burger King for breakfast in the airport? (Answer: ME. I ate coffee and a croissant.)

An Airport Adventure

Ah... the Kathmandu International Airport... where we waited for our luggage to arrive for over an hour. We arrived in Kathmandu after another 5 hour flight around 8pm Nepal time. We shared our flight and airport time with a huge group of Nepali men coming back from Qatar to visit. It's very common for Nepalese men to leave their families and travel to Qatar for work (World Cup preparation is in full swing/) and to send the income home to support their families. It is also very common for them to die in those working conditions. (Read more: A Nepalese World Cup Worker Dies Every Other Day in Qatar) Anyway, we shared our flight with many of these men and searching for our luggage alongside of them was interesting, to say the least.

Our Sponsored Child

This is the boy we sponsor in Nepal, Samaj. He's AWESOME! Super athletic, smart... one of THOSE kids who is just good at everything he does! :) He came to visit us the morning after we arrived in Nepal and we loved hanging out with him! Sunday read him a book (of which he barely understood because her own english was fairly broken) and he told us about school and futball! 

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Update on Samaj after the Earthquake

Written by his house father, Prakash (24 yrs old)

"Samaj Waiba is 14 years boy from Makwanpur Distric Central Region of Nepal. His home is 80 KM away from Kathmandu valley by bus then 6 hours walking through jungle. His father informed me that all the houses are destroyed and collapsed in his village. On the earthquake day, Saturday, all his parents were in Church Service when earthquake came suddenly they were able to run away from church but church building destroyed and they had small house, when they came back home it was fully destroyed and nothing was left. All the stuff whatever they had inside home was devastated (Food, clothing and other stuff) they had nothing. Now they are living under one small tent that was provided by local government but that one is too small and not enough for their family. Samaj went last Tuesday from Timothy Home to look his family members and his village. There is no any death of his family members but they loss their house and stuff. His village is very far from market place and government also cannot go and distribute the things that they need. They are waiting for any kinds of help."

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Of course we care about Nepalis other than our sponsored child. Prakash also sent an update about three other boys in the same home whose families were also effected back in their villages:

1. Sudip Tamang age 7: fully destroyed no any help till now. No family members death.( Nagarkot, Kavre, more earthquake affected areas.)
2. Kiran Pakhrin age 2: House collapsed and damaged no death, family are staying under tent.(Central Region, Makwanpur District)
3. Bijay Pakhrin age 15: House destroyed and damaged no death staying in tent .(Central Region, Makwanpur District)

If you would like to donate to the Nepal Relief through Allow the Children, click below:

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Domestic Travel

After we arrived to Nepal (Kathmandu) we slept one night there and then began the trip to our first Medical Clinic location on Wednesday afternoon. Here we are boarding a domestic flight to Butwal. The domestic airport was a far cry different than the international airport (they are side by side one another). While walking through security, we had to walk through small rooms to be checked. Sunday scooted out the door (a curtain) about three seconds before me and when I got to the other side, she was in the arms of a complete stranger. I didn't panic, because to be honest, I didn't know who did and did not know us in the country. ATC has networks and connections seemingly all over. My first thought was to ask "Do we know him?" When the answer was "No," THEN I rushed and scooped her into my arms. She was all smiles and the guy (he was from China) was just amazed at this little white girl in the airport. Throughout our LONG delay in the airport, he returned about four times with different friends each time to take pictures of Sunday. Needless to say, she was not allowed out of our reach for the rest of the trip.

My daily camera bag

Here's what my bag looked like each morning as I prepared for a day of work ahead. We were traveling to remote villages so I had to bring all essentials for Sunday, including a potty seat. Not pictured: food puree pouches, boxes of raisins and cashews, containers of coconut water, a nap mat, and a Finding Nemo rolling back pack full of toys (the bright orange color was awesome for keeping easy track of!).

First Clinic / Thursday

Setting Up

This is what the clinic looking like in the process of setting up. This particular clinic was held in a village church building. Medical Clinics are an outreach of the church and a way for members to help their communities, make connections, plant seeds for relationships, and ultimately spread the gospel.

Pharmacy Set Up

Front Desk "Check In"

Prayer Before Opening Doors

Clinic is Open!

Dr. Hom

Dr.  Hom - I once heard him referred to as "The smartest man I know." :) He grew up in a poor Nepali village so far into the mountains that there is still no road to it even today. When he was about 15 years old (the oldest son of 6 children and his mother expecting another) his father died. He had to work to help provide for the family, but continued to study whenever possible (mostly on his own). He did attend school when he had an opportunity (when the agricultural work allowed).  He passed the higher level exams which earned him a scholarship to continue study in the capital city. When he left the home village to travel to Kathmandu he took his six year old brother with him (Anand, the evangelist who coordinates all of these medical clinics) and neither of them ever returned there to live. He survived and supported his brother with odd jobs, often working as a tutor for other students. While in Kathmandu, he left the Hindu religion and came to faith in Jesus Christ and led his brother, then about 8 years old, in the same way. When he completed his basic education, his exam scores made almost any career direction possible. He chose to study medicine to become a doctor, but there were no medical schools in Nepal at that time. So he traveled to Bangladesh for medical training. By this time, he had married and both of his children were born in Bangladesh during his time there. He returned to Nepal for a time, then later came to the U.S. to practice and gain additional specialty training. Today, Dr. Hom still lives and practices in the U.S., but returns to Nepal each year to help lead these medical clinics. Pretty amazing man, right?

Preparing a Cortisone Shot

A lot of older women came into the clinic with chronic pain. Dr. Hom said usually in the states he would advise patients to stop doing strenuous work and take it easy for a while. But that's not a possibility in Nepal when hard work is required to survive in the villages. So he administered a handful of cortisone shots to help ease their pain for a while until he comes back again. (Which may be a few years from now since they tend to visit different villages each year.)

Vitamins

Every single patient was prescribed a bag of vitamins. They are good for everyone. :)

Manila

Manila grew up in the ATC Sponsorship program as well and went on to nursing school. She is now a nurse in a city far away from where we were. Each year she spends her vacation time with this group of believers traveling around and offering medical care for free as her ministry. She speaks very good english and works as a nurse and translator during the clinics. I love her. Since we've been home she has written us letters and kept in touch on Facebook. Sunday adored her!

Lice

And a lot of it.

The Scene Outside

Leprosy

The lady in the green is very young and was diagnosed with Leprosy. The man on the right in the front of the frame is the Pastor and he happens to live in a Leprosy Village. He knows a lot about the disease and talked with them for a while about the diagnosis. As you can see, a lot of people were interested. I have no idea what he said, though, because he spoke in Nepali.

Elephantiasis

Learn more about this disease here.

The Pharmacy Window

Waiting in line for their medicines (mostly antibiotics) and vitamins.

Do Lord

Tommy and Sunday mostly tried find ways to pass the time during medical clinics. They would interact with the people, go on walks, and play with the kids (moreso Tommy than Sunday). In this photo, the guy on the left is actually recording Tommy playing and singing the hymn Do Lord, Oh Do Lord. We helped him write all the lyrics (which was hilarious in and of itself because Tommy is kind of bad about lyrics. In his defense, he can play all the notes by ear alone. But in this case I was the one helping write the words) and then he wrote the keys above the words. It was just so neat to see them SO eager to learn an American hymn! It was fun.

No one wants to play

She's so confused... no one speaks her language and they don't want to play, either. (Nepali kids are very much seen and not heard... they did not feel comfortable around this loud and proud American girl.)

Petting the Pet

I don't know if it's accurate to say they didn't WANT to play. It's just that the moms dominated. Here she is petting a goat tied up to a front porch across the street from the church... this lady walked Sunday around and showed her to village people. :)

Tired Girl

Ready for east coast bed time.

Sibling Practice

The adults wanted her in all of their pictures. Sidenote: it was probably 80 degrees out that day but that little baby was dressed as if it was 40. Another neat cultural difference!

No smiles

Eventually she stopped smiling for the cameras.

Someone plays!

The end of the day and someone finally plays with Sunday! Although the girl has NO idea what Sunday is doing. (She was trying to play "Ring Around The Rosie.)

The girl with the blue flower

She talked about her for months... she still brings up "Remember the girl with the blue flower on her shirt?? Yeah... she was nice to me!" 

That's a wrap!

First clinic complete. It was a long, but fun, day! 

Second Clinic / Friday

The second clinic was in a school in another remote village. School was closed for the day so the clinic could happen. We set up two different rooms, one for the medical professionals and the other for the pharmacy. Out on the front lawn were goats tied up and a group of boys playing together, enjoying their day off. Sunday took a long nap this day and our jet lag and lack of good foods caught up to us all. 

The Scene from Outside

The school, school yard and goats.

A trio

One medical professional, a translator, and a patient. One of three stations in a tiny room on this day. 

The Pharmacy Window

Boys will be Boys

I did not pose these boys. I love this photo so much... such authenticity and a true image of what Nepali kids gathered together looks like!

Games

The boys were playing a game on the front lawn of the school. Like I said earlier, kids are typically seen and not heard in Nepal. (Or they only speak when spoken to.) So when Tommy approached them, they didn't acknowledge him. He watched for a while trying to pick up the rules of the game (they were not speaking english, of course) and when he had it down he asked if he could play. They laughed at him!

A good time

Of course they let him play, but they giggled the whole time. It is so interesting... wanting to feel like we belong but obviously being major outsiders. He played with them for a while but ultimately felt as though he was interrupting their good time and we decided to go on a walk. :) Sunday needed a nap!

Washing his feet

He was playing in the dirt with flip flops on and felt the need to rinse off. :)

Scenes in the village

Rice

You guys. Rice is the primary source of income for people living in remote villages. Most of them are farmers. And so, this rice is drying out. Do you know how they mix it around? They walk in it with their bare feet and kick it around. I mean... I'm just saying. RINSE your rice before you eat it. :)

Ethnicity

One super cool thing about Nepal is that it seems like half of the people appear Chinese (or Tibetan) and the other half look Indian. Which obviously makes complete sense considering the geographical location of the country. (I'm a genius.) But I really love the kids that look mixed!! :) 

Twin girls!

I also took along an Instax Camera (thanks to my pal Aaron!) and gave polaroid prints of these portraits to the people who let me take their photos. They loved them!

Passing out Tracts

Here in Lynchburg people generally scoff at tracts. Really, kind of anywhere in the U.S. you can find a tract on the ground after someone tossed it out. But in Nepal? The people are eager to read. They love to hear the stories of the gospel. They were pleased to accept the papers from this man that spent most of his time at each clinic talking with patients and villagers. Heartwarming.

Learn a Trade

Education in the states is such a non-entity it seems... so when I visit these countries and realize what a treasure it is for people to learn a trade to use to provide for their families, it makes me rethink our opportunities. This lady became a seamstress and provides for her family by making clothing for the villagers. There are so many ways we can support people in third world countries by providing them with tools for a trade: a sewing machine, a goat to provide milk, a bicycle to make deliveries, the list goes on.

One of my favorite Village Shots

So, so tired.

She fell asleep on the walk (mission accomplished!) so we scooped her out of the carrier and laid her on her nap mat in the pharmacy. Everyone was so concerned that she was sleeping on the dirty floor. But we really didn't have many options and we obviously didn't mind. Lots of people stopped and stared at her through the pharmacy window. Both Tommy and I took turns resting with her as well. We were all so tired.

Chitra

This guy is awesome. A nephew to Anand (younger brother to Dr. Hom), he is constantly (I mean constantly) serving others. I have never seen him sit leisurely. If he was sitting, he was eating, working or staying alert for things he could possibly be doing to help. He drove us around, loaded and unloaded our luggage, taught us bits of Nepali, translated our dinner menus... The list is truly endless. His life is his ministry... His ministry is his job. The work the Nepali believers are doing in Nepal is amazing... Driving on rough roads for hours to far away villages to show up and play a Jesus movie or set up and work a medical clinic... They live for the hard, long days that are rewarded by people hearing and/or witnessing the believers living out the gospel. Every week a new adventure... All in Jesus' name! So inspiring. (P.S. He loves that Kroger shirt.)

"Photo Please!"

Most posing for the camera. What a good sport. It was easy to forget that most of the children we saw were coming to the medical clinic for a reason. Sunday would interact with them earlier in the day and my heart would skip a beat of joy. 

In line to be seen

And then I'd see them sitting in the chair in the clinic room and my heart would skip another beat... for a different reason. Through lots of prayer, Sunday managed to steer clear of any illness while we were in Nepal.

By the end of the second clinic, we were absolutely wiped. However, we hopped in the vehicles and drove straight to a completely different city that night.

Scenes from the Road

When we piled in the vehicles for the drive, we all thought we had a one hour trip ahead. You know us American's like to know plans. Imagine how OVER IT we all were when we arrived at the hotel four hours later! Hah. :) We were greeted with working air conditioning and hot, hot water. It was a heavenly treat.

Our Favorite Hotel

A very common place for Chitwan Tourists to stay. We had AC, hot water, and delicious breakfasts every day! We stayed here the longest span of days throughout the trip.

The view out of our window

This was the view from our room which shows where our sheets and towels dried after they had been hand washed.

Our Room

The door in the middle was our room. We loved it!

Hotel Courtyard

Chitwan

The view from the rooftop on the other side of our hotel. Straight ahead in the foggy area is Chitwan National Park. We watched a wild rhino walk among those greens one afternoon. :)

Fresh Faces

We all finally got 6 straight hours of sleep! Thumbs up!

Saturday / Sabbath

On Saturday we visited a Children's Home and attended church at the church on their property. After the church service the building was opened to the community for the medical clinic and Tommy, Sunday and I spent most of the day hanging out with the kids. 

Church Service

A typical church service in a Children's Home. The boys sit on one side, girls on another. If there is a guest, he or she is likely to be the one to give the message. This is what a typical church service and/or morning/evening devotion time looks like at any given children's home here in Nepal (supported by @allowthechildren, anyway).

So passionate

He was so passionate during worship!!!

Playing the ukelele

The kids loved him! Of course.

The Ladies

They love having their pictures taken!

Swingset

This swingset was a gift from one of the sponsors through Allow The Children. I love that their non-profit is small enough that it allows for people to walk into the office and say "I want to buy a swingset for the kids at the Maranatha Home." And Allow The Children can make it happen. Yet they are big enough to be making a difference in many places around the world.

Clean Laundry

The children wash their own laundry in the stream and hang it to dry.

Fun on the swings!

Evening devotional

Each morning and evening the children meet in the church for a time of devotions.

 At the end of Saturday I was discouraged that we were full swing into this work but were not enjoying it as much as I had anticipated. It was hard, long, and we were so tired. Sunday was clingy and confused and we were actually all mildly sunburnt (hah, the three fair white people). 

We made the collective decision to skip the next day of clinics which happened to be hours away in an area with no roads. Which meant the traveling was tough and may be worsened with a tired toddler. It was easier on everyone if we stayed back at the hotel and rested. So we spent Sunday walking along the touristy streets and enjoying the day together as a family. Pictures of that and all of the next week to come! 

To Be Continued...

P.S. You may be surprised to find the website looks completely different than it used to. More on THAT soon. :) :)