Waterlogged

I am tired of being wet. I knew that this was monsoon season in Nepal, but I don't think I fully grasped what that meant. It means every day is cloudy, and every day it rains. Some days it just sprinkles, other days it pours. I know this now.

Something I've been thinking about lately is the rain. Frankly, I haven't been thinking about it in a positive light. I've been griping. You can just ask Kelsie. I just haven't had a good attitude. But it has recently occurred to me that rain creates growth. Life thrives through consistent rain. And let me tell you, life is thriving here in Nepal, here in Pokhara. Every morning on my walk to the bakery I am offered taxi rides, a fresh pastry covered in dirty newspaper, or a smoke of hashish (Nepali marijuana). Every afternoon as we head to do ministry the people around us are flying by on bicycles, scooters, motorcycles, cars, buses, rickshaws, and tractors, with their horns a-blaring and their brakes a-squealing. Every evening as we go out for dinner we hear the sound of a fire being started and the cooks at hard at work to prepare our favorite dishes of hot momo, fresh naan, veg curry and chicken chow mein. Life is thriving here. People seems genuinely happier and more content then in the States. Perhaps its because in Nepal they are constantly rained on for several months every year. It causes growth. I'm starting to wish it would rain more in Saint Cloud. I'd love to see more growth in people there.

It's really hot now. I wish it would rain to cool things down.

Free Personal Cooking Class

We have been having a great time here in Pokhara! Our hotel is wonderful, hence the name Lake View Resort. It truly is a resort.

One of the first things we did the evening we pulled in to town was dinner out. We went with Job, Bethany and Ian to a place called Kabob King. It's a little hole in the wall place that is "famous for" (meaning Job couldn't stop talking about it) their hot momo. Momo is a steamed dumpling from Tibet that has become very popular in Nepal, you can get it at most restaurants.

Now, imagine that with vegetables and chicken inside smothered in a hot sauce with grilled peppers and onions. That is hot momo. After our third trip to Kabob King for hot momo in four days I asked nonchalantly if he would teach me how to make it. To my surprise he seemed pleased and told me to come back the next day. Now in Nepal everyone is VERY polite, never wanting to offend. So I went the next day, not knowing if he was serious, or just being polite. To my surprise he was actually waiting for me.

I walked in to the back kitchen which looks nothing like the "hospital sterile" restaurants in America. My first observation, it was HOT. He joked with me about it being hot and asked if it was okay. Well of course it was, I was in Nepal about to get my first cooking lesson from a chef who's been cooking for over 40 years. Not to mention he was going to teach me how to make Jacks new favorite food.

I furiously took notes as he showed me each step. Chicken, carrots, cabbage, onions, garlic, etc. Then we practiced rolling the momo. Each one he did looked exactly like the photo above. Mine however... well they would still taste the same. (He said I could come back and practice as many times as I wanted while I was here, just rolling dough into the dough) The rest of the process, well lets just say he doesn't want me to share it with too many people. After an hour we had a full dish of hot momo, and my shirt was soaked through with sweat. He laughed a little at the amount of sweating dripping from me. I gotta say I get that one from my dad. Oh, and this would be one of his favorite foods too if he had the chance to try it. I wish I could go home and make him some.

This was one of the coolest experiences of my life! It was relationship building, educational, a chance to talk about what we're doing in Nepal, and a time to laugh at the language barrier. I wouldn't trade that for anything!

Kuta Shopping

Yesterday July 14th we had a girls shopping day!

Bethany, I and 9 of our students went shopping for traditional Nepali outfits "Kuta" is how its pronouced although I don't believe the Nepali word translates to English. The outfit consists of three pieces, a long tunic, pants and a scarf.

We began at the fabric shop. They served us all milk tea (another Nepali tradition, a tasty one at that). Then we began to wade through the stacks and piles of fabric to make our Kutas. Some were hand embroidered, some and glitter and sparkles, some had big designs, some small... wow what a selection. Especially when you go in not knowing what you want. (yes, that was me) We had a blast helping eachother pick colors that looked best on us. After about 3 hours, we all had fabric in hand and were off to the tailors. We brought our fabric, picked our neckline, sleeve length and tunic length. Then they measured us. We will be able to pick up our custom tailored outfits when we come back to Kathmandu for debriefing. Mine was less than $25. Others were even less expensive. One of the girls even bought a Sari to wear to prom.

The Last 11 Days

Hello!

Ministry in Kathmandu has concluded for this leg of our trip. We have enjoyed spending the last 11 days here, but tomorrow morning we are hopping on a couple of buses and heading to Pokhara!

Our team has been fantastic. They have been devouring the ministry opportunities we have given them. Our mornings have been spent in quiet times and small group times while our afternoons have been devoted to ministry. We have traveled to many villages, doing performances and sharing our faith with the Nepali people. We have also spent time at an orphanage, a leper colony, and a home for girls rescued from sex trafficking where we spread the love of Jesus by building relationships. It has been exciting to see our team stretched and grown on these days.

Kelsie and I have been doing well. We are LOVING Nepal. It has been a very different experience traveling with Royal Servants while having a wife with me. A wonderful but tricky experience. We don't necessarily see each other as much as you might expect. Kelsie has spent several days at the hotel with sick girls while I have been with the team doing ministry. For me, that is just fine. I'm very independent and not in need of constant attention/affection. For Kelsie, this was more difficult. So I have been having to learn that when we are together I need to commit my time TO her and not just be in the same place. Being in the same place together is not the same as spending time together. So we are learning how to do this together and it has been fun. I do have to go now for a team meeting but please keep us in your prayers. Health has been a concern lately and is one of our prayer priorities! Thank you (in Nepali, Dannyubad)

Tokha, Nepal

Namaste!

Tokha is a small village about 20 minutes north of Kathmandu. This was the site of our first street performances. The students and staff have been working hard since training camp perfecting dramas, dance and puppet routines. These are performed in a square in town and are meant to gather an audience. And boy did it ever! For such a small village people (especially children) came out of the wood work! There were over 60 kids there. After the performances the students pair up and go talk to people about what they saw in the drama and share about Jesus. We are so blessed to have our three translators with us to help bridge the language barrier. Although many of them spoke enough english to have a broken conversation with.

Our team kicked butt today! Even after the performance the kids just kept flocking us. They played any number of games including teaching them dances and London Bridges in a HUGE line. After a couple hours the local church invited us all in for tea. 35 people in for tea. That's a LOT of milk tea. None of us complained though when we were offered seconds and thirds.

Through our translators we learned that two of the men that saw our performances and were asking question were the sons of a couple that belong to the church. There family has been split for years, the parents are Christians, but the sons are still Hindu. This mother cried and cried for joy that we simple had a conversation with them. Such a sweet God thing on ministry Day 1. Wow, we have a great God.

Oh and I have a pretty good start on my newest photo collection. I still have yet to think of a catchy name, but I've got a few weeks and more Nepali portraits to go!

-Kelsie

Welcome to the Himalayas!

Today was my fourth morning waking up at the Khangsar Guest House located in Thamel, Kathmandu. Thamel is a popular destination for both tourists and trekkers and the Khangsar a popular hotel for those trekkers. The hotel rooms are a far cry from the images the website boasts, but flexibility is our strong suit. My fourth morning awakening in Nepal was in fact my first morning being bathed in sunlight. It has been quite dreary here. Monsoon season, after all. I began my day like I began my previous three: up at 6, walking with my bride to buy bread for the day (and dodging stray dogs, rickshaws, mud puddles...), back at 7 to wake our team, and begin heating water for tea and porridge (or malto).

The Jetlag was intense for most of our team though they've kicked it by now. Some actually referred to it as "Jetswag" or Jetlagged with style. We began our time here with Culture and Heritage days. On the 5th, Kumar (one of our translators, along with Anoop and Dependra) briefly taught us about Buddhism; we followed this up by spending a couple of hours at a Buddhist temple prayer walking and learning about Buddhism.

On the 6th, we learned a bit about Hinduism. We traveled to a Hindu temple, which we were not able to enter because we were not born Hindu. However, we were able to witness how Hindi people burn the bodies of deceased loved ones and then send them down a river. Young boys make a living by wading in the river and rooting through the sand for fallen coins from the pockets of the deceased. It is a sad thing to see, but very eye-opening. Kelsie and I watched a documentary about this back in May called Children of God.

On the 7th, we did the "Christian thing": we went to church. It had a format not dissimilar to "American" church. Musical worship, prayer, announcements, offering, worship, sermon, communion, and worship. Though it was entirely in Nepalese I was able to sing along with the very first song. I recognized the tune for I Will Call Upon The Lord and was grateful to participate, albeit briefly. This was the largest Christian church in Nepal and we all sat on the floor. I think I might bring that back to America. There was a good amount of fidgeting at first but it was a nice retreat into minimalism. The typical greeting in Nepal is Namaste, but with a fellow brother or sister in Christ it is Jayamasi. After church we drove to an orphanage and our students got to spend a few hours playing soccer, blowing up balloons and using puppets as ways of loving on those kids. It was great.

I have to go now. Kelsie will post a blog in a day or two to share about our first day of ministry!

Jayamasi