Friday, April 1, 2011

We’ve had a great time in Pokhra. It was almost like we were on vacation. It’s a real tourist spot. But we were there to distribute wheelchairs and that was our main focus.  We got that accomplished and it was time to head back to Kathmandu. We were ready and left for our return just after 6:00 am. As we walked out of the hotel, we could see the Himalayas .  Again, what a sight. Just Incredible! 

Nice place in the middle of nowhere

Complete with a pool. It didn't quite fit here in Nepal

Elder Esplin likes it....

 W stopped at the River Side  Springs for breakfast. It was an oasis here in Nepal. It is in the middle of nowhere and is really quite nice.

The ride home was a long one and it seemed there was a lot of traffic, trucks mostly. We didn’t get home till after one. We had hoped that we could go to immigration and finish up our visas, but government offices close at 3:00 on Fridays, so we will have to wait till Monday after school, since Sunday is a holiday of some sort.

We unpacked, had showers and walked over to the bank ATM. We also stopped in at Nina and Hager’s to buy some chicken and a few other things. The rest of the day was spent catching up.

Thursday, March 31, 2011

We got up about 4:30 am to get ready to go see the sun rise on the Himalayas. True to form in Nepal, there was no electricity, so no hot water to wash my hair or for Gene to shave. Oh, well, it is what it is. The van picked us up and we were ready to go. We were surprised at the number of locals who were already out on the street. Our driver wasn’t sure of the way, but after asking a couple of people, we made our way up the mountain. The road reminded us a lot of the road going to Sawtelle Peak in Island park and also Ecola State Park out at Cannon Beach, only with a whole lot more traffic on it. There were lots of big tour busses. When we got about to the top, there was one bus that couldn’t make the turn so we got out and walked the rest of the way.

There were some clouds hanging around the mountains, and it was a bit hazy, but we could see some of the Himalayas. The sun broke and everyone collectively, said ‘aaah!’ It’s a sight that’s impossible to describe. Those mountains are breathtaking. We talked to one local Nepali lady who spoke fairly good English. She told us we were lucky, that many people come and it’s too cloudy to see the mountains. We felt fortunate. It’s hard to believe that we are really here in Nepal and looking at the Himalayas.

Look close - The Himalayas are behind us.

Incredible! Their huge!

We returned to the hotel and had some breakfast, then returned to our rooms for just a bit. Soon it was time to head to the wheelchair distribution, the real reason we were in Pokhra at all. When we arrived there were already quite a few people already there and sitting in their new wheelchair. The wheelchairs are all donated by LDSC. When Rakesh mentioned that at the meeting, other dignitaries there also wanted to donate to the Learning Center for the Disabled there in Pokhra. That was great!

Probably one of the saddest things we saw was a lady probably about 50 years old. She was brought in the back of a truck by law enforcement officers. She had a sack, like a gunny sack under her and she was sitting in a tire to keep her upright. They just lifted her up, bag and all and put her in the wheelchair. I don't think she had much for legs, just stumps.I didn’t see them bring her in, but Gene did. He told me about it and I saw that she was a bit teary. I went over to her. She didn’t speak any English. I touched her arm and gave her a smile and a pat on the back. I think they were tears of happiness. She did have another Nepali with her. I’m sure she has had a very hard life.

So happy to have a wheelchair

As I said before there were a lot of dignitaries there and I think every one of them spoke, some more than once.  The Regional Administrator was here. His is a position comparable to a Governor in the US. Rakesh introduced Gene to him. So, it was a very long meeting. Gene and I were sitting on the west side under a tarp and it got very warm. During the meeting, they came out with some Sprite and Coke bottles filled with water. People just tipped it up and had a drink, their mouths not touching the lip of the bottle. I wasn’t that thirsty.

Elder Esplin meets the Regional Administrator

 After the wheelchair distribution, we went to one of the sewing, training centers. Disabled women can come here to be trained to sew. It’s a six month course, then they can go our and get a job. It sure helps them a lot. Rakesh  does a lot of good here in Nepal. What a guy. He is the champion they told us to find at the MTC.

There were some cute kids running around. I don't think they were there with anyone, but they wanted their picture taken. they were pretty cute.

Some new friends...

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Rakesh picked up Elder and Sister Deppong, then picked us up at 8:15 and we headed to Pokhra. It was quite a nice ride as traffic seemed to flow pretty good.  We still love to drive and just watch out the window. It seems that everywhere you look, it’s a picture. Right now, the Nepali people are planting rice and working in their fields. There were many women working in the small parcels of land. They were standing in water up to their calves. It looked like It would be muddy, wet and cold. There were also a lot of men guiding their water buffalo along in the rice paddies.  It just seems so odd that they are still planting that way.

We arrived in Pokhra about 2:00 pm. We stayed at the Hotel Meera. It was in the tourist section on town. Kind of like Thamel here in Kathmandu. We were impressed with Pokhra. It was a lot cleaner and the pace is a lot slower. Rakesh said to take a little rest for a half hour and then we would go to the International Mountain Museum.

That was a learning experience. We drove up to where you bought tickets. We had to walk from there to the Museum, a distance of a block and a half or so. As soon as we started walking, it started to rain – cats and dogs. Remember Sister Deppong is blind, but she was hurrying as fast as she could. We were hurrying too, but by the time we got there, we were all soaked, clear through. Our clothes, hair, everything was dripping wet.

Soaked clear thru...

Posing with a Yak

People like to talk to folks from America

Even wet, we enjoyed the museum, starting with a video on the Himalayas. It was very interesting. The whole thing was a learning experience. They had mountain climbing equipment, clothing, just all kinds of information. It was good. When we got ready to leave, we looked out the window and the storm had cleared, but better than that, we could see the tops of some of the Himalayas! They really are hard to describe.

We returned to the hotel for a bit and then had dinner and walked along some of the little shops before retiring for the night. Rakesh said to be ready the next morning at 5:00 and we would go see the sun come up on the Himalayas. We are excited!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

I woke up about 4:30 am and it was raining pretty good. I read for a little bit, then turned the IPod off and tried to doze back off. I did a bit. It was nice not to be in a big rush to get up. But it was not long and we were back in the office at work. There were emails to write, things to scan in and send to Bangalore and Hong Kong. We also went down to immigration, hoping to get our visas finished up this morning. They were looking for a little more information. For one thing, we had to call Deppong’s and get the file number off their visa. Then they were looking for another letter of some sort. We gave them the information we had and they said to come back tomorrow. We had so hoped to finish it up today.

We returned home. We thought Rakesh was coming but he called and said he wouldn’t be here till late afternoon. We went to the store and got a few things, then came back home, and more office time. At four we had men from the 5 Village Water Project come to give us a progress report of sorts. Oh, it would be so nice to get that project finished up, but it would take a miracle of sorts. There are too many opinions and too much political stuff going on.

They explained a lot of things to us and said they are going to go and make a site visit and will report on it. Gene told them LDSC couldn’t commit any more funds till they signed agreements with the 5 communities, and a few other things. It will be very interesting to see what happens. We liked the men who were here and they seemed like they really would like to see the project completed. We will wait and see.

Then Rakesh came and we visited a bit. He said he will pick us up at 8:00 AM tomorrow to go to Pokhra for a wheelchair distribution. It should be a interesting trip. Sounds like there will be a little time to see some sights and enjoy Pokhra. It’s supposed to be a beautiful area. We are looking forward to going.

Monday, March 28, 2011

We got up and got ready for the day. Gene walked over to Bhat Bhateni  to meet the Sackleys. They came back with their luggage. We chatted for a while about quite a few things

They came about ten and we were off to see Durbar Square. We had a good time there seeing the old temples. Boy, they worship a lot of different gods and have some strange notions. We did get to see the ‘Living Goddess’ – a young girl. in the age-group of 4-7 years old. She must  belong to the Sakya community, and have an  appropriate  horoscope. They are screened on the basis of their 32 attributes of perfection, including color of eyes, shape of teeth and even voice quality. They are then are taken to meet the deities in a dark room, where terrifying tantrik rituals are performed. The real goddess is one who stays calm and collected throughout these trials. Other Hindu-Buddhist rituals that follow finally determine the real Kumari.

Pigeons Everywhere....

Durbar Square

A Heavy Load

Durbar Square was pretty interesting. There were lots and lots of pigeons and people. We met Rakesh Hamil at noon and he took us to see a couple of Sewing Centers and also went to the Cyber Center. We were with him till about 2:30. By then were were starved and went to Pizza Hut for lunch. It tasted pretty good. The ‘girls’ decided to go shopping. Elder Deppong said he would go with us. Gene and Elder Sackley came home and went over more stuff and just visited. I bought a little handbag and a baseball cap for Gene. The other ladies bought more, but I got what I wanted. It was enjoyable. Thamel is really a bustling place. Gene doesn’t care to go there, but I kind of enjoy it.

We got home from Thamel about 7:30. Deppongs stayed for a bit and we chatted with Sackleys again. They are going to put a few words in for Nepal as far as getting a satellite phone, about the importance of Rakesh as our major partner for wheelchairs and being such a good friend of LDSC. They helped us a bit with the computer and other things.

Rakesh came about 9:30 pm and picked them up and took the to the airport. It’s been a good four days, but we are ready to be back on our own and doing our thing. We were tired and ready to go to bed.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

What a day. We all went to breakfast at Mike’s Café. Deppongs said it was a good place for Breakfast, but I didn’t think it was too hot. Gene and I both ordered a vegetable burrito. The only vegetable we saw was some beans and potatoes. It was pretty bland and not all that good. We visited there a bit and then caught a taxi to Deppong’s house.

We went over a bunch of Chas stuff and some other type things for training. We have learned a lot. We weren’t signing in to Chas over the secure log-in information. Now we know how to sign in and will have access to all the stuff, reports and things like that. We are glad about that. We know how, but today there were things with the sight and we had trouble signing in. Hopefully tomorrow.

Bimala came over and cut Sister Sackley’s hair, also Sister Deppong’s. Gene and I will have her cut our hair in a couple of weeks. I had wondered what we would do about hair cuts – now we know. And she is a member of our branch and we are glad to pay her to do it.

After that we walked over to our place and I fixed dinner for them. We just had one pot, but I cooked two frying pans full – and they ate it all. I was happy about that.

Then we sat and talked with them. We talked about all the jobs we each do and the responsibilities we have. As welfare missionaries there is a lot going on, with the humanitarian projects and also doing shadow leadership and strengthening the branch. At times it can be a little overwhelming.  

Elder Sackley, bless his heart, said there was something they (the Priesthood)could do and if it would be all right, how about giving each sister a Priesthood blessing. I had had that thought just before he had said it. I was grateful. Gene gave me a beautiful blessing. I’m grateful for it. After the blessings, we did sit for a few more minutes and share a few more thoughts and planned the day tomorrow. It was a special experience. However, I have to tell the truth and say that I can’t really see us being real close friends. Tomorrow Elder and Sister Sackley will come here at nine in the morning and will bring their luggage. Sister Deppong has a Skype call with Dr Clark in SLC. Then we will go to Durbar Square and see a few sights till noon. At twelve we will meet Rakesh and go see the Cyber Center. We might get a little shopping done in the afternoon. Then Sackleys will head back to Hong Kong tomorrow night. I think Gene and I will be glad to be back on our own.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Today is Jason’s birthday. We haven’t had internet access so I haven’t been able to send him an email. We haven’t had very consistent internet the last month or so. It’s been quite spotty. Laxmi called them and they couldn’t see anything on their end so they will come tomorrow to see if they can detect the problem.

We went to church at nine this morning. I went in to the English class. Soon the Sackleys came. There was a big group today and that makes Sister Deppong very happy. It is a good thing and there seems to be a lot of interest. It’s a good way to strengthen the branch.

In Sacrament Meeting today, Sister Pridi gave her mission report. She did a wonderful job. She served on Temple Square in Salt Lake and said it was the best mission in the whole world. She had many great experiences And there was a big crowd today.

During Sunday School President Bishnu came in, tapped Gene on the shoulder and said he needed to talk to him. He went out with the President. He was gone a long time, in fact, I didn’t see him till the end of the class period. When I got a chance to talk to him, he said that President Bishnu asked him to do a couple of convert baptism interviews. It was for a man and his wife. They do have two sons, who are already members. This will be great to have another complete family in the branch. The parents have been coming to church for about five months.

That hit Gene cold. He didn’t have a list of questions of anything. When we got home, he looked at the list and he had covered five of the six listed. The man spoke really pretty good English, but the woman didn’t’ speak any.  The ward mission leader came in to interpret. Gene said if was an interesting experience. They will be baptized next Sabbath day.

We had a combined Relief Society/Priesthood. In fact a combined ward meeting during the last hour. It was on Emergency Preparedness. After the Japanese quake, people are a little frightened, especially since Nepal is due any day for an earth quake. We talked a bit about how to prepare and then about what to do during an earthquake. Elder Deppong is quite interested in this and he feels like we could have an earthquake on our watch. I sure hope not. As missionaries, we live in these big concrete houses and it wouldn’t be too good to be caught in one during an earthquake. But the bottom line is to prepare. The scriptures tell us, if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.

After church, the three families, Gene helps to home teach, came to our home to be taught. I’m not sure why, but that’s the way it has been done. There were two sisters and Gopi. Gopi’s family wasn’t with him. I’m not sure why. Gene gave a lesson and we had a great discussion on things we can do to strengthen our testimonies and always stay close to the church. We had a chocolate cupcake and a drink of Tang. We felt good about it.

Then we caught a taxi and went over to Deppong’s for dinner. It wasn’t quite ready and we visited for a bit. After eating we talked a bit about ‘shadow leadership.’ This Branch could sure use some of that. There are things they could and should be doing, they just need some guidance and encouragement. Hopefully we can tactfully do that.

Friday, March 25, 2011

We met Sackleys, and Deppongs, at the Shangri La Hotel for a prelimentary meeting before having a buffet breakfast at 9:30 with Rakesh and Sujata Koirala, the former Prime Minister’s daughter. Sujanta is quite influential in the country of Nepal and still has a lot of influence. We enjoyed breakfast. Elder Sackley is quite a conversationalist and I think everyone had an enjoyable time. We had arrangements with Rakesh to tour the Cyber Center on Monday. He likes to show off the place.

Then Deppongs and Sackleys accompanied us home and we spent the day in training. We found out that we are non Humanitarian missionaries, but Welfare missionaries. Taking care of the branch is our most important responsibility- shadow leadership. Right now it seems the branch relies heavily on the missionaries. We somehow need to help them help themselves and take responsibility and accountability for their stewardship. I’m not quite sure how you do that. We will talk about it more tomorrow.

Elder Sackley asked what we would like to cover and we named off quite a few things. They showed us a video clip introducing the Area Presidency and those in the area office. There is a doctor and a lawyer there. We were glad to hear that any contracts and things of that sort, we should run past the legal department there. That includes agreements and contracts with the government, NGO’s, our housekeeper, that sort of stuff. I’m glad to hear that and we will definitely do that.

We were in training all day and late afternoon we went to dinner at the Third Eye Restaurant in Thamel. It was good. Then Sister Sackley (the girls) wanted to shop just a bit. Thamel is the big tourist place in Nepal. The streets are very narrow and there are about a million little shops. There were little kids on the street, begging. I think Gene was glad to get out of there.

We came home and I sent Clay an email wishing him a Happy Birthday. I updated the blog and am ready to call it a day. Tomorrow is church. We are having Home Teaching Families right after and then Sister Deppong is having us over to her place for dinner. I did make a Carmel Pudding (baked) for dessert. We will see how it turns out. It would be better with a little Cool Whip on it, but there’s none of that here in Nepal.