Wednesday, June 1, 2011                                                           Beautiful day, about 82 degrees

Today is Chad's birthday. We are grateful for him and the wonderful things he does in his job, home, family and church. Happy Birthday, Chad! We love you!

We used everything we had outlined for English for the week, so this morning we spent time planning out lesson material for today. Then we went to KTC and taught our English class. There were a lot of kids there again today. We talked about prepositions, location words. We played a matching game and they enjoyed that. Sometimes I think they are doing really well. I think most of them can read and write English better than they can speak it. I know sometimes, I struggle understanding what they are saying. We tell them the way to get better is practice, practice, practice. Many of them like to get up in front of the group but you always have a few who don't really want to participate.

In the taxi, on the way to school, I saw a little old lady sitting on the sidewalk with a few things for sale. (We were stopped in a traffic jam). Then I saw a man come up to her and he bought one cigarette. She lit it for him and he was off. We haven't seen a ton of people smoking over here. I don't think most of them could afford it, but I was kinda surprised that they would buy one cigarette at a time.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011                                                                                        Partly cloudy, warm

It rained a little in the night. I woke up about 3:00 with a mosquito buzzing around my ear. I had a hard time going back to sleep and finally read for a little bit. When I came downstairs and got on the computer, Chad called on Skype. He did the Team Viewer thing and finally, was successful in getting my Word program working like it should. I was so grateful and so happy. It’s been a bit of a pain, but now we are in good shape.  THANK YOU, CHAD! You are amazing.

Today is Laxmi’s birthday. (our housekeeper) She told me she likes chocolate, so we bought her a big chocolate bar and make her a card. We also told her to take today off. I think she is going shopping with some of her friends.

We taught school again today. It was okay. We talked about telephone etiquette, words that show ownership and also about different types of weather. Now, how do you pull those kinds of things together? It was a little difficult to keep the kids attention, partly because we had a big group, over 30 students.  We did a word search and it was a hit. They were all quiet and were intent on finding all the words. They worked solo, not looking at each other’s sheet and that was different. They are usually looking for their neighbor to give them the answer. That’s taking the easy way out – and not learning much in the process.

Sajana called and asked about the IRDF funds for her schooling. These monies are from the church, helping returned missionaries, get an education. I send an email to Brother Ko. He sent one back saying the funds should be at the school and to have her check with the school. She did call the school and hooray! The funds are here and she and Maya can start tomorrow. They are so excited and thankful for this opportunity the church has given them.

Monday, May 30, 2011  (Memorial Day)                                                        Sunny, and warm

We began the day talking to Konnie. We were surprised to see them online. They have been in Goblin Valley, but I guess it was so windy and sand blowing everywhere, they all decided to come home. It’s a long way to go for just a couple of days, but sounds like they all had a good time. We also talked to Clay, Brent (He’s in NYC) and Alison (Jennifer just set up Skype and wanted to see if it worked). It was fun to talk to all of them. We do appreciate Alison. She sent pictures from the Preston Cemetery. Things looked nice. Thanks, Ali, for doing that.

We taught English today. There was a bigger group of students and it’s a lot harder. We spent the time, mostly in review. One thing that turned out well was asking them to write about their mother. I was very touched by some of them. We gave them opportunity to share what they had written and they were eager to do so. Oh course, a piece of candy was a bit of an incentive.

By the time we got home, it was 2:30 pm. We walked across the alley and bought some vegetables and a small loaf of bread, then came home and fixed a sandwich. I think by the time we go home, we will really be tired of eating the same stuff….peanut butter, tuna or egg sandwiches for lunch. Usually a few chips to go with it helps. There just isn’t any good deli meat around – so you just make do. Gene reminds me often that we’re backpacking.

We did hear from Rakesh. The inaugural for Hattikor will be held on June 11^th. This is a water project that is almost complete and will be by the 11th. Sujata Korila is also going and that causes quite a stir among the villagers. We are always happy to have her attend. We are so happy to partner with her organization doing Humanitarian Work. The Deppongs will go on this trip with us. We are looking forward to it.

Sunday, May 29, 2011                                                         Threatening showers then clearing

We looked at the Nepali news this morning and it looks like an agreement has been make extending the constitutional agreement deadline for three months. At least they got that done. Now maybe things will settle down just a bit – but I suppose in three months we will do it all over again.

Deppong’s got off this morning for a few days in Bangkok. They had to leave the country because their visa expires on the 31^st. They will return on June 2 – on a tourist visa. As soon as we get the agreement in place, they will start on the process to get their non-tourist visas.

We walked over to Saleway’s this morning. Their store is nice and organized and it’s a whole lot easier to find stuff that it is in Bhat Bhateni’s. We picked up a few things, including a big chocolate bar for Laxmi’s birthday and walked back home.

We’ve outlined our English for most of the week. This week we will be talking about telephone etiquette and also weather related stuff.  Other than that, it’s been another quiet day.

Saturday, May 28, 2011                                                            Hot early, then rain and cooler

Just before we went to bed last night, President Bishnu called and said he was wondering about church tomorrow. There has been talk of another strike and so many of the members live a long distance away. It would be an hour and a half walk for him. He would come but knows it would be very difficult for the Branch members to get to meetings.

This morning we wondered what was going on. The traffic sounds were a lot quieter, though we could hear some traffic moving. Debbie called and said there was traffic in their area as well. She said the plan was to only hold Sacrament Meeting.

We walked over to church and there were quite a few people out and about. Traffic was lighter than normal for sure but there were taxis and a couple of buses. We are grateful for that. There were some people at church. It was a small crowd. Brother Kim from Korea was there and his daughter KJ was with him. She is beautiful, 29 years old and has attended BYU and just graduated with her Master’s from Harvard. They have moved closer to the church and we are thrilled about that. KJ said that her mom and brother were coming next week and they would be here for three years. They will be a great addition to our branch.

Pres. Bishnu conducted and announced because of the strike, we would only be holding Sacrament Meeting. He talked about the political unrest in the country for a minute and said violence could erupt quickly and he wanted members to be at home with family today. After the Sacrament, they asked Brother Kim and his daughter to bear their testimony and then Usha and Tseten bore their testimonies. It was a bit of a short meeting, but the spirit was there in abundance. I felt it as we sang the opening song and was a little teary a few times during the meeting. (Oh, sister KJ plays the piano beautifully) It was a good day at church.

This afternoon has been pretty quiet. We’ve read and had a short nap. I sure like being busy a whole lot better.

Tseten and Usha stopped by for a few minutes this evening. It’s a lot of fun to watch and talk with them. They both have such strong testimonies and want to do things right, but at the same time, know there will be trials and temptations ahead. They will be here together one more week, then he will return to the UK and she to India to finish her schooling. They are planning on a November wedding in the London temple.