25 December 2011 - Merry Christmas to All...

I got up about 6:15 am after a warm and toasty night in bed. It’s surely the warmest place to be. I hadn’t been up long when Brent called from our home. Alison and Paul and kids and Chad and Konnie and kids were also there. We had fun visiting. I enjoyed looking at the background and looking at the house. It looks good to me! Then Konnie got the kids in ‘costume’ and they did the Nativity for us with Chad reading from Luke. What a wonderful thing. I truly loved it. It brought home a lot closer. Thank You Skype!

Then Clay and Samantha called and we watched the kids open gifts they had drawn names for. It’s almost like being there as we could feel the kid’s excitement. Sophie is so excited; she probably won’t be able to sleep tonight. I’m sure we will talk again tomorrow. Then Bart called. It’s fun to talk with them. Since their kids are grown, Christmas isn’t quite what it is with little ones around. He said they will probably go to a movie or something. We look forward to talking with all of them on their Monday evening as they (except Jason) will be together at our house.

Our Christmas caroling group

 Dipak picked us up and we went Christmas caroling about 9:30 am. Actually it was pretty fun. Deppong’s bought Santa hats for all of us to wear and we looked quite festive. We went to 14 member’s homes, starting with President Bishnu. People seemed to enjoy it. We did have quite a few people look at us crazy American’s with our Nepali friends and wonder what we were doing. We didn’t stay long at any of the homes, just sang a few songs (sometimes a bit off key, but that’s okay) gave them a plate of cookies and then we were off to the next stop.

About 3:45 pm we met Topham’s and Rakesh and had a traditional Christmas dinner at Mike’s Café. Real turkey and dressing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli, a couple of different green salads (I’m still not taking any chances with those) a fruit salad and of course pumpkin and mince meat pie. It was about as good as it gets here in Nepal. We enjoyed it and the company a lot.

Then it was back home about 5:30. It’s been a full day. We were ready to change into warm fleece, get cozy, turn on the propane heater and turn on the internet. I suppose we will hear from some of the kids again as they open their Christmas gifts. We do miss family but we know we are where we need to be right now and its okay.

 

24 December 2011

We talked to Hannah first thing and wished her a Happy Birthday! She is turning nine. And she is so excited. She is really growing up…..we love you Hannah and are so proud of you. We want to know - where has the time gone?

We went to church and it was wonderful. I had been asked to give a talk on ‘What the Atonement Means to Me’. In preparation, I got on knees and told Heavenly Father I couldn’t do this by myself and asked for his help. Today I prayed that he would help me in the delivery and bless me with his spirit. I truly felt those prayers were answered today in my behalf. I had many people tell me they liked my talk. I have to admit when they asked me to speak today and gave me the topic of the Atonement, I was a little disappointed and thought ‘why wasn’t it a Christmas topic?’ But as I’ve studied I’ve come to realize that this is the perfect topic for Christmas. His Atonement was the most wonderful Gift possible – making it so we could return and live with our Heavenly Father again.

One of those people who told me they liked my talk was Tara, Usha’s sister. Usha told me that she wanted to be baptized. She is a Jehovah’s Witness and is a Christian so that’s good, she doesn’t have to convert from being a Hindu. After church Tara told me she liked my talk. We talked for a few minutes. Their father passed away a few weeks ago and I expressed my sympathy and told her that her mother and father were in a better place and that we believe that families can be together forever. She started to cry – whether she was missing her father or feeling the spirit, I don’t know, but she did ask if I would teach her. Because of our agreement with the government we can’t teach but I told her, her sister Usha could teach her. Usha is a returned missionary and has a strong testimony. About then Chandra Adhikari came in and he is the Branch mission leader. I told Tara here was someone who could teach her. They chatted a minute and then went inside to have a little talk. I think she is ‘golden’. She is a cute girl (woman) and I don’t think it will be long till she joins the church.

We just had Sacrament Meeting today and right after the meeting we had two convert baptisms. Sister Nimela’s husband and son were baptized. That makes nine convert baptisms for the Branch this year. The font is outside and they filled it this morning. There was a little warm water, but it was tepid at best. There were no complaints though and everyone, especially Sister Nimela and her family are just so happy. We are thrilled for them. And what better way to celebrate Christmas.

Bro. Nimela and son with Brother Hari, counselor in Branch Pres.

Their family and friends...

 We came home and were surprised the power was on. Oh happy day! We made a few more preparations to take to Deppongs for dinner and then headed over there about 4:00 pm. We had dinner about 5:00. It was great! After dinner we sang some Christmas carols. Then we put cookie plates together for tomorrow. We are going Christmas caroling and will leave treats where we go. Tomorrow will be sunny and about 55 degrees. How’s that for caroling weather? Should be fun. This is a great way to celebrate Christmas.

23 December 2011

We walked over to Bhat Bhateni’s and got a few things for the weekend. When we got back, we took the inverter and walked over to the electrician’s not too far away. He took it apart and looked at it and sure enough, it was fried on the inside. He said we could probably get it fixed, but would have to order a part and didn’t know how long that would take. We opted to get a new one and he said he could have it this afternoon sometime. We went ahead with it. Again, Merry Christmas, to me.

Our power came on at 12 pm. I spent most of the afternoon in the kitchen, making a couple batches of cookies and getting the vegetables ready for the salad for dinner at Deppong's tomorrow. Laxmi has been gone all day. She is over at the church helping the caterer with preparations for the Branch Christmas party tonight. I have tried to keep the dishes done here. She has been so good to help us – that’s the least I could do to help her out a little bit.

As Gene was reading the paper today he read an article that said that 90% of the traffic lights in Kathmandu don’t work. When a traffic light is working in an intersection, it takes two policemen to control the traffic, but when the traffic light is not working, it takes eight policemen to control the traffic. I know….. You would think it would be much more cost effective to fix the lights – but we are in Nepal.

Another newspaper article was about a road that had been under construction for 29 years and it still was not complete. Again, such is life in Nepal.

The electrician did come and bring the new inverter. He hooked it up for us and got everything working. He really seems like a nice guy and we appreciated his help. I know I will be glad to be back on line and have the inverter working as backup when the power is out.

Santa comes to Nepal too...

Everyone wanted their picture taken by the Christmas tree - even us

 We went to the Branch Christmas Party tonight. It was great! There were about 320 people there – lots of family and friends of members. Rakesh and his family came and even brought us a little Christmas gift. They are such wonderful people. The party really seemed organized. G C conducted and we sang some Christmas Carols and then the Primary did the Nativity. Kate and her sister Anna put it together and it was wonderful.

22 December 2011

Snug as a bug in a rug! That’s how the extra fleece blanket felt on our bed. It was nice and cozy. In fact, I slept in a bit. It’s hard getting up as we know how cold it is everywhere but in bed. And there was no hurry as there wasn’t any power until 11:00 am.

We got up and put the final touches on preparations for English and we were there about 9:30 am. We wanted to start on time and most of the women were there. What a good experience this is going to be. They had told us there would be 18 women in the class, mostly housewives – and there were 18 there for the first class. We started on time and want them to know we will be prompt and not waiting for them. There were two or three women in the class who really don’t speak any English and it will be a trick knowing how to help them, but I think of Sister Pun at church. She didn’t speak any English, but kept coming and now she is speaking a little English. The secret is – don’t get discouraged. The second class was great too. They seem to know a little more English. There were a few not there, but they said they would be next time. That will be a big class as well. Bring them on….We will do what we can to help. It feels a lot different than KTC. The atmosphere is a lot more relaxed and we will just be flexible and go as fast and as far as they are ready. I think this will be a good thing for us. And it feels good to put on the missionary clothes and have something we need to do.

After class, Laxmi went with us and we took a taxi and went downtown and bought a new battery to power the computers. We ended up with a bigger one for just a few thousand rupees more. It has a four year guarantee and should do the job nicely. We also bought a separate battery charger. The man said it will help charge the battery fully when we don’t have long enough hours of electricity to fully charge it.

We got it hooked up and it was great! The power went off at 4:00 pm. Karin from Choice came about 5:00 pm to talk about a new project. Soon, the power flicked and popped and then went off. We could also small a little smoke. We’ve checked and we don’t know what’s wrong. Laxmi went over to the electrician and brought a new heavier duty power strip, but that’s not the problem. We are sure hoping that we didn’t burn up the inverter. The fuse seems to be okay. We will have to have our electrician friend come over tomorrow and check it out. We do need to have electricity when he comes and the power is out tomorrow from 6 – 12 pm. And again no power from 7 pm till 12 am. I guess we need to get used to this. It could be a challenge.

21 December 2011

Today is the shortest day of the year. And there’s only ten more days left in 2011. It’s gone pretty fast.

We got up and didn’t have power today until 10:00 am. Gene turned on his computer early and it lasted just ten or fifteen minutes before the inverter went out. We are going to have to replace it and the sooner the better. I hope we have it done before Christmas. Gene doesn’t seem in as big a hurry as I am.

Since we didn’t have power we did walk over to the ATM this morning. The exchange rate is still good – at 84.70. It’s down a touch from the high but still good for us. On our way back we saw a guy on a bike with a plastic outdoor chair strapped on the back. It was his ‘basket’ and he had stuff in it. They are pretty creative here and somehow they make things work.

When we got back, we did have power, but I felt like I needed to make a batch or two of cookies. I needed to be in two places at the same time. I made some peanut butter cookies and some rice krispie Yule logs. They are for our caroling on Christmas day. Debbie has lined up about fifteen houses for us to go to. It will be an experience.

Deppong’s came over and we visited for a little bit. Then Tej from the Five Village Project came. He said the village committee is meeting on Friday and will decide what they are going to do – if they are going to go ahead with the project or not. Gene told him LDS Charities is still behind the project but they will have to do some things as well.

It’s been a challenge today to not have power and not have the inverter working. Rakesh was here this morning and we mentioned to him that we needed to replace it. He called this afternoon and had stopped at a shop to check them out. He will bring us a card in the morning before we go to school. We will teach English and then Laxmi will go with us and we will hopefully go down and buy a new one.

20 December 2011

The power didn’t come on as we expected this morning. Gene looked online and they have extended the load shedding. It was 40 hours a week – now it will be 69 hours a week. The power will be off in five hour blocks – one block in the day and one in the evening. And the thing that is a challenge, is that our inverter is on its last leg – really on its last leg. It’s only lasting about 15 minutes.

It was a pretty quiet day today. I’ve worked on my talk quite a bit. I know it’s too long and I will need to cut some. It’s a hard topic for me and I want to simplify so the Saints here will understand what it’s all about.

We did sit in the sunshine and read for a little bit. I’m still reading Jesus the Christ. I know it will take more than once through the book to get out of it what I need to. It’s a little deep for me. But I am enjoying it and learning from it.

We went to The Lazy Gringo with Deppong’s, Topham’s and Dearden’s. It was good to visit with themn and get to know them a little better. The taxi driver that took us down was still there so we had him bring us back. He wanted to charge us double – we said we would find a different taxi and he came down. We took a lot of backstreets and really wondered where we were at times, but we did make it back.

 

19 December 2011

It’s getting harder to get out of bed, especially when there is no power. It’s so cozy and warm, with our flannel sheets and heavy fleece blanket. I did get up just after seven. The paper said there was a strike again today and Gene went up on the roof and said things were really quiet, not even motorcycles on the street. I guess that takes care of English class today – I was looking forward to it.

Chad and Konnie called us on Skype. It worked just fine. I can’t figure out why Alison and Brent are having trouble. We visited with them for a bit. Sounds like all is well. I am so proud of them. They are doing well. Then Brent tried to call on Skype – trouble for him again. Soon he called on the Google video and chat. We quite like that – it’s as good as Skype and it sure is nice to have another option. After talking to him, we talked to Alison. She showed me a little craft she has put together for Hannah’s school Christmas party. It stacks and should be pretty easy for the kids to put together.

With the strike on, today has really been quiet. This morning first thing, I scanned in the Liahona orders from Branch members and send them to Bangalore. After a bit, Gene told me the email didn’t go through. It took me three times, but I think I finally got it done and sent.

Today, I’ve spent quite a bit of time trying to get some thoughts for my talk put together. They say the one preparing the talk gets the most out of it and that’s true for me. It’s been good for me to do some reading and studying on the Atonement. I’m grateful to my Savior for his sacrifice in my behalf. I know that no matter how hard I try, I just can’t do in on my own. I have to have his help. Repentance plays a bit part and the older I get, the more I realize how important repentance in. I know I have many faults and weaknesses and need to do batter.

 

18 December 2011

I tried to Skype with Alison, but she is having problems with her connection. As soon as she starts to say hello, it disconnects. I’m sure it must be on her end. She had talked to Brent and he is also having trouble. Clay did call us and our call was fine. He said they had been to Sophie’s dance recital and a tumbling review for Max. I told Sophie I would like to see her dance and she gladly preformed. She’s growing a lot and is so cute.

Laxmi came in and asked if we were still going Visiting Teaching. I had forgotten we had arranged with Kamala to visit her this morning. I hurried and got ready and we were off. She wasn’t feeling great, so we didn’t stay too long but she said she will see us at the Branch Christmas Party on Friday night. The taxi driver told us there is talk of a bandh tomorrow. We will see what happens there.

When we got back Gene and I went over to Bhat Bhateni’s. We saw Deppongs over there and visited with them a bit. When we got home, Gene and I were busy with an outline for English and I’ve tried to look through material for my talk in Church. Just after 2:00 pm, Dipak, the auditor came, and spent a couple of hours with Gene. I went in the cold kitchen and got things prepared so I can just cook it up quickly for dinner. I’m making Chow Mein. Sounds good to me. We haven’t had it for a while.

The power is off from 5 to 8 tonight. I guess I should enjoy that it’s just three or four hours. I know it will get worse before it gets better.