8 April 2012 Easter Sunday

We were on the road at six this morning and drove to Riverside Springs Resort where we had breakfast. We were on the road again by 7:00 and home about 11:30. It was a pretty uneventful ride. It’s always good to be home. We checked email and responded to a few. It’s been a catch up afternoon. I’m still not feeling great and had a short nap.

We unpacked the suitcase and then packed the new bag we bought for Brown’s to take home for us. We appreciate their doing that. It will make it nicer for us when we get ready to go home.

Nick stopped by this afternoon. He had his mission call with him. He is so excited and we are just so thrilled for him. We feel it an honor to be able to help him a little bit. He didn’t know he needed to write a missionary acceptance letter, so we talked about that and he will do a rough draft and we will go over it with him, scan it in and get it on its way to Pres. Jackson. We also made up a list of things he will need. Pres. Bishnu asked him for such a list.

It’s Easter Sunday, but sure doesn’t seem like it. I need to get out the Liahona or listen to a conference talk. I need to be reminded of my Savior, his love and his atonement and the resurrection, making it possible for all of us to return to our Heavenly Father. We love him and are grateful for this opportunity to be instruments in His hands.

7 April 2012

We had breakfast at 7:00 AM. I ordered a boiled egg and Brown’s had brought some oranges. So that was breakfast. We checked out of the hotel and went to the training about 9:30. It was supposed to start at ten, but there were already people there. Luckily there were trainees there also, so we just started with the distribution. All in all we gave out about 27 wheel chairs today. What a great experience! And to hear just a few of their stories was heart rendering.

Accessing the needs of the Sherpa who had a boulder fall on him.

 One fellow, probably about 45 years old, had been a Sherpa on Mt. Everest. A big boulder had come crashing down on him and he lost both legs. That was three years ago. A wheel chair will be such a huge blessing in his life and his family’s lives as well.

The young man who was tossed from the top of a bus

 Another young man, a big strapping guy of about 20 years old, was riding on top of a bus. We see that and it happens all the time here in Nepal. The buses are full and they climb on top. There’s a little rail around the top of the bus. He was riding on a country road. The road was very rough and he was thrown off, breaking both legs, both above and below the knee. He also broke his back and was unconscious for a few months. He is now a paraplegic. He is still in the hospital and will return there after getting his wheel chair. His father was with him. We see these things and remember how fragile life is and that sometimes it just so very hard.

She was so happy her husband, a stroke victim was getting a chair.

A young boy being checked for feelings of sensation.

Another wheel chair candidate.

 The man pictured above was in a train accident in India and lost both legs below the knee., He came in on his hands and bottom. He got a wheelchair and was so happy.

This woman speaks a dialect (one of 90 in Nepal) that few people speak. It happened the trainer helping her knew the language and could converse with her. She is of very low caste (group of people) and yet was treated with kindness and respect. She has no family and cleans a government building. She came in on her hands and knees. She got a wheelchair and hopefully it will help make her life easier.


Laxmi and Rukmina were a great help in our waiting area and they love helping us. They said so many people asked about LDS Charities and about us. Where we come from and why we are here. It’s so good to have them….they can interact with these people in a way we never could.

The phone rang and Gene answered it. It was Sister Jackson. She asked if we had gotten her email. She asked about the possibility of our leaving on June 14^th instead of the 15^th. They could get a better flight for us via Delhi, then Paris and then nonstop to Salt Lake City. The downside is a couple of layovers. 7 hours in Delhi and over five in Paris. We will take it. It will be nice to arrive on American soil in Salt Lake City. So now we will have to go to the airport about1:00 PM on the 14^th. That only gives us a day and a half with Elder an d Sister Rempp. I guess that will have to do. We are excited! We will be able to say we have flown clear around the world.

Cooking up puri for dinner

 By noon the distribution was done. They were serving dinner to the trainees and those who came for wheel chairs. We elected to return to the hotel for a little break. The program wasn’t slated to begin until 2:00 pm. We went to the restaurant and had a cold drink and visited for a little bit. Then we returned to the venue.

We waited and waited for the chief guest to arrive. Surprise! We have never been to a ceremony where the chief guest has been on time. Elder Brown threatened to leave if he was more than a half hour late. I would love to do that, but that wouldn’t be a good thing to do. We do need to work with the government in so many different areas. He finally arrived (about 20 minutes late) and the ceremony was short and sweet lasting just over an hour. Certificates were handed out to the trainees and they were happy and pleased with what they have learned.

After it was over, we didn’t waste too much time getting out of town. We drove to Chitwan where we spent the night at the Palms Hotel. We were actually in pretty nice rooms - better than we remembered – and the air conditioning actually worked. The other thing was, just as we got in to the hotel it rained like crazy – and for quite a while. We were glad to be there and be under cover.

6 April 2012 Friday

I didn’t feel very good when I woke up. I had a head ache and feel a cold coming on. My throat is a touch scratchy. I didn’t sleep very well as the hotel room was so hot. The air conditioning didn’t work. We called down to the desk, but they weren’t much help. I was just clammy all night long. 

A group of children hung out with us...

She was beautiful and so shy

The delivery 'van'

We went to breakfast. There are not a whole lot of choices on the menu. Rakesh had given us some rolls from the European Bakery and I had one of those and some hot chocolate. Nothing else looked or sounded good at all.

We spent the day at the wheelchair training. Things seem to be going well. Gene and Ollie are working with Group 3 and no real leader has surfaced. They are struggling just a little bit, but they will be okay. It’s really good for them.

During the lunch break we went back to the hotel and had a granola bar. The afternoon session was going to be pretty short and I asked Gene if he thought it would be okay if I stayed at the hotel. He said that would be fine. So I stayed in the hot room with the ceiling fan on. I read my IPod and tried to nap a bit. Still feeling the effects of a cold.

Laxmi and Rukmina arrived this morning. They were picked up by Rakesh’s driver and he took them to Lumbini where they spent a couple of hours visiting Buddha’s birthplace. They enjoyed it a lot. They are here to help us manage the waiting area during the distribution tomorrow. We all had dinner together and returned to our rooms. We packed up our bags and will check out before going to the training tomorrow.

 5 April 2012

What a birthday! We went down to breakfast and as we walked in – everyone was singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to me. That was nice. And they gave me a birthday card. It was very cute. Gaye had made it on her computer. What wonderful friends. Just how many people get to spend their birthday in Nepal?

We went to the venue about 8:30 a.m. Some of our trainees were already there but we waited and waited for the others. They numbered about seven. Rakesh talked with some of them on the phone and they said they were on their way but couldn’t find the place. We found out they were all together on motorcycles and they finally arrived about 10:30. Time doesn’t mean too much to people here. The culture is that people are more important than time and they are used to waiting. For me, it’s a different story. I like to be prompt and have a hard time with people who are habitually late. And that’s a lot of people in Nepal. And then, even though we’ve waited for them for an hour, the culture is that they have to eat the breakfast that was served first. So we were quite late in starting. I sound like I’m complaining and I guess I am. But it seems really inconsiderate to keep people waiting.

Grinding lentils for dahl batt - just on the street

The training went well. Rakesh was a little nervous about this group but Elder Brown said he thinks they are every bit as qualified as the Kathmandu group. We were able to finish up about 3:30 and went back to the hotel. We changed our clothes and went ‘shopping’. Deppongs had forgotten the sheets to use as curtains to check for pressure sores, so they wanted to buy some fabric. Gene and I saw some large round, flat spoons. We had seen the man at the training cooking breakfast for the trainees and he was turning what looked like scones with one of these. We thought it would be so handy and so we bought all the guy had, which was three. Then we returned to the hotel.

It was soon time for dinner and Gene and I were the last ones to arrive. I thought I would try something different, for my birthday. It was chicken sizzler. We waited for over an hour 15 minutes for our food and we are about the only ones there. Does that mean the ingredients are fresh? Or that there is only one person in the kitchen?  We don’t know and it didn’t really matter. Gaye and Kalapana got up and soon returned with a very cute birthday cake, that said “Happy Birthday Pauline”. That was cool!

Birthday Cake!!!

 We ended the evening by going to Brown’s room, the only one with air conditioning, and playing Golf. While we were shopping, we bought a couple of decks of cards and put them to use. It was fun. Brown’s, us and Elder Deppong played. While playing the power went off and then back on about a hundred times. I’m sure all the air conditioners were just overloading the system.

We went back to our hot room. Our air conditioner blows air but its not cool air. It’s quite uncomfortable. And then, have I said anything about the mosquitoes? There are millions of them here. Deppong’s and Brown’s are both taking anti malaria pills. We aren’t but we have some good mosquito repellant and are using it. The mosquitoes seem to like Debbie a lot. I haven’t gotten many bites and think we will be okay. But they have sure been a nuisance. They were really bad at the training. Not so good!

4 April 2012 Wednesday

We left Kathmandu pretty early and after we had gone part way, I brought out the cinnamon rolls I had baked the night before. They really hit the spot and everyone loved them. We arrived in Bhairahawa about seven hours later, about 3:00 PM. It a village oh, so close to the India border. We checked in to the Pawan Hotel. We weren’t too impressed, especially when we couldn’t get the air conditioner to work and it was really hot over there. It wasn’t very clean and just not kept up. But it’s home for the next few days, so we try to just ‘be happy’.  We took a potty break and then went over to the wheel chair venue. Rakesh had things mostly set up. We helped assemble just a few more chairs and then returned to the hotel.  It didn’t get any better while we were gone.

We had dinner at five o’clock. Gene had spaghetti and I had sweet and sour chicken. It was okay. We didn’t get rice and had to order that separate. We did have some time after dinner without much to do.

I was wishing I had brought my crocheting. We could have gone and saw some of the little shops, but it was just too hot. I’m hoping I can sleep tonight.