29 April 2012

It's been a catch up day for us. And it's been nice not to have a lot on the agenda. Rakesh did drop by with some good news. He said the PAC Meeting has been scheduled for May 21. We are delighted to hear that. The sooner the better. He told us to go down to SWC and just confirm with them. We will do that.

28 April 2012

I woke up not feeling very good. I told Gene I didn’t want any breakfast, that I was feeling a bit nauseated. The plan for today was to go to church with Usha, the member who has just begun work here at the hospital. She has received permission to hold Sacrament Meetings and we wanted to attend with her. The only Priesthood holder in this area wasn’t going to be there today, so I’m glad we had Priesthood so they didn’t have to cancel their meeting.

I’m so glad we could go. To start with there was only Pres. Bishnu, Deppongs, Us and Usha. After the sacrament, six other young women came. They were women who Usha had invited and they worked at the hospital and were in the nursing program. President Bishnu talked first and then asked us as Senior Missionaries to share our testimonies. I’m so thankful to Heavenly Father for blessing me with his Spirit. I felt His guidance as I spoke – mainly about knowing we are children of a Heavenly Father who knows us individually, He loves us and wants us to be happy. It truly was a wonderful meeting and I’m so glad we could be part of it.

It wasn’t long and we were back in the van and headed to Lamjung. I’m still not feeling great, but didn’t  want the plan’s to change because of me. It’s quite a drive up there and it’s a part of Nepal we have never been in, so I wanted to go. I did enjoy the ride. When we got there Pres. Bishnu said it was a 20 minute walk of so to the project. And it was hot. I told them I would just wait in the van. So they went without me – as they should. I sat in the van for a bit, but it soon became too hot. Across the street was a little storefront that was closed and it was shady so I went there. A young man came over and talked to me. His English was pretty good.

Soon a couple of little girls, probably about 12 and 8 came over. They brought me a little stool to sit on. They could speak a little English too and we just chatted. Their mother had a little jewelry shop there. When Sister Deppong got back, we looked at the jewelry, but it was quite expensive so we didn’t buy.

About 2:00 we were back in the van and headed for home. I’m still feeling yucky. I tried to sleep but wasn’t very successful. It seemed like quite a long ride home and I was really happy to get here. We arrived about 7:30 pm and I went straight to bed. I did take some medicine and hope tomorrow will be better.

27 April 2012

Today is Gene’s birthday and he did celebrate in style.

I woke up not feeling great. I wondered what I had eaten that didn’t agree with me. I debated with myself whether or not I should go, but we have looked forward to this trip – and I wasn’t that bad so I  took a couple of anti diarrhea pills and off we went. We left about 6:30. Bishnu came with the van and driver. We picked up Deppong’s and drove over the mountain. That trip just doesn’t get any shorter. We arrived about 11:15 and checked in to the hotel, then went over to the project closing. They had flowers in pots along the street where the meeting was held.

We got out of the van and began walking to the place where they had a canopy set up. They had us wait a minute while some people came playing music and dancing. The music was an instrument I had never seen before. It was some kind of a horn, almost semi-circular and long and skinny. I can’t say it emitted a beautiful sound – but it was fun to be escorted to the meeting place with music and dancing. We kept telling Gene, it was especially because it was his and Elder Deppong’s birthdays.

It was really hot as we sat under a canopy for close to 3 hours. I think I lost a lot of moisture through ‘sweat’. It was really uncomfortable. The program was, of course, all in Nepali.

There was a bit of excitement during the meeting when a man about three rows back  in the congregation became angry, stood up and began shouting at the guy who was speaking. It reminded me of people in the USA when they don’t like what a politician is saying. People did try to restrain this guy but before the police came, he was able to pick up a plastic chair and hurl it at the guy who was speaking. One of the men sitting behind us learned forward and told us he was drunk. He probably had been drinking, but I think he really disagreed with the guy.

 
They presented Gene and Ollie with Nepali men’s hats. They gave Debbie and I pretty silk scarves. They did express gratitude for the help of LDS Charities. At the end of the program they presented Gene with a plaque, also expressing appreciation. They also presented him a black rhino in a glass case with words (in Nepali) that said it was presented with love and gratitude for our participation in this project. That was very nice and it is something we will take home.

 After we were done there, we went out to the little school for orphans and squatters children and presented them with some school kits that had been donated by Deseret International (Pres. Jackson’s father). This little school can really use the help. It’s a small little school with only about45 students of varying ages. 

 

Tonight we went to the best place in Chitwan for birthday dinner. If this was the best place, I wonder what the others are like. Gene and I both had chicken sizzler. It just wasn’t that good. We do look forward to some real good American food.  After dinner we went back to the hotel. I’m not sure if it was the heat, or my not feeling the best, but Sister Deppong and I both felt wiped out.