Change of Pace

Namaste, from Nepal! I am not sure exactly where to start or what to tell you, since there has been a COMLETE change of pace. EVERYTHING is different. And, what did we learn before we left? "Its not wrong, its just different."
First things first...
Our flight was not too bad, except that for a tall man like myself my legs quickly began to hurt. We sat on our first flight for 8 hours, then had 45 minutes in Germany to get to our next flight, then a 7 hour flight to India. I was ready to stretch. We then had a 13 hour layover in New Dehli, India. As we arrived in the India airport, we had no idea what to do/ where to go, and hardly anyone spoke our language. We were told ahead of time that we should check our bags through customs. However, the airport employees told us that there was no need to check our bags, that they would be on our next flight. We were confused, and surely did not want to lose our bags before we began a nine month journey. SO, we prayed!!! After 13 long hours in the India airport, and believe me the word "long" does not come close to describing the time, 2 women came and found us to hand us our boarding passes. (yes this is how they do things there) It was very unorganized! But, "its not wrong, its just different!" We definitely felt evil trying to complicate things and make us frustrated! Between the cat wondering around the airport, the frequent power outages, the lack of anything entertaining besides a few shops, the lack of food, the language barrier, and the extra money we paid for an extra bag each, we were ready to head to Kathmandu.


Jordan in the India Airport
"Sleep, must get sleep"





So, into Kathmandu we came...The scenery was amazing, just as I had expected! Mountains everywhere and villages spread out around the country! It is so different than America, as you would suspect. All the buildings in the city are tightly sqeezed together. Two to three story shops lined in a row just a few feet off the road. It is very dirty and I understand why people suffer from common diseases that we have cures and medicine for. The food is sold from on top of blankets that lie on the ground. Aside from the differences, or maybe because of the differences, I find the city very unique.

We are staying in a 3 story building, just 4-5 miles outside of Kathmandu, Nepal in the country. It is so quiet and peaceful here and the people live simple lives. It makes me think that this is the way that God intended for us to live our lives.

It has been an adjustment for me as I am used to the busyness that America demands. Jordan and I have frequently wondered where all these hours in the day are coming from. The days seem much longer here as there is no "agenda", just hanging with the kids. For the first 3-4 days we found ourselves struggling with jet lag and we would take naps around 3 pm. And, when I say "we nap at 3 pm" I mean that we actually had to go to bed at 3 and we slept through the whole night. It was a hard adjustment. But, good news, we have gotten past the jet lag stage.

It has been quite a task to learn the children's names. Much like you might have guessed, the names are not like our American names. The ones I have learned so far: Nabin, Shanti, Suman, Kuman, Umesh, and Ghalsang. I have made it a goal to learn one new name a day. Also, with the language, one new word/ phrase a day.

One boy in particular, Nabin, God has placed on my
heart. He is sometimes quiet and unpredictable, but he is interesting. I have been asking what God wants me to do with Nabin. You can pray that God would give me direction. Also pray for a 20 yr. old boy, Umesh. Same story as Nabin. God has these guys on my heart!


Nabin
in our room...


All the kids here have heard the Gospel. They attend church in the city (spoken in Nepali). It is exciting to be able to come along side them.

I could say a whole lot more, but I am paying right now for using the internet. Thanks for your prayers!!!

It has been a lot more difficult to communicate as we are trying to figure things out. I will write more when I figure out the best way possible. I will update you in a few days or a week, depending!

Please pray that God would show us how we are to be used here. We have been hanging with the kids after their school lets out and every night we have a Bible Study/ Worship (music) time. They really seem to enjoy it. Pray that God would give us vision.

Miss you all!!!
I will include a few more pics at the bottom...
Bye for now,
jason