10/2008 - KTM, Nepal - Micah fits right in!
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Some trust in chariots and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.
The economy has stretched a lot of people's faith, ours included. For the first time since getting here we had to tap our savings to meet our expenses. Instead of being amazed that it is the first time it is very tempting to be fearful. We choose to be amazed. God is faithful!
10/2008 - KTM, Nepal - Alicia is learning to take some of the pictures for mom and dad.
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The past 6 weeks have been a typical freefall of activity. Micah is developing "spot on" (British phrase for "exactly") as he should PTL. Alicia is doing well in school, and Elijah is talking more and more. We are careful not to let Alicia always steal the spotlight from him. It appears to be obvious how the "middle kid" could really get a bad deal. So far he seems to be doing great.
Nowadays (ajah bholi) we have a stack of responsibilities and commitments. This time we have only had moments of feeling overcommitted. It seems we are getting better at it.
Alicia is helping more and more every day. She likes to set the table for dinner, she even takes pictures, and sometimes even gets a good one! Chandra is still helping regularly at school. It is working very well so far! In the coming months it will become even more regular. We both love what we do here.
10/2008 - Chitwaan, Nepal - Water fight!
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Ryan went for a week trip with his homeroom class. They spent several days in the jungle in Chitwaan and then several days in Pokhara. Originally they had hoped to visit Delhi but the Tihar holiday made the trip not a great idea. It was later agreed that the incredibly peaceful jungle resort was preferable to the loud Indian streets. Just goes to show how our second choice is sometimes our best.
Ryan's class this year is grade 12. They are about to graduate and they are going to be continuing school all over the world. He considers it an honor to work with these great students and has little doubt that they will go far.
10/2008 - Chitwaan, Nepal - One reason God made elephants.
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While on the trip they actually went on an elephant back safari. It was pretty neat, after getting back to the camp a few of the guys were talking and suddenly everyone took off again moving very quickly through the brush and into the jungle again. Apparently a rhino had been spotted. Ryan had been having a lot of fun trying to spot different animals. He'd found a few deer, and a monkey, but the Nepali guides were usually much quicker.
The elephants were all marching single file and Ryan saw what looked like a boulder in a thick brushy area. He tapped the guide and said: "Tyo ke ho?" The guide glanced over, bent his head down and whistled for the others to come back. It was the rhino!!! Later on a walking tour he was sure he had spotted something, and decided to try to get a better look. The guide at first didn't know what he thought he saw, and then he laughed. In broken English he said to the rest of the group, "cobra plant." It was quite a laugh, but the plant was almost as interesting as an animal would have been. It was no leopard, but it was a neat rather large plant that seemed to sway back and forth by itself.
10/2008 - Chitwaan, Nepal - One of a set of wild tiger tracks Ryan found on the trip.
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There were lots of neat experiences on the trip, including tiger & leopard tracks, and paragliding over Phewa (the lake in Pokhara). The students seemed to really appreciate the opportunity as did Ryan.
11/2008 - KTM, Nepal - Alicia attends her friend's "princess party"!
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Meeting new people and saying bye to others is a continuous cycle here. Alicia's new friend had a princess birthday party a few weeks ago. It really is great to see our daughter socializing so well with such a huge range of different cultures. We are again just so blessed to be here and continue to see how God has taken care of every detail. Even our kid's friends.
9/2008 - KTM, Nepal - Mountain biking is popular with a lot of "ex-pats". Ryan feels in better shape until a few of the more committed riders show up.
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We are so grateful to all of you for all you do for us. Your prayers, support, thoughts, hopes, and best wishes are so important to us. There is nothing like a presidential election to remind us that we are in a completely different culture. It's times like those that it's nice to know that we have friends who understand and can relate to our cultural foundations. You guys help us still feel connected in those ways.
11/2008 - KTM, Nepal - The youth group is still meeting at our place, here they are preparing their skits.
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Sparx continues to meet at our place on Sundays. We are really having a lot of fun with it now. The worship band has just expanded and any given Tuesday evening 30 minutes or so of practice comes from the upstairs. It is a truly diverse group. They seem to just keep getting better.
We had some visitors at Sparx last week. One of them was a young youth worker from the U.S. He said he and his wife have been hoping to go somewhere and do something like what we are doing. Ryan asked him what they're waiting for, and he said, well after this trip he thinks it will happen much sooner. We could honestly tell them that they would almost certainly gain more than they would lose.
11/2008 - KTM, Nepal - Sparx youth group.
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We hope they make good on it. The workers are truly few, and "ajah bholi" not so many of those few stay very long. There doubtlessly comes some good reason to go back to their home country and do some other thing. We are probably passing up our honeymoon stage now, sometimes taking the good things for granted while disdaining the bad. We hope that we can continue for many years to come. So far, so good.
God bless you all, and thank you!
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