Merry Christmas! It's been a while since the last post, but it's been a busy and fun holiday season here in Nepal! Our foreign and Nepali friends have really made us feel at home during the holidays. We've been here for 4 months now and although there are still a ton of things that make no sense to me, this place feels more and more "normal" each day.
Early in December, our Pathfinder and youth groups split into 8 teams to go spread some Christmas joy to different villages. My group was going to the village of Sirubari on Saturday. Friday night we agreed to meet at the hospital gate at 7 o'clock the next morning. At 6:45 Saturday morning the phone rang:
-Hello?
"Andrew! Come out to the gate quickly. Your group is waiting for you!"
-What!? I thought we were meeting at 7? Just let me brush my teeth and I'll be out there soon.
"No, come now or else your group will think you don't want to go!"
I think about how strange it is for a whole group of Nepalis to be on time to anything. I skip brushing my teeth and run down to the hospital gate. But when I arrive, only 1 of my 6 group members is waiting... Long story short, we didn't end up leaving until 8 o'clock. We were running late enough that we thought we'd miss the bus, so my group and another group hired a vehicle for the day. Needless to say, we maximized our savings by piling 15 of us into the Tata Sumo for the 2 hour drive.
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| I know it only looks like an 8 passenger, but trust me... |
We arrived in Sirubari, and church only started an hour later than planned. After church, the pastor invited us to his house for lunch. The only translator in our group ate outside, and I was inside. After sitting on the floor of their mud and stone home, eating Dal Bhat with my hand, and using every bit of the language that I know, the pastor said to me in Nepali, "Brother, you were born in Nepal, and then went to America." That was probably one of the happiest moments I've had yet this year!
After the trip to Sirubari, there was only about 2 weeks until Christmas. It was at this point that we found out we were supposed to help set up a Christmas drama that involved employees from the whole hospital. Only a couple days later, we found out we were doing a second Christmas drama that involved the church youth. A couple days after that, we found out that we were going to practice with the Pathfinders for a Christmas caroling program. Finally, a couple days after that, we found out we were doing a third drama.
Needless to say, the last 2 weeks have been a little crazy. There were play practices that we thought were supposed to happen, but never happened. There were other times when we showed up to practice "on time" but nobody was there, so we left. Then half-hour later the phone would ring and they'd tell us we were late for practice. And there were times when we thought there was no practice, only to find out later that we had missed a practice. But by the grace of God, everyone came together and we successfully finished 3 dramas and a Christmas music program.
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| Chilly early morning practice |
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| Soldiers and Shepherds |
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| Little King Herod |
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| Christmas Eve Program |
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| Christmas Day Party! |
Christmas isn't really celebrated here in Nepal. We only have the 25th as a holiday from school. But, the school sure knows how to throw a great Christmas Eve party. Elliott and I got to help cook a feast for the kids and we got to see all of them get a new beanie and coloring book for Christmas. It's hard to explain with words how great it was, so I'll just show pictures! It was definitely one of the happiest days for myself and for our kids!
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| So Much Stoke!! |
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| Little Ashish |
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| Happy Subekchya |
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| Everyone with their Christmas gifts! |
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| Sabina is loving the feast! |
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| Manisha and Menuka |
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| All of the wee bits and their feast! |
