I have finished with my ‘bucket’ bath and now I am ready for the day. Bucket baths are unusual for most Westerns but it is something I am accustomed to since it is standard practice at the LOT Home in Relli as well as most of the people living in the hill district. [...]
A mental image comes to my mind of a mother hen gathering her little chicks around her. When I am visiting one of the TWAM children’s homes, I gather the children around to listen to what is happening in their world. They are so eager to share, to laugh, to sit and visit [...]
Holi Festival is a Hindu festival to the ‘god of nature’. It is also called the festival of colors because all the colorful flowers will soon be in bloom. It is a time to recognize the beginning of spring. As a way to celebrate people take chalk dust in various colors and rub [...]
I awoke to the pure voice of a bird singing outside the window, then silence. More birdsong followed by the homey sound of a rooster crowing. It is first light; the small village of Relli is slowly waking. The quiet is a coveted respite for me after the chaos of Kathmandu. I hear [...]
Five small children press their faces against the schoolroom window watching me as I watch the children of St. Devi’s Academy. The adorable faces belong to 4 year olds, two little students from Nursery Class. The lower grades are standing in rows on the playground singing with enthusiasm, a song called “Showers of [...]
It is a 45 minute flight from Kathmandu to Bhadrapur. More and more people are traveling by air in Nepal and the 50 passenger commercial propeller airplane is twice the size of the planes previously used on this route. The plane flew to an elevation of 15,500 feet so it gave me the [...]
I just walked through the narrow streets of Kathmandu heading to my favorite breakfast restaurant. All the shops were closed, the garage door entrances locked tight. I turned right on the main street walking through the damp air and was disappointed to find the restaurant closed due to the Holi Festival. I ducked [...]
Sujana Lama was a student and full time resident at St. Devi’s Academy for 13 years. She has changed her name to Christine but her kind, industrious nature hasn’t changed. After graduating from St. Devi’s she attended junior college for 2 years studying science. For the past 3½ years she’s been a student [...]
Today is a special day for the graduating students at St. Devi’s Academy. The Juniors planned a 3-4 hour celebration, a Farewell Party for the 37 seniors who will leave the school they have attended for 13 years. The girls looked like exotic flowers, dressed in colorful, fancy saris adorned with glitter. Most [...]
Nepal is not an easy place to live. The electricity is down much of the time due to ‘load shedding’, which basically means there is more demand then there is electrical power, so it is simply shut down. Internet can be a problem too as the connection is often weak [...]