A Visit to Mount Olive Village

Yesterday was a day filled with wonder, smiles, and joy. While Memory taught her second day of the Teacher Training Conference (Mohan had first estimated they'd have 10-15 teachers and there are actually 32 participating!) and Mark stayed to assist her, Bill and I accompanied Sangeeta and her daughters to Mount Olive Village. We began our walk at Ekta which is the name of the building on the north edge of Pokhara where we are staying and also doing the two seminars. (Here we are about half-way up the mountain overlooking Pokhara.)
Sangeeta described to us the different areas on the mountains. One area is where the Brahmins (high caste) live and another area where the "low caste" live. These children greeted me and my camera with beautiful smiles.
After nearly an hour walk from Pokhara, we arrived at the Training Center. Mohan (Frontier Mission Center) purchased this property about three years ago. The owner of the property was a severe alcoholic and his wife committed suicide in the house. The local villagers wanted nothing to do with this property, believing that it was haunted by this dead woman. FTC (Frontier Mission Center) has taken this property from just one old house to now being a full-fledged training center with a classroom, a kitchen, several dorm rooms, bathrooms, and storage rooms. With funds donated to this trip a solar electric system was installed (cost: $950) two weeks ago, so now when the electricity is off (about 20 hours a day) they can continue to have light instead of using candles. Here you can see the solar panel on the roof of the Training Center.

Sangeeta (on the left in green) shared with us about the dedicated FMC staff they have working there in the village of Mount Olive. Papitra (on right, with Samuel) and her husband, Singa, live with their two children at the Training Center. Sangeeta shared that Singa is the hardest worker she knows and that he has done a lot to construct the Training Center. As we arrived Singa and two other men were laying cinderblock walls for a storage room. Sangeeta shared that Papitra and Singa never complain even though often they get by on very little money. Sangeeta found out that Papitra and Singa were only eating meat about twice per month and she encouraged them to let them know when they needed money for meat.
Just up the hill from the Training Center is the high school for the Mount Olive village. The photo to the left shows about a third of the high school. Basu has been the principal of this school for 20 years and he and about 6 of his teachers are attending Memory's Teacher Training Seminar. Basu and Mohan have been talking for a long time about trying to get computers for their school so we will be talking with Basu this afternoon about that possible use of some of our trip funds.
Just a hundred yards past the school we walked by a couple's house and they invited us to stop for a drink (hot milk from their water buffalo!). Jit Bahadur is an industrious man who did construction in Iraq for about ten years working for the U.S. Army and has built a beautiful garden, water tanks out of cement, and a beautiful home. Sangeeta explained that this man's water buffalo was very sick and Mohan gave him some advice and the water buffalo got well and ever since then, Jit has attempted to return the favor. Jit is here with his wife in their kitchen with a stove that runs off of methane which is gathered off of the dung from his water buffalo.
50 yards past Jit's home we came to the orphanage run by FMC (Frontier Mission Center). Preba (in red) had prepared a sumptious meal for us: dhall bhaat (don't come to Nepal unless you like rice and lentils!), spinach, pickles, and chicken. It was clear from Sangeeta comment that Preba had splurged from their tight funds to purchase meat for us to eat. I am humbled that this women who scrimps by on so little, would sacrifice to provide us a meal that, for us, is so easy to take for granted.
Preba is seven months pregnant and she and her husband, Daniel, live at the orphanage and care for the three teenagers who live there: Raj Kumar, Karuna (Raj's older sister), and Shanti. Raj entertained us with his beautiful guitar playing and singing and then we had little gifts for the three children. We played "Set" (a gift we'd brought for Raj) and these very bright children caught on so very quickly! You can see Karuna (wearing glasses) holding Angelina on her lap (Mohan and Sangeeta's youngest daughter) on her lap and flanked by Rosie (in white blouse) and Expectation (in pink blouse), Mohan and Sangeeta's third and second daughters. Karuna is 18 years old and studying in the university here. Her and Raj's mother died when they were young, her father remarried, and then they lived with such neglect from their step-mother and father that they went to live with their uncle. Then their uncle got very ill, so the FMC staff agreed to take them in and care for them.
Shanti (in the purple shirt) is about fourteen and attends the local high school. She wore a constant smile and it is so clear from watching the three children interact with Prema and Daniel that this is a family in the best sense of the word. In my opinion, this is how every orphan in the world should live: with a couple loving and caring for them and making them to feel a part of a family.
Later, Sangeeta asked me to come talk about a medical problem that Raj suffers from. Both he and Karuna have had a condition since they were young in which the soles of their feet get very dry and cracked. Mohan has taken Raj to a skin specilist in Pokhara and the doctor had recommended a special ointment and also to wear socks and shoes (instead of flip-flops like nearly everyone wears here) to protect his feet. Raj had been using the ointment and said that that helped a lot. But he hadn't been wearing socks and shoes, it was just such a hassle in a culture where one always takes ones shoes off at the door, etc. So we had a discussion about it for a while. I attempted to create a dialogue among Raj, Prema, and Daniel. In the end, Raj decided that he really was willing to try again to wear his shoes and socks each day and also use the ointment.
We got a little time to hit a volleyball (donated by Sports Oasis in Broomfield) around a bit with Raj and some of the neighbor kids. Then we headed back down the mountain to Pokhara. It got dark by halfway down, and, fortunately, Bill had brought a flashlight that helped us down the mountain safely.
What a joy to be here in Nepal! Thank you for your patience in reading this. Please pray for us that we could continue to be sensitive to everyone we meet.
In Christ's love,
Tom