Final day of teaching

It is 6 A.M. Saturday as I write to you. Today is the third and final day of the teacher training. 32 teachers have come from nine village schools. One teacher walks an hour each way in order to attend. The area is jungle, filled with leopards, monkeys and large butterflies.
I am taken by how young and beautiful the teachers are. The large number of men is equally surprising. The men are well dressed in slacks and collared shirts. The older men wear the traditional topi hats that come to points on each end signifying the mountains in which they live. The women dress in beautiful, vibrant, flowing pumjabes and saris that compliment the richness of the color of their skin.
Teaching them has been such a privilege and an honor. They are bright and curious students who hunger for improvement, understanding and growth. Like home, there is great pressure on the public school teacher to compete equally with the private sector. The students have beautiful voices and love to sing. Their laughter is magical and we have shared many meaningful and touching moments.
God has revealed to me the richness of His creation and the depth of His love for all humanity. In teaching, I have also seen His love for me. As this day unfolds, I pray for change. If our work here has even brought about one small change for the Kingdom of God, it has not been in vain. To quote the verse at the bottom of the certificate each teacher will receive in a ceremony this afternoon, "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." - Proverbs 22:6
With God's Blessing,
Memory Lamfers

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

Honk! Honk!

Driving on the roads in Nepal takes a real skill and talent. You have to know the rules and "customs" for driving. Those rules are: 1) anything goes. There really are no lanes except you stay on the left side of the road when you feel like it. You can pass anywhere, anytime as long as... well, you want to. So, the horn of your vehicle is a very valuable tool. It has a meaning and a language all its own. As we were driving on the road from Kathmandu to Pokhara, I had the opportunity to sit back, relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery along the way. But, it's difficult to relax when horns are constantly blowing. After a while you get used to it and you tend to ignore it. But, as time passed, the trip became very long and I found myself taking great interest in this horn blowing. I learned through careful listening and watching, these honks weren't just some random acts. They truly had a special purpose and meaning. Before you wanted to pass someone, you honked your horn. This meant, I'm going to pass you, so watch for me. If you honked several times before passing, it meant move over you are in the middle of the road and I can't get around you. When we came to an intersection in the road they honked to let others know they were coming. A kind of', courtesy honk. Another honk meant don't pass to an oncoming car because I'm going around this vehicle and if you pass from the other direction we will have a head on collision. Sometimes the honk said thank you to a vehicle which allowed us to pass. And yes, there was the universal honk which simply said hello to a friend. But... in the middle of all the honking, I never really saw the horn used for a weapon or crazy tool like it is used in America. You know, you get the horn if you are too slow, too fast, too____________ . Fill in the blank. You get the idea. As I put more thought into this horn blowing, I thought about the beginning of the trip when I was ignoring the horns and I inserted myself. There have been many times, when traveling down life's highway, when God was blowing his horn at me. I chose to ignore it because I thought I knew best or I had the answers. I kept on going my way. Soon, I discovered I needed to listen to God's horn because it had a very special meaning just for me. He wanted me to take a different road.
Please keep us in your prayers,
With God's Honk! Honk!
Mark Lamfers

Some pix from Teacher Training Conference (please don't miss Bill's blog he just posted)

This Road that We Travel

Every picture I had in my head of what Nepal would be like has been short sighted and inaccurate. Picture a land of nothing but hills and mountains for miles that is covered in plant growth and cloaked in haze, and then you will begin to understand what it looks like here. Rice stepped hills and tiny villages are overshadowed by the looming Himilayas above them. Everything is a sensory overload of colors, tastes, and smells.

We landed in Kathmandu and the ride from the airport to our guest house was an incredible one. There is trash everywhere and people go in whatever way they can. It is everything I had thought and more. It is hot and dirty and busy and Beautiful. There are few street lights, street signs, or the "right" way to drive through the city. The car horn is used constantly to communicate to the people around you and the traffic of narrow streets never affords you the luxury of letting your guard down. Just outside of our guest house I saw a man get struck by a taxi. The taxi did stop and the man was not seriously injured, but it did remind me not to allow my attention to wander too far.

I am a spectacle everywhere I go. Even now as I type this update from a smaller city outside of Pokhara, a little boy stares at my white skin. I ease how uncomfortable this makes me feel by starting Nepali conversation with someone who stares for too long. They are surprised that this white man speaks their words and then they smile big because they know I respect their country and culture. They are utterly shocked to learn that it is my first day in Nepal and are very interested to know how I learned their language. I am so very glad that we put in the work for our Neapli language lessons before we left.

That night while walking around town I started talking with a younger man who then invited me to a local place where talented musicians play American music. He soon became my friend and I hope to spend some more time with Prabin on my way back through Kathamndu. Much to my surprise, the next morning while we had breakfast in the courtyard, I heard my name being yelled. I looked around and then up to see my new friend high on the roof of the next building over. In laughter and shock I waved and yelled greetings to my friend.

Yesterday we left early in the morning to take a van from Kathmandu to Pokhara to. it is a long journey in itself, but the time of travel doubled as we had to stop at several delays. One of which was a broken down truck blocking half of the tiny mountain road, another was a bridge that was damaged and only one car at a time was permitted to pass. Another obstruction was more tragic. A man had fallen off of the top of a bus and he was backed over by a truck. His lifeless body lay in the street with a red sheet draped over him. A crowd of people made a spectating circle around him that reminded me of how kids gather when there has been a school yard fight.

I'm still trying to process that experience.

People die here everyday due to the harsh nature of life here. There is a transportation strike happening in the west that arose from a bus driver who ran over a child that was playing under his vehicle. He didn't know the child was under his bus. The town people reacted and killed the man and threw his body in the river. I'm reminded of Mohan's words, "These things happen everyday."

On a brighter note, Memory has started her teachers' conference today and once again I am made aware of the many gifts that she brings to our group. 31 teachers from all over the area are attending the three day conference. In a place where change is so slow if at all, I can't help but feel deep hope and happiness when I think of all of the good things that will result because of these educators' diligent efforts in pursuing how to better serve the students they teach.

I realized this morning that back home it is Wed night and that is Trinity's Jr. High youth group night. I felt that absence. How interesting that also today Tom introduced me to a group of 16 years old sitting outside of their house with a guitar. I sat down with them and we sang Nepali and American song on the guitar and talked about life. I asked them to explain what they celebrate during Dasai (the big Hindu festival that is going on now) and we were able to talk about Jesus and God. I guess youth are youth no matter where you go.

So many exciting things lie ahead.

Namaste,
Bill

Today-Kathmandu!

Our day began in the wee hours in order to prepare for our flight from Singapore to Kathmandu. Upon arrival, how glorious to see a sign held up in the throngs of faces saying our party's name. We were met by our travel guides, Sujit and Rajesh, with whom we have been in contact through the past months. They treated us with the utmost care, love, and respect. We are staying the night in a charming little hotel in the heart of the Thamel district. Mohan will send a van for us in the morning, and we will journey to the lodge above Pokhara where we will host the Teacher Staff Development and Marriage Seminar for the next week. Our team is growing and flourishing in the Light of God's love. I thought of you today as we soared through the clouds above Thailand. I thanked God for your love and for His. We are blessed, honored and humbled to be here. Good night, and we love you.
Memory

Five more pix from Singapore (don't miss Mark's written blog: click on "older blogs"

1. Along Singapore River
2. Clark Quay on the Singapore River
3. Chinatown
4. There is lush vegetation here!
5. The view from our hotel window including one of the two new casino/hotels in town (looks like a ship on top of three packs of cigarettes!)