3 Nephi 17:7 Have ye any that are sick among you? Bring them hither. Have any that are lame or blind..... or leprous... or that are afflicted in any manner? Bring them hither and I will heal them for I have compassion upon you; my bowels are filled with mercy.

We spent a lot of time this past week being with those that are sick or meeting with people who take care of sick people.  I chose this scripture because I thought of the compassion that we must share as we have opportunities to serve, whether it be in our own families and others amongst us.

The day after Thanksgiving we had the opportunity of visiting the Khadka family.  I visit teach Sarahda, she does not speak any English, we take Rukmina to translate. Her husband, Ganesh has just returned from Saudia Arabia after two years.  He went there to work and is now hoping to find a job somewhere in Nepal. Their little Ruth calls Kent, grandpa and comes and sits with us at church when they are there.  She'll also bring a piece of candy for us occasionally.  She is so cute.    They live about a 45 minute taxi drive away from us.  When we get to their house they are all snuggled in their bed trying to keep warm in their one room home.  Ruth has the chicken pox again, Sarahda said this is the third time she has had them, about the same time each year.  Kent and Ganesh give her a blessing.  We love this little family, they have so little and yet when we go they always feed us and are so grateful when we come.  A few weeks ago Sarahda brought me a new warm sweater to church, on this day she gives Kent a hat she made. I left her some money and asked if she would make some for me to take home.  She didn't want me to leave the money but I insisted.

  

Sarahda, Ganesh and Ruth with the chicken pox

Kent with his new hat and Ruth

On Saturday we had a YSA Fireside, yeah, only young single adults came.  We're making strides in this endeavor to separate the YM/YW from the YSA.  We were pleased with the turn out.  I'm hoping one day to get them their without a promise of dinner.  You would never believe how they eat.  

Bikkie, Pretti and Jessica

Mya, Carol Remmp, Gonga, Upendra , I can't remember the next young man's name and Greg Remmp

On Sunday we're off on another adventure to the Amanada Ban Hospital which means Peaceful Jungle Hospital.  I thought it was interesting but not surprised that they put those with leprosy way out of the city.  It is about an 1.5 hour drive to the jungle in a taxi that we hope makes it up the hills.  The drive is sort of like driving up Little Cottonwood Canyon, but the roads are not paved, just dirt and bumps.  We're going to go and visit Lagan, the woman that we met at READ Nepal Leprosy clinic a few weeks ago.  She had asked us to come, "annu:.  We promised her we would visit her.  Carol and I and our cute didi's, Rukmina and Laxmi went together.  We talked about taking her some food since the hospitals don't provide food for patients, their families must provide that.  This was a such a great day for us.  Rukmina and Laxmi made food for her, since she didn't have many teeth left, they were very careful in their preparations for her, dahl baht, zag, some ground chicken dish, and something else Nepali.  I had brought some curd that I bought a few days before in Bhaktapur.  Rukmina also brought her a very warm shawl and a warm hat, Laxmi had also brought a hat and Carol brought a warm Nepali blouse.  It was a very good thing, she was only dressed in a very light gauze wrap and her bed was next to a window.  She has not had to have her leg amputated yet.  When we got there they were dressing her foot, so we didn't get a chance to look at it, but the nurse told us that the doctor was going to wait a couple of weeks before he made a final decision, it was starting to heal, but the nurse felt like she would still have to have it amputated.  Lagan was so excited to see us, she cried and in Nepali, she said "you came".  We went back to her bed with her and let Rukmina and Laxmi put the warm clothes on her and fed her.  What wonderful sisters these two woman are.  On our way out Rukmina said, "I want to stop and get her some juice,"  I told her that I had an unopened carton of juice we could take, she said no, she wanted to buy some from her.  I had thought about going and buying a warm shawl for her and then Rukmina told me she was taking one for her. How easy it would have been for me to go and purchase one, for Rukmina this was a sacrifice for her, but she also knows with sacrifice comes blessings.  I'm glad I did not deny her those blessings.  Carol and I will pay for the taxi.

Rukmina putting the shawl on Lagan

Rukmina making sure Lagan gets all the food they brought.  We did find out that they do feed these women dahl bhat but that is all.  I kind of felt bad as all the other women watched us fuss over Lagan.

Lagan Devi

This cute little girl followed me around all afternoon and sat on my lap.  Lagan told us to give her some of her food.  She is the daughter of one of the patients there.

Laxmi, Rukmina and Lagan

Lagan kept saying "two mommies" to Carol and I.  I asked Rukmina if that's what she was really saying and she said, "yes, because you are taking care of her, like her mommy did."

Rukmina, the nurse and the mother of the little girl

Now everyone here wants a hug and their picture taken.

These women all have leprosy and are patients here, from what I could see most of them had their hands affected by the disease.

This cute girl was about 14 years old, and she spoke very good English.

Whenever you take a picture you must make sure you show it to them.  They love having their pictures taken and will always thank you.

The nursing staff didn't want to be left out

We then asked if they would show us their operating rooms, I hope you're all thankful for the modern world you live in and when you go to the hospital, you know that they are well equipped, and clean.  These people in Nepal do a lot with very little.

I loved this sign above the door "quality and dedication are our testimony."

This is a carving in the hospital that was made and donated by a baker from Rotterdam. " It depicts the suffering of Christ as many with leprosy have suffered, it shows Christ victorious as those with leprosy have become victorious and bear fruit in society."

Monday, Kent and I spent the day in the office organizing, computer work, and making sure our calendars are up to date.  It's been a busy month and December is looking pretty much the same.  

On Tuesday we have an appointment with Dr. Ashish and 2 doctors from Sweden who are working on an HBB study.  Because  LDSCharities is paying for the training and equipment we have been invited to attend.  We'll be glad when this study is over and we can proceed in a more appropriate way for the church to be recognized and we can organize this project a little better.  This is the Parapokar Maternity Hospital that delivers about 25,000 babies a year.  Figure out how many babies that is a day -  that's almost 70 a day!!!!

Here the new dad's wait - it's kind of a revolving door - in they go, out they come

New mom trying to find dad

A few weeks ago we met a doctor at this hospital, he had a stack of files on his desk and told us that the week before over 100 babies had died.  That is why HBB is so important, that is why the study is being done.  That is why we are meeting with so many important doctors and ministries that we need to show that this will help newborns in Nepal.  We are working to get this into the curriculum so that all incoming nurses and doctors will be trained.  On Wednesday we went and met with Dr. Nina at Save the Children.  A worldwide INGO that is interested in what we are doing and gives us some very good contact names that we should meet.  She was very helpful.

Today is Thursday, it is very cold - in the house about 55 degrees,  the weather outside is nice but we decide that we need warmer clothes and so we went shopping.  I want some heavy warm black socks that I can wear with a dress, since I have to wear a dress most of the time.  We both are looking for warm sweaters and some warm heavy socks to wear when we are home in the office, Kent's feet are freezing.  We wander the streets of Ashan Bazaar and find the back streets of Thamel, where we find everything we need and more.

There are many little alley ways that open up into these squares where one will usually find various temples, today we found a square with mostly Buddhists temples or stuppas.

This square is also the playground for a nearby school, it must have been recess when we walked through because there were lots of children playing.

Here's the school

And here are the children running in and out of all these stuppas

Aren't these little guys cute - the children here all start preschool at about 3 years old?

It  must be wedding month also because we saw 4 different weddings today, this one was in Ashan Bazaar

First the marching band

Not sure what these guys do - maybe some kind of a wedding blessing

Next comes the groom on his way to pick up the bride - from what I understand this is an all day all night affair - lots of music and partying.  I think we're going to be invited to one in the next couple of months.  Again we saw four of these today.

These guys are plum tuckered out and needed a nap

This is such a common site around here!

When we were walking around this square this young man started talking to us, he was a student at an art school and asked if we'd like to come and see his school and of course his art.  His name is Chandra and he showed us this piece of art he had been working on for 6 months.  This is very common Tibetan art that you can find in Nepal.  The work and the colors are beautiful and very intricate.

Chandra and his art

Of course the art teacher wanted us to buy a piece.  We told them that maybe before we left to come home we would come back, but he told us that these pieces of art of very calming and would help us relax while we are here in Nepal.  

Here's my new sweater, my warm knitted socks and a shawl to wear to church

I also put up our little tree,  Christmas will be different this year......and next.  They don't celebrate Christmas in Nepal.  It's a regular old work day for everyone. 

 One day things will change in Nepal, people will come to know about Christ, about His compassion and love for his children.  I would have loved to have shared the message of the gospel and the hope that Christ gives to each of us this week with Lagan.   I would have loved to have told her that one day she would see her husband and that she would be made whole..  But in the mean time, I will try to make a difference, I will be His hands here in Nepal for now.