Helaman 1:18 And it came to pass that because of so much contention and so much difficulty in the government . . . . .

At Christmas time during our branch party a gentleman approached me, two of his sons and one of his daughters are members of our branch.  He's a journalist and was talking to me about a letter he had written to President Obama and gave me a copy and wanted me to read it.  He also went on to talk about how lucky I was to live in the United States and have someone like our President in power.  He felt sure that our President would be the man to unite the world, one world government he said.  I didn't say much but took his article home and read it, very interesting, but I also believe he has been misled.  A week or so after I had read the article I talked to his daughter and told her that I wanted her father to know that it would never be Barak Obama that would unite the world,  but that one day there would be someone who would come and would unite us as brothers and sisters and that man would be Jesus Christ.  Somedays I look around in Nepal and wonder how it will ever happen but I know in my heart that one day it will be.

I've shared some crazy Nepali things in the past but I'm going to tell you a few things that have happened here in the last couple of weeks.  I think I've told you that Nepal has a Maoist government.  There has not been a constitution for almost ten years and they have been trying to come together and write a new one.  But there continues to be all kinds of obstacles, I sometimes think that Nepalis are their own worst enemies.  They can't agree on anything, everyday in the paper, a deadline is set for some kind of consensus, the deadline passes and a new date is set.  It's been like that since way before we got here.  And then when things don't go someone's way they have a bandh.  In the last two weeks we have had several bandh days.  On the 4th, teachers in private schools had a bandh (strike) so there was no school.  The next day there was a bandh so no vehicles except motorcycle, scooters, and bicycles could be on the road.  They were either protesting the raise in gas prices, or public transportation.  We never know for sure what the bandh is for.  Today we had a doctor appointment and just as we got in the taxi we got a message on our phone from the US embassy that there was another bandh that was going to happen in the next hour.  And then Rakesh who is always looking out for us called to notify us of the upcoming bandh.  We hurried to the doctors, she was also in a hurry, she didn't want to be stuck in the office and not be able to get home.  She told us she heard the bandh was because of the government problems and that it was going to last five days.  We made it home, but I walked outside there were cars still moving around, no taxis though. Who knows?  When the bandhs happen it really hurts those who are trying to run their businesses and make what little money they can.

The one fun thing to see during a bandh is that since there is no school the children are all out playing in the middle of the road. You never see that on non bandh days.  And people can actually walk , so there are a few good things that happen during bandhs.








 Also on bandh days or when days the internet is not working or both I have been crocheting, hats,baby blankets, purses.  I'm leaning lots of new stitches.

Now I am making this afghan

Carol and I have been making all the little girls in the branch these cradle purses.  We are waiting for friends who are coming to visit to bring us dolls to put inside.

Not only is it the season for bandhs whenever someone has a complaint but then there are the never ending festivals.  We've had two in the last two weeks and again government, business, and schools close down.

I now know why schools here go on all year.  I bet they don't really go to school anywhere close to 180 days.  One last thing about the bandhs, I was just talking to Hitson.  It is the end of the school year for Nepalis, they have major testing everyday for 10 - 12 days with only testing.  Today Hitson's tests we're finished at 12:30.  The bandh started at 12:00, he couldn't get home from school until after the bandh ended at 5:00 p.m.  Poor Hitson, poor Nepal.

The festival on the tenth of this month was called Shivaratri day.  Someone told us we should experience this festival and go to the Pashpati Temple.  After we read about it we decided this was not a good place for missionaries, let alone anyone to go and experience this festival.  There are over a million people that go to Pashpati temple on this day and over 100,000 of them are holy men.

"Shivaratri is a much anticipated festival by all Hindus.  Shiva's birthday falls on the new moon day of the month of Falgun (which fall between our February, March calendar, we've also heard it called the wedding day).  Festivities take place at all Shiva temples but most particularly at the great Pashpati Temple, Pilgrims and yogis or holy men, from all over Southeast Asia come to Kathmandu weeks before the festival.  On this holy day people fast throughout the day.  At dawn worshippers take a holy bath or dip in the river and to to the temple to worship, (they and many others remain nude all during the day sitting around doing strange things).  Pashupatinath temple is located at the eastern part of the Kathmandu valley on the banks of the holy river Bagmati, (a really gross and filthy river). Pashupatinath, which literally means, "the Lord of animals", is one of the many forms of the Lord Shiva.  "He is the guardian deity  protector of our Hindu Kingdom of Nepal, thus Shiva Ratri is one of the major festivals of Nepal.'  

One of the interesting aspects of Shiva Ratri is that on this day devotees and non-devotees alike freely indulge in smoking intoxicating substances such as marijuana and bhang  (a mildly intoxicating preparation from the leaves and flowers of the female cannabis plant, smoked or consumed) for it is the only day in the annual calendar when marijuana is legal (really?)  Many people take these intoxicants in the belief that it pleases Lord Shiva for he too is said to be fond of it (Kent said that when they take it they probably actually believe that it pleases Lord Shiva and that they can probably even see him).  

So we didn't venture over to Pashpati on this festival but I had some picture of past visits.

 Pashpati Temple Square, only Hindus can actually go into the square, visitors watch from across the Bagmati  River

The Bagmati River where they dump the ashes of the burning bodies - bath anyone?

These next pictures are some of the holy men - they sit around on both sides of the river with their tin cups begging for alms.

Kind of scary looking, don't you think?

On the 11th of March it was Gyalpo Lhosar Festival.  This is a holiday for the Sherpa community so again everything is closed down, but  look what happened.

Whoops!  I'll write the first paragraph of this story.  "The Ministry of Home Affairs first bungled it all, and now government officials are engaged in a blame game of sorts.  The Ministry declared Tuesday a public holiday to mark Gyalpo Lhosar, only to realize later that the Sherpa community had already celebrated the festival a month ago.    The next paragraph is pretty good too!

Government and several private offices remained closed on Tuesday to mark the extra holdiday.  Even President Ram Baran Yadav, Vice President PramanandaJha, Prime Minister Baburam Bhattaarai and top leaders of the major political parties extended their 'warm wishes' to the Sherpa community.  Given the magnitude of the blooper, authorities are now on the lookout for the person responsible for it.  

Our next HBB project was just approved in Hong Kong, so we've been spending quite a bit of time getting ready for the doctors and nurses from Salt Lake to come back at the end of April.  We had to fly to Biratnagar to check out where one of the trainings will be, about a 1 hour plane ride or a 17 hour bus ride, we opted for the plane ride.

   

We never get tired of seeing these beautiful mountains

Not quite like Salt Lake International

The Eastern Star Hotel,

boy was I glad we had to only be here overnight.  We searched for a nicer hotel, and found one  with a swimming pool for when we come in April with the doctor and nurses.

The wiring in our hotel

And of course, the bathroom

I know I post lots of pictures of hospitals but that's where our work and our focus are right now.  I don't think I will ever get over the condition of these places, especially to walk into the NICU's and see what little equipment and resources they have.  Shame on Nepal, don't they realize these children are the future and the hope of Nepal.  

This mother did not look too excited about being a new mom.  Life is very difficult for so many of these young mothers.  Another mouth to feed, what will they do?

This little preemie was 11 days old

This is one of the incubators in the Koshi Hospital

I pray these two little ones make it.

They really do try, they just are not given what they need to make their hospitals, like the hospitals I have come to so much appreciate at home.  As we talk to the doctors and staff we know how discouraging and frustrating it is for them.  Most doctors have been trained outside of Nepal, they know what they need, they know what their hospitals should be.  The help we give is not much compared to what they need.

These are disposable rubber gloves that they wash and hang to dry and reuse.

This is a warming bed for a newborn in the government hospital.

This one is the Shree Hospital in Biratnagar, it is a private hospital, which are so much more updated, and clean.  Not quite as up to date as American standards but at least they are working continually at it.  However, because Nepalis have to pay to come to these hospitals, they usually go to the government hospitals where the care is very, very minimal or free.

A deluxe cabin in this hospital is about 1,500 rupees or close to $16.00 a day.  But it's not something most can afford.

Kent, complimenting the doctors and staff, letting them know what a good job they are doing under the trying and taxing conditions that they are under.  Doctors don't get a vacation, they work 7 days a week.  There is a real shortage of doctors in Nepal. I think I'm beginning to understand why

overworked - underpaid.

Kent got out his IPad at the airport when we were waiting for the plane to take us home to Kathmandu, he soon had a crowd gathered round.

We received an email this last week and later a skype from the Humanitarian Office in Salt Lake regarding some new wheelchair peer training that they would like to do in Nepal this summer.  They want to send two men who have lived their lives in wheelchairs to train  master trainers who then would do peer training for those who now have to live their lives in wheelchairs, about how they can regain their lives after an accident that may have left them paralyzed, give them hope and let them know that they can still live a full and productive life.  So that's another thing we're starting to work on along with writing up our wheelchair project  which not only includes getting the wheelchairs but also assessment training and now the peer training.  It looks like it will be a busy summer.

We had our Relief Society birthday celebration a few days ago.  It's so fun to get with the sisters in the branch and it's a very nice part of our mission, something to do besides the Humanitarian part of our call here in Nepal.

I'm the tall one in the back

Because of so much contention and so much difficulty in the government, Nepal will have a very hard time becoming anything more than a third world country.  There are many wonderful people here who have high hopes and desires for this country, many have returned to Nepal after living abroad, they know what Nepal can become, they know it won't be easy, but they long for a change, and they want to be that change.  They are amazing, I said "I can do hard things", but it is Nepali's who do hard things everyday of their lives.  One day our Savior, Jesus Christ will be the change in Nepal, it will be He who truly unites and helps us  remember the brothers and sisters that we all are.