Nepal Adventure (part 2)

Thamel has a lot of motorcycles. The roads are very narrow yet cars, people, bikes, and motorcycles squeeze past each other and somehow I never saw anyone get hurt. Lauren, Heather, and I found out that we could rent bikes for a day and we were absolutely thrilled. We found a bike hire place and got three mountain bikes and just started peddling. We dogged the people and cars like we had been living in a third world country for three months (wait a minute.. we have)! We had no real directions and so we eventually stopped by this temple looking thing to figure out the game plan. In the middle of our struggles an old man came up to us. He pointed in three different directions and told us what lay in each direction. We decided that we would go in the direction that led toward the monkey temple. Unsure if we were taking the right roads we just kept peddling and dodging until we eventually could see the large hill in the distant that had the beautiful stupa nestled on top.
           We finally reached the base of the hill and found a way to lock our three bikes up with two little bike locks and made our way to the staircase. The monkey temple is actually called the Swayambhuanth but because I don’t know how to pronounce that (and neither do all the tourists) it is just called the monkey temple. The name makes sense once you begin the long journey up the staircase. I can not tell you how excited I was to just be going up a hill. Bangladesh is the flattest place I have ever been to and I love hiking.
            Along the way up the stairs there were all sorts of little shops and even the little street kids playing. They were absolutely hilarious. There was about three of them who had found plastic bottles that they were using to put under their bums as they slid down the concrete sides by the stairs. I have a soft spot for the street children and I try to spoil them every chance I get. I even try to spoil the beggar kids. Most of them don’t really want to beg but they have just been forced to do it. Money doesn’t mean much to them (all of it goes to whoever is forcing them to beg) so I try to sneak out a cookie to them. You should see how their faces light up when they realize that they finally get a treat of their own.
           When we reached the top of the monkey temple we could see the whole Kathmandu valley and the mountain range that lay on the other side. Although the place was for Buddhist I focused on all the wonderful things that God had done. He had made the mountain range that lay in the distance, He made the people who walked around and marveled at the stupa that was pathetic compared to the things that God himself had made.
            After we rode our bike rides we decided that it was time for dinner. In all honesty the food was one of my favorite parts about Nepal. It was about $2 to go to a nice restaurant and get ethnic Nepalese, Indian, Thai, Tibetan, or even American food. Every night we would get a plate of Momo’s and some other type of curry or Nepalese Dhal (it is completely different than Bengali Dahl and I might like it more than the Bengali Dhal).  Momo’s are these Tibetan dumplings that can either be filled with veggies or meat. They had a sauce that went with them called pickle, it didn’t taste anything like American pickle but it was really spicy. I could write all day about the amazing food that we ate or my favorite restaurant in the world but I don’t want to upset my hungry readers.
             The rest of our trip was absolutely amazing as well. On Sabbath we went for a walking tour of the places surrounding the Thamel district. We celebrated the New Year dancing around on the balcony with the expensive sparkling apple juice that we had bought on the corner market. New Years was very loud because there was about 5 live bands playing at the pubs that are scattered throughout Thamel. We went down to Chitwan National Park and went on a Safari while riding an elephant. I got really sick while on a 5-hour bus ride but thankfully after praying about it I got better and was able to enjoy OR2k (favorite restaurant) that night. Overall it was so nice to experience Nepal and have time to be a tourist that got to go out to eat every night. However, I am so glad that I am back in Bangla Hope. There is no place like Bangla Hope!
 
I posted more pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2393352084597.122212.1574787470&type=1&l=9e86cdbdbe

Sorry I always post the pictures on my facebook. The Internet is so horrible here and it is easier for me to post them on my facebook rather than my blog. 

Nepal Adventure (part 1)

 My mom asked me if I would feel guilty when she found out I was going to spend 7 days of in Nepal. I assumed that I wouldn’t because I was just so excited to be around a place that was clean and semi Americanized (I was thinking of Thamel’s tourist district not the rest of Nepal).  Although I never felt “guilt” necessarily I realized that my way of thinking of people has changed quite drastically. I now cannot help but feel for the people that are around me because I have become aware of the hardships that people face in life.
             We arrived at the home of Santu and Grace around midnight last Wednesday after our plane had been delayed 8 hours. We were exhausted and so was Santu because he had waited 4 hours at the airport for us and he hadn’t eaten since breakfast. His lovely wife Grace dragged herself out of bed so that she could be a polite hostess and make us food. Although we weren’t hungry and the only thing that we wanted to do was sleep we kindly accepted the dhal bhat that she put before us. Santu kept apologizing because we had to sleep on the floor. They had no other place for us to sleep. We woke up to Santu telling us that it was time for us to freshen up and get out to the kitchen for breakfast. It became painfully obvious that this couple was making a lot of sacrifices to have us stay with them.  They were very poor and had a rough time paying $20 a month to rent a room. We decided that it would be best if we found other arrangements for us despite their hospitality. After they fed us another meal of rice and dhal Santu got us a cab that would take us into the heart of Thamel. I appreciated the hospitality of Grace and Santu. They were some of the nicest Christian people that I have ever met and I’m pretty sure I have never felt such gratitude toward a person in my life. (I will write more about them in another post).
             The first thing we did in Thamel was look for a hotel. It was so easy to find. We simply walked down the street a little ways, turned down this ally, walked up a million flights of stairs, and arrived at Hotel Patala. It was 5 dollars a night (can’t beat that)! We quickly threw our stuff in the room and started roaming around Thamel. Thamel is a city where all the trekkers and tourist come to spend their time. There are rows of shops that line the street level and are full of all kinds of fascinating things. The buildings are all very tall and on every level there is a different type of store. One building could contain a bar, hotel, jewelry shop, coffee shop, and a travel agent office. We literally spent days wandering around Thamel and still hadn’t seen everything. The first day was amazing and we simply just enjoyed the beauty of being tourists (by the way, one of the weirdest things was seeing white people again. Heather, Lauren, and I were flipping out). 
             The next day we woke up and decided to move to another hotel. Hotel Patal had a lot of cockroaches and the windows didn’t close all the way making the room unbearably cold. It was then that we found the hotel that we would stay at the rest of the time (besides when we went to Chitwan) it was called Hotel Nana.. we love Hotel Nana. An old man sat at the front desk and he was always so happy to see us he told us to “always remember Hotel Nana” when we left. How can you forget a cheap $5 a night hotel? The ally way beside our hotel had a spa on the lower level and they had a lovely package deal. So we spent about $15 to have a massage (not as lovely as it sounds). I was in the middle of getting my foot rubbed when I stopped enjoying my “tourist time” and I started thinking. I was laying on my stomach so I really couldn’t see the lady who was giving me the massage and I began to wonder what her life was like. She probably lived outside of Thamel where poverty was just as evident as it was in Bangladesh. Then I started thinking of all the shopkeepers that we had spent time with the day before. All of them were trying to rip us off but we thought it was fun to haggle with them. They were all very nice and friendly but I had already forgotten that I was in an extremely poor part of the country. Hardly any of them believe in Jesus (Santu had previously told me that there are only 9,000 SDA’s in Nepal). I suppose that is were the “guilt” started to leak in.
             It honestly didn’t make me not enjoy my time as a tourist in Nepal but it opened my eyes to what was really happening around me. Instead of being the tourist that came and didn’t pay attention to the poor children running around the streets I decided to befriend them. There was this one kid who was climbing into this temple area because there was money on the ground. He was struggling to get through the gate and his pants were falling down most of the time. When he finally managed to get in he jumped and ended up landing on his bum instead of his feet. He made me laugh so hard that I decided that I should tip him. I dug in my bag for some loose coins and handed them to him. I’m pretty sure it made his day. There was another kid that I met and attempted to communicate with. He said something that sounded like the word “chocolate” (in these countries chocolate just refers to the general term of candy). I asked him if he wanted Chocolate and he smiled back at me. We skipped across this beautiful courtyard where the fertility temple was and I handed him some money. He went and bought two pieces of candy and brought back the change. I couldn’t help but smile because most kids just beg for stuff and they aren’t considerate enough to bring back anything extra.  
             Instead of just feeling guilty I decided to embrace being a tourist in Nepal. I enjoyed the food, spas, elephant rides, sights, and chocolate (that we probably ate to much of) but I didn’t forget that the people of Nepal are suffering and need help. Being in Nepal made me want to help the people there and show them who Jesus Christ is. I want to go back someday and help the people of Nepal. They are really deserving people.

(this is just a part of my adventures in Nepal. Lauren, Heather, and I did so much and I probably can’t include it all but I will post a few more blogs about Nepal over the next few days. Nepal is a very cheap and wonderful place and I suggest that everyone go there if the opportunity presents itself!) 

Who Has the Heart? (The Last Three Months)

         My purpose for being here started out with a selfish motive. Even when I think about the first 3 months here I call them “my adventure.” Everything was always about my experience in Bangladesh.  Right before I left for Nepal God smacked me on the head with this overwhelming love for the kids. It started when I was going to Bob and Kerri’s house to get something and I heard my name being yelled from the girl’s room. Instead of continuing to do the many things that I had planned I decided to bum around with a few of the older girls. Later that night I sat in their room and attempted to color while I had 3 girls sitting on my lap and one pulling at my hair trying to braid. I just wanted to stay in that moment and enjoy it forever (despite how much my head hurt from them pulling). I didn’t care about always having an exciting adventure. I was finally content with the simplicity of wasting time with my kids. Not even a week in Nepal sounded better than that.
             The morning that we took off for Nepal we were outside loading the van in the dark (it was around 6 am). While we were busy getting ready I began to hear Joni across the campus, “Chantel, don’t go!” How I wished I could stay with her. Before we left we had about 15 kids with no jackets on determined to stay outside until we had left. They had woken up early just to be with us for a few precious minutes. 
             As we drove away my mind wandered to what it would be like when I left for good. That will be so difficult! The feelings and emotions that I felt made me determined that the last three months would not be like the first. The next three months are all going to be wasting time with the kids.
             Kakoli and Tisha have started calling me “mother.” It doesn’t mean that I am the only “mother” that they have (they also call Shati and the other caregivers their mom). What it means is that I have become a woman in their life that they love more deeply than I can even comprehend. As a result of the kind of love they show me, I can’t help but love them more than I thought possible. I think about holding them and kissing their cheeks and it brings me great joy.
             My favorite quote is found in the book Steps to Christ when Mrs. White is talking to Christian people about their relationship with Jesus. She asks them, “Who has the heart? With whom are our thoughts? Of whom do we love to converse? Who has our warmest affections and our best energies? If we are Christ’s, our thoughts are with him and our sweetest thoughts are of Him. All we have and are is consecrated to Him. We long to bear His image, breathe his spirit, do his will, and please Him in all things” (page 57).  If Christ has our heart it results in this selfless love pouring out to other people. When I read that quote I can think of many things that have had my heart in the past. None of them were good things that brought me joy. Now, I choose for God to have my heart and as a result the  weirdest thing has happened. I can say that not only Jesus has my heart but the children at Bangla Hope do to. They have my hearts, thoughts, warmest affections, and my best energies. The last three months are all about them!  

(As you can tell I have arrived back from Nepal safely. I will be writing a blog soon so that you can know about some of the adventures that I had while I was gone. I wrote this blog entry while I was away from the kids. Last night I was finally reunited with them and it was the most joyful moment I’ve had in a while. My love for them grows everyday). 

Poor Little Moo

Kerri and I were on a walk the other day when we saw a poor cat that got hit in the road. We felt bad but continued to walk when we saw a little girl holding an adorable little kitten so we stopped to check it out. The next thing I know we were taking the cat home with us unsure if Mr. Waid would even let us keep the thing. Apparently her mother was the cat that was dead on the side of the road. There were other kittens but we just took the one and to my surprise Mr. Waid said we could keep it. I went to Shati and asked her if she had any scraps that the kitten could have. She was in the middle of cutting chicken for the caregiver’s dinner and she started giving me some of the body parts that were on the side. I sat there and talked to Shati slightly grossed out as I watched her butchering chickens in front of me. In Bangladesh they don’t really let much of the animal go to waste. I then was slightly grossed out by the body parts that the kitten was eating.. I think it was the esophagus. Shati has had kittens in Bangladesh before so I knew that she was a good one to ask how to raise a kitten in a third world country.
             Our kitten was so tiny because she hasn’t eaten much. She looked like a little rat when she walks around. When she meowed it sounded like a baby dinosaur. Her eyes and ears were abnormally to large for her face and I still thought she was absolutely adorable. We named her Mooja after the word “sock” in Bangla because she would walk around with a little sock in her mouth. We just called her Moo.
             On Christmas we decided that Moo should move into the back part of the kitchen where the ladies cut all the vegetables. I didn’t want the kitten to get use to being an indoor cat and my roommates were getting annoyed with Moo (she was very needy). All day Moo was getting use to all the kids and even though she was scared I was proud of her for putting up with the kids dragging her around. Before I went to bed I made sure that she was inside the kitchen area. I held her for a little bit before putting her back in Martinia’s arms and heading off to bed.
             The next morning I woke up to Danny ringing our doorbell telling us that Moo had died. At first I thought he was confused but by the time I went down to breakfast I realized that he was very right. An animal came in during the night and killed our poor little kitten. I feel absolutely horrible about it and so do the kids. Kakoli and I had to pray about it and we thanked God that we got to know little Moo. 

Update: Nepal

Hello Everyone!
             On December 27 I will be leaving for Dhaka and will fly out to Nepal on the 28th. My visa for Bangladesh says that I have to leave the country every 90 days. I will be traveling around Nepal for the next week and will be returning on January 5 (maybe). Lauren, Heather, and I have all decided not to take our computer because we don’t want to worry about our laptops being stolen. I may get access to Internet every once in a while and I will try to update you to let you know that I am safe. There will also be a blog scheduled to post in a few days so keep your eyes open for that.
             The Internet was finally working well enough to post some picture on my Facebook. I will put the link at the bottom of this post. Please pray for the safe travels of the missionary girls and the Finkbiners (who are going to Thailand).

Sincerely,
Chantel 


Pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2393352084597.122212.1574787470&type=1&l=9e86cdbdbe

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas!

One of the most amazing things about Christmas is being with your family. Because of thisI did not think it possible to have such an amazing day without my family. I woke up and had the opportunity to talk to everyone that was at my Grandma’s house. This put me in a good mood and as soon as I was done talking to them I put on my new Christmas outfit that was green and I put a lovely Santa hat on my head. I was decked out in Christmas gear! We went down to have breakfast and Shati had cooked us a delicious meal of rice pancakes with fresh applesauce. Shati and the other kitchen ladies had been awake since four in the morning. They cooked special food for all the kids. For breakfast the kids got noodles (they called the loodulls) and for lunch they got a special egg curry that looked absolutely amazing. I’m pretty sure the kids ate all day because many of them had a stomach ache by the end.
             After our breakfast I helped Mrs. Waid get ready for Christmas. We accomplished the goal of getting everything across campus so that the kids didn’t see their gifts and that meant that the fun was just about to begin. The first gifts we gave out were to the older girls. All of them had already received a trunk that they could keep their possessions in (The kids don’t really have a special place that they can keep their things so that other kids don’t get into them). They also got a packet full of goodies such as jump ropes, coloring books, and color pencils. After that the older boys received their toy cars (the chevron ones that have faces) and a toy ball. The little girls all got big dolls that were made by women in pollywog (which gives work to the women in the villages). The kids all got their gifts and that meant that it was time for the caregivers to receive their tokens of appreciation for all the hard work they do. Mrs. Waid had gotten all of them a sharwa camis’ or a saris and we (the student missionaries) had the privilege of modeling the outfits. They called it a fashion show because we would hold out the outfit and wrap it around us and if a caregiver wanted the garment they would raise their hand and we threw it to them. It was so much fun and everyone was laughing hysterically.
             Mrs. Waid also got us presents. She gave Lauren, Heather, and I saris. As all the fun was dying down and the children were finishing up their lunch of egg curry a few of us sat around talking. All of a sudden shwapna came up and started dancing. She tried to get Heather to dance with her but Heather protested. She then stuck her hand out to me and I gladly received her hand so that she could teach me how to dance. This tickled all the Begnali’s to see a white (Adventist) American girl trying to dance like a Bengali. They enjoyed it so much that they decided to get louder music and go someplace where we had more room. We ended up in the back of campus on the threshing floor with Bani, Shwapna, Lauren, and I dancing around. Papri, Heather, and a few of the kids were our audience and we just let loose on some moves. All the Bengali’s were asking us to teach them some American dance moves but I don’t think they realized that Lauren and I
 obviously don’t know how to dance and so we busted out the Q-tip and the sprinkler. After goofing off for a long time we found out that we were going to have our lunch early and so we walked over to the kitchen where Shati had cooked us another beautiful meal. To top it off we had the most amazing apple pie that she had baked for us. Food makes me happy.
             We thought we would have time to rest for a while but before we knew it Tuli wanted us to practice for our Bengali dance that we were suppose to do for the Christmas Program that night (it wasn’t like any Christmas program you’ve been to). When we were done practicing Tuli informed us that it was time to get ready even though we had over 2 hours before the program. I thought this sounded weird because who needs 2 hours to get ready? When we arrived to Tuli’s house I realized why it was going to take so long. First we had to get Alta painted all over our feet and hands. Alta is this red dye that is made out of flowers that they use to decorate themselves when they dance the traditional Bengali dance. Then they put on our Saris and put a thick layer of eyeliner around our eyes despite my protests. They also put these long braided extensions in the back of our head. It looked ridiculous because it didn’t match but it just made the kids laugh. Kakoli told me that I looked like I was supposed to get married (I hope I don’t have red feet/hands and Egyptian styled make up on my wedding day). We were all done with our preparations just before the program was supposed to begin.
             Tuli was the leader of the program and she is the queen of pulling people on stage to sing or dance when they had no clue that she was going to do it. It was hilarious to watch her drag people up and she succeeded at getting Mrs. Waid and Rony to sing. The baby room caregivers came out and gave a baby fashion show where they modeled the baby toilet, burp rags, and bottles. It was amazing to see the normally quiet caregivers breaking out of their shells.
             I missed my family so much but I am thanking God for such an amazing Christmas. I will never have one like it again. I pray that all of you had an amazing Christmas as well!

Update in Pictures

Hello my faithful readers!

Here are some pictures to help you visualize what you have been reading about. I have 6 more pictures that I was going to put up but the internet is absolutely horrible today so they will be up whenever I have patience enough to deal with it. So you only get three right now. Sorry. I hope you do enjoy the ones you get right now. 

This first picture is of Heather, Lauren, and I on the back of the truck with all the clothes that we passed out to the village people. This was a very overwhelming day but it was totally worth it to see villagers get so excited. I felt like it was a parade where we handed out clothes rather than candy. 

This picture just shows you how overwhelming it was to have 30-40 villagers trying to grab clothes from you. You can see Kerri and I struggling to get out everything.

In order to survive the holidays away from home I have been decorating everything like Christmas. I have gone insane with decorating my classroom, bedroom, living room, the cafeteria, the girls room, and our door. Heather and I created this pop out Christmas tree that stands about two feet tall. Lauren and the kids made the ornaments. We also made a little fireplace with glitter around the flames. My stocking is the blue one!

Like I said the other pictures will be up soonish. I ask that you pray for the trip to Nepal that Lauren, Heather, and I have to make. Our visa says we have to leave the country every 90 days so we are suppose to fly for Nepal on December 28 (I wont be able to update my blog for a week and a half). I also want to thank you for your prayers for our health. We are all beginning to feel a lot better. Praise the Lord.