Easter Celebration -Cont.

(Apologies for not completing the previous blog!)
When we arrived at the field, we found some 2500 people already assembled. The main stage had some music playing as people arrived. Within half an hour, the rest of the churches packed onto the grounds. It swelled our number to over 5ooo - an incredible turn-out of the church considering that, just last year, Nepal came out from under its listing as a Hindu kingdom. As the music played, the different churches that had assembled rejoiced and danced, sometimes mixing with the church group next to it. Hindus have said in the past that Christians don't stand in unity together. It was a strong show of unity for the church on this day! And of course a crowd attracts a crowd. So many Hindus came from off the streets to see what was happening. Hopefully some were touched by the Holy Spirit. (Posted by Ken. -Pictures to follow.)

Easter Celebration.

The family awoke at 5:30 A. M. Sunday morning. It wasn't on account of the neighbors roosters crowing, goats bleeting, dogs barking, or even the water delivery truck. We awoke for the Easter sunrise service at 6:00 A. M. , enjoying prayer, worship and praise of the victory and freedom that Jesus attained for us. Incredibly we weren't tired and the white tea and biscuits after the service were enjoyable. We were anticipating the 7:30 start of the 7-mile march to an open field near Shahid Gate. The open field (Tundkhel) is the central fair grounds in the middle of Kathmandu. Raju and Shyem told us that we would first assemble at a main artery in Lalitpur, (Jawalakel Circle) and join a few other churches. About a third of the Kathmandu Vineyard participated in the service and march. The neighbours, most who are Hindu, came out of their homes to hear the sound of guitar, drum, and song. Our smiling faces were a testimony to them of the joy we have in worshipping a living God.
We soon arrived at Jawalakel to find 10 to 15 other chuches already assembled. Within minutes 10 or 11 other churches arrived, all of us joyfully singing and praising the Lord. We were overflowing into the streets, beginning to congest traffic. The traffic control policeman at the centre of the circle began to have a panicked look in his eyes. Within minutes we were beginning our march to Tundkel, and much to the relief of the policeman. The joy on our smiling faces melted many a stern face. Strangely one street fellow came up to me and shook my hand. He stood amongst us for a few minutes listening to the songs. A contented smile came across his face, then he turned and disappeared into the crowd. Shortly after, a security guard in front of a store looked me in the eye, stood at attention and saluted me. I smiled and saluted back. He then left his post and joined the march. He walked with us for about a kilometre and soon fell back to another church group following behind us. Did he sense the presence of the Lord amonst us? Possibly. But for a few brief moments he had forgotten the hardness of life and was joyful. As we walked over the bridge by the river, I turned around a saw that the line had grown. It was now over a mile long. More churches joined and we hadn't even arrived at the field.
(posted by Ken)

Women's Fellowship

Well, the Lord knew just what I needed. First, let me describe our journey up to the women's fellowship in Koth Gaun (popular place!) We had to take a couple of buses - and those are a story in themselves. Some of them look like they were resurrected out of the dump. But as long as they still have 3 or 4 wheels and run, they'll take passengers. Mind you, at one point going uphill, the driver had to shift into such a low gear that we could have walked faster. I wondered if it would make it up the hill. Then the narrow roads: imagine a road a little bigger than our main highway lane. On this road travel 2-way vehicle traffic (cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles), then add the pedestrians on both sides of this 2-way traffic. Then at the sides of them are the shops right at the edge of the road. Then around all of these you find the occasional dog or chicken or goat. Oh, and don't forget the road construction that is going on every so many kilometres on your half of this road. Just pray 2 buses don't have to pass at that juncture. Actually, I was sure we must have touched some of the vehicles we passed but no scraping sounds. And you think Winnipeg potholes are bad? Hey, buses are so accustomed to encountering major road defects they automatically slow down. It's part of the 'road' system.

So after 2 buses and an hour later, we got out and proceeded uphill for another hour. But that was just what the Doctor ordered! The higher you get out of the Kathmandu Valley, the fresher the air gets. I couldn't stop breathing! I'm sure I almost hyper-ventilated all the way up to Koth Gaun! (just kidding) trying to get my fill of oxygen from the evergreen-laden hills. And such a beautiful view; it reminded me of Switzerland with villages dotting the mountains. Finally we arrived at our hostess' 'home' - 1/2 of the main floor was covered in clean straw mats for sitting; the other half with straw and hitching posts for the animals. They slept upstairs, which I didn't see. Thank-you for praying for me; the teaching went well and 3 ladies helped translate. I have never had such a rapt audience of about 20 or so ladies. I felt very honoured. When they worship, one lady begins to sing and they all join in heartily. The neighbours passing by would invariably glance in to see what was going on. Then they served us a meal and - yes, you guessed it: their famous 'milk' (actually, it's like yogurty-milk). But this didn't have any black specks. In fact, I think the Lord has a special blessing for teachers (thank-you Lord!) The meal was a delicious curried potato dish plus what they call 'beaten rice'. It's cooked rice, beaten flat and dried. The ladies spooned the yogurt onto their beaten rice (oh, first they added sugar to it) and it tasted quite nice. So I never had to drink it! Then more worship and the inevitable Nepali tea (delicious!) These people have so little compared to us and yet serve us the best they have.

Then it was an hour walk back down the hill and home. Oh - I almost forgot! In the village of Koth Gaun, we stopped in at one old couple's home and prayed for the old man who had asthma and heart problems. Let Your Kingdom come!

One Month.

A month has just passed for us. I don't know how it happened, but it did. I suppose it's because of the hurried pace of Kingdom work. A good portion of our time is spent in prayer, and waiting in prayer. Some back home have laboured with us in this. And the results are coming through in many ways. One big answer I'll share in a moment. We're so blessed by your love and support in this work. Others have sent so many words of encouragement. Those words have been food and strenght to our hearts. How precious they are! Thank-you!
During the week the church here sets aside Wednesdays as their prayer and fast day. There is a corporate block of time (four to five hours) where we pray for leaders and people in the Vineyard church here and back home. We also pray for events such as the local upcoming inter-denominational healing conference or the political situation in Nepal. (The political situation still needs much prayer as it is in a peaceful but fragile state with the elections coming in mid-April.)An answer to prayer for all Christians in Kathmandu has come throught this week. In the past the Christians were not acknowledged (being a former Hindu kingdom) in their days set aside for holidays. Christmas was a day as any other where believers had to go to work as normal, with no time off. This week the government announced that, for Christians, two days are now granted as official holidays for them to celebrate. In announcing this Pastor Raju's smile was so wide it just about reached from ear to ear. They have been faithfully praying for this for years! And now, at a most unlikely time, God has bent the will of those in power as a result of long-suffering prayer. I asked myself at that moment why God waited so long to answer. Although I didn't hear Him answer audibly I could see the result to His answer on my brothers and sisters faces. Those faces were reflecting glory to God. His goodness was evident. We have three months left for God to spend us here. May He burn through us like pocket change! (Posted by Ken.)

Nightly Disturbances

Well, we're not sure if it was just one of those nights - just a coincidence - or if the enemy was trying to knock us down. We had just had a great evening with the older boys, planning a Bible study with them over the next few months. They were enthusiastic and we had an exciting prayer time (in Nepali and English) after. They call us 'Mom' and 'Dad', and love to give Ken big hugs. They're busy teaching the younger boys but are hungry themselves, too. One boy - Milan - wants to go back to his village and start a church. He's young but has to use a crutch - the nicest young man, loves Jesus. You can pray for us teaching them.

Anyway, we finally fell into bed, after managing to kill the roach we found in the kitchen earlier, had just dropped off to sleep, when I heard Karina now getting sick in the bathroom. The previous day it had been Vanessa. I fell asleep again but kept being awakened by Ken continually brushing something out of his sleeping bag. I dropped off again, but then had a disturbing dream. I confronted this black dog, stared it in the face, and it lunged up at me with its fangs bared. Then I was jolted awake. Ken woke up and said he kept feeling insects crawling on his face and his arm. I told him my dream. Then we prayed, as we felt this was some kind of attack (or, like I said, just coincidence). You never know around here! Or should I say, more often than not, it IS black and white, not shades of grey like back home.

Oh yeah, we also hear what must be 'Templeton' running around on the roof. Maybe he's got his whole family now, too! It sure is quite a racket. The sounds and activities of the night!

Strange customs

I think we've all realized in our time here that Nepal has some interesting quirks to it... sure, there are the usual third-world country sights and customs, but as we found out this past week there's more to it. They have one week (just last week!) when they all fill up water balloons with either water or paint and throw them at people off the rooftops. Each day a different group of people is targetted (older men, young women, etc). But no matter what day, we had to be careful, because if they see tourists walking down below on the streets, it's a bonus. Vanessa got splattered on the leg and once on the arm, my dad got a little on the back, but hey, at least we made it through the week for the most part unscathed. This all seems like the most bizarre holiday/custom we've ever heard of, but yesterday I asked about it and had it explained (or partially explained; they don't speak English that well, so it was hard to follow). He (Suresh) said it related to some Hindu tradition about how the paint is symbolic and stuff, but he said the young kids don't really understand, so it's become a thing where they just throw water balloons at people for fun. An odd holiday, but hey, this is the new life! We have to get into the flow of things!

(posted by Sheri)

Another Miracle

Alright, mild rebuke accepted. But hey - the point (and it was a great one!) is that God is alive and very powerful! He still works and He still heals, no matter our weakness and unfaithfulness. And I guess to prove that, He did it again this afternoon! There was a lot going on, baptisms to take pictures of, visitors from the States, coffee to be made, dishes on the counter not put away, etc., etc. And tempers rose! Well, we are still human over here! Ken had an on-going headache (I know, we again failed to pray!) But the Lord went from the youngest one in our family to the oldest one (besides our visitor, who was busy with Noel) here - you know, the former riverbed woman who was herself healed and is a real prayer warrior. Well, she was bringing more dishes and I called her into the room "Mitudidi, come!" (Mitu being her name and didi meaning older sister). She doesn't speak English so I (Bonnie) indicated Ken's head hurt. Well, her automatic response was the same as Vanessa's. Was the Lord fed up with us? Apparently not. After a few minutes of intense prayer, he opened his eyes and cried out, "It's gone!" Of course we rejoiced. When we are weak, then is He strong. When we are unfaithful, He remains faithful. Praise the Lord (again)!

Small Miracles

Bless little Vanessa (or 'Kansi' as she's called here in Kathmandu, meaning 'smallest one')! Praise God that He bends His ear to even the youngest children and answers their prayers. As you all know, Ken & I have been suffering congested lungs for over a week now and coughing all day long. We both bought ourselves masks, which helps. I know; you're wondering, "Why didn't you pray sooner?" Well, you know how it is: everyone is used to getting colds at different times of the year, especially in the winter. What, do you rebuke it every time? Well, my faith hasn't quite been exercised that strongly in that regard. So this cold was the same as any other, or so we thought. Then came the chills, sweats - everyone's experienced those. Still, we didn't pray. I know; I know; we're feeling rebuked. Anyway, Ken & I both felt like pneumonia was trying to set in. That's when we started taking it more seriously. So we drank chamomile/mint tea, ate garlic (you know our routine), took echinacea drops - the whole gamit. Nothing. We also figured we had the pollution beat since we bought our masks. Well, Bonnie, Sheri & Vanessa were out for a bite to eat when Bonnie felt she was going to pass out, so she headed out the door of the small little cafe. She soon collapsed on the ground. But there was faithful Vanessa, helping her up and immediately started praying. Little prayer warrior! She supported her all the way home. Well, as if Mom's ordeal weren't enough, Dad got into a coughing fit that night, too, to the point where he couldn't get a deep breath. He'd been up a few times the previous night not being able to breathe well. Wouldn't you know, Vanessa & Alana prayed for us, and we all rebuked this sickness, getting good and firm with that old enemy infirmity. And guess what? Ken immediately drew a deep breath! That night, Bonnie's cough let up and she didn't feel congested either. Ken was able to sleep well for the first time in awhile. Praise the Lord!

Two Faces of the Culture

What do you get when you combine 2 pairs of rollerblades and 4 children? 4 happy children having lots of fun! No, two of them don't stand by and watch the other two having fun. Being such a sharing people, you might expect them to patiently wait until the first two were finished having fun. But oh, no. Each of the four takes 1 rollerblade and zooms around the church compound having a blast! What a difference between our culture and theirs! They don't seem to notice at all that one person should wear both. And when some one of them comes into the courtyard with some food - samosas, mo-mo's, candy (theirs isn't as sweet as ours but they have a knockout toffee they call chocolate) - it gets shared all around. Westerners are noticed for taking their 'spoils' or treat and going and enjoying it themselves, without a thought of sharing it all around. After all, what's the point? Nobody would get enough, then. But that's not the Nepali way.

But I wouldn't have thought of them as an aggressive people, not until Sheri, Vanessa & I (Mom) encountered the 'beggar from hell' (no, not literally). We were innocently walking down the sidewalk and passed by the same woman who always lies on the sidewalk just before the main department store. We had dropped some coins on her mat before but, this time, didn't have any. Well, she noticed we were (rich) Westerners, I guess, and wasn't prepared to just 'let us pass', as Gandalf would say. She took her stick and whacked Sheri on the leg. Okay, that was a little rude. But wait till the return home. Of course, none of us was feeling very predisposed towards her anymore. But she employed the same tactic, this time meeting with Bonnie's exposed wrist with a vengeance. It literally broke the skin and left a bruise by the next day. Whoa! What was that? What did we do to deserve that? Be born in the West? So now we travel on the other side of the street. What to do? Maybe one day we can sit down on the sidewalk with her; if only we could speak the language. Such are the challenges.

Daily Challenges

Life gets busy quickly around the compound. As I had mentioned before, we find ourselves at times being called away at a moments notice. We've all settled into a routine that for the most part is manageable. I'm sourcing material for my teaching module for the Mobile Vineyard Bible School. This alone is a challenge given the circumstance of frequent power outages. Add to the mix one computer for Bonnie and I to use plus internet that is slow and at times unreliable. Ahh....yes! Did I mention that our water has been out since last night. Toilet flushing is difficult and the washroom is getting that strong pungeant odour that you so often catch a whiff of on the streets. Add to this the noises inside our house at night. Our neighborhood rat? No! The cockroaches are now more active given the heat that's now come. They disappear at the slightest ray of light.
I was making coffee at 5:00 this morning (my usual time lately) and listening to the sound of scurrying above in our false ceiling. Roaches? It sounded much more heavy. Karina suddenly called out somewhat fearful. 'Dad, I think the rat's in the corner!' Taking a candle I investigated. Nothing. I told her it's probably the roaches. I've told the girls to start keeping their suitcases closed at all times. They seem to have taken our latest house guests' arrival with grace. I hope they remain so when they actually catch sight of them. They're quite big!
As for the rest of the day. Karina, Alana, Sheri and I are off to the wedding in Kote Gaun.(see previous posts of engagment in Kote Gaun.) Yes, we're taking the land cruiser up the same narrow mountain road. Hopefuly the brakes will hold! (Posted by Ken.)

Engagement Koth Gaun - Part III

A few more details on the couple: they had been praying for a spouse for the girl for a year. She goes to one church and he to another. So how they got together was through the pastors, who talked between themselves and decided that they would go well together. They arranged for them to be introduced, at which time the couple met each other for 1/2 hour at a time - twice. Then they agreed to get engaged, hence the engagement ceremony. From the engagement ceremony to the day of the wedding will be 9 days. 9 days - and they have spent a total of 1 hour together (probably chaperoned) before getting officially engaged. Nepali marriages - but with the pastors' help!

Koth Gaun Part 2

So, we went up into the mountains thinking that we were going to a house fellowship, but when we got there, we were suddenly told that it was a nepali engagement ceremony. oh man... we felt so underdressed in our jeans and t-shirts. The ladies were all wearing beautiful Sari's (their nepali dress). People started coming into the church at the top of the mountain from the village. The church became so packed that we (karina and alana) felt that we should give up our seats and move to the back. Apparently the whole community had showed up for the engagement. The service started with praise and worship, then the pastors got up to say a few words while the families exchanged gifts. The couple gave each other rings and the 'soon to be' bride had a ring of flowers put around her neck. It was an interesting engagement ceremony.
After it ended, we were taken up into the mountain village where we experienced the Real Nepal... yaks, lots of goats, chickens, and older mud-thatched homes. People in the village were all helping to build a home for the engaged couple. We saw women carrying loads of stone and sand for the foundation. They carried sacks on their backs with the strap around their forheads. The loads must have been like 80 pounds or more! It was crazy. There were women and children helping out. Then, pastor Raju started leading us back down the path towards where we parked our jeep. We cut through a yard with loads of goats in it and approached one of the mud-thatched houses. But we didn't pass it after all... they led us into the house. I thought we were on a tour, just to see what the houses looked like inside... but oh no... they had other plans for us. We walked in the entrance and the main floor had rooms of straw and hay-apparently the goats and yaks stayed inside the house on the main floor. Then we went up a steep set of ladder-like stairs to the main floor of the house. When you walked across the floor, you would notice the floor flexing under your weight. They led us into a room with 2 beds on one side, on the other side, there were sacks of rice, vegetables laid out in piles (from their field). Apparently this was their storage and bedroom. We sat down on a mat on the floor. Once we were seated, i knew that they would soon bring in the tea and serve us. Which was nice, we were kind of parched from the long walk. The ladies came into the room and gave us all a cup of what looked like white tea. I love white tea! It's my favourite. But when i took the cup from her, it was cold... then my father turned to me and said, "This is it!" He was referring to a concoction that he was given when he last came to Nepal in 1999. Yes, it was the milk. The milk that we've heard so many stories about. And alas, the stories were all true! As i gazed into the cup, there were thick chunks floating with black specks throughout it. And then... then the smell hit you. Wow, my dad wasn't kidding. Karina and I looked at each other with fear-stricken eyes. How were we going to drink it? My dad looked at us and said... "you have to drink it. It's an insult not to." Oh dear...!
Then they brought in plates of food with a mountain style of rice- cooked, flattened and dried, quite tasty actually. There was also spiced chicken, spiced vegetables, potatoes, some beans and dark brown things that i've never seen before and don't want to guess what they were. The whole meal was very extravagant for the family- as they were quite poor, but we realized it was for the engagement celebration. The groom sat amoung us. We finished the meal, thanked the family for their generosity, and headed back to the jeep. The ride back down the mountain was just as scary. I even started hyper-ventilating. The fellow nepali's in the car were laughing at our reactions as we went down. Pastor Raju had to pump the breaks before every turn because the breaks are very bad. It was an exhilirating ride. I'm not sure if i'm gonna want to go to Kath Gaun again... i think it'll be the memory of the milk. (posted by Alana... and karina)

Koth Gaun

While Bonnie was off to the market in Kathmandu. Karina, Alana, and I were loading into the church's Toyota four-wheel drive for a trip to another Vineyard church in Koth Gaun, (pronounced Coat Gawn). Koth Gaun is in the hills (elevation 6500 ft.) outside of Kathmandu. Raju, our gifted pastor, was again showing his other skill as a professional collision avoidance instructor, (a.k.a. an insane Kathmandu taxi driver), dodging cows, dogs, people, and other vehicles. The seven of us were comfortably enjoying the ride. We turned off the major road and Raju stopped in front of a small street vendor. A group of people approached the vehicle smiling and laughing as they talked with Raju. All the doors suddenly opened! These people were climbing in! Pastor Shyem, who was sitting in the jump seats with me at the far back of the vehicle, said that they were joining us for the day. But there were eight of them, added to our seven is 15! So they kept squeezing in. My somewhat comfortable seat was suddenly not so comfortable. Ahhh......the plot thickens. We soon found ourselves winding up a narrow gravel road. The road got narrower as we ascended the mountain. It literally was just wide enough for our land cruiser. The embankment went almost straight up one side and dropped steeply on the other. Add to this a severly overloaded truck, bad brakes, and a pastor who's aspiring to break the asent record and you get a group of people really praying their faces off. Within 30 minutes all praying stopped as we came to a stop at the end of the road. I asked Shyem if we were here (which in actuality looked like nowhere) "of couse not", he joyfully added. We still had another 500 foot climb. Just great!
Soon at the top we were enjoying the view from in front of the new church. I found out from Raju that we were here not just for a service but, out of people we had picked up, a prospective groom came with us. I was told it was an arranged marriage and that the service was actually an engagement ceremony.(Posted by Ken. -To be continued by one of the girls. Pictures below of Koth Gaun.)

The Village of Koth Gaun

Crochet classes and the gospel

Well, crochet classes have begun! Thank-you for praying for me (again) - so far so good; the Lord is helping! But what I thought were going to be classes for some of the church women to learn, so that they could make scarves/ponchos to sell, is not entirely the case. At least a couple of the women are Hindu. And here they had me sharing something from the Word at the beginning of each class, after starting with prayer. But apparently they look at these classes as opportunity for the gospel and invite their neighbours to join in. So here I am sharing from the Word to Hindu women! May God give me grace and humility and a generous dose of His love to shine through in the middle of crocheting so that these women would not only learn how to make scarves but learn about Him at the same time.

But another prayer request (see how much we need your prayers!): the women have asked me to teach from the Word at the next women's fellowship on March 18th. Not only am I not proficient in crocheting or knitting (but for my faithful/patient teacher) but I am not used to speaking or teaching in front of a group. Again He seems to want to use my inability and work through His power. Pray that He will give me the words He wishes to impart to these ladies. I have been reading the praise book you gave me, Hanna, in the mornings and have also been inspired by one of the books you sent over with me, Debbie - The Attributes of God by Tozer (until the pastor comes to pick them up - yes, I managed to contact him). And Ken also needs your prayers as he prepares lessons for their upcoming Saturday Bible School. Thank-you all so much for holding us in prayer!

Election Fever

Well, the other day walking through the market was even more interesting, if that's the right word. First we passed by one of the local schools and noticed quite a large gathering in front of it. Was it a graduation ceremony? People were carrying flags and there were loud voices. It turned out to be the gearing up of what looked like a parade. Then we noticed the flags had hammer-and-sickle pictures on them. As we continued walking, the parade of people began following down the street. Further on, we heard more loud voices and saw an even huger gathering in a large square. Someone was speaking through a megaphone and there was music playing. More hammer-and-sickle flags. Ah, the preamble to the election. Loud persuasive speeches, nice inviting music, people handing out pamphlets - all to influence the people to vote in the Maoists in about a month. If they win a majority, it won't be like eastern Europe which succumbed to the Russian army; it'll be democratically voted in. I guess we'll be here to see the results ...

Our 2nd worship service! Although there were no baptisms this Saturday, people from surrounding villages were still present to worship together with the Kathmandu Vineyard - representing every status (or caste), all ages, every generation from baby to old man. It was so wonderful to see people from the lower castes feeling free to sit up near the front, going up to share communion (our first here) with those more well-dressed. And the worship seemed almost electric! These people love to sing and praise and lift up their hands! One can't help but to be drawn in, even though we don't understand the language. You just want to worship in any tongue! Alana enjoyed playing the keyboard with the worship team, after Pastor Noel made it available in our compound for her to practice with the others - a real joy for her. After the service ended at 12:30, we all shared a snack of peanuts in the courtyard - just enough nourishment to hold us through the youth and women's fellowship that afternoon. Again, the women love to all pray at once, with the riverbed woman leading with infectious enthusiasm, and laying hands on any who needed special prayer.

That's another thing - seeing answers to prayer almost daily, everything from filling the well with water to healing a burn. I (Bonnie) grabbed a burning hot metal handle, resulting in a nasty stinging burn which immediately turned red. Quickly searching for some Aloe Vera (the cure-all) but finding none, my only recourse was the Lord. 'Ken, please pray!' He prayed while I continued cooking. The pain left, along with the redness. I was sure tomorrow would find a blister but nothing at all! PTL! But the enemy also tries hard to hinder us from praying. We agreed to pray together as a family the night before the service but that very night, right after eating, we discovered 2 wood ticks crawling on the counter and the floor (probably came in with fresh greens)! That led to a search for more and it seemed the night for insects. All prayer was forgotten. Though he succeeded in that respect, the worship service was no less dimished. He is still faithful!

More impressions

Anyone ever seen chickens on a soccer field? We have! No, they weren't involved in the game; they stayed far enough away from the action. But it was funny to see chickens happily clucking on the sidelines while the game was going on. Nobody else seemed to take note of them except us 'bedeshi' (foreigners).

Or a road-side funeral? At first, we weren't sure what was going on. We saw a crowd of people gathered around what looked like a pile of clothes on the ground at the side of the road. Then we realized it was a funeral service and respectfully continued on our way.

Or roof-top clotheslines? Everyone here (almost) hangs their clothes on their rooftops, over wires or sticks or lines strung from ledge to ledge. We go up the 4 flights of steps onto the roof, which is just a flat surface at the top of the building, after having scrubbed our clothes in the courtyard (by hand, of course) - that is, when there's lots of water in the tank. Then we drape our clothes over whatever wire or stick happens to be free (there are a few to choose from). And you look around at all the other roof-tops and see all the other 'clotheslines' - very handy use of a roof, I find - lots of sun up there!

Oh, and don't forget the chickens and dog that 'live' on the roof. Yes, it's great to have eggs available right on your own roof top! Mind you, they don't run free (no 'free-range' here!); they live in their own coop. Very handy use of a roof, I say! I was wondering, William & Nancy (if you're reading this) - how many eggs do chickens generally lay per day? These ones only lay one each per day. But apparently, chicks cost only 25 rupees (about 40 cents). Maybe we should buy a couple - have our own supply of eggs!

Never in Canada!

Well, Ken & I went for the first time meat-shopping - chicken, of course, as you can't buy beef (no killing cows allowed). What an experience! There are many local 'shops' where you can buy freshly killed chicken - all on display on the outdoor counters - no fridges, in the sun, covered in flies (extra protein, you know). You go and order whatever chicken you want - you have a few choices. Choose the one less in the sun and with less flies. Go early in the morning before it's been standing out all day. The vendor will take the chicken - no gloves - and put it onto the scale (you know, one of those old kind with weights and balances). The scale has probably been used a few times. Then he puts it onto the counter and hacks off a few pieces to arrive at the correct weight you want. He bags the pieces for you and takes your money - with the same hands - and puts the money into his drawer-ful of money. You take your chicken home and wash it - with only water. Then you cook it with many spices and presto! You have a delicious chicken dinner! We haven't gotten sick yet and tonight we dined with Pastor Shem and his wife Sumi. We made 'saffron chicken' - the most expensive spice in the world, but very cheap in Nepal. I did wash all surfaces and utensils with soap, just to be safe. But the Nepalis were surprised at my precautions. They don't even bother! Maybe the fresh chickens here are fresher than the ones back home. Who knows what we don't see back home? Ignorance is bliss, they say. Well, here what you see is what you get! I think we'll come back with fortified systems!