Update from Kathmandu

Greetings to you all from Kathmandu Valley,

I have come into town to spend some away from the small village where I am staying and get in a bit of sightseeing of Kathmandu itself.  The village is 17 km away and the road rough.  Yesterday I came in via motor bike and it was rough.  Sitting on the back of a motor bike in congested traffic is a real experience.  Sometimes I was not sure which way to look.  I can tell I you, was saying a few quick prayers along the way.

If you are a Nepali women then life is a real struggle.  There is very little value for women, girls and they are not encouraged to learn.   I am having some very interesting conversations with the two older girls and their friends as to what they think about the situation in Nepal and also their future.  They see it that they have no way out.  For them education and English is their only hope.  If you have the money to send your children to an English speaking school then there opportunities are better.   The government schools are all conducted in Nepali except for 25% given to English grammar.   I am at the school at 7am each morning teaching years 7 and 8 conversation English.  School is 6 days a week and the rest day is the Sabbath Day (Saturday).  Only schools and government close not shops. 

I am struggling to come to terms with so much of the injustice surrounding women.  This morning I was looking out of the window of one of my Nepali friends place where I am staying in Kathmandu and I saw this women carrying a large basket on her back.  It must have been heavy as she was slumped over.  I cried.  We in the Western world would not consider even carrying things in this fashion never-a-lone the health and safety issues that would prevent us from doing this.

The country is suppressed and lacks a lot of infrastructure.  There are no such things as street names, people don't receive mail and this would only happen if you had a business and then you would invest in a post box.  Modern technology in the village is virtually non existent.

Some of my Nepali friends have live in the western countries and have returned to make change and improve the living standards for the poor, women, street kids etc.  Many Nepali men leave their wives and go to the UAE to seek work.  They may come home once a year.  Job opportunities are few and far between.  Yet in saying that the country grows a lot of its own food crops.  There staple diet is rice and lentals (dal bahlt).  The women at the home I am staying at are teaching me to cook Nepali food.

I had my interview with the Kathmandu International Study Centre where I will be working with Nepali Teachers. A 7 minute presentation to Board of KISC will be conducted on the 4 Feb.  I am overseeing some of material and looking at ways it can be improved.  There is much need for Nepali teachers to return to the remote locations and for this to happen they need to be equipped to do this.  KISC has a very high standard of education as it reports back to the US and UK.  Many missionary children attend this school so that they are not left behind in their education when they return to their home countries. 

Hey Briony and Nadine,  I have taken the CHE and the New Hope International stuff with me and I am talking to the CEO at KISC about implementing this into their program.  I have also been informed for now it is safe to Evangelise though that window may close again if the Moiest (how ever it is spelt) have anything to do with it.  So we take the opportunity where we can.

I have had the opportunity at the school to talk about my Christian values and beliefs because there is currently a large Hindu Festival in the city for the month of January.  People are coming to this quiet town to worship.  I have visited the temples as a visitor and have politely declined to have the Tikka place on my forehead.  When I have informed them that I am a Christian they are accepting.  Nepal currently respects all religions.  The house I am staying at is a Buddist family yet they rent the room downstairs to a Christian Church who gather there on Saturdays as Sunday is a working day in Nepal.

Please continue to uphold me in your prayers.  The country is going into a planned strike tomorrow.  What that will mean and how it will affect me is yet to be determined.  This strike has been up in the air for some time.  Basically the country comes to a standstill.  It is good that I am out in the village.  How long it will last I am not sure.  I head for Pokhara on Wed and return on the following Monday.

Sorry that I am unable to post pictures but will put them on to facebook when I return.  It takes forever to load anything.  Until my next update,  may God bless you all.  Thanks to for your prayers they are very much appreciated.