Saturday, November 17, 2007

Tiny Pictures-Get out your Magnifying glass!

This is the view from Dawn's room.
This is the tiny of Dadeledhura .
Women thrashing rice.
Men selling textiles.
And because this is Eryka interpreting on behalf of Dawn, I have no idea what this picture is other than it looks like a house of a wealthier family. Perhaps this is where my Dawn is staying.

How Nepali's deliver babies- Nov. 8th

Warning!The story below has discussion of vomit. And Dawn is a nurse, so she discusses such things freely. I have also edited out the names of the Nepali's involved, for their safety.

I left off with urgent requests for prayer for the young 15 year old with child and we were leaving the next morning to go south to Dhangadi to the plains. My brother,and 3 friends and I piled in a van with her but not before the lad who got her pregnant showed up to claim her. He promised to accept her, marry her, continue her education and take responsibility for the mother to be and the child. I grieved the 4 hours down the hill for the lack of voice for Nepali women to choose their own destiny, and for the child that would be brought into a world where it really wasn't wanted and for a young mother who would now be isolated from Christians and taken into her new Hindu home to who knows what end. But Nepali culture prevailed and even church leaders felt this was what was best and

I packed the OB kit just in case she went into labor on the road. Unless she had the gumption to really create a ruckus when we arrived at the boy's home and met all his family, chances were pretty good I would not be going to Kathmandu as proposed.

While I grieved and prayed, the young girl puked... all the way down the hill!!!! Fortunately for me, she was a quiet little puker! And fortunately for both of us I had saved the air sickness bag from the last airline flight and it was on the top of my bag! We were in the front seat with the driver and I fought to keep it just the 3 of us. I offered to pay an extra 100 rupees ($1.50) to NOT sell another ticket up front for that extra seat!

There were 16 passengers packed into the back... only 2 of those did not puke!!! The rest could not be dubbed "quiet pukers". The driver's solution to drown out the noise of incessant vomiting, was to blare to Nepali radio to overcome the sound!!!!! Yes - it was a lovely trip !!! But to God's glory we all made it in one piece and though Dave's bag was doused in vomit we were glad to be safe in Attaryia (20 KMs) from our friends home in Dhangadi.

After everyone's stomachs settled and we had Fantas and Cokes followed by lunch, we had a serious talk with the "lad" who made us the promises we hoped for and then took all of us to his home and introduced the young girl to his extended family. All the women of the household seemed very warm and understanding and his mother apologized for her son's despicable behavior and assured us they would take great care of the girl and make sure she got to a hospital when she went into labor. I went into great lengths to explain the severity of the medical situation... that the ultrasound showed the baby as breech and that she was already 39 weeks and could deliver any day and might need a C-section.

It was one of the hardest things I ever did, to leave her there. Her own widowed mother had accompanied us down the hill and it almost broke my heart to watch her try to pry herself away from her baby daughter... a child herself, with child!

We found out a few days later on our return trip that the young girl went into labor shortly after we left her and delivered a healthy baby girl at midnight that same night. She weighed 2 kilos and 800 grams! A good size for a Nepali wee one. She came normally... no C- section needed!!!!! PTL. Boy, am I grateful we didn't try to go to Kathmandu... we also discovered the road to Kathmandu was bhundh ( closed) starting that same evening and didn't open for 5 days!

You have to acknowledge that His ways are High above our ways!

We spent a night with a long time childhood friend and his family and the next morning put the young girl's mom on the bus back up the hill and prayed she would have a better trip up, than she had coming down ( no nausea would be great!) We then went shopping (YEAH!) but most of it was for hardware for making my new apartment into a Dare to Care Suite. It currently has no kitchen and no western toilet or hot water. That will be rectified before Dave returns to the USA.

We shopped most of the next day, trying to cash travelers checks at a new bank in town took an hour and 3/4. then we piled into a local bus and headed for Mahendra Nagar. Originally my brother and one of the friends were going to visit a model farm just across the border into India I was going to stay in Mahendra Nagar and shop and find my way to the place where we were all to spend the night with a Christian Pastor who is one of our original leper patients from the hospital my Dad started.

However plans changed along the way. We ran out of time, and my brother and his friend never left. We caught a bus back and arrived in the Christian Pastor's town just at dark, in time to walk the 2 km in the dark. We all got the giggles cause we couldn't find the road across a huge mud puddle full of frogs. The friend found rocks to "build a bridge" and we somehow got across without falling in. 100 yards up the road we crossed a river ( ankle deep ) but you try it when you are carrying a 20# pack and your flashlight is croaking on you! We found a 2nd river just about another 100 yards up the road and by this time we had the giggles so bad we looked drunk. Fortunately our friend managed to control his laughter on the other side and find the dirt track that took us to our destination and a fascinating adventure of spending not one, but 2 nights in a village with no electric and no bathrooms!!!! The house had dirt floors and straw walls covered with cow dung for mortar.

My brother got sick there... it could have been the food he ate the day before though the locals blame the fact that he ate "Chuke" ( giant lemons) at night! Everyone knows you never eat Chuke at night!

Finally about noon on the 4th day we succeeded in getting a vehicle ( van) and loading all our steel, tin sheets, pipe, and hardware on and headed north. Five long hours later we once again praised the Lord for a safe journey and fell into our own beds.

Progress on the house makeover has been slow as many interruptions and invitations to lunch and dinner have made for great building of relationships but poor progress on remodeling. I am proud to say as of this morning, we now have a Geyser hot water heater up and running and I had my first hot shower before church today. Our hostess was delighted to get to wash her dishes in hot water for the first time ever and we will all be praising God for this for a long time to come!
Well I've rambled quite enough for one day and as the Dr wants his bedroom back must get this sent and close for now! ~ Dawn~

Hi everyone!
A lot has happened in the last week or more since I last had an opportunity to email!
I left off with urgent requests for prayer for Sita, a 15 year old with child and we were leaving the next morning to go south to Dhangadi to the plains. My brother, Dave, Prem and Megh Raj and Raj and I piled in a van with her but not before the lad who got her pregnant showed up to claim her. He promised to accept her, marry her, continue her education and take responsibility for the mother to be and the child. I grieved the 4 hours down the hill for the lack of voice for Nepali women to choose their own destiny, and for the child that would be brought into a world where it really wasn't wanted and for a young mother who would now be isolated from Christians and taken into her new Hindu home to who knows what end. But Nepali culture prevailed and even church leaders felt this was what was best and I have to trust God for her and her little one.
I packed the OB kit just in case she went into labor on the road. Unless she had the gumption to really create a ruckus when we arrived at the boy's home and met all his family, chances were pretty good I would not be going to Kathmandu as proposed.
While I grieved and prayed, little Sita puked... all the way down the hill!!!! Fortunately for me, she was a quiet little puker! Fortunately for both of us I had saved the air sickness bag from the last airline flight and it was on the top of my bag! We were in the front seat with the driver and I fought to keep it just the 3 of us. I offered to pay an extra 100 rupees ($1.50) to NOT sell another ticket up front for that extra seat!
There were 16 passengers packed into the back... only 2 of those did not puke!!! The rest could not be dubbed "quiet pukers". The driver's solution to drown out the noise of incessant vomiting, was to blare to Nepali radio to overcome the sound!!!!! Yes - it was a lovely trip !!! But to God's glory we all made it in one piece and though Dave's bag was doused in puke we were glad to be safe in Attaryia (20 KMs) from our friends home in Dhangadi.
After everyone's stomachs settled and we had Fantas and Cokes followed by lunch, we had a serious talk with the "lad" who made us the promises we hoped for and then took all of us to his home and introduced Sita to his extended family. All the women of the household seemed very warm and understanding and his mother apologized for the "lad's" despicable behavior and assured us they would take great care of Sita and make sure she got to a hospital when she went into labor. I went into great lengths to explain the severity of the medical situation... that the ultrasound showed the baby as breech and that she was already 39 weeks and could deliver any day and might need a C-section.
It was one of the hardest things I ever did, to leave her there. Her own widowed mother had accompanied us down the hill and it almost broke my heart to watch her try to pry herself away from her baby daughter... a child herself, with child!
We found out a few days later on our return trip that Sita went into labor shortly after we left her and delivered a healthy baby girl at midnight that same night. She weighed 2 kilos and 800 grams! A good size for a Nepali wee one. She came normally... no C- section needed!!!!! PTL. Boy, am I grateful we didn't try to go to Kathmandu... we also discovered the road to Kathmandu was bhundh ( closed) starting that same evening and didn't open for 5 days!
You have to acknowledge that His ways are High above our ways!
We spent a night with a long time childhood friend and his family and the next morning put Sita's mom on the bus back up the hill and prayed she would have a better trip up, than she had coming down ( no nausea would be great!) We then went shopping (YEAH!) but most of it was for hardware for making my new apartment into a Dare to Care Suite. It currently has no kitchen and no western toilet or hot water. That will be rectified before Dave returns to the USA.
Shopping took most of the day, trying to cash travelers checks at a new bank in town took an hour and 3/4. then we piled into a local bus and headed for Mahendra Nagar. Originally Dave and Prem were going to visit a model farm just across the border into India and Raj and I were going to stay in Mahendra Nagar and shop and find our way 8 kms back to She Sheia, walk 2 kms to Dharampur where we were all to spend the night with a Christian Pastor who is one of our original leper patients from the hospital my Dad started. There is a whole community of Leprosy Patients there that have relocated because the government gave them land about 20 years ago. They have cleared it all by hand and built quite a little oasis there near a river in an otherwise parched dry land.
However plans changed along the way. We ran out of time, Raj found a friend and went with him, Megh Raj went on ahead to Dharmpur and Dave, Prem and I went on to Mahendra Nagar arriving there about 4 pm and shopped for stainless steel pots and pans and coats for Prem's kids. We caught a bus back and arrived in She Sheia just at dark, in time to walk the 2 kms in the dark. We all got the giggles cause we couldn't find the road across a huge mud puddle full of frogs. Prem found rocks to "build a bridge" and we somehow got across without falling in. 100 yards up the road we crossed a river ( ankle deep ) but you try it when you are carrying a 20# pack and your flashlight is croaking on you! We found a 2nd river just about another 100 yards up the road and by this time we had the giggles so bad we looked drunk. Fortunately our guide, Prem, managed to control his laughter on the other side and find the dirt track that took us to our destination and a fascinating adventure of spending not one, but 2 nights in a village with no electric and no bathrooms!!!! The house had dirt floors and straw walls covered with cow dung for mortar.
David got sick there... it could have been the food he ate the day before though the locals blame the fact that he ate "Chuke" ( giant lemons) at night! Everyone knows you never eat Chuke at night!
He also wore a blister from his new Chappals ( rubber flipflops) and wading streams to and from the churches we visited that became infected and he has been limping ever since. I'd feel sorry for him but I saw what he ate and drank and laughed that he had the carelessness of the invincible!
When we returned to Dhangadi our order was not ready( what a surprise)

My new pad... I have the lower flat



Typical transport











and a truck strike prevented us from getting transportation up the hill so we spent another night with our friends. Finally about noon on the 4th day we succeeded in getting a vehicle ( van) and loading all our steel, tin sheets, pipe, and hardware on and headed north.


5 long hours later we once again praised the Lord for a safe journey and fell into our own beds.
Progress on the house makeover has been slow as many interruptions and invitations to lunch and dinner have made for great building of relationships but poor progress on remodeling. I am proud to say as of this morning, however, we now have a Geyser hot water heater up and running and I had my first hot shower with it before church today. Our hostess was delighted to get to wash her dishes in hot water for the first time ever and we will all be praising God for this for a long time to come!
Well I've rambled quite enough for one day and as the Dr wants his bedroom back must get this sent and close for now!
Thanks for all your prayers!

Young Pregnant Girl-- Oct. 31st

This was Dawn's general email to everyone on October 31st.

Jai Masi ( Praise Jesus!)

We have been enjoying having my brother here. He loves being home! Everyone enjoys his natural ability to communicate in their language and it has come in handy numerous times to begin building relationships with everyone from the District Police Officer to the Chief District Officer.We, along with church elders, have been talking with these dignitaries in the process of trying to assist a 15 year old girl who got herself pregnant ( forced by a 16 year old classmate ). She didn't tell anyone until 3 weeks ago and now she is almost due. There was a court case filed by her widowed mom and her uncle against the boy who fled and for the last 2 weeks was not willing to take responsibility. We have talked with her at length as a church to assure her of our forgiveness and support since she has confessed and asked for forgiveness and had things pretty well worked out for her to go to Kathmandu to have the baby. She does not love the boy or want to marry him, she wants to give the baby up for adoption and wants to continue her studies and eventually become a nurse.

There is a church in Kathmandu that will take her in and assist her and 3 families in that fellowship would love to adopt. We have a family in a different church that would take her in and help her with her education if we can find the financial means to make that happen. We have a pledge of $100 for starters and $25/ month for a year. We estimate a need for $500 for travel, delivery ( more if a c-section) and 6 weeks room and board at this church. She'd need at least $60/ month to stay and study in K-du if we have calculated correctly.

Her family canceled/dismissed the court case and the legal papers are in order. Our plan was to leave in the morning and go to Dhangadi and spend the night there and then I would accompany her on the bus for the next 16 hours to Kathmandu.
2 setbacks have occurred today. The "Boy" suddenly called ( he's been missing for several weeks) this morning and has decided he will "accept her" and admits the child is his and his dad can relax and no longer push for the DNA testing ( only available in Kathmandu for 200,000 rupees). He agrees to marry her.

This puts a curve on the program and he wants us to bring her to Dhangadi to him!!!!!! I just took her up to the hospital and asked for a few tests as she has had no prenatal care and a few who knew estimated her at 36+ weeks. We just did an ultrasound and discovered she is 39 weeks and breech!!!!! And I'm going to take her on a 24-26 hour ride!!!!

Dr Arun assures me there are hospitals every 3-4 hours along the way and her being primip she will be fine even if she goes into labor along the way! He is giving me an OB kit and gloves and a baby blanket for the road. He obviously has more confidence in me than I have !!!

So I'm calling for urgent prayer for protection and safety and that I won't have to deliver any babies on the way!!!!!!! She still wants to go to Kathmandu and doesn't think he would be a good match for her if he did marry her. She is sure his call is the result of pressure from his father and family.

Young Pregnant Girl-- Oct. 31st

This was Dawn's general email to everyone on October 31st.

Jai Masi ( Praise Jesus!)

We have been enjoying having my brother here. He loves being home! Everyone enjoys his natural ability to communicate in their language and it has come in handy numerous times to begin building relationships with everyone from the District Police Officer to the Chief District Officer.We, along with church elders, have been talking with these dignitaries in the process of trying to assist a 15 year old girl who got herself pregnant ( forced by a 16 year old classmate ). She didn't tell anyone until 3 weeks ago and now she is almost due. There was a court case filed by her widowed mom and her uncle against the boy who fled and for the last 2 weeks was not willing to take responsibility. We have talked with her at length as a church to assure her of our forgiveness and support since she has confessed and asked for forgiveness and had things pretty well worked out for her to go to Kathmandu to have the baby. She does not love the boy or want to marry him, she wants to give the baby up for adoption and wants to continue her studies and eventually become a nurse.

There is a church in Kathmandu that will take her in and assist her and 3 families in that fellowship would love to adopt. We have a family in a different church that would take her in and help her with her education if we can find the financial means to make that happen. We have a pledge of $100 for starters and $25/ month for a year. We estimate a need for $500 for travel, delivery ( more if a c-section) and 6 weeks room and board at this church. She'd need at least $60/ month to stay and study in K-du if we have calculated correctly.

Her family canceled/dismissed the court case and the legal papers are in order. Our plan was to leave in the morning and go to Dhangadi and spend the night there and then I would accompany her on the bus for the next 16 hours to Kathmandu.
2 setbacks have occurred today. The "Boy" suddenly called ( he's been missing for several weeks) this morning and has decided he will "accept her" and admits the child is his and his dad can relax and no longer push for the DNA testing ( only available in Kathmandu for 200,000 rupees). He agrees to marry her.

This puts a curve on the program and he wants us to bring her to Dhangadi to him!!!!!! I just took her up to the hospital and asked for a few tests as she has had no prenatal care and a few who knew estimated her at 36+ weeks. We just did an ultrasound and discovered she is 39 weeks and breech!!!!! And I'm going to take her on a 24-26 hour ride!!!!

Dr Arun assures me there are hospitals every 3-4 hours along the way and her being primip she will be fine even if she goes into labor along the way! He is giving me an OB kit and gloves and a baby blanket for the road. He obviously has more confidence in me than I have !!!

So I'm calling for urgent prayer for protection and safety and that I won't have to deliver any babies on the way!!!!!!! She still wants to go to Kathmandu and doesn't think he would be a good match for her if he did marry her. She is sure his call is the result of pressure from his father and family.

Oct. 28th, 2007

I'm still helping Dawn catch you up on all that she is doing. So here is from Oct. 28th!

Praise the Lord!!!!!!!!!!!!
My brother Dave arrived in one piece last night and we are rejoicing in the Lord's protection and provision for him on many levels!
It was a series of hassles starting with a flat tire on his way to Midway airport that led to him missing his flight to Detroit by 10 minutes followed by rerouting to Ohare where he just made the flight running and sweating for Detroit but the flight attendant thought he looked "drunk" so they made him disembark and wait for the next flight to Detroit so therefore missed the flight to Amsterdam. There, they failed to change his ongoing ticket accordingly. So he sat in the Amsterdam airport for way too many hours!
But he is here now with many stories and seems to be thrilled to be back and all the local people are charmed with his fluent language and humor.
We postponed our "Income Generation meeting" till tonight so Dave can participate so I must dash for that now and will let you know the outcome.

Oct. 25th, 2007

This is a post Dawn tried to publish on Oct. 25th.

Greetings from Dadeldhura Nepal!!!!

I'm so excited to finally be here and settled after weeks of travel and excitement!
I arrived on October 11th with a relatively smooth trip from Kathmandu out to the far west and made it up the hill in only 4 hours... record time!
I spent a couple days at a guest house here near the hospital ( my Father built years ago) and found a family who wanted to rent me an apartment in their home as my permanent abode.
The family is wonderful! They are most hospitable and accomodating. I am renting just one room so far and by the end of the week will have a second ready just in time for my brother's arrival. Dave will be here for about a month exploring if he is to come and work here full time as well.
In another 2-3 weeks with Dave's help we ( landlord and Dave and I ) will make the remaining 2 rooms habitable with one as a kitchen! We plan to also put in a "western toilet!" and make a new bathroom there and put a hot water heater and a shower into the current Nepali bathroom. Yes... I realize how very much I have taken hot showers for granted in the past!
Since I have no kitchen at present the family has persuaded me to take all my meals with them so I'm eating curried veggies 3 x day and either roti ( bread) or Bhat (rice) with that and lentils. It is starting to get routine... but still tolerable and at least I don't have to cook!
It is great to think that this "Blog Thing" might actually work! I have high hopes... the last 3 attempts didn't go through so I'm getting closer!
It is getting quite cold here in the evenings... we are all starting to prepare for winter!
Pray for adequate warmth... I think of all the villagers who have no means of getting any warmer!
My first big meeting with the local NGO I hope to work with with Income Generation Potential is tomorow evening... think of me and lift us up!
More to come!
Dawn

Safe in Dadeldhura, Nepal!

Hi Everyone. This is Eryka standing in for my mom on the Internet front. Mom has had some difficulty posting to Blogger, so I'm taking her emails and transposing them into blog entries. It also appears she doesn't quite understand all this Blogger terminology, because I found some drafts of posts that she tried to make available to you, but couldn't quite figure it out. So this post is from Oct. 18th, 2007.

I'm so excited to finally be at my destination. I have overcome some big hurdles to get here but am safe and sound at last!
I have rented a room from a lovely Nepali family and have promises of having 3 more rooms within the next month so will have a whole "flat" of my own. As I have no Kitchen as yet they are feeding me 3 meals / day with their family. It's a good thing I like Nepali food!
The weather is turning cold... we are at an altitude of about 2000 meters or 6500 feet. So my days are spent settling in, planning for increased cold weather/ winter and waiting for the current Deshai Holiday to adjourn so we can begin meetings with the NGO and finalize the future of the ministry to the widows and orphans and impoverished people of the surrounding villages.
Many income generation options are available and narrowing down what we think would be the most effective will be one of our biggest challenges.
So far the receptiveness of individuals to my vision and offer to assist for the next 8 months has been very positive so now our collective planning begins in earnest!
I hope to update you all soon! It is a relief to finally be able to blog from here as most of the journey I could not access my website for whatever reasons!
So ... more to come and wishing you warmth and peace!