hey ... if you are not doing anything today would you wanna catch a flight to Nepal??

4/16/11

Hey everyone!

Thanks sooooooo much for your prayers for journey mercies! I have arrived... I am in one piece and saw God's hand at work on my behalf several times in the last 3 days!

First I thank God for my dear friend Anne who called me up Thursday AM with the question " hey ... if you are not doing anything today would you wanna catch a flight to Nepal??" of course I answered affirmatively and invited her along! She agreed to go as far as SeaTac airport with me and so ... my ride to the airport was confirmed. We made good time to the airport and on the way I shared my secret prayer that the rules would have changed and I wouldn't have to collect my luggage in LAX and schlep it all through the airport to the international terminal. I also had 20# extra in one suitcase and was prepared to pay an extra $50 to take it with me.

Within minutes of arriving at SeaTac both prayers were answered. Alaska Air was able to book my luggage straight through to K-du and they could not find Korean Air's policy or fee schedule for excess baggage after 10 minutes of researching it in the computer, so let me take the extra 21.6 # on for free muttering the whole while "if Korean wanted them to charge me for that then they should put it in black and white!"

The trip was long and virtually uneventful... oh except the Korean lady behind me that got up for her 4th trip to the lav and fainted in the aisle... it was the only spot on the whole plane where there was actually room for a body to lay fully extended... so she didn't hit her head and there was actually room to assist her without being right on top of her! I tried to help but the flight had a team of 10 Korean Dr.s on which somehow trumped my ER experience... So I did crowd control... "please, Ladies and gentleman... step back and give her some air... give her some space… let her breathe... yes she is breathing... she has a strong pulse...The Dr.s will give us an update in a few minutes... uh huh she is stable". All the Dr's did was take her BP about 7 X and then sit her up and assist her back to her seat... end of their obligation! Not that there was much more that could be done 3 hours out of K-du. She looked pale for about an hour. I suggested to the flight attendants to get her 3 seats together and let her stretch out, help her push clear fluids and provide her with an ice pack and a cool washcloth for her head... They jumped right on it and at least made her comfortable in this respect and by the time we landed she was doing "quite well" she said in her broken English.

I have recovered from my jet lag... I think. It has taken a couple days... I keep wanting to nod off at 4 pm!

Today I attended a new Nepali fellowship... my little friend that sells me tapestries has been very interested in my faith, asking many questions... I took him to a fellowship gathering last time I was here. He says he has gone twice since, on his own, and gotten many of his questions answered! We tried a new one nearer his home today... Funny... didn't think I'd know a soul there, but ran into a person I had met before in Dadeldhura and she introduced me to relatives of two others I knew! Of the millions of souls in K-du I would not have presumed the "degree of 6's" would work so well in a foreign culture.

H… R…, the tapestry seller, insists on taking me where I need to go on the back of his bike. Speeding all over K-du on the back of a motorbike scares the bejeebies out of me so pray for my safety as I tool around. I know there are angels watching over me... just too many narrow escapes for there not to be!

This evening I invited all the Kids from Dadeldhura that are currently in K-du to join me for dinner. D…. with OM is here with a group of 9 youth from two of our fellowships in Dadeldhura for a conference plus about 12 who are going to college here. Turns out they were already meeting at the Nobles for a meeting so they invited me there and it was truly exciting to see 25 young people worshipping God and praising Him and planning how they can impact Nepal for Him. I took them all out for momos (Tibetan dumplings) and sodas after! All three of my landlord and the bakery owner’s daughters were there! They all go to school here in K-du now!

My landlord called this AM with the dimensions for the space for the oven. So one of his daughters, D…, and I will go oven hunting tomorrow. God has given me 2 business people who run restaurants/ hotels, who have given me the same lead for a kitchen factory and supply store so we will start there with our research. On the dimension issue: there is plenty of space for a big 36x36 oven! The problem comes in that they didn't think about how to get it through the 30" door! Pray for how we will accomplish this! One solution might be to peel back the new tin roof and lower it into place and then replace the roof! I'll try to get pix! This could be good!

Praise God He has already supplied a ride for me and the oven back to Dadeldhura! Turns out the hospital vehicle from there arrived here, this afternoon and the administrator offered to T… D…., "to bring back anything for the bakery... even an oven” if he wished, so I guess he is eager for the bakery to open. He is not usually so charitable! Looks like God has prepared the way before me and tonight I was able to confirm that there is room for me in the vehicle too! This is a huge relief to me. Yeah!!! No bus ride this time!!!

Some of you know the consternation I have endured trying to anticipate how to transport an oven over that sorry stretch of highway! It turns out they are planning to head back just a day after the date I picked as my target day to head west!(Wednesday?) Praise God!

Well the power just went out so rather than hunt and peck in the dark... will save this till the power comes back on and then send it to you all.

Keep those prayers comin'... they are being heard and answered!

Dawn Didi