Monday, February 3, 2014

Flying through the rails on this trip:/

So grateful to finally have internet! I have been here since Wednesday PM but couldn't get the internet to function! The World Link office was closed for three days and yesterday I was busy keeping the YWAM volunteers busy on 5 different tasks so didn't make it to the office before they closed. ... funny - went and paid up the bill for 2 months in advance and lo and behold the internet suddenly works!
The bus trip from Kathmandu was brutal. The last 4 hours of it was in pea soup fog so thick you literally could not see 2 meters in front of the bus. I suspect the driver switched  with the conductor guy about that time so he could snooze, cause the driving suddenly became erratic and it felt like we were speeding around the corners. Fortunately these were smaller hills, not the actual "mountains". I tried to doze myself, after about an hour of white-knuckling it and just about succeeded when the driver slammed on the brakes and I went flying through the rails. I had had my legs extended on the rail as my seat was just inside the door above the stairs up into the bus. The impact lurched everyone forward and there are no seatbelts on these buses! So I found myself hanging with one arm on the top rail and the rest of my body suspended over the steps. I surely was wide awake now! No real harm but the wrenched muscles when my right arm flew up to catch the rest of me!
I was awake the rest of the trip so yah, 3 AM till we arrived in Dhangadiat 8:30 AM on Tuesday. We spent  a full 32 hours recovering at Balwa's house there before we got a private vehicle to bring us the rest of the 4 -5 hours up the hill on Wednesday. Santos this driver calls me "mom"
It was great to have a traveling companion this trip! Pratiksha, (Shibi's daughter, aged 22) finished her exams in K-du Monday morning so I waited for her so we could travel home together. She has 10 days off and was returning to Dumada, her village, to see her family. This is the same village I grew up in about 6 KM from here. I have known her family well for 46 years and call them my Nepali family  All these kids call me "Mom" as well!.
I went to Dumada today! Joined the YWAM team on their village excursion and we did some prayer walking  and I did a lot of reminiscing and greeting old friends in the village! We had lunch at Bhuwan"s  ( leader of YWAM ) house as his mom made a special feast for us all! Yum. I am praying there will be no negative repercussions to my intestinal tract!
I have had a chance to assess the "sitchyation" at the new paraplegic house and evaluate all the problems over there. Yes it is very cold in that building cause the sun doesn't hit the building but for 1 hour this time of year. The ceilings do drip continuously with "rain" which is definitely condensation from the warm air in the room hitting the cold cement ceilings. The squeegee I brought from K-du  quickly relocates the water  but of course is only a temporary solution. Yesterday amongst other helpful acts of kindness, the YWAM team boys helped me stuff cotton around the windows to fill in the 1/4 - 1/2 inch gaps between windows and walls ( no trim has been applied inside or outside so cold air just poured in through these big gaps). They then used up my precious roll of duct tape and the weather stripping I just brought to seal up on the insides and a tube of "bath and tile sealer" I had in my tool trunk to seal the outsides so that should improve things a little.
We are also suggesting the girls keep the windows open about 3 inches in the day time when the air is warm and their doors open to get  warmer air in the room to dry them out a little but close them promptly when the sun goes down  and the air gets chilly. This makes little sense to them but they have done it now for a few days and it is helping! 
A consensus of everyone from general contractors to the person on the street is: A) this is the worst it will ever be. B) this happens in every new building the first year and will likely be minimal if any issue next year after the cement has set up properly. C) this is not water coming through the cement roof... it is condensation. D) the weather is already warming up E) the single most effective thing we can do to remediate this is to build the next level of the building.
Sooooooo that is the plan. We will build the educational center... at least the pillars and  the next roof!  4 pillars and the back retaining wall are already in place. We need 8 more pillars and at least the nexk roof. We can then fill in with brick walls as we have the funds. We have $ 5000.00  that should cover the pillars and ceiling but will need to collect for the brick walls.
Many of you have written to ask how you can help so I have prayed and want to share the thought I had in response. I call it the "power of 10"
I appreciate that many of you feel you don't have much to contribute financially... and having been broke myself most of this last year I can relate. But if everyone that gets this email could send in just $10 in this next month - we could have this educational center done in the next 8 weeks I am here.  And if each of you could talk to others about this need till each of you can find one other person who could do the same -and send in $10 then we can complete the interior and furnish it as well and get it functional! now if you can convince 10 others instead of just 1, think how we could exponentially impact the potential here.  Who do you know that you could share this need with?
We envision this as an educational center where literacy, skill, computer and spiritual training could take place and we would have a small library as well as a small boutique where these women could sell their fine products locally.
So could you pass on a Starbucks coffee just twice this week and make a difference in this community with those same resources? I know some of you will want to give more and we certainly won't object! But by us all pulling together with just "10" we will make a huge difference in the lives of hundreds who will use this place to learn and grow. Perhaps you know of a philanthropist or foundation who would assist us in this? Please share with them and clue me in if you know who we could approach to help us improve thousands of lives through this center. We know that every impoverished woman we reach in this learning center will exponentially impact 4-5 lives in her home if not in her own community! If you give a man a fish you feed him for a day. If you teach an man to fish you feed him for a lifetime. If you teach a woman how to fish she will feed her whole family and community  for a lifetime and teach that man how to clean his fish!
Will close for now and give you more updates later on our other ministries. Tomorrow I go to talk with the CDO ( chief district officer) to explore what I can do to continue the prison ministry. There are 40 very cold prisoners and I have socks and mittens for them all but am told this CDO ( new since I was last here) is very negative about Christians and has created resistance about allowing ones from the chu-urch in of late to visit. I need the favor of man to proceed. It is a spiritual battle we fight... not against flesh and blood but against principalities...Pray for me please.
Thanks for standing in the gap with me.
We need your prayers !
Oh and please pray for Digri, One of the 2 paraplegics... 
she is running a fever and seems to have another UTI. She gets so very sick with these. We started her on antibiotics yesterday... she needs the Lord's touch of healing! So does a 6 month old baby here in my landlord's home with fever and vomiting for 3 days. The hospital is empty... only a few patients and no supplies. Is there even a doctor? When I was there a few days ago he was due to arrive but hadn't yet!
Thanks for prayerfully considering your part in this educational center for HIs glory!
All for now!
Keeping faith!
Dawn Didi

Donations may be sent to:
Dare to Care
Elgin Ill., 60123

www.daretocareinc.com    has a paypal link for cc use
One of our young ladies learning to knit

A small group of our ladies learning knitting
More ladies learning to produce product for a source of income to support their families

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