I Limbo in Limbo...

I am currently in the Black Hills of South Dakota soaking up sunshine and love from all my family.
We just had a big Seaman Family Reunion over the weekend at "No Name City" campground in Sturgis. It was great to see relatives galore and get tons of hugs from everyone!

A highlight was an authentic Kansas City  BBQ cooked up by my cousin's oldest son and his wife who cook competitively- like on these food network shows! I am not regularly a big meat eater but we all chowed down on the best ribs, tips and burnt ends "Gold" ever, and I consumed half a bottle of protease digestive enzymes so as not to pay the piper in consequences! Yummy.

Since I have some spare time (yes, I did get let go at Hospice for needing to extend my return from Nepal!:()I have decided to stay on an extra 10 days with my folks and sister Di and family here from Indonesia. It is a rare treat to have time with them - However, in many other respects I am in limbo or am doing the limbo!

Ok, that's all for this post ... please let me know how I can pray for you!
In Limbo,
Dawn Didi

Update and Pray Request:)

As last you heard I had to leave Nepal with the building project unfinished, but close to being completed. I have just heard that nothing has been done on the septic since I left because the monsoons have caused excessive flooding and the hole has filled up with water, prohibiting any further progress. We did get an estimate from the contractor on what it would take to line the tank with rock 18 inches thick to be capable of supporting a cement slab on top so a  vehicle could be parked on top... the figure is twice what we had projected. 

 

Bottom line we need $3000 to pay for the lining and the expenses we incurred on dozing and excavating the septic twice! 

 

Also the windows and door people came but installed them backwards and my helper had gone to Kathmandu when they came so we will now have to get them back up from Dhangadi and have them re-do them! You can see why I wanted to stay and see things through to the end!... soooo frustrating

 

I was praying things were progressing and  the girls could be transferred into their new home even this week but that is clearly not happening now.. Please keep praying with me for completion and a smooth transfer and transition.

 

We could really use your prayers for the following;

Pray that with the monsoon rains in full force the banks of the mountain we have built on, will hold and remain in place and that the retaining wall will do its intended function and retain the dirt and keep it in place! Pray the tin shack perched above our site will continue to hang on to the side of the mountain and there will be no injuries, damages or casualties as the family therein refuses to move to safer ground!

 

Pray the septic will be able to be completed soon. We dozed and dug the hole only to have the monsoons break that night and wash most of the mud back in the hole. So we get to do it all again! The day I left the dozer was due to come again and this time with a tipper ( dump truck ) to haul it all away! That is all on hold with the hole filled with water! So having to repeat all this literally sunk us another $3000 in the hole! I am trying to raise that now so I can wire the funds to them the end of July! PTL $450 came in this weekend for this urgent need!

 

Pray too for the 48 prisoners at the jail that we were visiting weekly. There are 43 men and 5 women and one 5 yr old boy born in the prison. 5 of these (2 women and 3 men) have accepted Jesus and need fellowship and teaching and encouragement. The others still need Jesus and the healing and forgiveness only He can give. 

 

Pray the 6 -8 folks that went with me each week will maintain their connections with the" jailbirds" and keep visiting and encouraging. I personally never ever thought I would be involved in Prison ministries but God has surprised me with how much I enjoyed meeting these folks and teaching them to crochet and singing local songs to them and even dancing Nepali dances with them. They weekly confirmed that our visits were the highlights of their week and how they felt our love and kindness. The cookies possibly accounted for some of this sentiment!

 

Pray for the radio ministry geared to illiterate and lonely women telling them they matter to God and HE loves them!, will continue. We are behind in our payments to the FM station as all our resources had to be directed for the paraplegic facility. This takes $200 per month and we are 7 months behind. We still have 3 slots per week of 15 min each to broadcast. 

 

Pray especially for those creating the radio programming and who are responsible for the technical aspects of this vital ministry and that the LOVE will shine through.

 

Pray for 2 really bright students to be able to further their studies. One girl, would love to come to the US or anywhere she could attend Chiropractic School as there is nothing in Nepal for this and it interests her. If not, she is considering Physical Therapy for a major, and would have to go to India for the training. She is one sharp cookie and would attend medical school if she thought she could afford it.

 

The other is Chet, who dreams about becoming a Chemical Engineer. He just passed his big SLC exams and placed 2nd in the district. He is incredibly smart and speaks great English and is very interested in studying science.. I am praying for him to get into Sunshine Bible Academy( or similar)  for his 11th and 12th grades and for scholarships to allow him to progress as his family is very poor.

 

These are a few of the needs I observed most recently and covet your prayers for.

 

More program updates;

The orphanage in Kathmandu with 19 kids in it was going great when Diane and I visited. The kids loved the games we brought them and were implementing the baseball and mitt a gracious donor sent and within minutes of them receiving permission to play with it, all 19 were outside playing and we heard a "CRRACK" in the window! Fortunately the windows have exterior iron bars so we were not required to confiscate it!

 

The Brick making women made some fine jewelry to send back with me. They are doing reasonably well but 2 widows decided they just cannot make it in the big city so have returned to their hill villages to farm their fields. Unfortunately this may mean their kids will not be attending schools and instead helping mom in the fields and minding the goats- a 14 hour / day job!. 

 

The Bakery was going great up till my departure, though they are concerned that with all the foreigners gone, their business will plummet. I was able to remind them that God has built this business and HE will see to it that they are blessed if they just focus on Him. He will bring new clientele and keep them in HIS hand. I reminded them of the verse that "the Righteous will never go hungry!" In fact how often have they been instrumental in feeding the hungry because they were sensitive to real needs and able to share generously from their hearts and surplus. This couple are some of the most generous and loving people you could ever hope to meet! Pray for them as they serve others through their bakery. 

 

Well that is the update for now and I promise to keep you informed of any new developments.

 

Dawn Didi

Last leg of my journey

Hi everyone!

Have had no internet for the last 6 days both in Dadeldhura or in Kathmandu! But no surprise for Nepal... we did have water though... and lots of it... both in the pipes / drum for bathing and washing... and a little too much in the atmosphere!

On Thursday after 3 days of hunting, a dozer miraculously, came right down our street and Megh was able to convince the driver we just needed a" half hour of his time"! He called the boss and got permission and 10 minutes later it was digging out our septic tank. 2 meters deep x 12x 10.  An hour later it was done!

Our mistake was we didn't have a "Tipper" ( dump truck ) to haul the dirt away so the dozer plunked it beside the house and kinda pushed it back and we hoped to find a way to deal with that later, ie next day and allow the workmen to get started building the 18inch walls inside it to support the tank. In theory it works... it reality it doesn't because one must factor monsoon surprize storms into the equation! It POURED rain all night and washed much of the dirt right back down into the hole and even caused the 1 meter margin of safety near the house to cave in, in one place. In the process the neighbors water drums got covered up as well so I spent considerable time assuring the neighbor we would make it right and buying them a new drum to tide them over. Well by now the dirt is no longer dirt, but heavy mud and impossible to move by hand, so we again were trying to track down a dozer, this timewith a tipper to haul it away. Alas paying for the job twice! The day I left ( Saturday) both were due to arrive together! Pray it really happened and that the workmen can finish lining the hole safely!

The doors and windows slated to arrive Thursday, still had not arrived Sunday when I called.

Sabi was asking for my painting supplies Sunday so that is being done. The walls and ceiling are dry enough to paint at least the first coat.

The Phlam Man ( iron man) making the big outside steel door had it made but was tardy in delivery on Thursday so we asked him to please wait till Monday or Tuesday now to install it so he doesn't wreck the new cement floors that just got poured on Friday!

So much still to wrap up but all designated to specific individuals to complete... and it will get done... Nepali style! Eventually!

I put 3 capable women in charge of arranging furniture and supplies, and Thirtha the maintenance man, is doing the electrical and plumbing... has to wait till the cement floors are dry to install the sinks and toilet... he will also manage the disassembly of their iron beds and reassembly of their new water beds complete with their new water heaters!

The good news is I got out of Dadeldhura with minimal rain on Saturday AM though it had rained all night. Tula, the driver I had booked, stood me up and we spent a harried hour trying to find another vehicle to get me to the airport but I got there on time, the flight took off 10 minutes early ( pilot afraid  of the weather?) and we got to K-du on time. However Yeti Airlines succeeded in somehow ripping my suitcase to shreds and it took 45 minutes I didn't have, to file a report to discover I needed to bring the suitcase back empty the next day and they would repair it.

The next day was a bhundh... nothing moved, nothing was open till after 5 pm! It was my only day to accomplish loose ends. SO I met with Yam ( in charge of the Brick women ministry that make our jewelry, at 6 PM in Jhawelakhel and the DDL college kids for dinner at 6:30.

 I was able to sneak in the back door of the cargo company during the day,and get all my excess baggage shipped in spite of the bhundh as they are across the street from my hotel and I had inside connections!

I also got the hotel to send out my torn suitcase for repairs and they  only charged me about 3$ ... much less than trips to the airport and back... in the rain!

Most of my 2 days in Kathmandu it poured rain. A phone call back to Dadeldhura confirmed it had poured rain solid for 2 days there as well so most believe the monsoons are officially here... and in answer to my prayers God allowed me to exit without event and delayed the deluge to allow my passage.

The turbulence and the pathway of our Korean air jet last evening was amazing to observe, as the pilot clearly was trying to avoid massive cloud banks taking our route far south( all the way to Dacca)  of the projected trajectory on the map! The Monsoons really are here.

 Standing on HIS promises in faith... re: believing for things yet unseen... yes but with a tear in my eye! He will complete HIS project and yes, bless others as they minister to these girls too.

 I am in Seoul, Korea... I board the last leg of these flights in about 2 hours! It will be good to get home to my own bed and the next day dig / putter in my own garden.

Thanks for standing with me in faith!

Dawn Didi

Down but not out...

I am discouraged tonight...I learned this PM  that it is not at all probable that I will get my miracle and get to see the girls properly installed in their new place.

The main contractor had to take a day off for personal reasons 2 days ago and while he sent his crew, they are just not fast and able to push through like the boss. Then this morning it POURED rain and I mean POURED! a virtual torrential deluge... so the crew did not show up till the sun came out at 2 pm. The floors were starting to be poured and cement spread at 5 pm when I last checked in and the boss tells me it will be 5 days before anyone can walk on them and 7 before we can put a heavy iron bed on it and fill it with 500 liters of water!

Also we have not been able to secure a dozer again to dig out the septic... we may have to hand dig it and then it will be 5 days to line it and 2 days of drying time. so realistically we are looking at 10 more days till we can make it habitable!

Window guy can't get here till Friday either... and Yo Nepal Ho... he could also get held up with his schedule...so bottom line... I am the one to plant and water but not the one to harvest... someone else is meant for that.  

Pastor Prem and my landlord, Tara Datt ( also an elder in the chur-ch), have offered to take charge of the transfer and Sabi, the widow who donated the land, is highly motivated to see the project through to completion ASAP. She was ready to paint today and I held her back explaining we would just be in the way of the workman trying to get the floors laid. I have nicknamed her "dozer"!

. Jamani is my house keeper and has offered to get all the bedding and supplies for them. from my house, down to the new house. We will go through everything tomorrow and role play where to put what and how to arrange it all.

Thirtha is the maintenance man from the last hospital and built their beds in the first place and has filled their waterbeds in the past. He is our contracted plumber and electrician and I could not have a better man on the case if I tried! He has a sharp mind and can figure things out better than most and is very handy at all kinds of things. He will disassemble and reassemble their iron waterbeds, install the new waterbed heaters and make sure the new bunks get installed and secured to the existing iron structures! 

As a team they are all capable... things might just not have the designer touch I was planning to put on the event and it won't have the flourish and pomp and celebration I was planning to bring to it. There are no other foreigners here at present... they all leave Thursday and I leave Saturday.

It will be ok... it will all be just fine!

So it is a lesson in trust ... to try to let go of my control once again! I remind myself He is God and I am not! And I'm not giving up on miracles yet... just trying to be realistic. I tell everyone who comes here to check their expectations at the door... it is my turn now. I am determined to enjoy these last 3 days here!

Thanks for your prayers and votes of confidence! They all have meant so very much!

We now have water! first time in the 10 weeks I have been here in Dadeldhura, that I didn't have to take a pour bath with a glass of water- maybe 2 on a good day! Now pray it won't flood out my flight on Saturday! This may be the start of the monsoons!

Must get some shut eye... the storm kept me awake most of last night .It sure cleared the air and the view of the snows was spectacular this evening from my porch!

Toodles!

Dawn Didi

 

 

Keeping Positive

Having trouble sleeping tonight...

 I heard a few hours ago (via email) that I have been fired from my Hospice job back home! Bummer! I am feeling a little shellshocked as I thought I had everything worked out with them. For 3 weeks I have been emailing various managers trying to determine my schedule and trying to communicate the need I had to extend my ticket and have not heard from them except to hear " send your availability to the new manager", 3 emails later I have yet to hear from her but an email tonight informs me ( HR) that I have been terminated!

God must have bigger and better plans for me. Please pray I will be patient as HE reveals these to me and that I will be able to joyfully continue serving Him regardless!

On the positive note... I am virtually weepy with amazement at how God is coming through for us here in the 11th hour. In the last 72 hours he has moved 2 wonderful donors to very generously cover all the remaining expenses on the first floor of the paraplegic facility and some of our radio ministry needs as well. We praise God for his faithful provision and have full confidence the few remaining needs will be cared for as well ie rent for the apartment we keep here(90$/month) and the salary for the radio technician/programmer. ($100/month) 

God also brought 3 people to my door today that have exactly the skills we need to finish up the project! One we have been hunting for for 5 days! Another our door and window man... and he came without being called! And the electrician/ plumber who can start tomorrow!

Last week it seemed impossible to finish. Today the contractor said that with this heat, not only could he remove the bamboo poles holding up the new roof 2 days early, but the cement floors and plaster should dry in 5 days vs 9! Guess I'll stop complaining about the unprecedented heat!

So I choose to keep focused on all he positive evidence of a great big God at work on our behalf and keep looking up.

Thanks for looking in the same direction... HE hears our prayers!

2 Weeks To Go>>>>

Hard to believe I have already been here in Nepal 8 weeks! So much has happened and so much still needs to happen before I can wrap up this project and feel at peace about leaving. But I have 2 weeks left and a God still in the business of doing miracles so will hang on remembering how often in the past HE has come through for me in the 11th hour! 

 

Today the "RCC" walls were completed. These are the exterior walls of the next level and are retaining walls. They are designed to hold back the mountain should any further slippage occur with the imminent onset of the monsoon rains upon us. It really can't prevent the tin shack above us from falling but it should keep it from falling on the girls and the existing building if it should tumble! We felt it was imperative we get this done now before the rains as it is a major structural concern so have diverted the funds intended for electric, plumbing, plaster and paint ( and associated labor) to this!

The cement roof should be dry on June 6th. The bamboo posts can then be removed that are currently supporting the ceiling/ roof and the contractor for the plumbing and electric can swoop in and lay the appropriate lines.  The current contractor can begin plastering the brick walls with cement. I have asked him to do the doors and windows first so I can call the window people up from Dhangadi ( 5 hours away) to come measure and get the doors and windows custom made and on their way. Once the walls are plastered, the cement floors are poured. It takes 9 days for this to set up.

You do the math... I have a flight out of Dhangadi to K-du on 6/15!

 

This means that short of an absolute miracle I will not be the one to move the girls into their new home and get them settled. But I keep telling myself "it is not about me". Perhaps someone else needs to be blessed to do the close and reveal! Alycia has volunteered that if she is here and I leave her a map  of the new layout, she will arrange the furniture and help Thirtha get the girls moved in. I am so grateful for her willingness and realize what a huge responsibility she would be undertaking! Pray for her if she should get stuck with all this work!

 

While we are waiting for the 6th to arrive our contractor will be working on 2 projects we forgot to budget for... the septic tank and a ramp for wheelchair access to the new facility. Please pray for the extra $3000 needed to cover these additional expenses. A bag of cement is now $12.50. We need another 142 bags to finish the plaster, floors, septic and ramp and that is not counting sand, gravel and rock and iron rods to support it all. What a shame construction costs have doubled since October when I last got quotes on materials!

 

So while I would hate to sound like I'm begging... I'm going to ask each of you please pray and put whatever energy God might lead you to lend to this important cause, whether it is a" pass the hat" in your church or small group or setting out a can at work or a bake sale. If you know any celebrities that would do a charity concert or have connections to a philanthropist or a foundation that we could appeal to for a grant... this would be a great time to let us know if we could contact them! Thanks for your prayerful consideration and support. And to the many of you who have already generously given we so appreciate you and we are trying to be the best possible stewards of every dollar and dime you have donated for His kingdom glory here!

 

On other fronts:

The 2 hospital staff that were being held in custody were released last Monday! They were held over 26 days with no charges and when the supplies were counted that they had supposedly "stolen" they exactly matched the inventory reports. I don't understand why these supplies couldn't have been counted earlier... but Yo Nepal Ho.

 

All the staff got paid on Tuesday! They got their 1 month salary due them ( for the month they were told not to work) and an additional month bonus. However they did not get their retirement funds yet. Perhaps later? they may have to each make trips to HDCS hdqtrs in Kathmandu in the future to get what is owed them. 

 

Megh ( my general contractor) tried refusing 3 times but got sucked into doing the "handover"on the hospital because the administrative staff refused to come out and the gov officials are handing over the hospital to. Megh has not worked at this hospital for over 5 years except in the capacity of running the local radio station owned by HDCS. This is a huge burden and undertaking for him to sort out all the chaos and account for all the equipment, inventory and supplies.

 

Megh thinks there should just be a few more days of dealing with the inventory and then the handover should be complete. However rumors indicate the gov/ political leaders will be demanding $ they think is still coming in from donors to HDCS they think is rightfully part of the handover so I'm guessing Megh will not see a good night of sleep for several more weeks yet! 

 

Pray for Megh caught in this hornets nest. He is my brother and friend and is doing an amazing job negotiating with all the Tulla Manches ( big wigs) and trying to juggle the many other things on his plate he had going before he was dragged into this hospital mess!

 

The prison ministry is going great! This week 8 of us went on Thursday and Doyl and Prakash both brought their guitars and we did a little program for them. I took cookies for everyone including the 20 staff ( guards) so those were a big hit. There are now 5 who have believed in there, 2 women and 3 men. Pray for them to have fellowship with each other and to boldly share their new faith and to grow in wisdom and faith. A couple inmates asked 2 of our group for their cell #'s and want to call re: questions they have about what they have read from materials we have given so that is encouraging too.

 

Last Sunday  was National Outreach Day so 3 teams of 5 from our church went village to village and through the bazaar passing out tracts and stopping to talk with any who had questions. Pray for every piece of literature to touch someone's heart with God's love. Today our church enjoyed D*****

encouragement to love our neighbors in really practical ways beyond just handing them a tract. It was my turn to share with the women's group and I felt led to share about blessings... not just how we can be blessed by God but how we can be a blessing to others. In that vein, I felt convicted to make some cookies tomorrow and take them to the TSF ( tin shack family) whose tin shack balances precariously above our construction site but the family refuses to move to safety... the mother yelled at me the first few days I was here and though I try to say Namaste every time I pass through her walkway, she usually refuses to return the greeting. I am praying about how I can love her in spite of her hostility. Please pray for me in this regard!

 

Things are pretty quiet at the bakey with most of the Bideshi's ( foreigners) gone. The Restless Team from the UK have hung out as it is their last week here. They invited me to their Sports day, yesterday, in the village they have worked in the last 2 months. It was a 1 1/2 hour walk down to the valley and 2 hour up. It was a really fun day and I was pleased to have been invited. On my way back,a Dr. named Alec, ran up behind me on the path, walked with me for a few minutes then ran on. I caught up with him in the bakery, only to find he beat his best running time and did in 29 minutes what took me over 2 hours to walk! and part of that was while walking with and chatting with an old lady! Oh to be young again! I am over twice his age!

 

Well time to turn in... must go to the bank in the morning to see if a wire transfer has come through and to inquire what the terms would be to take out a construction loan if necessary to complete the project. 

 

Looking to the Source of all our resources!

Thanks for joining me in this regard!

Dawn Didi

 

 

Stairs are poured, roof setting up nicely

Hello from Nepal, here is the latest update from Dawn;

The roof is setting up nicely. The contractor is working on building the back pillars for the next story and will start on the back retaining wall in a couple days. He should finish that just in time to take down the Kaat ( bamboo posts) and work on the interior. The stairs were poured 2 days ago so things are progressing and I'm holding onto hope that if we have the funds in hand we can push this through to completion yet before I leave here on the 15th of June!

The jail ministry went well last week! We now have a total of 5 new be-liever-s there! 2 women including the 17 year old girl and 3 men. This week I sang more songs and just had fun with them... their faces lit up when we came! The 3 men were so excited to have fellowship with the 2 men we brought on our team and are hungry for the Word. We did find a small Hindi NT here to give the Indian beli-eve-r!

This week I have promised them all cookies! Alec and Sam from the Restless team want to go this week too, just to see what the inside of a jail is like here!

Yesterday we did a community outreach taking tracks to many nearby villages. I went to Mallum the one past the bus park and along the ridge and all the way down to the school. We hit 3 villages and then hiked up the back of that hill. definitely the steep way! Nearly killed me! They put me in the first truck when we hit the road at the top and sent me home! The rest of the 5 on my team took their time walking back and passing out tracks and talkking / sharing wityh anyone who would listen!

It has been blistering hot here this week... most unusual for Dadeldhura! Coupled with the water shortage it has been trying! Today we had 2 hours or rain and I actually had to find my sweater tonight! Sweet relief!

Well all for now!

Dawn

The ROOF has been RAISED!!!!!!!!

Hello All, It feels great to be back in Dadeldhura agasin after 10 or more days on the road. Some of you didn't even know we left as our internet was spotty here with the power being out so much. I thought we could get it in Kathmandu but they had password issues there when we arrived. We left a day later and went to Pokhara ( Kaski) but the hotel there also couldn't get their internet access so we used a "cyber cafe" briefly twice to check our emails and then we were back again in Kdu to discover a huge fire a block over knocked our power out for 2 days followed by a huge rain storm that had it out again the day I left!

 

So back home in Dadeldhura again as of last night I finally have it at the moment and will catch you up!

 

I think I wrote that Diane got word her mom had broken her back in 8 places! She felt she should go back early to be with her and I fully endorsed that. So we got a private vehicle and made the trip down the mountain to the dhangadi airport. It rained and poured off and on and depending on who you talked to they said it was the start of the monsoons. Whatever... the wind howled and banged windows all over the airport. then there was this virtual explosion that sounded like a gun went off two feet from our heads... a clap of thunder shorted out a florescent light and that was the resulting sound. My heart had just returned to normal sinus rythym when another explosion occurred right above our heads. This time it was a short in the wiring of the fan and as the 10 or so security gards stood around contemplating the fried wires and resulting smoke I nearly went into sinus arrest! They decided someone really should go turn off the electricity to the room and subsequently dispatched a peon to do so as we caught our breath and gathered our senses! 

 

Our flight was actually on time but I was concerned about us taking off in such high winds but we managed just fine and got to K-du with only minimal turbulence but a few bruises. Huh? you ask? oh it was the 4 year old girl on the lap of her obese Nepali mom that kicked me continuouisly for the first half of the ride till she conked out and fell asleep!

All this was on Sunday,

 

Monday we got up bright and early and made our way across town to the Korean Air office to see what could be done to change our tickets. Diane asked for the next flight out and was told there were only 2 flights per week in May and the next 2 were full. The first seat available was for the following Monday, May 20th so we booked that for her, next I asked for my ticket to be pushed back a fedw weeks and was told for the month of June there is only one flight out per week! And as the only seat available was for June 17th that is now my new departure date... which means I'll be back at SeaTac on June 18th at noon instead of the 4th. The reason is we have had so many delays and challenges that there is no way the building will be ready for the paraplegic girls by my original departure date. I'm hoping by extending it for the 2 weeks we might yet get them in. In case it is not possible I am organizing everything to require minimal stress and challenges to those who might have to do the transfer on my behalf after I leave. I sooooo want the project to be complete so I can leave with them tucked in and peace of mind that all will be in order for the monsoon season!

 

Well since Diane had another week to kill in nepal, we decided to go to Pokhara for 4 nights and 5 days of R&R. Besides it was blistering hot in k-du and stuffy and polluted and crowded blah blah blah. We thought being by the lake would at least be scenic if not cooler. So that same day we juggled our luggage and left most of it at the Utse Hotel and packed just what we needed for 4 days and off we went to find a "micro" ( a minivan) that leaves every half hour for Pokhara. We thought we got good seats but the van stopped frequently and this necessitated every body either climbing over Diane or making her get out of the vehicle to let them out! With her knees ( recent surgery) this was a huge inconvenience for her. I was stuck a row behind her with the same people crawling over me and an old man hanging onto my seat and leaning on me. With the heat and no AC it was not a comfortable thing to be stopped at any location and only marginally tolerable when the vehicle was moving. Somehow saying "YO NEPAL HO" didn't make the trip any more pleasurable. 

 

The scenery was amazing though... the road was the same we had taken on the AC bus last month for the first 4 hours then winds along another river and into the hills to where you can see the Fishtail mountain and the Anapurna range for the last hour of the trip... a total of 6 hours... Just beautiful! And it had recently rained and though still cloudy, the snows were peeking through and the setting sun highlighted them as if the Lord was taking His paintbrush to them for our exquisite benefit!

The next morning we got up at 0430 and got a taxi to the ridge ( Sarankot) hoping to see the snows in all their glory but they were all socked in. Just as we were leaving we had a momentary lift of the cloud cover and got a brief but amazing view a little after the sunrise. 

 

The next couple days we did a lot of shopping... some in the tourist area of Lakeside and some in the heart of the local beat after taking the local bus about 30 minutes into town. We bought umbrellas as the heat was really draining. One day I took 3 naps... the heat just really sapped the energy out of me!

We had a lovely little boat ride where the driver informed us there were green snakes in the forest that dropped out of the trees...and that it was a steep 2-3 hour uphill hike to the little white stuppa and an hour and a half down... that kind of nixed it for us. Diane was still game to go but she was afraid of the green snakes. Me? the snakes  didn't concern me but uphill and steep in the same sentence coupled with heat was enough to deter me! we resolved to go the next day. Well it poured rain just as we were planning to go ... truly a sign! We napped instead... then went for chinese!

 

Back to Kathmandu on Friday, this time in the air-conditioned tourist bus! Diane obtained the tickets on her ownand sprung for the both of us! I did not object! 

 

I woke up nauseous that morning and struggled through the first half of the 8 hour trip. Someone was praying though cause I began feeling better even though the winding road actually got worser as we went along.

 

2 days in K-du to wrap things up and complete our shopping and packing brought us to Monday and time to say goodbye. I made sure Diane got through at the Korean air counter and knew where to go through immigration and security ( there are few signs and it is very confusing!) and heard that she made it safely to Seoul and was having a lovely time at the Hyatt there. Her update on her mom said she is improving and doing fairly well with rehab and may even be able to go home in another week or two if she can learn to do things without trying to bend.

 

I left K-du a few hours later on the AC night bus with Nancy DIdi, my mothers best friend fromTeam Nepal days in Dadeldhura! The trip was actually very comfortable this time... and as it was hot as blazes and humid we were VERY greatful we got good seats and it had airconditioning! We covered the same bad road I had done twice before this week and again a month ago. So I am done with this road!  18 hours later we arrived in Dhangadi and had brunch with our lifelong friends there. A quick shower helped but we were sweating within minutes again.

 

Becky Didi arrived on the Yeti flight and we rented a private car to take us up the hill. We had a slow but careful driver this time and arrived at the bakery just at dark. S**** had dal bhat waiting for us!

It was great to discover the roof had been poured on our facility in my absence! PTL! It was poured a week ago so now has to setup a total of 22 days. It has rained here 2 days in a row so that is great to keep the cement wet while it sets up. 

 

Sadly the handover at the hospital never happened as it was supposed to The 2 men are still being held in custody and HDCS has neither arranged for their release nor accepted responsibility for it. They have also not paid any of the staff or given them their pensions. The Head hancho refuses to come and is pressuring folk ouut here to do the handover for him, threatening them in fact if they don't. It continues to create a real hardship for all the staff. The last of the staff have been told by the gov they must be out by Saturday, off hospital property. Police were to be checking those folks houses today but didn't show. Some are being escorted by police to bajang tomorrow to retreive any supplies that were sent there and go through them... supposably. There is rumored that anybody who has a computer or cameras or equipment that ever belo9nged to the hospital must return them or be charged with stealing. It just gets uglier all the time! Pray for a rapid end to all these problems... it appears greed is at the root of most of the current challenges and cowardice and irresponsibility are dragging the situation far beyond what it should be. 

 

Well I have likely bored you all so will turn in here. Nancy andf Becky are staying with me till Sunday when they return to K-du on the Yeti flight. Pray for Becky as she felt horrible today...

also please pray for water... we get so little each day now and it must stretch for the Bakery, P*** family of 6 plus their 3 guests and the 3 of us! Also our toilet is broken between the tank and bowl! Yo Nepal Ho... but we have internet:)!

 

Pray for the expedious completion of the construction on the building and enough water daily to keep that cement wet and setting up propperly!

 

That should give you all plenty to pray for on our behalf!

 

What can I pray for you for? Though I will not be twiddling my thumbs the next 2 weeks I should be able to lift you up as well! Time enough to fit in prayers between what God has called me to do!

 

Oh pray for us as we visit those in jail again tomorrow! 5 have now believed since we started visiting them at Easter! 

 

Off road now!

 

Toodles

Dawn Didi

2 Timothy 1: 7 and John 14 :27

Peace!

 

 

Pushing Progress . . .

Tomorrow Diane and I will be on the move bright and early! We need your prayers as we travel unexpectedly to Kathmandu as Diane got word that her mother fractured 8 vertebrae on her back and is in a brace in a rehab unit in Texas. She did not fall- apparently this is a spontaneous fracture.... but she is in a lot of pain and Diane feels she should get home and assist with her care. Can't say I blame her... it has been great to have her here supporting and encouraging. She has been a great help to Sundari in the bakery and has taught several newbies to crochet! She has also played endless games of Scrabble with our landlords teeenage boys and outfitted several needy with new clothes, shoes and bookbags!
We have a flight from Dhangadi to K-du at 2:20 on Yeti airlines tomorrow( a glorified tin can of an airplane!) and have booked our own transport down the 4-5 hours to the airport. It is a good thing as we heard there is a bhundh ( block) so hopefully they (those that block the road) will allow 2 white older females on their way to an emergency" in America to get past any obstacles they may have put in our path. Trusting in God Almighty and His mighty angels to get us through. Of course it has to be an adventure and can't just be a ho hum journey... there has to be some great story in all this!
Speaking of obstacles... met a few more on the building project! The wood never came on time... our workman have sat and twiddled their proverbial thumbs waiting for it to arrive. The wood man came yesterday and informed me he had delivered it and he wanted his last 500 NRS. I believed him and paid him. 30 min later our contractor met me and complained the wood still wasn't delivered! I hit the roof! I just paid the dirty liar! We tried to hunt the woodman down. We finally caught up with him 7 hours later when he showed up to our site.. still without the prepaid rented wood beams!
3 of us gave him a piece of our minds and let him know in no uncertain terms that he better show up with the wood by morning or else his business in this community was over!
The wood arrived this morning but it will now take the workman 3 days to prepare the ceiling to pour the concrete roof! And then 22 days for it to set up! Then we can lay the electric and plumbing and plaster the walls and then paint and think about moving the girls in! Oh and of course we can't forget digging the septic!
I plan to extend my ticket home another 3 weeks in hopes I can really get these girls in their new place.
I am thrilled the Lord has brought me Thirtha Pant(soon to be jobless!), the hospital maintanance man, to be our plumbing and electrical contractor! He is very knowledgable and experienced and I can't think of a Nepali more qualified to do the job. We spent several hours these last 2 days discussing how to make this all handicap accessable and user friendly for them considering heights and placements of everything from lightbulbs to toilets and sinks. He could, if needed, even transfer them from their current location to the new house when all is done as he has a working knowledge of how to dismantle their metal beds and empty and refill their water beds. He is a believer and willing to do the tranferring pro bono and the contract work for a very reasonable wage! Praise God!
We had another visit to the prison on Thursday! We had 41 men and 5 women all wanting to learn to crochet at the same time with the 9 hooks and 4 balls of yarn I brought! I was expecting a prison fight to break out! Actually they were all very well behaved and didn't kill themseves or us with their metal knitting needles! The guards did decide they would remove all sharp objects from them at the end of the day however!
I sang them all a local Shoo Shoo geet ( Dotiyali song) and got a standing ovation from them all which involved alot of hooting and hollering. Then Diane and I sang them " She'll be coming round the Mountain" and eased into some Nepali Xian songs! We all had a really fun time all the while teaching/ learning crocheting!
2 of the 5 women prayed to accept Christ including the 17 year old girl that is in cause her brother in law raped her, got her pregnant, fled to India and several months later she had a miscarriage bleeding for several days. She is accused of killing her child so is in jail for 35 days to 3 months awaiting her trial! What a justice system! Huh!
One man claimed he has been healed since our last visit and another man says he is much better! SO we are encouraged with the "jailbird ministry!" The man who accepted Christ last week still wants a Hindi Bible so I will try to find him one in K-du this week! God is alive and well in Dadeldhura even in the strangest of places...like jail!
The handover for the hospital is due this week. The place is a ghosttown. Even the businesses here along Team Road are dead! So many vendours are crying as their livelihood appears finished along with the hospital. The staff are all in fear they will not get their final paychecks or pensions. 2 staff are still in prison and HDCS has done nothing to get them out. All the administrative staff have fled in the night at variopus points and the head hancho of HDCS called and asked a church elder who was let go from the hospital staff 5 years ago to please please handle the handover! What a joke! Today we learned the CDO ( Chief District Officer) also left in the night last night! He was a friend of the local hospital administrator... hummm what a disaster! They all need your prayers! Most staff have had their last few paychecks cut without being informed.... just shorted 5000 or 6000 on their checks and they discover it when they get to the bank and try to cash it!. The bakery tab the top brass ran up, hasn't been paid or the tab for the pharmacy meds for our paraplegics nor their monthly allowances for food and necessities... Guess I will have to make a visit to the HDQrts in K-du and see how I can advocate for the girls at least!
I hear a woman crying in the street below... I feel powerless. Can't tell in the dark where it is really coming from! Sounds like on Team Road right below me!
Well better get some sleep... it is likely going to be a long day tomorrow.
Tomorrow and Monday are both supposed to be Bhundhs according to the paper. Tuesday I hope to take Diane to Pokara for 2 days and then get her on a flight home maybe Friday. I will then return on the AC bus ... another 25 -30 hours??? so hope to be back here by Saturday or Sunday. The community all agree the building project will progress faster if I am here to push it along!
Pushing for progress!
Dawn Didi

Trouble for Hosipital Staff, Evacuation encouraged

Hi and Namaste, Jai Masi!

The trio from USA ( New Mexico) left this AM. They had a great time here the last 12 days. I spent much time and energy showing them around but they were very appreciative and fell in love with Dadeldhura as so many of us do!

The situation at the hospital has gone from bad to worse. The HDCS people that were here ordered one of the peons to return all the pharmacueticals to the shop in Dhangadi where they were purchased and get their money back. A man was arrested for "Stealing"even though he was ordered to do it, HDCS has done nothing to get the man out of jail!

2 nights ago the HDCS men and P*** a hospital admin, all disappeared in the middle of the night ( ran away). Later police checks of the guesthouse revealed a tin trunk of hospital supplies stored in their room. Now all staff taking anything off the property, even personal stuff, are required to undergo an inspection and all have to inventory everything and have the Gov sign off on it. Rumors abound about more trouble coming this week for staff still on the property and K*** told me today HDCS is notifying all remaining staff to vacate as soon as possible as they think the gov will hold people to try to get HDCS top brass to come out here... could get ugly so please be in prayer for this place!

Our new building is coming along but I am told they will pour the roof this next Saturday. Then it needs 22 days of drying before they can apply the plaster to the walls and 15 more for that to dry before we can install plumbing and electrical. I am discouraged about the time line so am thinking and praying about sending Diane home as planned and changing my ticket to extend for a few more weeks! What a decision- but if I dont get these girls in their new place, who will do it? And what would become of them under the new gov management if they don't get moved soon?

Kooyie!

We had a really interesting time visiting the local jail on Thursday.We had a taste of what it was like to be incarcerated in a Nepali prision for several hours. A team of 3 drs and 5 others, Nepali and Bideshi, went and did medical evals on all who were sick and we saw about 40 men and women all knitting already! with metal knitting needles! They knit till they run out of yarn then rip it out and do it all again! We took a puzzle and tooth brushes for everyone! That day one of the inmates prayed to accept Chr-st and requested a hindi Bible as he is from India! Pray I can find one. He read a tract that was given to him at Easter by the team from our ch-u-ch that visited them the first time.!

A Day later, a lady from the ch-u-ch who is a pharmacist filled all the perscriptions and she and I delivered them to the jail again and instructed each inmate how to take them. We plan to visit every Thursday while I am here and pray the Ch-u-ch will take responsibility to keep up this ministry in my absence.

Thanks for all your prayers for us here. It is a time of great uncertainty!

Well time to go for lunch so all for now!

Dawn Didi

Diane is better , Praise G-d!

K***s mom just showed up.. they and 4 others are leaving now not tomorrow as planned!

They are vacating the hospital this week:(

Thanks for your prayers!
The hospital staff are in emotional turmoil not knowing where to go or what to do re: jobs. They are only seeing "emergencies" but a bus accident in Baitadi occurred today and all the staff were called in to handle it, then at the last minute all patients were diverted to the Gov district hospital here!
This week so many are confronted with moving... all hospital property has to be vacated by May 14th so the scramble for alternate living spaces and packing boxes seems to have consumed the majority of staff.
Just had a didi/ bhini ( women's) meeting here at my flat tonight. 8 ladies came to sing and pray and discuss the future and the ladies came up with the idea for a momo shop! ( momos are Tibetan steamed dumplings)
I am encouraging them to brainstorm for other options as well as only a couple were interested in actually doing it. At least we gave them permission to do some creative thinking!
Keep praying for us!
Almost ready to pour the cement roof.. Brick walls will be complete tomorrow and have to setup for a few days till dry, before they pour the beams and roof. We have been scrambling to collect enout wood beams and bamboo poles to hold it up. Also ordered a tipper truck of crushed gravel today and 2 more truck loads of 2 different kinds of sand!
Tomorrow is a holiday..."labor day" does this mean my Mistris ( workman) will not show?
To be seen!
Today the WYAM team showed up to help and dug out a huge amount of dirt from the back mountainside to back fill behind the retaining wall for level one and prepare the level surface for the cement roof that will extend 12 feet beyond the roof of level one. We will also build another 9 foot high retaining wall against the mountainside for level 2. It is imperative to complete this before the monsoons in a month or so to try to keep more landslides from happening! The team made huge progress and I am sooooooo grateful for their help. What a blessing! We did break a shovel and a pick ax handle in the process today!
Tomorrow they will assist us in painting the other porch room of the bakery. Such fun to have energetic youth with positive attitudes and willing hearts to share the burden here!
Pray for the one Korean girl on the team that fell down in the 12 inch crack between the wall and the side of the mountain and scraped her elbow up good! She was a very good sport and let me clean it up with soap and water and smear neosporin and a bandaid but it might smart tonight! Pray she can sleep.
The Sweedish Drs have left and the US family of 3 from N Mexico have replaced them.
I have played tour guide with trips to Dumara/ Pokara and the local bazaar and have been designated as their personal shopping assistant. I've been keeping them busy and entertained as they had high expectations of being able to work productively in the now closed hospital! That ain't happenening so we are trying to keep them occupied and busy. I tried to get them just to trash their expectations but some are not so good at doing that on command. So I am keeping busy keeping them busy? hummmm what is wrong with this picture? but like I said, the hospital staff are mostly all preoccupied with their own business!
Diane is now on antibiotics... coughed mosty of last night but says she felt some better today. She is a Master gardener and planted some flower seeds we brought,from the US, today in the bakery garden... I think it did her soul good! She smiled a lot more today!
Well I am beat... possibly have a little residual heat stroke from yesterday's long hike in the sun/ heat! Forgot the sunscreen on my arms and burnt like a lobster! Dehydration got the best of me though I worked on prevention... truly I did!
Today we had no water which complicated things! We got a little tonight though! We went down to the guest house and begged showers there which was a true blessing!
Well the 20 dogs in the village seem to be winding up now... six sleep all day on my 2 foot wide balcony and don't even move if you kick them to try to get around them. We keep trying to wake them during the day so they might sleep at night! But it is a dog's day around here and we are likely not going to change them in the remaining 4 weeks we are here! I hear a chicken too... not a good sound for 11 pm... hope it is not some dogs dinner! I hear a whole mess of them (dogs that is!) running and panting up the hill alternating with the barking! Oh JOY!
SO will tuck myself in for the night and chat at you later!
Keep those prayers acomin'! They are our backbone!
Dawn Didi

What a blessing this place has been to so many throughout the years.

Just acouple of the staff that are now trying to figure out what to do next

Many families rely on the care they receive from the staff and the many volunteers that serve that work here everyday

This little one will miss this place

Equipment like this is vanishing

Hanging on to the cliff!

Hi Y'all,
It has been a full week... lots of ups and downs! We are acclamating to the steep decent between our apartment and the bakery immediately below on the hill and though we still need to "hang on" to the cliff/dirt as we come and go we are becoming more nimble and confident and are not so short of breath coming up! Not quite as agile as the local goats yet though!

Speaking of goats... saw a mama goat yesterday in the bazaar... she had issues! She had udders full of milk and a broken leg and someone had put on a plaster cast and she was limping down the hill in a most pitiful way! Limping seems to be the order of the week in many ways!

Our project is sure limping along. The bricks came last Saturday and the next 2 days a mason came and laid up bricks for 2 days to his shoulder level. His wife mixed up the cement mortar and it seemed like things were progressing! Those days and every day since we have beeen promised that 3 more masons would arrive including the head contractor and that "work would go quickly now!" However day after day no one has come and the work has come to a screeching halt again. I was told it was partly cause we needed wood planks to serve as scaffolding so they could reach the higher rows of brick laying. SO we ran around for a few days gathering KOT ( planks) and found 5 we can buy from a friend but that is clearly no longer the hold up !
I just have to be content to let this all move in God's timing and trust HE will complete it on schedule! It is the balance between "yo Nepal ho" and God's masterful agenda.

Another limp in the community get-along is the great and sad turn of events that has led to the closure of the local hospital that my Dad/ Mom pioneered 45 years ago. He started one 8 KM's away in Pokara in 1968 and after many years was asked to start one in Dadeldhura, the district center. He was with TEAM so it has been called TEAM Hospital ever since and though they tried to turn it over to a national NGO 5 years ago and change the name accordingly everyone knows it as TEAM Hospital. Local community and politicians have been very unhappy with the new management and have basically forced the NGO out and it is offically being turned over to the government as of May 14th. However everything has come to a screeching halt there as well and yesterday staff were told to see emergencies only! Staff are told they have 20 days to pack and be out of their housing. The gov and NGO leaders have inventoried all the supplies and everything is supposed to be turned over to the gov. Everyone knows the gov staff will be swooping in and claiming every last item and taking them to their own homes and by the time of the official tiurnover, one will be hard pressed to find a single piece of equipment left on the campus! In fact much of it has already walked. Some of it may have been our own staff thinking "why let those gov staff have these diapers... we should disperse them to our own staff and community with kids!" Etc. We watched a bus pull up yesterday and load it full of equipment and later saw it in the bazaar again... No one was givning any answers to questions so one can only surmise!
It is a very corrupt system and so sad to watch!

Our staff are being led to believe the hospital will be transfered to Bajang 2 hours away by bus but I am told there are currently no buildings or infastructure built there. They will have to start from scratch and now there will clearly be no supplies or equipment saved to take there so it appears to at best a" long range goal" and at worst a lot of empty promises to the staff. They are all very discouraged and fustrated and sad. Many did not plan ahead or head the writing on the wall (though some of us saw this coming several years ago) and have no plan "B" and no skills to take elsewhere. In typical Nepali fashion, they live day to day and are saying "now what will we do? How will I finish putting my son through college? How will I pay my rent? how will I eat?"

I did get to share with a large group of staff in their devotions yesterday and encourage them. I shared that 2 ways we KNOW for sure God is with us, is we can look back and see when HE was with us in the past and was faithful time and time again. Since HE NEVER changes we can be sure HE will be with us in the future regardless how bleak. And secondly we have HIS promises! I challeneged them to get a jourrnal and keep a record as they search their Bibles for comfort in this time of trial, to record every promise they read of in the word and refer to that often as well as record all their blessings and proof that God has had their backs in the past!
Tuesday I took 2 Sweedish surgeons and Diane, to Baitadi for a road trip... 90KMs. It was a lot of fun! Some of the highlights were we happened to see 3 wedding parties, 2 of which entertained us for the sake of our cameras, the cow that was eating the sock, our yummy picnic of tuna salad sandwiches and fresh bagels, and the scenic drive in a private taxi!
We visited the district hospital and within 5 minutes the surgeons were pressed into setting fractures on 2 impoverished patients ( ages 10 and 15) and plastering them! They btried to refer them to a hospital in India 45 KMs away but they were too poor to afford to go. The gov hospital had lidocaine but no plaster so the families were sent to run to the "medical" store and return with 4 rolls of plaster and some cotton each and so clinic was conducted on the doctors Chuti ( vacation time!). They also advised on 2 other cases as well before I hurried them out lest they spend their whole afternoon seeing patients.

All in all it was a pleasurable day and eating american Hershy bars and drinking hot Earl Grey tea from a thermos I had brought at the top of a ridge pit stop topped off our excursion. They seemed to appreciate the personal "tour guide explanations"!

Yesterday I took 3 new US foreigners, the 2 Sweedish Drs, and Diane on a local tour through the bazaaar and to buy fabric for local dress. We took them straight to the local tailor to have it all sewn up too. Now they all know where to buy toilet paper so are equipped for another few weeks in Dadeldhura! Perhaps I have a new career opportunity as a tour guide here!
Wel,l better take my drip shower ( hot but no water pressure!) and get down to the bakery to see if Sundari needs help making lunch for all these Bideshis! ( foreigners). There seem to be quite a bunch of us each meal now!
Thanks for your continued prayers!
Diane is off to get some antibiotics at Megh's "Medical". This cold has gone on quite long enough! Several Bideshis and locals all have the same symptoms! Pray for her healing.
I am feeling great! Just impatient on the project issues!

Your nickle's worth of advice today: if you decide to eat socks... make sure you know which side of the laundry they are from!

Blessings,
Dawn Didi