Hi all. I managed to send this through to my family a few days ago and now that I have the capability, I thought I would share it with you too! Enjoy!
Hello!!! Thought I would take this rare opportunity of having good WiFi internet access to email you all and let you know that I am still alive!! Please pass the message on to anybody who may be interested!!
The reason I currently have internet is somewhat amusing. I’m sat on a coach, leaving kathmandu, and will be sat here for the next 15 hours as it drives us through the night to our next destination , Beratnigar (almost certainly not the correct spelling) near the India border. We left today at 4pm and will arrive tomorrow morning at around 7am so we are in for a long drive!! But, having said that, this is the best internet I’ve had since arriving in Nepal, its the warmest I’ve been post 4pm in Nepal (I think there is actual heating here!!) and its the most comfortable I’ve been in weeks! The seats are big, comfy and recline for a good nights sleep so im not complaining at all!! The only thing its missing is a toilet, but I suppose you can’t have everything!
Life here in Nepal is very basic. There is limited internet, electricity, heat, water, clean air…you name it, we probably don’t have it! Unless its mountains. Which are incredibly beautiful and pretty much surrounding us. But even then you can only see them some of the time due to the smog and horrible air pollution. But we are all slowly adapting and surviving for the most part. I’m happy to report that I have kept in good health, and have been one of the few not needing to take a sick day for one thing or another. I think all my previous traveling experience has prepared me and my stomach well!! Although nothing can quite prepare you for the bad smells and air pollution here, half the population walk around with face masks just so they can breathe. Eurgh.
We have been incredibly blessed with the food so far, its basic, but tasty, albeit loaded with carbs, mostly rice, noodles and potato. Apparently the city we are going to next is influnced by India so im looking forward to curry and naan bread which I have been informed I can expect.
Weather here is a tale of 2 extreme. If the sun is out, its actually pretty hot, so for the most part, day time is warm and comfortable. But as soon as the sun disappears there is a tangible drop in temperature, and it just gets colder from there on in! I feel like I have discovered new levels of freezing at night, as unlike anywhere else I have been there is no getting away from it. No heater, no central heating, no nothing. Its just you and your sleeping bag desperately trying to keep warm. This is tough at times, and most people have indeed got the sniffles and sneezes, but I hear where we are going will be slightly warmer so im thanking God for that! We may actually be in the plus numbers at night!
The work that we have been doing is going really well. We have done many things but highlights have included playing football in the park with street boys surrounded by monkeys (bizarre it has to be said) and then eating snacks with them as we shared the gospel of Jesus, visiting a ywam childrens home and playing with the children there, going into a school to do several dramas to talk about love and friendships and doing an open air in a park where we were surrounded by a crowd of over 200 people and got to preach the gospel! We have also done a bit of street evangelism and prayer walking, visiting places of influence such as colleges, the TV centre, and the High Court, as well as praying outside several Hindu temples and shrines. Every day as been different with new challenges and adventures to be had! My team are bonding well and we are having a lot of fun together.
One final thing that I will share is the bus situation. Its certainly interesting and I feel like every time I get on one im putting my life on the line! The other week the bus with my team on it started to leave without me (apparently the driver got impatient even though I was standing right there at the door) and I literally had to jump onto a moving bus as it continued to speed up! Scary stuff. Even right now on this really very nice bus as we wind our way down the mountain I feel like I am on a roller coaster as we go flying into the air with every pothole!! But a normal bus here (or micro as they are called) are about half the size of a mini bus but cram the same number of people in. Rachel – think bus in Huancayo but smaller with more people! I’ve been very thankful for that previous experience as it wasn’t quite so daunting this time around. Although the driving here is even more chaotic as there really doesnt appear to be any road rules or regulations. Its pretty scary. Even crossing the road as a pedestrian is a step of faith here, my team were stuck in the middle of a busy road yesterday for 5 minutes trying to get to the other side, cars, buses and motorcycles surrounding us in every direction. It was pretty surreal. But like i said at the start of this email…im alive! So all is good 🙂
Right id better be off now before my phone battery dies! Lots of love to you all. Will be in touch again as soon as i can. Hope you are all surviving The Great Flood!! Me xxxxx