Real Missionaries see Baboons

Yesterday morning I checked on the owlets and they are all still there but not so small as before. A little while later in the morning I heard them making this loud noise as well as other birds . I thought, what can be making them so agitated? I looked our another window and saw what looked like a small baboon walking across a brick fence between these apartments and the house next door under the tree where the birds are always sitting. I went looking for the camera but with all our moving in and out, I could not find it. So I just watched. He sat on the wall a few minutes then walked on a water pipe across to another building that is 4 stories. He walked around on a ledge and sat on the balcony where I sometimes see the residents leave left over rice for the crows (Imagine wanting to feed these noisy crows which are nearly as big as a raven and make so much noise!). Anyway, the monkey baboon sat there but there was no food coming so he walked on their balcony rail and out of sight for me.

When I told our other family I saw a baboon, the father gently pointed out that Nepal does not have baboons but it is some other animal that looks like it. He ask me to describe it and I said it had no tail and an ugly behind! He told Carlyle the name but Grandpa can't remember it. So I am calling it the Nepalese baboon.

That family has not seen it yet. They told me to call them if I see it again. Their house is just on the other side of the partial brick wall.

Yesterday I expected a helper to come help wash and clean dresser drawers again. By ten o'clock she had not come. She works for the other family. I went over to check and discovered she was quite ill. Has the same thing we all have had, I guess. So they offered to call one of the students for me. The student's english name is Eunice. She was happy to come. She needs to earn her entrance to school (11th grade this year which they call college) She needs 3.000 Rupee which is about $350. I had several laughs with her. She was a good worker . She is quite assertive, sometimes to her detriment. Our small living room looked bad since we have 11 walmart containers setting against the wall and the furniture was sort of just on the other side pushed here and there. Her first comment was 'we need to decorate' meaning we needed to arrange things in the room. I told her I would do that when we had the boxes emptied. Then she wanted to open the boxes and take care of that. Later when I sat down to eat I saw a small decorative mirror with a picture on it stuck on the wall where there was an existing nail. In the kitchen she thought I should put nails along the wall to hold the large stirring spoons and utensils. Later, in a unstructured moment she did 'decorate' the living room by moving all the furniture flat against the wall on two sides. That looked good to her. I pulled the one recliner type chair out and showed her how it works and explained it could not be flat against the wall. Oh, yes, she also told me I needed to get a carpet on all the floor. I said, why? She said, it is too cold for my feet. Her english is pretty good so I am thinking to ask her to come help me learn at least my Nepali numbers from her. She will earn as much in an hour teaching english as she does all day working in the house. She wanted to come again today and every day. I will wait until I have moved the boxes out of the living room so it won't trouble her so. Actually, she just wanted to see what was inside. Curiously, in 'college' they have class from 6am until 9:30 am only. Then they are free the rest of the day. I expect that is so they can work too.

Last night we opened 3 boxes. It is largely up to me to find a place for things so after the 3rd box I was ready to stop for the day! It was a long day, lots of scrubbing , sorting and such. I had been up since 5 and was ready to recline.

We did have the electricians arrive and fix the two plug ins that were broken and hanging out of the wall. Also the furniture people came that we had talked to on Friday. They gave us an estimate of how much it will cost to have the furniture recovered and refurbished. We decided to do it ourselves. We have not asked permission. Now it will be clean and smell better. I will put naugehyde (fake leather) on it in a neutral putty color. He said, it will be just like new. And I said, and will it last a long time?? Oh, yes, of course. I should have clarified what a 'long time' meant to him. It will cost $235 to do the couch and two chairs. We did not bring enough U.S. currency and we do not get paid enough here to cover our food and utilities (some of our income is deposited in the States) so we will need to figure out how to get some more money to use here. I think Carlyle says the hospital will accept a personal check without penalty. Actually there is a penalty as they give you a little less in exchange rate than at the bank, about 1 rupee per dollar less.

I also walked over to a village carpenter shop and had him come look at my needs. I want a small table that will set over the gas canister in the kitchen and I can set the water filter on it. Then I want an L shaped table here in the room we have dedicated to the computers and my sewing to put the sewing machine on and to give me some sort of desk. I keep using Carlyle's computer since mine is inconvenient at the moment. He said I could come over today to find out what it will cost and if I want to do it.

The neighbor, Sonia, called and was very distressed. She had arranged to have the piano tuned at the place where we have church. She did not ask anyone. The tuner said there were keys to fix etc and it would take 3 sundays to get it done. When she checked on his work yesterday it was a mouth dropping experience. She is rather timid in some ways. She said he was trimming the piano in gold! Where it had been banged up and chipped he put gold on it; She said to him, when she could find her voice, but I don't like gold. Oh, Maam you will like it. It is very nice. No, she said, I just asked you to tune the piano not paint it. But he remonstrated with her that it looked much better this way. So she was very nervous. She is a little afraid of the administrator, Lincoln Morikone, and she says what will he say??!! I said, Oh, don't worry. His wife, Drucy loves shiny stuff. Her curtains and clothes are decorated in sequin type things so maybe they will think it is lovely. She said she would hire a carpenter to come sand it off and varnish it properly....

Life in Nepal.

The days are delightfully warm and the nights cool (we now have uncovered a thermometer in our stuff and it reads about 60) No rains for the last two days so the farmers are busy trying to harvest rice.

Carlyle has a very drippy nose but he says he is now getting better.

I made a big pot of cornmeal/wheat cereal yesterday for breakfast and there is enough so we can heat it in the microwave (the microwave is quite small, I discovered) whenever we want a hot cereal. That will not be Carlyle's first choice.

So that is the news from here. Love to all.

Lora P.S. I use this computer since it is on an existing desk instead of my own. When I have a space to work then I will use the computer with my name on it.

Sabbath at Scheer Mem. Hospital

Dear Family and friends,

Today we had a first again. The first communion service here. it was a little confusing as the location was not well understood. However, Carlyle and I met someone as we were on our way to church who said the service would not be in the school, but in the church meeting room as usual. So we went there. Found we were the only westerners there at first. Carlyle was supposed to have the lesson study for the english group. They found a place for us to meet but the english group did not know about it. They came in little by little.

But the more interesting part was the communion. When they separated for the foot washing, men on one side (outside) of the church and the women on the other. It was raining a little but they had set up basins around a flower bed which had a concrete border around it. The women sat on that. Never mind that it was a little wet. the basins were more than symbolic. They were ample in size. The water was cold, of course. They gave us two little towels. I wondered if we were to use one for each foot but I was not sure so used only one and then gave my partner the other one for my feet. I participated with a guest from Africa. The basins were bright orange color. After you had finished you then stood on the sidewalk while others sat to wash. Those on the sidewalk sang as we waited for everyone to finish. It still was raining a bit. We prayed together and then returned to the church. There was no problem with nylons etc. as folk here all wear sandals or flip flops for foot wear.

The remainder of the service was very similar to how we do the wine in the states. Although they ran out of wine cups in one of the trays and instead of just handing the next tray to the server, they put the little glasses into his tray and then he finished serving his side.

It was a very nice service and did not seem so ritualistic as it sometimes does at home.

In the afternoon we foreigners served lunch to the guest and there were quite a number. Then at 4 pm I agreed to hike up the mountain to the little home at the very top of this hill where they sing and tell a couple of bible stories to the children. It takes an hour to get up there going up hill almost all of the way. One or two slightly plateau areas but mostly uphill on very rocky road/path. Before we got to the top some small children came running out to us, fighting over who could hold our hand as we climbed and talked (or yelled) at us and then giggled as we walked. I finally convinced them there was another group coming so they abandoned me and went back to the other group. They sing some children's songs and tell a couple of stories. They finished just about sundown and we hurried down the mountain. It was quite dark by the time we were home again. I have tentatively agreed to take care of the story time next week as the woman who usually is leading will be with the pathfinders for the afternoon. I plan to leave at least a half hour earlier so we are not walking home when it is so dark. The road is not smooth or easy to walk on anytime and especially in the dark.

So this grandmother felt like I had a full day and I am ready for a bath. Now that is a little problem too. After Carlyle finished showering last night and it was my turn, I discovered we had run out of gas and there was no longer any hot water. I filled a bucket at the kitchen sink _ that water is heated with electricity but in the bathroom it is a gas in line heater-- took that bucket of water to the shower and had my 'bath'. Guess it will be the same tonight. Hopefully, we can get a new gas canister tomorrow. I was fearful that we would also run out of gas while heating the food at lunch time as one burner seems to have stopped working but we managed to get everything heated.

Tonight I whizzed up the left over peas and potatoes and gave Carlyle split pea soup,. I ate the juice from the beans at lunch time. So that was easy.

On the way down the hill I walked with one of the young women who works for the other family. I asked about her history. Her english is not always so clear but as much as I could piece her story it sounds like she want sent down to Banepa area to be a maid for one of the women who happened to be Christian. The girl was Hindu, as are most of the Nepali. Apparently the lady liked her and decided she should marry her son. The girl's brother was happy for this arrangement. Her mother was a third wife so the girl never knew her father and apparently the brother was the acting head of the family. Anyway, the marriage did not please the lady's son. He had a different girlfriend. He was 24 or 26 and this girl was 14. They were married but he was not good to her for a few years. She says now he is good and the girl friend married someone else. She seems like a very sweet and thoughtful girl. She was very kind and generous toward the young girls up at the story telling house. She had her first baby between 15 -16 years of age and from her story it was quite difficult and neither she nor the baby did well at first. She says her Christian mother-in-law prayed and prayed for us and then my baby got better and now I am strong. She is 24 or 26 years old now and has two sons..

That is the end for today.

Lora