A bit of work beginning...

 

Dave with Community Health Dept. Leader& Kimberly in the Female Outpatient Dept.

A Beautiful Gift

At the annual hospital picnic, besides eating together, there were many other activities:  awards given for sport and work performance, dances, songs, poetry reading, games, dramatic skits, etc.  But the performance that brought me to tears was a simple dance and song, in Nepali style, that communicated the Gospel to all the attendees.  A group of about ten Christian Nepalis gave this small gift to all who might be listening and watching but have not eternal life in heaven secured.  Their heartfelt expression of hope for their colleagues was indeed a beautiful gift.

The annual hospital picnic...

preparing the meat....preparing the goat intestines ("you mean you don't eat the intestines in your country?")

A couple more photos...

When you need to move furniture (or deliver any kind of load), you find the "load carrier."

Here is one way to keep the roof on...

Some proud mamas in our village!

NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART:

I guess it's easier to shave the hair off after the beheading.  (It's a goat.)

The stairway is steep and narrow in our house.  This one is bigger than the one between the second and third floors.

Check out this tree with hanging "roots."

This tunnel connects the residential area with the bazaar, where we go to do our shopping.  It is about a 10-minute walk from our house.

Check out the size of these doorways.  We all have lumpy heads now, except for Josh. :-)

Pictures can be worth a thousand words...

It is a very rainy day here in Tansen.  The outdoors is becoming one big mud pit.  I think I'll stay home and post some pictures for your entertainment.  When the kids are done with school, maybe they can comment on the animal photos.  :-) Kimberly

Language and Love

You know, language is a funny thing.  Last night, I went to a baby "shower" being given by an American, for an Indian doctor who is soon to have her second child.  The husband of the American was sent to the husband of the Indian, just to make sure his wife was coming to "Ladies Night" since there would be this surprise "shower" for her.  The Indian husband understood that the ladies were all going to wash his wife.  So, as she went out the door, he said to his wife, "Don't be embarrassed; it will be all women there."  The wife had no idea what he was talking about.  But after we surprised her and then explained what a "baby shower" is, there was much laughing, and much fun was had by all.

Toward the end of this baby shower, we all prayed together for the 10-year-old boy in the ICU with tetanus.  Alexa and I planned to walk home with a nurse who had gone to check on him.  While Alexa was still helping with clean-up, I went over to the ICU to see the boy.  When I arrived, along with the hospital director/doctor, the boy's oxygen level was dropping, and his heart rate was increasing and becoming erratic.  Everyone in the room jumped in to help this boy, and after about 30-45 minutes, he was quietly resting with a good oxygen level and a good steady heartbeat.  All this activity was not even noticed by the boy's brother who was sleeping at the side of the bed, on the cold concrete floor.

Watching these foreign nurses and doctors fight for this child's life (they must be on-call 24-hours per day, as this boy's level of care is more complex than the local staff's training level) looks like pure love to me.  And every one of them serves Christ with all they've got, seeking not monetary compensation but only to love the Nepali people, than some might be saved.  Tansen Mission Hospital's motto is: We serve; Jesus heals.  Please ask Jesus if He will choose to heal this boy.  I too have a 10-year-old boy, and my heart yearns for this boy's recovery.  This is something that my children will not face; immunizations are truly life-saving.

Well, when this excitement was all over, the nurse and I went to get Alexa for the walk home.  But alas, it was past 10pm now, and the gate between the hospital (where we were) and the nursing campus (where she was) was locked for the night.  Alexa was locked in.  It was only about 20 minutes before somebody came along who could open the gate, and it just adds to Alexa's foreign adventure.  She is doing so well, taking it all in stride.

Some final thoughts about love...it is a beautiful thing, it is a hard thing, full of sacrifice, it is like a treasure that grows in value over time.  I have recently seen some very painful consequences of something that may look like love for a while, and may even end up in marriage, but it is not true love, and whatever it is, it leaves multitudes of women here battered, bruised, abandoned and in emotional pain.  If you have a spouse who is truly loving you, I encourage you to go to him or her now, wrap your arms around that gift, confirm your commitment to true love and thank that person for his or her wonderful love.  That is what I did last night.  You know, the ways of Christ are GOOD beyond our understanding.

:-) Kimberly, a sojourner in Nepal

Heartache and Investment

Heartache... this morning, I had the privilege of going on pediatric rounds at Tansen Mission Hospital. While listening to one mother's painful story, I noticed a distinct ache in my chest. My mama heart was crying. This mother came to the hospital yesterday with two of her children. Today, her two-year-old is dead. Her five-year-old lies lethargically in her lap. She described how her children had gone to someone's house and were given something to eat. Upon returning home, one of the children vomited. The mother thought the vomit smelled like rat poison. Twelve of her chickens who pecked at the vomit died shortly thereafter. Now, her five-year-old clings to life. We cannot verify what has made these children ill; we have only evidence of abnormal liver function. We must wait to see the outcome for the older child. I pray to the One who knows the whole story.

There was also the eleven-year-old dying with fulminant hepatitis. My children have been vaccinated against two types of hepatitis, and we have a water purifier to prevent a third kind. There is the 10-year-old surviving only with assisted ventilation and intravenous sustenance; he has tetanus. Again, this is a preventable disease with vaccination. The photo above is one of the happy stories. This little one was seizing off and on for about 24 hours before he was brought to the hospital. He was unresponsive when he got there. He was treated for presumptive meningitis or encephalitis... and today he is playful. Now, he can be sent for a CT scan of his brain to seek out alternative causes of seizure.

There were several scenarios that seized my heart today. After rounds, I was informed that our wonderful Nepali household helper would not be there today. She is mourning; her husband left her for another woman. I can't even begin to explain all of the ramifications (socially, financially, emotionally, etc.) of such misfortune for a woman here.

So, what does this have to do with investment? Well, as I wandered the hospital compound alone for a while, I began to think about all that I have been given: a faithful husband, four strong, healthy, immunized children, a wonderful teacher for those children, abundant resources, education, relationship with the Creator of the universe, and more. Matthew 25 came to mind. I am one of the servants of the Master who has been entrusted with much. What will my Master find when He returns? Have I been faithful in handling what He has given me? Will He say to me, "I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me."?

I am blessed to have the opportunity to learn from the mission hospital staff who are here in Tansen. I am seeking what contribution I can make. I will start in the Outpatient Department tomorrow; I'm planning observation, but you never know what will transpire. I want to be ready for anything. Please pray that I will live as a willing and trustworthy servant. Much I have been given; much will be required.

Kimberly, for the Beine Bunch