Merry Christmas!!!

"For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”~ Luke 2:30-32

I hope you all have a VERY blessed Christmas!!! :)

Christmas Break: Ready... Set... GO!!!

The second term at KISC is officially over and I’m halfway done with my school year at KISC. It’s hard to believe how quickly time flies! It seems like just yesterday I was fresh off the plane. Now I’ve got a nice Christmas break to look forward to before I jump head-first into part 2 of my time here in Nepal.

KISC Excitement

The past few weeks at KISC have been action packed! We’ve had so many fun events and Christmas festivities. First was the annual KISC football tournament. We took half of a day and went down to the local football (aka: soccer) pitch, divided into teams, and had a blast cheering on the kids as they competed. This was especially fun for me because my team won (woot woot)!!

One team of players: Eunji, Steven, Seong-Hyeon, and Sebin. Eunji, Seong-Hyeon, and Sebin are three of my ESL students. 

Between games, Yedo and Seong-Hyeon discovered how to stick gummy worms to their faces :).

It’s been so much fun anticipating Christmas at school, too! There seemed to be different Christmas parties, songs, crafts, and activities happening every day. During this past week all of my ESL classes were Christmas themed as we played language games surrounding the Nativity story and shared about our families’ Christmas traditions. The term finished with all the primary students playing Christmas games together, singing Christmas songs, and watching “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (the classic version). 

A Nepali Nativity

The greatest KISC Christmas event, however, was the Christmas play. The entire school pulled together and put on one of the greatest Christmas productions I have ever seen. It was titled “A Nepali Nativity” and depicted what it might have been like if Christ were born in Nepal. The sets and costumes were all Nepali, Christ was born to Maya and Jiwan (Mary and Joseph) in a town called Besi Sahar, and we sang Nepali Christmas carols. The Year 4 students were adorable as they performed a Nepali folk dance and the Year K, 1, 2, and 3 students finished the program singing “Dhanyabad Yesu!” (Thank You, Jesus). The play was also a great mix of traditional and contemporary culture. The shepherds worshiped Jesus with some amazing hip-hop and break dancing moves and the Wise Men followed the star in true Bollywood fashion. It was an incredible way of showing how Christ came for ALL cultures and ALL people and is relevant for all times and generations. 

Some of the main characters of the Nepali Nativity.

The Year 4 students stealing the show with their Nepali folk dance.

Now that school had ended…

Now that the term is over, however, everyone is dispersing very quickly. I’ve had to say goodbye to many friends who are off to different parts of the world for Christmas break. These are the easy goodbyes. I am also saying goodbye to a few people who I will likely not being seeing again. The hardest one coming up will be my friend, Amanda, who will be going back home to Australia. 

Amanda - I'll be sad to see her go!

Because most of my house-mates will be away for the next few weeks I’m going to live with my friend Stephanie in her flat for the Christmas season, which should be a really great time. We’re planning on listening to a lot of Christmas music, watching Christmas movies, and doing plenty of Christmas baking :). Stephanie tells me that Christmas in Nepal is actually really nice and almost a breath of fresh air. Because there will be none of the consumerist push that is always so prevalent in an American Christmas, the focus is purely on the gift of Jesus Christ.

May God RICHLY bless you this Christmas and may the focus for ALL of us be on Christ – the greatest gift :).

The one with all the Thanksgivings

Happy Thanksgiving!!! I hope you all had a great holiday with lots of food, family, and reasons to be thankful. 

Thanksgiving in Nepal

You might think Thanksgiving in Nepal would be a sad reflection of the feasts and celebrations we’re used to in America. Although Thanksgiving isn’t celebrated here, it wound up being one of the most celebrated and eventful Thanksgivings I’ve ever had. There are quite a few Americans who were more than eager to celebrate and plenty of International friends who certainly weren’t opposed to joining us in celebrating a holiday that involves mass amounts of food… go figure…

School was still in session, so my day started off at KISC. The primary school has assemblies every Tuesday and Thursday, and that day was my turn to lead assembly where I tried to get the students thinking about all the blessings in their lives and their reasons to give thanks to God. Later in the school day, the Year 3 class had a pot-luck style party with food from all over the world. 

Year 3 pot-luck party

After school the cooking frenzy at my house began. Just imagine a house full of people, all cooking for the same Thanksgiving meal with one (and a half) ovens and the power going out mid-way through. Despite the obstacles, however, everything turned out great and we had an incredible meal and some awesome fellowship :). It was such a blessing to have such an international group and to share in some people’s first Thanksgiving. We celebrated with friends from America, England, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Sweden, and Nepal. The festivities continued on till Saturday evening. Several people couldn’t be bothered to celebrate on a school night, so we had another full Thanksgiving meal over the weekend. 

Pumpkin pie SUCCESS!!! I made it all from scratch... even the whipped cream!

I’m so thankful for such a well-celebrated holiday, but I’m glad that it’s finally over. Now the Christmas season can officially begin! 

Anticipating Christ and Overcome with Thanks

This morning I read the following quote by John Piper and wanted to share it with you:

“Be reminded and stunned that you and I deserve nothing but wrath from God, and in Christ receive nothing but mercy from him.”

As we reflect on Thanksgiving and look forward to Christmas let’s remember the ultimate reason to be thankful: That God gives us mercy when we deserve wrath through the gift of Jesus. What an awesome thought.

One final picture. This is my "backyard" just before sunset... just another thing to be thankful for.

A little of this, a little of that

So I can end on a high note, I’d like to start this blog post with a little venting: Daylight Savings Time. As if I wasn’t already having a hard time keeping track of the time difference(s). Now it’s OVER a 12 hour difference for California, so my somewhat simple conversion there is long gone and who knows what it is for Pennsylvania now. PLUS, just for kicks and giggles, some states don’t even recognize daylight savings time (ehhemmm… Arizona…)! All this is bonus confusion that I already had because the time difference wasn’t an even hour. The difference for California is now 13 hours and 45 minutes… so do you add 15 minutes or subtract 15 minutes?? I may never get the hang of it…

On a more positive note...

Other than my frustrations with the conventions of space and time, life in Nepal has been very pleasant these past couple of weeks. My friends and I have begun a new health regime that includes cutting down on sweets and increasing exercise. Comparing my exercising here to what I did back in the US, it’s still not much… but it is nice to feel a little more fit and healthy :). 

I’ve also had a few encouraging moments in my teaching. I’ve been feeling fairly confident about my lessons with the Year 1 and Year 3 students and have really enjoyed teaching them. I’ve had a harder time with my Year 2 students, however, but God’s been giving me a few glimmers of hope and encouragement in this area, which I’m so thankful for. 

I have now officially completed the language learning requirements of KISC and am done with my Nepali lessons. This is definitely a bitter-sweet feeling for me and I definitely want to continue my language learning. At the moment, I’m going to see how self-study goes before I consider jumping back into formal lessons. A shopping trip to Thamel, however, is always great Nepali practice and I had a great time haggling with the shopkeepers this past weekend. After  a day of bargain-hunting I was even blessed with an opportunity to practice my Spanish as we sat down to a cup of coffee next to a group of Spanish tourists. I had a great time chatting with them and it was so fun to hear the Castilian dialect of Spanish that I became so accustomed to during my time in Spain a few years ago. I did, however, have a hard time keeping Nepali words from popping out during the conversation :). 

The fruits of my haggling. This is how I plan on beating winter: fleece-lined wool socks and yak-wool blankets. Bring it on, winter... bring it on...

Cold-weather cozies

Even though I do plan on fighting the cold weather (and winning), I have enjoyed all the coziness that comes with the cold. I’ve been loving my blankets and hot drinks and even had an afternoon listening to Christmas music after church today. Plus, my pumpkin has been a huge success! I’ve had several encore requests for my pumpkin scones and enjoyed a few bowls of pumpkin soup. I’m definitely looking forward to Christmas time and especially looking forward to having a visitor from America for New Years :).

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Thanks so much for all of your prayers and encouragement! Check out updated prayer requests and praises in the box to the right -->

*** KISC will be facing some major gaps in staffing for the secondary school for Term 3. Our CEO is currently recruiting in America. Please pray that this trip is fruitful and that God will provide the teachers we need for next term. ***

Fall in Nepal

Hello again from Kathmandu!

It’s been an encouraging and restful couple weeks since I last posted and I’m excited to tell you what I’ve been up to lately. Well, I actually haven’t been up to all that much… but I’m excited about it nonetheless. 

Teaching Update

School is back in full swing! I’ve had half a week of planning and in-class work with my students and one full week of full teaching which includes both push-in (or time where I work with my students in their regular classes) and pull-out sessions (where I teach my own lessons outside of the regular classroom). The first week seemed to go off to a rocky start, merely because I felt like I was having a hard time focusing and organizing my thoughts and plans. In addition, I caught a bug and wasn’t feeling well for a few days. 

After getting into the swing of things, however, I’m feeling really positive about this term! After reflecting on the good and the not-so-good of last term I set several goals and made an action plan on how I could improve my teaching. After one week of full teaching I’m already seeing a difference and feeling more confident about my lessons. At the end of last week the CEO of KISC observed my teaching. Yes, I was terrified, but she seemed to like what she saw and gave me a very positive review! It was so encouraging to get this positive feedback and I’m excited to become an even better teacher as the year continues. 

Here is one verse that I’ve been meditating on lately:  

"Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” ~ 1 Corinthians 15:58

Also, see 1 Corinthians 10:31.

Happy Harvest!

Fall in Kathmandu is definitely NOT as exciting as fall in Pennsylvania with the beautiful colors and falling leaves, but it does have it’s perks. First, monsoon season is finally over! The city has dried out and I’m no longer permanently attached to my umbrella and constantly washing the mud off of my feet and legs. The temperatures are cooling down too, which feels refreshing at the moment… I know I’ll be cursing the cold in due time, but I’m thankful that I can enjoy it for a little while. 

Fall is made even more enjoyable by all the friends that I have who love to find reasons to celebrate. Last night we had a big Halloween/Harvest party with obscene amounts of candy and baked good, games, and a movie. For my contribution, I brought roasted pumpkin seeds and now have massive amounts of pumpkin which I plan on turning into pumpkin bread, pumpkin scones, pumpkin soup, pumpkin cupcakes, etc. If you have a favorite pumpkin recipe please share! I’d love to give it a try and have PLENTY of pumpkin to experiment with :). 

Finally, I recently realized that the large tree (or maybe bush? I’m not sure) right outside of my window is a poinsettia plant! It becomes more and more beautiful every time I look at it with its striking red flowers. What a blessing!

My beautiful poinsettia plant!

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Note: Please check out the updated prayer requests in the box to the right -->. There have been several members of the KISC community (parents, family members, and other foreign workers) who have been struggling with health concerns lately, some being quite serious. Please especially lift them and their families up in prayer.

Back From the Top of the World

Hello everyone! Yesterday I came back safe and sound from my trek to Everest Base Camp. Thanks so much to everyone who was praying for us! We had an INCREDIBLE time. Here are some of the highlights:

• Obviously, the BEAUTIFUL views! God’s creation is so diverse! We trekked through lush, wooded paths, rocky mountain terrain, and even over a glacier! It was incredible to see Everest, but all the snow-capped mountains that surrounded us during the trek were absolutely breathtaking.

• The wildlife! We saw plenty of yaks carrying supplies up the mountain, but also many undomesticated animals like the musk deer, the Danfe (unsure about spelling on that one) – the national bird of Nepal, and even a snow leopard!

• The people: Not to mention my wonderful friends that I trekked with, we met a lot of interesting people along the trail. We were also blessed by great porters and a great guide, Ngima – we had a great time hanging out with him along the way. 

I could go on and on about the trek, but I’ll just let the photos speak for themselves. Here are a few, but check out my Facebook album to see more: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.579338559412.2066491.69102077&type=1&l=15553b0b02

There were little villages all along the way. Here is a great view of a village called Pengboche.

We saw yaks all along the trek carrying supplies or gear up the mountain.

Everest Base Camp! From left to right: Sarah F.; Sara S.; our guide, Ngima; one of our porters, Artie; Sarah K., me, and Daniel S.

 

The view from Kala Patthar at about 18,500 feet.

There it is! Mount Everest: tallest mountain in the world!

Last Post for a Few Weeks

See you mid-October!

This will be my last post for a few weeks. As I mentioned before, I will be trekking with a group of KISC teachers to Everest Base Camp! I’m so excited and so thankful for this opportunity. A year ago I never would have though that I’d have the chance to go to Mount Everest. I’d really appreciate your prayers while I’m gone. Although we’re very well prepared, there are obviously still risks. Please pray for safe flights to and from Lukla (our starting and finishing point), and for good health. We’ll be taking the trek slowly to acclimatize, but altitude sickness is still a concern. Finally, that we would simply have a great time, good fellowship together, and be positive witnesses of Christ along the way.

Trek dates: October 1^st – October 16^th. (Return date tentative).

Kathmandu ½ Marathon

I successfully completed the ½ marathon last weekend! This race was so different from any that I’ve ever run before. Traffic was not blocked off, so dodging busses, taxis, and motorbikes throughout the 13.6 miles (yes, that’s an extra ½ mile) was an added challenge. The total absence of porta-potties never turned out to be a tragedy for me, but it would be nice to know they’re there if you need them.

Entering a race with a group of people was also a new experience for me, but it was such a blessing to have the camaraderie. We also had a group of friends cheering us on along the route, which turned out to be a huge encouragement. 

All of the 1/2 Marathoners at the finish line. We also had a group who ran the 5K!

Saying goodbye :(

At schools like KISC it’s common to have teachers coming and going throughout the school year. Sadly, at the end of this term I’ll be saying goodbye to one of my good friends. Sarah C. has been a huge source of joy in my life for the past three months and she’ll be heading back home to Scotland on Saturday. She’s taught me all about Scottish-English, tartans, kilts, and the Loch Ness Monster. With all that and people like Sarah, Scotland must be a pretty awesome place. 

My Scottish friend, Sarah, is the one in the middle.

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“May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, low long, how high, and how deep his love really is.” – Ephesians 3:17-18