Happy 55th Birthday Dad

I love my Dad. So, in honor of his 55th birthday I would like to take some time and share a few reasons why I love him.

My Dad taught me how to shoot a gun. It’s not so much that I know how to shoot it’s the fact that he has always encouraged his daughters to do anything they want whether it be a “manly” task or “feminine task”. I’m pretty sure the question of gender never interred his mind. Much to the detriment of my Mom’s nerves I am constantly encouraged to drive a motorcycle or to do donuts in the snow.

My Dad wears crazy Hawaiian shirts in the summer.
I love that I can purchase my dad any sort of clothing and just because my Mom, my Sister, or myself say it looks nice he will wear it. By the way I think my Dad always dresses nice.
Growing up my house was dominated by women. Although my Dad can somewhat hold his own there are times when he gives in. He will sit down and watch a girly movie with us, he will go to the mall and shop all day with us, and when asked he will tell us that what we have on looks nice. I assumed all men did this until I went away to college.

My Dad loves being a Grandpa
I myself was amazed at how much I could love my nephew and it’s great to see how much Dad loves little Shawn. 

Although Shawn’s arrival was my Dad’s first official “Grandpa” role I have always admired the way that my Dad takes in the misfits. Whether it be constantly taking in stray dogs or befriending the crazy person in the grocery store parking lot my Dad has very few boundaries to his friendliness.
He genuinely wants to know about people and their lives. Not only does this make him a great social worker but a great friend as well.

My Dad loves music
I’m pretty sure that my dad can sing just about every song written in the 60’s and 70’s. Growing up there was something wrong if you were NOT singing in the car. If I need to get my Dad motivated all it takes is a little CCR and he is just about willing to do anything.

I’m pretty sure that I got my affinity for music from my Dad…but unlike him I do restrain myself from singing along to the elevator music played in grocery stores.

As previously stated these are only a few reasons why I love my Dad but what I love most of all is that he has been a good example of the Fathers love. The bible constantly talks s about the “Fathers love” and there are some that have no earthly knowledge of what that means. I do. 

To me it has always been a constant unconditional love pushing me on towards adventure and truth. A love that compels me to love my Heavenly Father even more. What more could a daughter ask for.

I love you Dad and wish you a very Happy 55th Birthday!


"Guess Ive got that old travlin bone, cause this feelin wont leave me alone.
But I wont, wont be losin my way, no, no
long as I can see the light.
Put a candle in the window, cause I feel Ive got to move.
Though Im going, going, Ill be coming home soon,
Long as I can see the light."
-CCR

going a little crazy

Update on the power…or lack of power that is.

If you are a facebook friend of mine you will see that I have recently been complaining about lack of power here in Nepal. Let me try to give you a brief explanation based on info gathered from the lcoals.

Nepal’s electricity is hydropower. During rainy season this is great and we have a plethora of electricity. During the winter when there is no rain this is a different story. Currently there is not enough power to keep the whole city of Kathmandu going so we are forced to adapt to a load shedding schedule. Starting today we will be without electricity for 16 hrs a day and most likely this will increase to 18hrs in a few weeks. We are given two 4hour blocks of electricity. For example the power came on this morning at 8am and we are expecting it to shut of around 12. It will probably be off for eight hours and then come on again for another four and so it goes for the rest of the week.

A friend recently asked when this would all be over and no one really knows. Most likely it will be towards the end of March or April…or when the rain comes.

So how does one function in Nepal, in the winter, without electricity for the majority of the day? Here are a few things that keep me going…

Smart wool socks that go up to the knees and warm fuzzy slippers.

WSU lap blanket…thank you Fiona Grant

Hot water thermos …this thing will keep water hot for days!

Two down comforters…I’m so glad I made that IKEA purchase before moving here

Candles, Flash light or head lamp…and a lighter

Inverter…three large batteries that can keep my house going for a few hours


Plenty of gas tanks to keep the shower hot, the oven going, and the heater running if there is a spare tank.

Hot water bottles…guaranteed to keep your toesies warm at night


It is amazing how one adjust to life without power. You learn to charge your phone, computer, etc whenever you have the chance. Candle light dinners no longer hold romance it is just a way of life. You constantly search out sunshine and sit in it. You tend to go to bed early when the power goes out and reading under the covers is the warmest place for you and your book.

Now you have a small glimpse into how I cope.

to be known

One of my favorite things about living in Nepal is the way that people here know you or at least know your name. For example when I walk into my favorite restaraunt the employees all say “Namaste Jesika” (ok, so they have some problems with the pronunciation of my name)

When I lived in Nepal four years ago my roommate and I started a habit of going to the beauty salon every other Thursday. Due to our regular appointments the ladies at the salon got to know us very well and I would say that we even became friends.

Since returning to Nepal I had yet to visit the salon. My delay was for various reasons but mainly it being that I was afraid that they would not remember me.

Once I finally worked up the courage to make an appointment I arrived to the warmest welcome. It was hugs all around and questions about family and well-being. Needless to say it was a sweet reunion…that is until they found out that I had been in Nepal five months before visiting them.

I love that the ladies who work at the store know me, that the Internet guy starts putting in my account info as I approach the door, and that the girls at the salon recognize my voice and poor Nepali accent on the phone.

I believe that when God made us he made us to crave relationship and put within us a craving to be known. Of course that craving to be known can only truly be filled by God. I also believe that God can be shown by us getting to know those around us. So next time your at the local store or favorite restaurant make a point to know the employees name. Introduce yourself and see that in time you may get to know each other.

saying goodbye to Sumitra and her family when I left Nepal 4yrs ago

Christmas in Kathamandu

Christmas in Kathmandu...
I must admit that it has been a little difficult to get into this Christmas season. My roomie and I did our best to decorate the apartment. This meant searching the neighborhood nursery’s for the perfect tree. Once picking it out we wheeled it home and put up the Christmas decorations.
                                                                                   

Similar to life in the states, this past week has been filled with Christmas parties, gift buying, and lots of eating. Our Nepali friends have no clue as to why we truly celebrate Christmas so we decided to throw a party and share the true meaning of Christmas. I must admit that we went into this night with a little trepidation being that there would be different people groups, cast, and beliefs. The night however was great and our friends now have a much better understanding of Christmas.



The Sunday before Christmas our house church gathered to reminisce about Christmas at “home” and the ultimate gift that was given to us, that being the birth of Jesus. It was an amazing evening of singing by candlelight and sharing.


Christmas Eve started out with a facial from the salon and a friend making us special Chicken curry for lunch. That evening the “gang” got all dressed up and went to the Hyatt for a five-course dinner. The food was delicious! Santa was a little creepy but the Christmas carolers were the cherry on top for the Christmas ambiance. When the carolers asked us to sing along our response was “just try and stop us.”



We ended Christmas Eve night by stuffing 10 people into my Kia sport and drove home to have a DVD Christmas exchange.
I woke up bright and early this morning with the joy and anticipation that today is Christmas day. I talked to my family on Skype this morning as they prepared to have Christmas Eve dinner.

Soon my friends will start arriving for Christmas breakfast. After breakfast we will open gifts and start the preparations for our Christmas dinner.

This is my first Christmas away from home and at times I have found myself longing for family and traditions. God however has given me a family this day to celebrate the birthday of his Son.

Merry Christmas from Kathmandu.

I want to leave you with a little video. It was shot at Gloria Deo "the first and largest Christmas concert in Nepal"
Merry Christmas from me and Ken (the guy in the video)

Sweet nectar of the gods?

The other day a friend and I were in the touristy part of town. As I walked by a store I saw that their back wall was full of Pringles…I immediately took this as a sign to enter.

Now, whenever I go into a store I look for a few particular things, cereal and soda. I don’t know why or how these things became important to me but they are.

As I walked to this particulars store's soda section I let out a little squeal of joy (yes friends I can squeal) for low and behold there were four cans of Diet Dr. Pepper.

Needless to say I purchased all four cans. They now currently rest in my cupboard waiting for the time to come when I will need to taste that sweet nectar.

work, finals, papers, etc.

I noticed recently on facebook that a lot of my friends seem to be up to their….umm…knees with work, finals, papers, etc. I all to well remember cramming everything in before the holidays. I recall a few late nights spent in the GGBTS computer lab trying to master Terrabian format. Needless to say I do not miss that.

It is however ironic that while writing this blog I should be studying for my oral exam this Sunday. It is a twenty min. exam where I converse with a Nepali teacher and am then scored accordingly. My teacher is concerned over my vocabulary or lack there of.
I few words that seem to be eluding my brain are:
Leg
Tree
Medicine
Cigarette
North, South, East, and West

Some other problems I’m having are:

I am constantly mixing up the verbs “sing” and “dance”…I guess my brain assumes they go hand in hand

I cannot tell the difference between the word “water” and “also”. One is pronounced “pani” and the other is pronounced “phani”

All this to say, friends, who are smack dab in the middle of exams I feel for you and am praying that you kick some higher academic butt. For those friends and relatives who are correcting papers and giving exams…go easy on the kids…it’s Christmas time.