Hello all,

     The following is an updated and expanded list of items which we are trying to collect before our return to India on August 18th:

Supplies for Homebirth Kits:
101 Longsleeve newborn onsies*
101 Warm hats for newborns*
101 pair of socks for newborns*
101 receiving blankets*
101 fleece swaddlers*
150 disposable plastic cord clamps plus 5 reusable metal cord clamps
Multiple bottles of prenatal vitamins
(all items marked * are listed in our Babies R US registry)
  Continue reading Supplies Needed

As part of our EMT training, my 28 classmates and I spent 2 days observing and participating at the local ER.  Everyone had different shifts and secretly each person hoped that they would be the person on duty when the most extreme trauma came in.  Maybe it was morbid curiosity, desire for a ‘good learning opportunity’ or the pride of having the ‘gnarliest’  case that fueled this silent competition.  Admittedly, I also hoped that I would see some major trauma or dangerous disease so that I could pick up a few tricks to use in India.  God granted my wish.
Continue reading The Bald Nurse

There is a part of the human brain that is similar to a salmon’s which drives it up a freshwater stream to its spot of origin or a whale’s which leads it across thousands of miles of open sea to the breeding ground of its ancestors.  When we physically see the structure which we call home, a lobe of fleshy wrinkles coordinates a series of emotional, psychological and even physiological responses.  They delicately whisper to us, “You have arrived.  You can relax.  You’re safe. You’ve made it.”  But occasionally, there is another voice that whispers even more quietly in people’s ears to ignore these reassurances and strike off into unknown territory.

Back in January (just after our month in the convent in Git Dubling), Amanda, Asher, Ian and I returned to Daragaon to collect our things. Continue reading Unknown Territory

The last few weeks have been some of the most wonderful of my life.  I wanted to share the FULL story, here below, with all who have been keeping up on our work. 

Hello all,

What would the packing list for a 10 day excursion across the Himalaya include?  Perhaps, in the traveler’s large rucksack tents, stoves, hiking poles, $200 hiking boots, $20 socks, cases of provisions, pots pans and utensils would be found.  Carrying such a load on these mountains would prove daunting indeed.  I wonder if the one carrying it would even be able to look up and enjoy the trip they were making under such a burden.

Few things have impressed me as much as the story of the peregrini.  They were Celtic monks who would set sail into the frigid North Atlantic Ocean.  What made them exceptional was that, in their sect, using sails and oars was prohibited.  It was their desire to be driven by waves and winds to an unknown destination.  It was their belief that wherever they landed was the predestined place for them to share the joy of God with others.

I set off on my journey scantily equipped for a western hiker but carrying too much baggage to be a true peregrini.  In my small red backpack was a single change of clothes, a simple first aid kit, a bottle of water, a few chappati covered with jam, some almonds, a jacket, reading material, some personal effects and a large Pictorial Dictionary of Sign Language.  On the back of my bag was strapped a pair of elbow crutches.  My first destination was Puchowk to visit a village girl named Adrena who suffers from MS.  I knew the way along the first hour of trail (given I visited Adrena once before last Dec.) but was clueless as to the path for the 10 days to come.

Before even reaching Adrena’s house a boy came to fetch me.

“They sent me to get you.”

“How?  They didn’t even know I was coming.”
Continue reading An Uninvited Guest

Hello all,

Since sending out the letter which informed our friends, family and supporters of our decision to resign from IDEAS, we have received many messages.  The message we originally sent out contained a few gaps and was missing some important information.  In particular many of our supporters inquired as to where they should now send their donations.  While we have sent in a letter to IDEAS informing them that we intend to resign, our working relationship will remain active until August 1st of 2009.  Since we are terminating our working relationship on good terms and with mutual understanding, our IDEAS account will remain open during this transition period.    Continue reading Clarification and our potential USA itinerary

Hello all,

Last week I set off to visit the village of Nok Dara with two female teachers as my guides. There is a primary school there under the supervision of Father Felix. I went to assess the population in the area and its need for healthcare. Leaving the road behind, we climbed together up through the traditional villages. With one ear I was listening to the wind rustling across thatched roofs, children whacking down grass for the livestock, foot operated rice threshers pounding out the kernels and a wooden plow quietly slicing through the earth and with the other I was listening to the 2 Lepcha teachers chatting in Nepali between their puffs of breath.

“Did you hear the new ring-tone I put on my mobile?”

“No, what?”

“Summer of 69 by Bryan Adams”

“Oh, really I love that one and what a great ring-tone!”

Unexpected paradoxes and juxtapositions come part and parcel with living in India. The old and the new live in such a strange tension here. Who would expect village schoolteachers who earn $40 dollars a month to have mobile phones? Who would expect to hear about ‘Summer of 69′ in the middle of a non-road-accessible Lepcha village perched in the Himalayas? Continue reading Old and New

Hello All,
 
            If I understand correctly, an ultrasound is just a fancy echo.  When its sonic waves hit something solid, something real, they are reflected back to the sensor.  This appears as white light on the monitor.  On the other hand, the areas that are empty, nebulous, void only appear as a blank darkness on the black screen.  Receiving the 2D print outs, we looked at the images of our child.  On the paper it was written, “3 vessels detected”.  Sure enough, there our baby floated… as if suspended… by three little vessels of life.  The membranes around our child had earlier separated.  The fabric of its world had seemed to be falling apart.  But after waiting, resting, eating and praying we had our proof.  It was proof in black and white. Sure the pictures were lacking a dimension, but still they didn’t lie.  All was healed.
  Continue reading Ultrasound Resolutions

Hello all,
 
     When the Ganga (the river Ganges) reaches the end of Varanasi the water is so polluted that it contains no dissolved oxygen,  thus eliminating any possibility of flora or fauna.  Thirty open sewers within the city limits pour into the already toxic river.  The Ganga has also been called the ‘river of life’ but as it exits India’s most holy city there is only a tide of death.   my brother mark,  his wife Nicole and my nephew Lincoln came to visit us, so we decided to make a pilgrimage of sorts to the longest continually inhabited city on the face of the earth. Continue reading India is Burning

Hello All,
 
     On November 5th at 10:30 am Amanda, Asher and I were in a van driving towards Phuentsholing, Bhutan.  My mom, 2 aunts (Kay and Janet) and Brenton and Drew (2 of my co-workers in our ECTA Endeavors project) were high overhead on a Druk Air Flight leaving the Kingdom.  Our meetings with different government officials and Bhutanese NGO’s went very well, the Queen was delighted with our proposal, we found a great sight for a pilot project in the region of Haa, the weather was dry and cool, the days where cloudless with impeccable views and I gained a good 5 lbs. due to all the yak meat that I ate.  Thanks to all these factors the long, winding drive to Phuentsholing was passing quickly blurred by my daydreaming.  I dreamed about living in one of the quaint, rustic farmhouses warming up next to a bokari on a snowy day.  I dreamed about flying over the mountains in an ultra light aircraft evacuating patients from remote villages and Amanda delivering babies in a hospital that actually appreciated her presence.  I dreamed about drier monsoons, riding my bicycle around to different villages on health visits and Asher attending the local school dressed in a gho.  I dreamed about the better days that could be on the horizon.
     Suddenly, the window beside me exploded and I was showered with fragments of broken glass.  I looked through the brokenness to see a women staring at me in shock.  She was in her 20’s, a Nepali, dressed in rags, faced baked like leather by the sun and holding a sledgehammer.  A chip from a rock she had been breaking caused the incident.  Soon the driver and the project foreman (an Indian Military Engineer) were arguing.  Continue reading Three Questions

Hello all,
 
Just a brief update.
 
     The Je Khenpo (Bhutan’s equivalent of the Dalai Lama… more or less) called the Royal family to Punakha for a religious ceremony the day that we were supposed to have our meeting.  Thimphu is very busy with all the preparations for the new King’s coronation on November 6th.  But all is not lost.  Her Majesty Ashi Dorji Wangmo (The queen of the 4th King) did read the proposal and was “very excited” by what she read.  As a result she called a meeting for us with the members of her Tarayana foundation.  The meeting went very well.  All of our objectives are perfectly aligned with those of the Tarayana Foundation… even down to very minute details.  As we talked with the members we felt more like we were talking with friends or coworkers… rather than people trying to sell a project idea to a government.  Support for us seems to be strong.
      Of course there are many hurdles as no one has done anything like what we are proposing to do.  But if Tarayana supports us, and the Queen is behind us it seems like things may go through.  Our proposal will be put before the board at the Tarayana Foundation’s bi-annual meeting later this fall.  So while our meeting with a very busy King was understandably canceled… it seems like we still have many positive signs.  We still have several days in Bhutan, we will see what happens.
 
Ryan