Hello all,

Knowing that my cabin has been left unattended and in disarray, I wake early. Outside the front door of the Swasta Kendra, our new residence, a patch of sunflowers is in full bloom. Even though it is only 4:30 a.m. they stand expectantly facing eastward. The skies are full of heavy damp cloud. I wonder if their hope for the sun will be appointed or disappointed. After 10 minutes of walking with wet corn leaves slapping my cheeks, I reach my old cabin. I notice that the jungle orchids planted around it have all wilted and gone. Sticks and nubs remain where blossoms once hung; the long slender leaves droop laden with monsoon moisture.
Continue reading He Comes

Hello all,

It is only a short walk from the end of the vehicle road to the trail which descends to Siri Khola, yet it exhausts Amanda.  She rests in Maiju’s house as we wait for the carriers to arrive.  They come.  We drink tea.  It is a sparkling clear day in the heart of monsoon.  Since Amanda’s feet no longer need to be elevated, the men vote for using the chair instead of the stretcher.  A piece of wood is nailed across the rear two legs of the chair.  A namlo is slung under its feet.  The person to be carried is lashed in with blankets.  One man balances and carries the load.  Suren comes up to me and says,  “Sir, you delivered my baby when my wife was having a very hard time.  You helped me out… now it is my turn.” Continue reading The First Week of the Rest of Our Lives

In short, Amanda has been through a miscarriage.  She is doing much better now, but came very close to death.  Below is the very long story of what has happened to us over the last week.

Hello all,

Tuesday 5:30 p.m.     It is raining and I’m prepared to escape.  My frustrations and annoyances have been growing for weeks.  Hearing that the men from the village are planning to travel to work on the dangerous, inhospitable road leading over the Natu La to Tibet is the last straw.  Most of the last year of my life was devoted to seeing that the men from our village didn’t have to engage in deadly work.  The famine last year drove the men into a position where they would have to work on Natu La to ensure their family’s survival.  I stopped them from going with a promise to help.  First came the Dairy Co-op and then the Rice Program.  People began to earn a living and had food to feed their families in the midst of the famine.  Then came May 2008, a good pea harvest and June, a good potato harvest.  The villagers are in the best financial position they have ever been in.  Despite this, in late June they decide again to go to Natu La to make even more money.  This would mean working in a constant downpour at 13,000ft on the side of cliffs with no rain gear or safety equipment.

Continue reading Born Again