August 31, 2007

Hello again!  It has been another interesting week in South Asia.  Monday started off normal with never ending stairs, ESL, and language lessons.  At the end of ESL class, Mrs. M and I were informed Tuesday was a Hindu festival called Janai Purnina.  This meant school was canceled.

On Tuesday all the Hindu fathers were tying string on the wrists of their family members.  Hindus can also go the temple of their favorite god and have the priest tie string on them.  It symbolizes protection.   In the afternoon a group of us went to a Hindu temple to hand out stuff about Dad and talk to the people there.  The temple was not as crowded as we had hoped, but there were still some people to talk with about Dad.  This experience increased my desire to learn their heart language.  After going to the temple, we continued our journey up to a nearby village.  We handed out stuff about Dad, talked to people and gave those interested a copy of Dad's word.  We drove most of the way, parked and then trekked up stairs for about ten minutes or so.  We made it to the top leech free and then it started to rain.  From the top we were able to see all of Pokhara and more mountains.  It was absolutely beautiful.  On the way down it was wet and slippery.  I almost fell once, but was able to regain my balance.  When we made it back to the vehicle I felt my ankle itching.  I looked to see and found a leech.  Then Mrs. M found one between her toes.  I then began a thorough leech check and found another one between my toes.

The M.s and I have been invited to didi's niece's wedding on September 19th. The groom is from Darjeeling (I lived there for a week and a half).  They both know Dad so it will be a C. wedding.  Didi told me I would need to wear a sari since they are not Gurung.  So on Wednesday we (didi, Mrs. M and I) went sari fabric shopping.  I am not even sure how many sari shops we went to, but it was a lot.  Didi was great.  She knew exactly what to look for and when we finally found it she bargained for a good price.  I ended up getting a dark blue sari with a tiny bit of sparkle in order for it to be wedding appropriate.  So now I need to take it to the tailor.

Guy Jatra was another festival celebrated on Wednesday.  School was not canceled though.  This festival is celebrated by those who have lost a loved one within the past year.  A 12 ft. pole is built with a picture of the deceased at the top and cloth covering the rest of it.  A cow is led in front of them.  The cow is supposed to help the deceased make it across a river of crocodiles in to heaven by holding on to its tail.  Following the pole resembling the deceased are dancers, and relatives of the deceased.  Each family puts on their own mini parade and around 4 pm they all join together for one big parade.

Please continue to p. for the people of South Asia that the veil might be removed from there eyes so they can see the truth of Dad.  Especially keep our ESL students in your p.  They have the knowledge, but lack belief.  P. for Dad to do a mighty work in each of their hearts.

Thanks for everything!

-Sarah