A Baby, a Two Year Old +2 on a Motorcycle: Life in a Primitive Village: More Tales from the Mountaintops and Valleys Below

Here's a photo of how we 4 got around. This one is taken in Kathmandu soon after Jenny's birth. Bill built the back seat for Jonathan. You can see that helmet laws were not nonexistent, much less infant seats and protection, in a town with only one traffic light while we were there.

Here’s a word from my journal about Jonathan:

He is more active than any two year old we know. He’s creative and has an imagination that stupefies us. He perceives relationship and has quite good coordination and energetic daring. He can be terribly obnoxious or enchantingly charming. He loves games, but is not particularly interested in books yet. Dr. Seuss is his favorite though. He’s completely lovable.

And he still loved and cared for his sister!

The next season in the village continued eventful. The plane ride in our little Cessna was very bumpy. My journal says: "Jon and I prayed together before the plane took off. Then as soon as we were in the air Jon wanted to pray again--this time to ask Jesus to make the plane go down!"

Before we returned to the village we needed to have had a new roof put on the house. But it was not complete on our arrival. 

We had asked the Lord to hold the rain until the roof was on. The first night we slept under the stars. A 5 minute sprinkle dampened us in the middle of the night-but that was all. They finished the peak of the roof the next day around 7 p.m.. At 11 the most violent storm we’ve seen in a year began. It was deafening and scared Jon silly—but my how we praise Him. He told us, “I care. I care so very much for you.

I was learning lots about village life from the women in the village. I would sit out front of our house shelling oil nuts here with them. I learned why they wear Indian coins around their neck. All their savings are wrapped up in their jewelry. No banks here.

During this stay in the village, I came down with chickenpox, and a few weeks later so did both kids. Then Jonathan turned three and we had a party for him with the villagers. The next day I was bit by a poisonous spider. My journal says we thought it was a Black Widow and I had a severe reaction. God healed this within a day. I don't know why Jesus sometimes heals and sometimes withholds, but it is at Father's good pleasure. And I know He is good and loving.

Today I am having spine surgery on C1 and C2 so there won't be any new blog entries for awhile. I go into this surgery, the same as with all our medical needs of the past, in confidence of Him who called me and walks with me, side by Side. He does all things well.

Funny Baby! Jenny’s Arrival and Jonathan’s Response: Tales from the Mountaintops and Valleys Below

We named Jenny before we were married. When Bill and I first talked about marriage and family, we both thought that Jenny Lynn was a beautiful name for a girl. Even without ultrasounds back then, we felt that sure this was our girl and called her Jenny throughout the pregnancy. So it was no surprise that the first words out of Jonathan’s mouth when he met his new sister in the hospital were, “Funny baby! Funny Baby! Jenny come out of Mama’s tummy!”

From my journal: Nov 3, 1972: 

Jennifer Lynn Leal arrived on Wednesday, November 1st at 9:20, weighing 6 pounds and 11 ounces. She has a round face, black hair and a determined little jaw bone and flat nose ... and a very thankful mom and dad and delighted big brother and grandmother, for my mother had come for Jenny’s birth and to help afterwards. She was a real blessing in the hospital and at home.

For myself, the experience was strange. On the operating table, the anesthesiologist gave me ether, all the while telling me it was pure oxygen for the baby. Once they assumed I was put to sleep, they began procedures. The strange part was that I was totally awake and one eyelid was not fully closed and I could see and feel what was going on, but could not move or say anything--though I tried desperately. First the catheter went in, then they started preparing the stomach for cutting, while the anesthetist started to put a tube down my throat and cotton. At this point, I could no longer breathe, and asked the Lord to take me away from this scene. I surrendered myself up to death--or whatever His pleasure may have been. Then I remember no more. But death has never been more real, nor my acceptance of His Pleasure more definite: a strange but rewarding experience.

Jenny was not an easy-to-sleep baby like Jonathan was. He slept the night at one month, but she was colicky and slept very little, or so it seemed, until she was about two. It was during this time of little sleep that I learned the truth of John 15:4-5, that the only thing I needed to do is abide in Jesus. A man I knew long ago said that “It doesn't matter where you are or what you’re doing if you are with the Shepherd, abiding.” I was safe with Him.

Jenny was a big joy to our family and much loved by each of us. We loved to watch her faces and listen to her “talking” to us. From my journal when Jenny was six weeks old: “Jenny is now beginning to talk lots and lots. Strong as an ox, loves to stand. Hates to sleep. Charming and flirtatious. Yesterday Bill said, 'I’m sure glad you like them at this age.' Immediately Jenny looked at me, gave me several big smiles, nods and knowing glances, plus a few gurgles. All we could do was laugh. She seemed to understand it all. She’s a real sweetheart.”

Soon it was time to head back to the village, this time with two little ones. So three months after Jenny’s birth, we returned to our village home, with joy and gladness in our hearts. It turned out that Jenny was also our Tharu landlord’s wife’s name. And the Tharu people also had flat noses as did Jenny. So they said she had a Tharu name and nose and loved her!  She still cried at night, but we told the people she was singing and we all laughed! Father had again paved another way into the hearts of the people, first with Jonathan, now with Jenny.

And we soon began to see some healing flow deep in our lives and bodies. “Friday night Jon closed the bathroom door on his thumb and immediately it was red and swollen and black and blue. We prayed and within 5 minutes it was completely healed. To God be all Glory.”

John 15:4-5: Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

Song: Oh, the deep, deep love of Jesus

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!
Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me!
Underneath me, all around me, is the current of Thy love
Leading onward, leading homeward to Thy glorious rest above! 

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, spread His praise from shore to shore!
How He loveth, ever loveth, changeth never, nevermore!
How He watches o’er His loved ones, died to call them all His own;
How for them He intercedeth, watcheth o’er them from the throne! 

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, love of every love the best!
’Tis an ocean full of blessing, ’tis a haven giving rest!
O the deep, deep love of Jesus, ’tis a heaven of heavens to me;
And it lifts me up to glory, for it lifts me up to Thee!

Our Most Pressing Need Was More of God's Spirit: Tales from the Mountaintops and the Valleys' Below, #8

The pressing challenges never let up. The house we had in Kathmandu was at the bottom of a hill and always muddy during monsoon. Once, while pregnant with Jenny, I slipped off my motorcycle into the mud. I was bruised, but both our unborn Jenny and I were OK. That's when Bill knew we needed to move. God provided another house for us to rent, one with rooms out back for Kissan and his family. Kissan and his wife and young daughter returned from the village with us to spend the monsoon season in Kathmandu, helping us with the language.

There was also room for Kunti, a Nepali girl we came to love who had come to work for us. Kunti had had leprosy and was in remission and needed employment. She had come to put her trust in Jesus at Ananadban Leprosy Hosptial where she received treatment for three years: We were so grateful for her, for all God's good provision ... including celebrating His faithfulness to us on our 4th wedding anniversary: July, 1972. It's a bit amazing to us when we consider that all the stuff I've mentioned since Bill and I were married had happened in just 4 years.

BUT our most pressing need, that grew in intensity every day, was that we were out of our own resources and were pretty discouraged... learning we didn't have what it takes to live in such an underdeveloped country, missing many of the things we had depended on most of our lives. I began to fast and pray and met the Lord in His Word one afternoon during my quiet time, sitting on my bed. He came on me with power and gave me new hope and a new language to pray with. He took away the hurt and pain and gave me joy and a heart of praise, and He helped me to forgive and love those who had been unkind to me.

The change in me was obvious to Bill, though he told me not to tell anyone for two weeks, to see if it lasted. It did! I began to sing again and my heart was light and full of faith in the Architect and Builder of our earthly habitations. I even had more energy to keep up with Jonathan!

A few months later, Bill ended up in the hospital after a motorcycle accident in which the handle bars twisted and pressed against his knee and cracked it. In treatment, doctors took 30 cc. of blood from his knee. The next day they put him under anesthesia and checked the tendons, ligaments and muscles to be sure they were still connected. All was badly bruised, but OK except for a fracture. A cast was not advised but Bill had to avoid putting pressure on it. This meant he had to spend many days in bed and 6 weeks on crutches. But soon he learned how to mount his crutches on the side of his motorcycle and get around, learning to use only his good leg when stopped! It was during this time that Bill and Jesus also had a meeting in which Bill surrendered all he could, and Jesus empowered him with His Spirit too. Now we both had new prayer languages that we used in private. These have helped us pray for many people over the years--even when we don't know specifics of  exactly what we're praying for, God knows and pays attention.

Meanwhile Jonathan kept us busy and gave us much joy. When we were in Kathmandu he had many friends, including  Judith Kugler on the roof of our house in Kathmandu, and.Dawn Kotapish behind him on the motorcycle.

Faith, Mighty Faith: Language Analysis and Faithful Comrades: Tales from the Mountaintops and Valleys Below: #7

In the summer of 1972, Dr. Ken and Evie Pike came to Kathmandu for a workshop in linguistics. From the very beginning, Wycliffe understood the importance of formal language analysis as an essential part of making an accurate translation of the Scriptures. You may remember the linguistic training we received at the Norman summer school and that the Pikes were involved in that, as well as our wedding. That training continued on the field as Dr. Pike, tenured faculty at the University of Michigan and one of the original members of Wycliffe, came to help all the language teams in Nepal analyze the perplexities in our very different languages.

Because of this emphasis on linguistic analysis before and during Bible translation and literacy work, one of my jobs was to  analyze the phonology while Bill was working on the grammar. The Tharu phonology seemed very confusing and unpredictable. When you learn a language, you learn first how to pronounce a particular sound in a word or sentence. For instance, in the word "dogs," the s sounds like z because it comes after a voiced "d" consonant. Identifying and predicting sounds is what phonology does.

However, in Tharu there was a schwa, an "uh" sound, that seems to come and go randomly, and we didn't know when to use it and when not. Sometimes Kissan used it and sometimes he didn't--in the same sentence. Kissan was very patient with us and eventually we discovered that it helped predict an event in at the discourse level in the language. If that doesn't make sense, just know that it was that hard for us too--and we'd had 20 semester hours training in linguistics before arrival!

We had many people praying back "home" in the US. Without their daily prayers I'm not sure what would have become of us. It's one of the essential things every missionary must have--a good prayer support team. We heard from some who were praying for us at specific days and times, not knowing our needs, and yet later finding out how He miraculously met and cared for us in difficult times and situations at the exact time they were led to pray. The body of Christ is an amazing, powerful force of love and healing.

You also need to know that we were surrounded by the most amazing group of missionaries we have ever known. Soon Wycliffe/SIL in Nepal was working in 30 language groups in Nepal. This meant about 100 field members were needed to make things work. These were people we came to love and respect deeply. Here's a picture of our early days together. Bill and I are in the middle left, not standing together. Each of these people could write their own stories similar to those I've shared. Some have told of repeated, remarkable encounters and miracles. Below are links for books by Gary Shepherd and David Watters, if you'd like to read more; warmly recommended.

Angel Tracks in the Himalayas by Gary Shepherd
At the Foot of the Snows by David E. Watters

Jonathan's TB, My Pregnancy with Jenny, Bill's Hepatitis, and a Devastating Tornado: Tales from the Mountaintops and Valleys Below #6

What to expect? The unexpected! But always expect God's love and provision and Presence in each and every event and encounter. God's Word was and is the Strength and Provision for our daily lives and gave us what we needed to do His will. Here is some material from my journal.

A month into this latest village stay, in early April, both Jonathan and I became quite ill. We had to return to Kathmandu where I was admitted to the hospital with amoebic dysentery for IV treatment both for me and to help protect the baby I was now carrying--yea--Jenny is on the way!!! We celebrated this Easter, rejoicing in His victory over death.

The biggest challenge for me was my hospital roommate, a lovely Indian lady who could not stop coughing. I found it hard not to be irritable in the middle of the night when I was jittery from little sleep, listening to her cough and cough. On the last night, when she was having a horrid bout of coughing, instead of lying in bed wondering if it would end, I got up and poured her a glass of water. Amazingly, the cough stopped and some sleep was had.

This sacrifice was not done in perfection, because of my own irritable nature. But God is working and I know He will perfect that which He has begun.

As soon as I was home from the hospital, Jonathan got sick again with another bad cough and congestion. This time they did an x-ray and found he had TB covering five percent of his lungs (we were glad it was not more). So we began a year's treatment of six pills a days. Can you imagine giving your almost-two year old six tablets a day? We tried everything from smashing them with peanut butter, to mixing with his food. It seems that illness was a normal part of life for us and that we were learning how to do warfare and to have people back "home" praying for us. In each case, the Lord came and healed us. Again from the journal:

Once we were feeling better, we decided to try one last visit to the village before monsoon season was again upon us. On our arrival, we were told that 7 people had died in the last 4 days in our village. By that evening I had a fever of 103 and all the signs of severe dysentery and no way to get to a hospital for IVs. My greatest fear was losing our new little one in the womb, but the Lord met us and strengthened me and so we continued our stay, even though it was several days before I could get out of bed and work. Bill was amazing with no complaint. He is a true and humble servant.

But then I got worse again and Jonathan was not well either, so we had to return to Kathmandu. They immediately put us in the hospital. Jonathan had a strain of typhoid and bacillary dysentery. There was so much illness in this country and health provision is often limited to emergencies. We angrazi (foreigners), had better access to good health care.

Jonathan got better more quickly than I did and went home while I followed the doctor's orders to "hang loose and it will eventually get better." It turned out I also had tapeworms from walking and mushing through the mud, in sandals, near our village.

We had amazing doctors in Kathmandu. The United Mission to Nepal sponsored the best hospital in the country, with doctors coming from many different countries coming to serve  at Shanta Bhawan ("Peaceful Home") Hospital. This hospital is no longer operating, but what a blessing it was to have while we were there. My physician, Dr. Mary Eldridge, from England, was amazing, as you will learn in the blogs ahead. Dr. Nietchke, from Germany, was the children's pediatrician and a very wise woman.

I marvel as I look back at the journal records, and how our Father sustained us and strengthened us. We decided to try one last village stay before monsoon. I wrote, "God must have marvelous things planned for the Tharus cuz Satan is working so very hard."

So what next? I have never seen a "natural disaster" before, until our return to the village this time... The day before our return to the village, "Our village was hit by a violent hailstorm and tornado. The mango grove by our house was nearly demolished, tearing up 100 foot trees by their roots. 3 people were killed and crops were ruined, livestock killed, and houses destroyed. The roof on our house was torn off and ruined. The roof over Jon's room was the worst hit and had we been there he could have been killed. His mattress was torn all over from the hail (cement tiles from our roof had landed in his crib and torn it to shreds. If we'd been there, he could have easily been killed). They say the hailstones were 8-10 inches round. Our screens and windows were broken. The mayor of our area (the Pradhan Pansch) called it a "desolation and if it had lasted 5 minutes more there would now be no people in our whole area." I wanted to cry. but He was giving us another chance to trust the all-sufficiency of His grace. Yet it hurt to see so much sorrow among our people.

Kissan's extended family is below. He is in the white shirt.

Kissan's mom and sister are in their home cooking a meal for us. Tharu houses were normally very dark inside and often smoky.

After arranging for a new thatch roof for our house, and helping the villagers with their own repairs, Bill left with Ross, another Wycliffe team member, to help bring food and money to help in the famine in their village. Jon and I returned to Kathmandu by air. From my journal:

On the plane today, I heard Bill's voice call out my name, as if in urgent need. Very strange. Committed to Him. All things done well. When Bill returned, he was exhausted and yellow. It turned out he had a bad case of hepatitis. He spent two weeks in the hospital regaining his strength. I was glad he was OK and going to get better, but I was exhausted from caring for Jonathan on my own. Plus Sita, our house helper, wasn't able to come for several days. Back to washing clothes by hand, doing all the cooking and cleaning, and chasing Jonathan while pregnant with Jenny!

It was so good to have Bill home! But he also brought his Indian roommate home from the hospital to stay with us indefinitely. This became a real challenge as he worshiped evil spirits and seemed to be taking advantage of us. What to do? Forgive and learn to praise the One who loves each of us. And we learning the power of the NAME of Jesus.

But we had another lesson to learn also. I had a relative back home in the US who didn't believe that we were going through all the things we wrote about. She wrote a letter that reached our director criticizing us and our situation, saying that we shouldn't have asked my mom to send things we couldn't obtain in Nepal and we should be able to manage without this kind of help.

Our director was very supportive and knew the needs and difficulties we faced--he had 5 kids of his own! What we learned, besides more forgiveness, is that we had to be careful of what we wrote to people. Some wanted to know the whole truth. And some just wanted to know the good stuff. So we learned to focus more on the goodness of God in every situation in our group letters.

I hope you are seeing the goodness of God n this blog as I write--in the midst of all the hard stuff. It comes with a thankful heart. There are so many stories not included here, yet ones that have formed our character and helped conform us to the image of Jesus. We give Him thanks and praise.

Another "Typical" Day: March 8, 1972: Tales from the Mountain Tops and Valleys Below, #5

To give you an idea of what our life was like, and how much we needed the Lord's strength and help, I’m going to insert a part of my journal I just typed up called, “One Day in the Life of Bill, Dotty, and Jon amongst the Tharus: March 8, 1972". The original copy is below this and you get a cleaned up copy--43 years later!

"First, this day is not typical--but then no day is typical. Nothing was planned for this day but to get some language work hopefully done, and Jonathan watched. But even this was unsure, as we're never quite sure when Kissan will be turning up. Our primary goal for any day is to do the will of God and to rejoice in His love. We are learning to obey His Voice.

6:30 a.m. I awoke this morning at 5:30. My first thoughts were prayers and gratitudes for these people and the fact that Jesus, lived, suffered bled, died, rose and lives again for these very Tharus. They are His already.

Then I listened to the dawn awakening, It sounded much as though I were in the middle of an aviary with thousands of birds singing--and each a different song. It reminded me a bit of C.S. Lewis's story of creation in The Magician's Nephew. Absolutely lovely. Soon other sounds are added: the tireless sound of the water pump, the necessary chopping of wood, the crying of children and soon the shouts and talk of the village people...which brings me back to bed, my thoughts and the sounds from the next room:

"Mommy." (Intentional silence follows.)
"Mommy." (with a little more emphasis.)
"Mommy!" (this time with great impatience, as tho he were dying.)
"Yes, Jon."
"Mommy, nice slee." (No "p" yet). Ths means he wants to get up and make mischief. He also adds another word: "achi," which means he has a mess in his diapers and doesn't like it.

After some necessary frolicking, we are all up, dressed and about. I have no sooner come downstairs with Jon when I hear the familiar, "Boji," which is my name and means sister-in-law (Bill is their adopted brother). This is repeated several times and I soon discovered the village at our doorstep. Why? Because the village water pump is broken and Bill knows how to fix it. How do I know this? Because this has happened for the last three mornings. We hope they will get the mistiries (workmen) who will fix it once and for all. Anyway, Bill is outside trying to help and to explain.

Inside, our "milkmaid" has just delivered our fresh quart of buffalo milk, boiled and ready to drink. Somiya, our landlord's daughter and present house-help, is here watching Jon a bit until there is water to wash clothes. It is now 7 a.m. The day is well under way.

7:30 a.m. We just had another visit--this time Kissan and several friends who are all eagerly discussing our newly put-up bulletin board with all the pictures of our village friends. (Each time we take a picture of someone, we will give them one, and put on on the board.) Kissan also came to discuss hours, saying he could come at 9 like we wanted, but this would be difficult. So instead he will come at 11 with one of his sisters, and I will make the "final" check on the basic list of 1000 Tharu words for the phonology analysis. And then Kissan wanted to borrow my bicycle again. We've been giving bike lessons to him as well as to a few others. The problem now created is that our bike is out more than in. So this a.m. we are establishing a new policy--no bike riding unless an emergency, or a lesson.

8:30 a.m. This last hour has been a more or less chore hour. Bill's been fixing things such as electric lights--a real luxury for the tribe (we had a 300 watt generator that provided us and others light). Then there's the water filter, which needs cleaning and filling and was forgotten yesterday so there's no sterile water today. So we wait.

My tasks include cleaning up, getting Jon dressed and happy (when possible), getting the clothes ready for Somiya to wash in the pump that is now fixed (by Bill) outside, and now I hope to do all my baking for the day. This will hopefully include bread and some cookies.

Jon too is sick with a chest infection, with the worst cough he's ever had. We started him on penicillin last night, as his fever was back up. Even tho he is sick he remains active and almost impossible to keep track of! Bill has built him a sandbox in the back, but he would much rather be out chasing pigs, sheep, or buffalo, or begging for rice from somebody' else's dinner. Even so, we are thankful for his energy and curiosity--most of the time!

Meanwhile Bill is burying trash, hauling water, and Jon is crying because he's ready for a nap and won't admit it. And I must hang up clothes while Somiya prepares our a.m. daal bhaat meal. We've adjust out eating schedule to that of the Tharus and now we eat 2 meals a day: one at about 9:30 and the evening meal at 6:00. Our morning meal is Tharu style and the evening is American (like food with noodles or breads and meat) --as much as I can make it so. We've also begun eating as they do--with the fingers of the right hand. It may sound crude, but it does make the rice and vegetables taste better!

10:30 a.m. The last entry was two hours ago. During this time, Somiya did not make daal bhaat. Instead, her husband came (she was married a few weeks ago) and so she is supposed to leave for his village for 2 months. This was the first we knew. Her mother finished the clothes and I just hung them up. Making cookies never materialized, as neither did the time. Bill watched Jon. Then Tariya (Somiya's sister) came to prepare the meal which we are about to eat: rice and vegetables, which include unpealed potatoes cut up. I had trained Somiya to peel potatoes, but Tariya didn't know how to do this. There are so many little things that make a difference!

The next hour Jon will hopefully take a rest, and we will have some quiet time. Oops! Here come the mistiries--the carpenters. We never know. For two days now we haven't seen them. They should finish the work on this place, and our furniture within a week--if they come regularly.

12:00 noon: The last while has been spent in Job, Corinthians and with the dishes. Tariya washes them at the pump and then I rinse them with boiling water, dry them and put them away. I want to learn the fullness of Brother Laurence's experience--the continual practice and presence of God, and to be at prayer continually. He is my Teacher.

Bill has been resting and is now going to work with Kissan, while I write letters and take care of Jon when he wakes. I appreciate the rest, as the conclusion at hand is that I am pregnant again. Joy!

1:30: While Bill worked with Kissan, I stepped outside with notebook and pencil and was soon surrounded by 30 (I counted) women and children, some eater to teach their language, most eager to laugh at this stranger who tries to speak their kura (language). So we learned. Then Jon woke, and all of Kissan's family came and are now sitting here trying to elicit the English names for private parts. I'm trying to overcome my embarrassment, and to learn. There are at least 20 people inside our house right now, waiting for bits of knowledge. Bill is going into our bazaar town on errands, so Jon and I will play for the next hour or so. Somiya was here for a few minutes, appeared very sad, stole some curtain ties from the simple window curtains I had made, and left.

2:30: p.m A game of kickball in the back and more looks at the scrapbooks of Life in America, and the picture board of Tharu people. Kissan is so delighted with this picture display, that he would like me to make him one from the few picture we've given to him!

3:30: A rousing hour of bicycle teaching in the mango grove. They just don't get the hang of balance, and I'm worn out from holding them up.

If the carpenters weren't working inside, we could now go and rest by our favorite riverside sight--lots of green grass, a few trees, and a beautiful river. Maybe later. The next two hours will be mostly chores--folding clothes, getting supper ready (spaghetti with fresh bread) and getting Jon off to bed. The latter is usually the most difficult and time consuming.

I just saw Somiya inside a neighboring house and was planning to ask for my curtain ties back, but she was sobbing her heart out with dozens of other girls trying to console her. Going to live with your husband is quite a traumatic thing, since the marriages are often arranged when you are a baby, and you usually don't know the fellow; and the girls are 14-15 when they go to live with their husbands.

7:30: After supper the procession began to march Somiya off to her husband's house, where, I just learned she will spend the nights and return home for during the day hours (for two months this goes on). This way marriage is a gradual thing. I should mention Somiya didn't march off--she was carried off sobbing. She wouldn't budge. So her best friend carried her on her back to her new home, with the crowd of us tagging behind, and the husband leading the way. The crying is ritual; you have to be sad to leave your parents. Mom has to cry too. Sometimes of course it's also real.

When when we were just ready for a drink of coffee and coco, another dozen Tharus descended on our house, sat down on our kitchen floor, and talked for 1 1/2 hours--trying hard to teach us. I think they're attracted partly because of the electricity and partly because they're the teachers, and we the ignorant and needy.

The rest of the evening will hopefully be spent quietly--mostly sleeping and not listening to Jon's painful cough. he should soon be better. The day is at an end, and sleep is very welcome. It's been a good day, though tiring. We've learned much. God is very good to us."

Kissan and Bill hard at work:

Jonathan, Elephants, and Pillows and Christmas with the Trudingers: Tales from the Mountain Tops and Valleys Below, #4

Work continued on the house, slowly, and we were settling in. Jonathan loved it there. He had a natural charm and had fun leading the village kids all over, as seen below. What you don't see in this picture is the elephant that they were trying to catch. Elephants often went up and down our village path, from the King's Elephant Camp in to the local bazaar town. Sometimes they would stop to eat grass in our backyard. During this time Jonathan was a joy and comfort to us, and a connection with our new village friends.

He loved all the animals. In our front yard were ducks, chickens and a baby cow plus 3 buffalo. To the right were 7 cows and to the left a small herd of sheep, which Jonathan especially loved to run through. Then there were all the pigeons on our roof nesting and 2 new goats out front, soon to be slaughtered. There were always dogs, but they were never pets.

When the house was still incomplete, with no walls, wet floors, little privacy, I became discouraged and full of self-pity, but somehow confident that God would redeem it all. I wrote later that week that I knew people were praying for us. One night our landlord was having a big puja—worship feast—and we were told to lock our doors. That night even Sita slept upstairs with us in our small sleeping area. Even so, the puja party was so loud all night, we finally left and went down to Kissan’s house to sleep. II Timothy 2:10: “Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sake, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.”

Meanwhile Bill continued daily language work with Kissan, and supervised the work on the house. Along with language work, I began to get to know the village women. Our heart was to share the joy of following Jesus with these who had never heard of Him. We knew it was not going to be an easy task.

One day we heard that the King Mahendra had died of a heart attack. His son Birendra would later be installed as the new king. All men shaved their heads and everyone mourned.

We finally were ready to leave for a rest in Kathmandu after almost two months of our first village stay, leaving many workmen still working on the house. Our landlord’s wife, who we later learned was more aggressive than most others, and the village kids have begun to beg for my shoes, Jon’s clothes, even Sita’s things.” And the Lord said to me, “These people are mine and I love them. They too were created for my glory.”

On our return, all of us were sick with various illnesses from amoeba to a liver abscess. Our bodies were taking a toll, and needed time to adjust to this new home environment. I wrote “How much must we protect ourselves? At all? I wish to know the reality of Paul’s words in II Cor. 4:8-10: “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus that the life of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.”

Pillows of Comfort from my journal:

"One night I awoke, very strangely wide awake. One by one all my fears came to me. This was followed by a vision where there was a large room and Jesus at the door. The room was full of pillows and Jesus said that these were the pillows of His love and comfort, and for every fear there was a pillow. So as each fear came to me, I took it and laid it on a pillow and left it there with Jesus. As soon as the fear was with Jesus, it was no longer a fear. And a great rest and joy filled me, and the verse, “Casting all your cares on Him, for He cares for you” came to my mind and heart with real poignancy."

After three weeks, we returned to the village. Workmen were STILL working on our house. We knew I needed help with washing clothes, and watching Jonathan, and doing language study. This was solved when both our landlord’s family and Kissan’s each wanted one of their teen daughters to work for us. They finally decided to take turns week by week.

This village stay has been a good one, with much language work done. The people have been great with gifts of food like squash, cabbage and bananas. Our director brought his family with 5 kids to stay with us for a few days, and of course go elephant riding."

We took more than one elephant ride in our years living there. We typically saw rhinos, deer, wild boar. Jonathan loved the "hati" most of all (Tharu & Nepali word for elephant). He still, and collects elephant items. We had many visitors over the years who came to see us ... and ride the elephants into the jungles of southern Nepal!

But more good things happened too. We lived next door to Ron and Sue Trudinger in downtown Kathmandu. The first Christmas we were there is remembered by Sue here, with a photo below:

"Christmas celebrated on the roof of the world in Kathmandu was certainly different. We collected the roast piglet on a spit from a nearby Chinese restaurant and, joined by our Wycliffe friends from next door, we ate this delicious fare on the small square roof top of our little concrete home. Ron read the scriptures as we crunched our way through the delicious crackling. However an event that really impacted me was when we walked the dark, dirty alleyways of this city singing of the love of Jesus and we were joined by some guests from the big hotel we passed. They spoke of their emptiness celebrating Christmas alone. They were in luxury and yet that was not enough – deep inside they longed for the fellowship that Christ created us to have one with the other. The carols we sang of Jesus reached out to them and they joined us for more singing and delicious freshly made cinnamon rolls at the American Embassy."