Water Buffalo Burgers and Hindu Holidays

   

  It has been a very busy week so far, and I am not sure what I have accomplished!  Oh yeah!  I figured out how to make a tasty burger from water buffalo!  Not an easy task I assure you.  Water buffalo tends to be a bit chewy.

     Seriously though, it has been very good to be here in Nepal so far.  We have had a wonderful time of fellowship with great friends.  This is my fourth trip to Nepal and it feels much like home.  Daniel is having a good time, but he gets quite frustrated with the heavy traffic in the afternoon.  Today he got to sit up front with me on the way to Logenkhel (I'm sure I slaughtered the spelling)  It is always an exciting place to be when driving in Kathmandu. 
     We start school on September 5th, next Monday.  My brain has finally cleared from the trip and I have been able today to start preparing for my classes.  I am very excited to get started and meet my students for the next four months.  I met one yesterday.  Her name was Pramilla (I hope I spelled that right).  She is from Gorkha from the village of Tati Pokari (spelling?). 

     Tonight on the way back from the market we came through a vegetable market and I found some wonderful looking mushrooms.  They looked like Shitake mushrooms but they called them something else.  I bought a huge bag of them for about $2 and Pramita fried them and we ate them with our Water Buffalo Cheeseburgers and Nepali style mustard greens and lentils and rice.  It was a very delicious and diverse meal.

     Tomorrow they have a big ladies meeting planned that goes from 8:30 in the morning until 4:00 in the evening.  I have been invited to attend, but I have been assured that I will not be the only man there at the event.  Tomorrow is a very big Hindu holiday (don't ask me what it is called) and this is an alternative for the ladies in the church to be able to come and worship and invite their friends.  From what I understand there will be lots of food and music (and probably dancing if I know my Nepali friends, and I think I do) and games.  Evidently, I might be called upon to bark like a dog, or so I have been told.  I am sure it will be a lot of fun and I will get a chance to see a lot of my friends that I have not had the opportunity to get with up until now.  I will try to get some pictures tomorrow and put them up soon.
     Daniel is still getting settled in and he really likes his room, maybe a little too much.  His blog is unpluggedinnepal.blogspot.com but he really hasn't been as unplugged as I had hoped.  There is much electricity here and he has found a few Indian cartoons that he really likes.  He can't understand what they are saying, but he finds them hilarious nevertheless.  I am about to pull the plug on him though and put a fire under him to get on his blog.  He starts school next week and that will keep him pretty busy.  He has really taken up with Pramita and Prajowl and Momita, as well as they with him.  I will let you know when he finally posts anything.  His summer vacation is just about over!

     Keep praying for our health and for my ability to give all I can to the students over the next few months.  I am super excited about the work and looking forward to the challenge.  Also, please remember my dear wife and daughter who are left behind in Arkansas.  Stormie just got her driver's license, and I could not be more proud!  I am also a little scared :)  That is not a commentary on her abilities, but my own lack of faith in God, at times, to care for my family while I am seeking His kingdom.  Pray for them and if you are near, check in on them from time to time.

     I will try to blog again sooner than last time (and with more pictures), but the internet has been down here for the last day or so, and I haven't been able to get online.  I look forward to sharing with you in the future all that the Lord is doing in this beautiful country!

Jaimashi!
Steve