culture swap.

Life is heavy. Dumbbells and elephants heavy. 

I told you last time that pain is real. Sometimes, in order to cope, it is absolutely necessary to goof off a little bit. So here ya go... My friend, P, has been teaching me a bunch about Nepali culture lately... so I decided to teach her a few things about American culture. Um, yah. I hope you guys are ok with me teaching her that this kind of behavior is normal for us Americans.

feeling silly 

i fink my head is growing.

we is smart. we has big brain.

smart girl want to eat my big brain.

revenge of the alien!

Desperation.

Here's the thing, I have lots of stories to tell you. Riveting life stories filled with suspense. Action packed dramas that will force you to the edge of your seat. Mostly though, they are sorrowful stories. Stories that plow a pit deep down in your stomach. Each one of them is deeply personal. 

That's why you haven't heard them. 

I don't want to glorify pain. 

The reality of life is so much different here. Husbands and sons have to leave the country to find work. Persecution forces families to flee from their villages. Babies walk around naked and hungry. Daughters get trafficked. 

Desperation looms like a thick fog. Everyone is desperate for something. Children are desperate for their families to be reunited. Mothers long for some sort of provision. Teenagers crave attention. Every heart is thirsty for peace and for comfort.

I don't have any radically challenging thoughts or any enlightened words of wisdom. I just wanted you guys to know that even though activism has become so trendy lately, the suffering that it represents actually happens. Despite the seven non-profit e-mails that you sent to the trash bin today and the three infomercials that you fast forwarded through, this pain, this desperation is real.

Thank you so much to those of you who are praying for and supporting me. The desperation here is thick, but I know that the power of our hope will break through it. 

taking care.

I don't know. I just have this strange desire to be responsible for stuff. Like, I want to nurture something. It's weird. 

Perhaps it is my inherent maternal nature finally emerging. In the olden days girls my age were typically mothers already, right? 

It is also possible that this hankering is being caused by the fact that I live in a foreign country and I feel totally out of control. 

Or maybe, just maybe, this inclination to take care of stuff is something that God put in me. Because, you know, I am created in the image of God to show the world who He is. So, maybe He put this feeling there on purpose.

Yah, I think that's it.

I think He put it there on purpose.

Last Sunday I took matters into my own hands and went to the nursery and got some flowers...

and some pots...

and I began to care for a little garden! 

All week I have really been having fun caring for my flowers. 

Like, I really enjoy taking care of them. 

Seriously, I get so excited to take care of them that I wake up in the morning and go straight up to the roof so that I can check to make sure they made it through the night. 

I even started composting  (I know, right?).

Yah, and um, I even went outside this morning to dig for worms so that the compost pile would work faster. I do it all because I just enjoy the heck out of taking care of these little colorful plants. 

Which made me think...

If I enjoy taking care of flowers, which are here today and gone tomorrow, how much more does God delight in taking care of me? 

I think that he probably really has fun caring for me. 

Like, he really enjoys taking care of me. 

So my grand conclusion in all of this? Why do I have this strange desire to take care of stuff?

Maybe God simply put it there so that I would know how He feels towards me.



****

I spend my sabbath taking care of silly flowers. How do you spend your sabbath day reflecting on God? I'd love to hear!

Asmita.

Asmita got her head shaved.

Here she is with Balto, the neighborhood puppy. 

Time.

I wish I could just go to a seminar or a training and get a little certificate at the end that says that I am a qualified Jesus look-a-like. I want so badly to be like Jesus. Right now.

But time and trials are necessary ingredients for maturity.

Cooking with Deepa

This is the first post in a series called, "cooking with Deepa."

I (Deepa) have been known to reek havoc in the kitchen, so I have decided to share those mishap adventures. 

This first glimpse into our kitchen is incident free, but I hope that you will enjoy it nonetheless. 

Bless the Lord, Oh my soul!

December Update

As I started to write my January update, I realized that the December one never got sent! So here it is on the blog instead..almost two months late! 

What is good news?

                     ... and why's it gotta be so hard?

December... Oh December. I kind of expected it to be hard. I expected to miss the candy canes, the Christmas lights, and the age old family traditions. Turns out, I did miss those things, but not severely. Christmas came and went with very little pomp and circumstance, which was actually a nice change of pace. I decided that this year, since I did not have even one Christmas party to attend, I would spend the season thinking about Jesus' incarnation... and those thoughts kind of ruined me.

The Word became flesh... and dwelt among us.

Christmas was different this year because instead of looking out my window and seeing my neighbors pull into their warm garages and unload beautifully packaged Christmas boxes, I looked out my window and saw my precious neighbors walking down the street to go fill their water jugs.... And this is the part where I struggle. 

I don't know what to do with what I see. I don't know how to proceed. Because I can have running water and food on my plate, but what good news is that for them? What good news is it to them that I left my family willingly, but the women here are forced to be separated from their husbands because there is no work for the men in Nepal? What good news is it for my neighbors that I am here?

How is my life bringing them good news?! 

The house across the street.

I don't know the best way to bring the good news to my neighbors right now... I just have to remember that love is patient. I do have good news. Really Good News. But it's going to take some time before I can communicate that Good News in Nepali. 

Until then, trusting and learning...  

Note.

This is just a reminder for myself:

Following Jesus is worth it. What I gave up is far less than what I am gaining.

one more of these.

The past two and a half weeks back in Kathmandu have been really boring. We have been in over our heads in language study and I have not taken a single photo. 

So here ya go. One more post of Thailand photos.

a thinking monk.

hanging out at a waterfall with a friend from the states!

welcoming in 2013

a bicycle built for... errr