A first time for everything

I have had quite a few new experiences in the last few days.

• We saw the snowcapped himalaya mountains which surround kathmandu for the first time. Usually all we can see are the smaller mountains which form the valley. It was quite a shock to realise what we were missing all along. I had no idea they were even there! It  makes it hard to believe they are still there. It’s easy to forget they are there when you can’t see them. It reminded me of a line in the Pocahontas movie ”you learn things you never knew you never knew.” 
• We went canyoning yesterday. That involved abseiling down 5 waterfalls, with water crashing on your head, crawling through caves and sliding down rocks while standing in the most beautiful forest with spectacular views. And the largest butterflies i have ever seen. the only worrying bit was the lack of a safety rope! but we are all still alive so thats all that counts! It was one of the many times since i have been here that i have thought “hmmmm..no one else in the world actually knows where i am right now”
• Today i saw a man get his front tooth pulled out with large pliers at the health clinic- with no analgesia to relieve the pain! i’m not sure how he put up with it! O also got to do an antenatal exam, and hear a baby’s heartbeat at 21 weeks. That filled me with awe. We also took what i’m sure must be a record amount of blood pressures. No matter what the person comes in with, they get their blood pressure checked.
• We hung out with a group of northern irish people from belfast at a centre for disables kids and a hospital. It was so nice to have some irish banter once again.
• I saw lots of brand new little babies…extremely cute and beautiful. We also got to pray for an extremely distressed boy with a brain infection. He had been in hospital for 25days and was sick of being there. His dad saw that we were white and asked if we were christians and could we pray for him. It was so humbling when his dad explained to him that we were praying for him. He said “look at them and the love they are showing you. they have come just to pray for you.” It was amazing to see the peace that settled over him as we prayed. Please pray if you are reading this.
• Also saw the new batman movie…much better than i expected..go and see it if you can.

Snapshots

Some highlights from the last few days:

• Riding on top of a packed bus on our way to an orphanage, through the beautiful countryside…terrifying but exhilarating.
• Meeting some sisters of mercy at a house for the destitute and dying, the place stank of urine and other rotten smells, but their grace and compassion was the most overwhelming presence. Everyday the 2 of them clean out 2 large rooms filled with old people, they clean the people and feed them too. it was such hard work even with 5 of us there to help. They really were an inspiration to me. They had given up their whole lives to live amoung the hurting dirty and dying. We cleaned some wounds there, which were unbelievably infected , some needing surgical care. It was disheartening to know what needed done but to have no power to actually do anything.
• Seeing an australian family revolutionising a very poorly run orphanage. It is one of the worst orphanages i have come into contact with. The workers there are corrupt and so little is done for the children. We cleaned out their showers and toilets which were full od urine and faeces. It was so rewarding to see how much better the conditions there were once we left. It is great that they are passionate about improving it and maintaining the changes longterm.

Something that has really struck me in the last few days is that in every place i have ever visited around the world, the workers and children and missionaries are still there. For me it seems to be a case of “out of sight, out of mind”. It is hard, and takes effort, to remember that their lives go on, with little change. It is easy to detach myself. Although seeing the mans festering wounds really was shocking to me, he has to live with that every day. But to me it is just a memory.