Day 3 (3/28)

Sorry it has been awhile, my friends . . . my computer decided to die on me, but I am now victorious and back on the blog-front! :) I'll add more pictures after I get them added to this computer . . .

So, Day 3 . . . well, let me just say that getting out of bed was a monstrous task after the exhausting day before . . . whew! But we were excited to see what God had in store for us in the day ahead, and it was a day we had all been looking so forward to!

We started the day in total darkness, due to the rolling black-outs in the city, and we were running late . . . come-on, we're all women trying to get ready! :) We met Ellen and Samundra (one of the translators for the women's day camp) at the Red Dingo, where we had a wonderful breakfast of an egg stack (or something like that - it had an English muffin, avocado, egg, chicken, and hash browns - YUMMY!!) Neil . . . we actually had Dal Baaht . . . and we ate it all down!! ;) We ate as quickly as we could, and then we were off to the Home of Hope, run by a group named Project Rescue.

Ramona, the woman "in-charge" met us there and introduced us to our sweet sisters there. Sue led a short but beautiful devotional on how the many colors in Nepal (their clothes are SO colorful!) reminded her of the many vibrant colors we will see in heaven. The ladies seemed to really respond! We had the chance to pray for and with them, and then we were off to another building where they run their business.

These women are rescued out of forced prostitution - many of them kidnapped as early as age 6 all the way up to about age 14 or 15. Then, they are taken and sold into a house of child prostitution, where they are locked in rooms. If they do not willingly participate in the prostitution, they are beaten and then thrown in cages with rats and cobras. Assuming they survive that, if they still do not participate, they have acid dripped on their skin. I cannot even being to imagine such atrocities, and the condition such women and girls would be in . . . yet, these women had smiles on their faces and such a peacefulness about their demeanor - they were so beautiful. Project Rescue takes the women, and prays with them, counsels them, and helps them through every step of the healing process, reminding them that they are so important to the King of kings - He loves them and is desperate to know them. I could see that each of these women now knew their tremendous worth!!

Once the women are ready, they are given the opportunity to work - making bags, hats, scarfs, paper goods (journals, photo albums) . . . they learn very quickly, and are very good! You can see and even purchase their goods at www.ProjectRescueNepal.com - go check it out!

After we had the chance to see what they did, we were given the opportunity to love on them, spoil them, and make them feel beautiful - we painted their nails (and gave them the polish), did their make-up (and gave them make-up, much to their GREAT delight!), and one of the ladies with us, Katrina, cuts hair, and she gave every single woman a free haircut!! They were so delighted, and blessed - Katrina worked hard to get every single woman taken care of. :) It was so much fun to serve them and love on them - though we couldn't really communicate through words, it was amazing what a touch, a hug, a smile, and little "girl time" can do to bring women together!

When we were done beautifying the ladies, we headed back to the house, where the ladies were going to teach us how to cook Dal Baaht (yes, Neil, real Dal Baaht). They didn't really let any of us learn, but a few of us watched intently, trying to learn! The rest of us (meaning me) decided we wanted to learn how to dance. It was so much fun!! We were far from good, but the ladies playing music for us, and they laughed right along with us, as our sweet sister tried to teach us to dance . . . clumsy Americans!! HAHAHA!! Meanwhile, Katrina, who was exhausted, had sat down to rest, when 2 of the ladies asked if they could massage her arms. They took lotion and began to rub her arms and hands in a great act of humility and service . . . as you can imagine, Katrina was DEEPLY touched, and I believe was changed forever.

Then, lunch was served!! Now, Dal Baaht is a bit spicy for me . . . but I did my best. I also decided to be a good sport and eat with my hands, even though we were offered utensils. This seemed to really delight the ladies, however one woman apparently didn't think I was doing it right, because she first grabbed a handful of food off my plate and ate it (showing me how to do it), and I still didn't get it right (even though I got the food in my mouth), so she then proceeded to feed me . . . yes, people, she picked up some food, and jammed her hand in my mouth!! What could I do?? So, I posed for a picture, laughed, and proceed to eat. :) Humility is good, yes? I think that as the meal went on, I got better, but eating with my hands is definitely not my talent. The Dal Baaht was really good - I even went back for seconds . . . it's true!!

We had such a wonderful time with these women, and connected so deeply and so wonderfully, that we didn't want to leave!! What beautiful ladies with such tremendous testimonies . . .

Then, we were off with Samundra, our new good friend, to khurtas - yes, we did a lot of shopping! We had a great time talking with her, and walking with her ("Cross with Authority!" What she told us to do when crossing the street - you cross any old place, and just have to trust that the cars won't hit you. I quickly got in the habit of asking God for a gap, and He so kindly provided one for me every single time!) Now, if you know me, you know that I am high energy and I function at about 100 miles an hour . . . so, you can imagine what a surprise for me to find someone who functions with even more energy than me! Well, that is Samundra. That girl had more energy than I could keep up with!! And she was so much fun, as well. We looked for jewelry and clothes, and anything we could spend our money on, all while having a great time!

Then, it was off to the Lazy Gringo (hajur? Lazy Gringo . . . hajur? GRINGO . . . . hajur? G-R-I-N-G-O . . . hajur? Aalchhi Bideshi . . . long story - great laugh!!!!) for dinner . . . ah, sweet, sweet, Mexican food. (I mean, Dal Baaht, Neil, it was Dal Baaht.) I don't remember what I ordered, but I do know that it tasted good. I did have a "open mouth, insert foot" moment, when I made a joke about the pinata, only to find out that Todd had made it himself, from scratch . . . it was at this moment that Ellen and I realized we were long-lost sisters - neither one of us has a filter, we just say what we wanna! :) I do have to say, however, that for being made from scratch, that pinata was really good. However, I think I'll be taking with me a pinata the next time I travel to Nepal!

We had lots of fun at dinner - we laughed, we cried (when we found out about the babies being healed), and we laughed some more!!

Then, it was back to the guest house for our devotional and time for some sleep!