Happy Holidays, Part 2 (Yes, I know it's late!)

Well, since it's still January, I am going to post Part 2 of "Happy Holidays!"  Sorry I'm a little behind schedule, but maybe one day (ONE DAY) I'll catch up!  I don't know about you, but I can't seem to catch up on everything I need to do!  I guess I need to hire a secretary!

Before I finish telling about our holidays, I'll show you what we found in Thamel, Kathmandu, which is a fun place to shop, holiday or no:

 It's a little smaller than your average Walmart in America, but hey, it's a Wal-Mart!  :)  If you're ever in the vicinity, it's near here:

near the end of this street:

If you're lucky, during the winter, this is what you see when you're driving in and out of Kathmandu:

The majesty of the Himalayas, which we often see this time of year, is always breathtaking!

Since Christmas is a "newish" holiday here in Nepal, and New Year's Day is during "our" April, everything is pretty much "business as usual" around here during December and January.  However, we still enjoyed ourselves because we were together and that is the main thing--right?

As you know from the last post, the kids at school put on a great program for their parents.  I was so proud of them and they were proud of themselves, as they should have been.  The nursing students at the hospital's nursing school (along with some hospital workers) put on a Christmas pageant that turned out to be quite nice!  There were two showings so if you were busy during one, you could make the other.  Our own Dr. Sartin sang two songs.

Shea, our friend and Muscular Dystrophy Center of Kavre volunteer, played a Roman soldier.  Way to go Shea!  You were very convincing!  (To find out more about the center, and how you may be able to help if you can, head over to their website:  mdcenternepal.com, where you will find out more about this wonderful center that is the only such place of its kind in all of Kavre and runs solely on prayers and donations.)

Herod was played by Raphael, one of our Physical Therapists.

All the cast did an excellent job--congrats!

 

On Christmas Eve Sabbath, we had a lovely Sabbath School with our little cuties!

 Then we had a lunch on Sabbath and on Sunday, Christmas day--it was really fun to be together with the whole church family both days.

 

We hope everyone reading this is off to a good start to their 2012 and we wish you all the best in your life this year!  Take care and God bless!

Bye!

Happy Holidays!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS from Nepal!!!

 This year we're lucky!  We have the blessing of having some wonderful young people here with us whom we love very much!  My niece, in the front, is here volunteering at the school, along with our friend, (to her left) who's volunteering at the Muscular Dystrophy Center.  We are very proud of these two for taking a year out of their schooling to dedicate to the people of Nepal.  It's hard to say who's more blessed--they or the ones who's lives they touch!  Also with us (to my right) is my cousin's daughter who has stopped by for a few weeks on her way home from Korea where she has been working at a language school.  We're very proud of her too and all she's accomplished and so happy she had the time to stop by to see Nepal (and us!!).

 Those who have been long time readers of this blog know that celebrating Christmas is relatively new to Nepal.  It's nice to be a part of these "new" celebrations!  They are low-key, but still very nice!  We had a program at school, there was a program at the hospital, and a potluck on Sabbath after church as well as a lunch on Sunday.  The weather was perfect (it's cold this year--but not as cold as last year though) with beautiful sunny skies, and of course the company of family and friends was heartwarming.

Here are some pics of the kids practicing for the program.  The little ones are SOOO cute!

OK, who's next?

--- "Awesome God" with Liesl Miss (my niece)---

I tried to get organized.

Baby Jesus waited patiently for his turn.
(Liesl took his picture when one of the first grade girls asked her to!)

These two had some serious talking to do!  (Sorry it's a little blurry, but so cute!)

These dance routines I missed getting pictures of during the program when my memory card filled up.

I was so proud of the kids during the program!  They did a great job!  Our English part of the program was a trip through the Bible (to be different from the last few years of only the Christmas story).  First of all Grade Five students did a great job with their play and song about Adam and Eve.

Grade Two was next with the story of Daniel.  They did a good job!

Next Grade One students told and sang the story of Jesus' birth.

They were so adorable!  The circle shows how God's love has no beginning or end just like a circle!

The story of Jesus in the temple as a boy was performed by the Fourth Graders.  It was so nice!  "Joseph, where is Jesus?"  "He's with you."  "No, he's with you."  "No, he's not."  :)

Grade Three students reenacted the ladies going to the tomb, only to find it empty!  They were so happy to discover that Jesus is alive!

Our Kindergarten students sang three songs for their parents. You can see a fifth grader here reading the translation in Nepali.  For each class a fifth grader told what was going to happen for those who needed translation.

Here they are "letting their light shine!"

Liesl did a WONDERFUL job directing!  I'm so very proud of her!  (I was on the piano.)
  For our Grand Finale, Grades K though 5 sang "Awesome God" (as you know from the practice pics above).  It was a rousing success!

That concludes the English part of the program.  Stay tuned for Part 2 of "Happy Holidays" (since I don't have time now!)!  We hope everyone is off to a great start to 2012 and we wish you all the best in whatever you're doing!  Here in Nepal we're about 3/4 of the way through the year 2068 and we'll celebrate the new year 2069 in April.  As I've said before, Ramon and I aren't sure if we're really young or really old over here!  :)  Well, HAPPY NEW YEAR!  See you soon!