Our Christmas Day 2014

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2014!

Here's hoping you had a very lovely Christmas with your loved ones this year!

We did!  

For once, Ramon didn't have to work!  Yeah!

We took his operating room staff members out to eat in Dhulikhel, the next town over,

where there are lovely views of the Himalayas on a nice day.

Did we have a nice day?  You decide!

Look at that blue sky!  

These buildings are part of the Himalayan Horizon Hotel where we went.

As we pulled into the parking lot, we could hear the people in this building

you see, which is a Christian church, singing, 

"Happy Birthday to You, ... Happy Birthday Dear Jesus!"

It was nice!

When you walk to the patio, this is what you see.

Here's a closer look at the view:

...and even closer!

This mountain below, which is to the left of the above photo, is the one we drove up 

and around for three miles to get to Dhulikhel from Banepa, where we live.

If it wasn't there, we could see the mountains from Banepa!

You can see that it was a nice place to eat Christmas lunch---

 We enjoyed a nice Chinese Christmas buffet.

What an enjoyable way to spend Christmas--good friends,

good food, good conversation, 

and a good view of the Himalayas!

(Those are Nepali flags.)

(...and no cooking or washing up!)  

Bye until next time and have a nice day!

P.S.

If these views looked familiar to you, it's because you've seen it here before!

Yes, because it's so close, we do come here now and then

when we get a chance.

Do you remember this?

It's when my mom was here two years ago...another nice Christmas!

OK, bye for real!  Enjoy your last days of 2014!

Blessings to all for 2015!

Happenings at the hospital...

Hi!

This post is not Part 2 of our vacation, as you can see,

but is going to tell you what's been happening at the hospital.

Anyway, we hope you're having a lovely day!  We are, and yes, although it's been strangely "warmish" for late fall, it's been nice to see the lovely blue skies, off and on,

that allow us to finally, after a long monsoon season, see this:

I never get tired of that view!  It's great to see the majesty of the Himalayas

again after many months of this:

It seems to be back and forth--
yesterday was freakishly warm and the sky was beautiful!

Today it's COLD and here is what the sky looks like:

Well, as I tightly hold onto my hot water bottle, I'll tell you what Ramon has been up to!

He's been very busy since we've been back with the medical teams that have come.
He went weeks without a day off, working day and night.
Of course, he loves every minute since that's why we're here.

(I was very happy that a new missionary family has come and I was able to go to
Kathmandu on our town days with the new wife as Ramon couldn't take the time off.)

Because there's such a shortage of medical personnel here in Nepal, the teams are essential!
Surgical teams come periodically from different parts of the world and
each team focuses on a different problem they can solve.

Two OB/GYN teams have been here since we've been back,
and Ramon has been happily working very, very long hours with them
and with a plastic surgery team as well.

Holland's Women for Women team members,
link:  http://www.vrouwenvoorvrouwen.nl/
(you may have to right click to translate)
perform mainly uterine prolapse surgeries. 

Perhaps you remember seeing photos like this:

which I snapped right in our back yard recently.
Many women return to hard physical labor like this soon after the hard physical labor of childbirth!
Uterine prolapse can be the result and affects hundreds of thousands of Nepalese women.

You can only imagine the relief they feel when they get their lives back!

This time, the Dutch team had Nepalese OB/GYN residents in attendance.
You can imagine how useful and necessary this is!

(Do you see Ramon?)

Colorado's Global Centura Initiatives OB/GYN team also came.

link:  http://www.centuraglobalhealth.org/cgh/home/

They come twice a year for the much needed uterine prolapse surgeries.
Here's Ramon with some of their team and some of his own operating room staff members.

A few extra people came and spent some time at school
telling stories and doing crafts.  You can see that fun was had by all!

Next came ADRA Japan's plastic surgery cleft palate repair team.
Many of them were "returnees" whom Ramon was glad to see again!

These men are two of the anesthesiologists--Ramon's "partners in crime!"

We're very thankful that these professionals come during their vacation time to help others!

To close for now, take a look at this cute pic I was able to capture!
During a recent church service,
one of our Beginners Sabbath School Class members came to consult a point with Ramon!
Adorable!

The next Sabbath she just couldn't stay awake during the sermon!

So precious!

Have a nice day--and if you're in a winter zone, stay warm!
Bye from Nepal for now!