Tomorrow: Hello Asia

Hi!
It’s late Saturday night here, the night before we leave for Nepal!

It’s hard to comprehend that 12 weeks have already gone by... wow. Time is so strange that way, it seems like a short time but then it feels like a very long time --all at the same time.


Well this past week has been an exciting and eventful one! (As is every week here). Yesterday we wrapped up the final day of teaching with a crash course on basic health care. We learned about simple, natural ways to teach others how to guard the body against infection, how to clean and wrap wounds, how to prevent cough and colds, fevers, malnutrition, and how to prevent/treat diarrhea.
(Seriously: one of the highest causes of death in children is diarrhea. Sounds ridiculous but it’s true. Their food is going straight through them at a very rapid rate, so they lose massive amounts of water and electrolytes, and they become severely dehydrated. If they are not able to get adequate fluids into their system, they die.

Drinking a simple mixture of clean water, salt, and sugar (ORS-Oral Rehydration Solution), replenishes the body with electrolytes (salt) and energy (sugar) and is absorbed more effectively and quickly than plain water. This simple teaching will stop many children and adults from dying from diarrhea via dehydration! Ahh! We are so over-educated in the West!

So we’ll be doing some basic health care clinics too! Yay! A little foretaste of what the Birth Attendant School will be like!
I’m in charge of carrying the stethoscopes and ear-checking kit.

(For those of you that don’t know or are confused about what school I am doing right now;)
I am presently completing the YWAM Discipleship Training School (DTS) with a Compassion Focus. This means that the things we will do on our outreach to Nepal and Cambodia will be more “mercy/compassion focused”. We will love on people in orphanages, care for the children that have been forced into the terrible child trafficking ring, teach English, do some basic health care, perform in the streets doing dances and dramas, and trekking up to remote villages where the mountain people have not yet heard the good news about a Savior who loves them and yearns to be in relationship with them. Most importantly, we will share our life stories with the precious Nepalese and Cambodians about what Jesus has done in each of our lives, the eternal Hope there is in Him, and the free gift of salvation He extends to all humanity. We are trusting God for amazing things to happen on this outreach. Signs and wonders to follow. I’ll keep you posted!

THEN, after this, I am doing an 11-month Birth Attendant School in July where I will learn how to be a midwife for women in developing nations. I will have 3 months in Perth, Australia (the YWAM Perth Base), and then an 8 month outreach to nations in Africa, Asia, and/or the Middle East.

So the journey has really just begun!

Anyway, it is the wee hours of the night here and I can hear the murmur of sleepy girls chatting as they pack their bags, and my little cricket friend is making his nightly cricket chirping noises... he must be in a crack behind the fridge.
I’m also listening to amazing music by Sigur Ros, their album called “Takk”. (They’re an Icelandic band who artfully use instruments and vocals to create quite a colourful, beautiful sound!) I recommend the songs “Glosoli” and “Mea Bloanasir”. Check it out on the iTunes Store.

So good music floods my ears and the satisfaction of having my clothes freshly washed and my backpack packed puts a peaceful smile on my face.
I cut my hair today, gave it a fresh trim, and added more layers... it looks really good!
And with a cup of yummy, free, donated-to-the-base Organic Soy Milk in hand, I can now sit down to write.

Well, I wont have my laptop with me on outreach for these next three months. It is too heavy and too valuable to take for the kind of trip we’ll be doing. We don’t know for sure the accomodation we’ll be having, but it is quite likely that there won’t be running water. Toilet paper is also non-existent there. We are advised to bring our own. And apparently the electricity is only on for 3 hours per day in some parts. It will be a different world...Welcome to Nepal.
I can’t wait!

So, having said that, I’ll try to update the blog when I can, but who knows when Internet cafes will be open, and if I’ll be able to send a little message within the 3-hour electricity time. It will most likely be little tidbits here and there, and hopefully when I get back in Australia I can edit my posts and fill out the details and add some pictures too.

It’s 2 am here, in 14 hours we’ll be at the airport boarding a plane for Bangkok, Thailand. We’ll sleep on the floor overnight in the Bangkok airport, and then catch our plane for Kathmandu, Nepal at 10 am the following morning.
Then....?

Well, I’ll have to let you know.


Next time I write I’ll be wearing a punjabi.
!!!!


And here I am at present:
..... “thumbs up for Asia!”

Expecting great things from God,
Love Fia