what did you did?

Warm greetings from Pokhara! Goodness, it's good to be here. I have much to tell you, so I will do my very best to invite you in to what has encompassed the last couple weeks leading up to today's arrival in beautiful Pokhara. Ever since I arrived in Nepal, at Mendies Haven, I have been jotting down my favorite sayings that the kids use. Most of it is just misplaced English words, and if I were a more helpful volunteer, I would politely correct them as to how the sentence structure SHOULD be, but it brings me too much joy to hear some. Lately, my absolute favorite is whenever I go out for the day & return, at least 5 of the children will ask, "Lauren sister, what did you did today?" so if I ask you, "what did you did?" when I get home, you'll understand why. Oh, another thing to be aware of. I'm sure many of you know what I mean when I say "the bobble head." you know, the head nod back & forth that an Indian or Nepali does when you ask a question in search of a simple yes or no. Well, it's incredibly elusive and usually I find myself asking for a verbal yes or no, but as luck would have it I have started as well. You'll see. Sorry in advance. Thus far, I have been incredibly blessed by a huge family at the haven. Today began my solo journey, making independent decisions and deciding which bus looks like it's going where I need to go. In the spirit of solo traveling, since honestly it can make one increasingly flustered & at times crazy, I have shifted my mindset to this: I am on the Amazing Race. Everywhere I need to go, everyone I meet, every obstacle that I maneuver around gets me that much closer to the prize. Oh, and every day is an elimination day so I have to succeed. So, there's that. Last week around Kathmandu was well, eventful. The better half of the week was spent with Johannes at the Indian embassy applying for his visa and meeting nice hippy friends & Tibetan monks. The weekend got real crazy, real quick. Saturday, Daniel Mendies took us around to the "big sites" of Kathmandu. Starting in Bhaktapur, we explored one of the oldest and most beautiful cities still in tact. Daniel insisted we try their famous, Bhaktapur Dhai, a yogurt/curd dish, which was remarkably delicious. I thought surely it was my ticket to sickness because of the flies & hair on the top layer, but it was real nice once you snuck past that little roadblock. We headed out to Bouddha, which is more or less a giant done that is said to hold thousands of Buddhas inside. Go figure. The remainder of the day was spent at Pashupati & Swayembu. Pashupati is a sacred Hindu site that every Hindu must make a pilgrimage to at some point in their life(not all do, but it's a supposed requirement). They actually burn deceased bodies publically on platforms. While we were wandering around, taking pictures of some angry monkeys, 2 bodies were actually burning. More on this via pictures & reenactments upon return.. Sunday, I went canyon swinging. If you don't know what that means, basically it's a glorified version of bungee jumping. So, apparently it's the talked canyon swing in the world, presently. It falls 160m (about 500 ft) into a gigantic gorge. It was really, really fun. I have a video. I will show you. This, more or less leads us to now. This morning I busily got myself ready in the pitch black(no power), and caught a taxi to my 7 am bus. To my surprise(not really), my bus never came. So I was conveniently smuggled onto the next bus, cozily in the cab with the driver and in between a couple Sherpas. Although uncomfortable, I learned about half a dozen successful Everest summits & even some new Nepali words. I am now in the hands of the Chettri sisters at 3 sisters guest house. Pokhara, what I've seen of it thus far, is incredibly beautiful. Most of the town runs along the lake & is bustling with western travelers. I am surprised at the amount of solo travelers, like myself, that roam the streets. I have met a couple fun friends due to my increasing curiosity as to what everyone's story is and where they are all headed. It's fun, even if just for a moment to share stories & enjoy the company. On Monday, I will head off to trek for the next couple weeks. Therefore, this may or may not be the last post until I return once again to pokhara. Until then my sweet friends, namaste. Peace, love & trekking, laur

Happy Holi.

Happy Holi! As luck would have it, I'm here in Nepal on one of the most colorful days of the year. It's a long standing Hindu holiday in which water is sprayed around as a reminder of the cooling monsoon days to come. Also known as the festival of colors, namely colored powered is also thrown everywhere. In the streets, on cars, on your face. It's nice. Seeing as the kids here at the Haven don't have school today, we will play & throw water balloons instead. I am continuing to learn more & more about these kids. Many of them with lots of deeply rooted anger & abandonment issues. Aside from the occasional meltdown or temper tantrum, they are so easy to love. I suppose if I had to give myself a job title here it would be "lover of kids" because really that's what I get to do. We study, we do projects, we play jump roping games & lots of basketball, but I'm actually the lucky one. I can just love them. Turning 24 in Nepal was no small fare. Birthdays are a BIG deal. We went to the movies, which actually was incredibly luxurious. We saw Ghost Rider 2. Pathetic excuse of a movie. Nicolas Cage is past his prime, or did he ever have a prime? So with that said I mostly just enjoyed my comfy seat & escaping the polluted air of Kathmandu. We ate pizza. We watched some more movies. I encountered my first bout of wild monkeys. It was entertaining to say the very least. I felt overwhelmingly loved from all of you at home. It's incredible how love can travel so far, yeah? So here I am, 24, healthy, happy & thriving. I have begun planning some trekking adventures which shall commence at the end of this month. Annapurna Circuit, here i come. Stay tuned. I love you all more than ever, I still miss you & I am incredibly thankful for you. Peace, love & Holi, laur

a land of plenty.

Two weeks has come & gone quickly. Two weeks ago I began an adventure that had been in the works for about a year...
In a matter of two weeks, turns out you can also learn a lot about yourself when alone in a new place. Nepal is an beautiful country, with drastic landscapes, rich culture, extremely kind people & an incredible affinity for rice. What's also incredible is how many preconceived notions I had about this place. No global studies course could have prepared me for what this place really is. Yes, most statistics will show that Nepal ranks among the world's poorest countries. However, any Nepali you ask will tell you that the potential is great. As a landlocked country, they import most of their goods from India, but what statistics fail to mention is that Nepal has the potential to be hydro-powered & reaping benefits from it's rich land. After a couple days exploring Kathmandu it all made a little more sense. Down the same road, one man walks pushing his rickshaw, hoping that maybe he will find shelter for the night. Right behind him comes a brand new range rover, honking furiously for this man to get out of the way. If there is one thing my professors continually reiterated was that the gap between the rich & poor is growing at a pace no one could have ever projected. I see it, I really see it.

So here I am, you know, in the Kathmandu Valley... Spending my days with 30 kids who I am learning to love, quite a bit. I feel like I've taken on 30 little brothers & sisters. I'm learning to carry 3 to 4 kids on my back at a time & as it turns out, I'm quickly perfecting my basketball shot. These children want to know every detail to my life. If anyone were to ask at least half of them could tell you my birthday, the name of every family member, the geogrpahic location of santa barbara and about each friend there, all about Kevin & probably his family too, & can even repeat little things I say that I didn't even realize I said. Let's just say they listen intently.
I am thankful for quiet, because I will have you know that life here is a lot slower. My life in California is anything but slow. There has been an adjustment, yes. Learning to live slowly is not natural for me, but in the midst there is peace. So much peace. I am learning to sit in what the Lord promises in Psalm 100. To know more & more that it is He who made us & we are His. I am His. I pray that more & more I will be a daughter, friend, sister, girlfriend, younglife leader & nomad who lives in the light of truth & joy.

The last 2 days, I have woke to the glory of the Himalayas. They are big & mighty. I am thankful that God's glory is so evident here. I am thankful for my new 30 brothers & sisters.
I am thankful to be in a plentiful land.

I miss you all. I really really do.

peace, love & the Kathmandu Valley,
laur

Radhika & friends.

This morning I awoke to all new things. Mostly because I fell asleep completely disillusioned & not sure of my surroundings in the first place. Yesterday, or whenever it was, ended my 40 hour travel day. It wasn't glamorous but it was entertaining...

I got to Hong Kong, unphased by the fact that I totally lost the entirety of Sunday, February 12 to the drone of an airplane rocking me to a fro some kind of sleep. Hong Kong is what you might expect.. A lot of nice men & women looking very professional and very busy. In fact, so busy that I felt like I needed to power walk around in order to explore, too. After some time, my legs decided it wasn't fun anymore & I made my way back to the train to head to the airport. I don't feel a burning desire to make it back to Hong Kong anytime soon, but if I'm ever trying to climb the corporate ladder.. Look for me there.

I knew I had made the right plane when I walked on & it immediately smelled like spicy body odor. A smell all too familiar to my time in India a couple summers back. Something about curry & no deodorant. I mean, to each his own. Also, most people on this flight had hiking shoes on & trekking poles on their carry on. Anyways, I did it. 40 hours later I reached Kathmandu, a place that seemed so far and a bit like the reality of it would never live out.

Turns out, I'm thankful for 40 hour travel days. It gives me ample amounts to time I sit in the things I usually wouldn't or wouldn't necessarily set time aside for. I thought about how Jen was probably in Oxnard, loving her internship. About how Hayley was prayerfully getting ready for yet another young life club. How Kevin had his first night of worship at Vespers, Chico. How kendra was hanging out with sister Tay in the UK. How my mom was probably sitting worrying where in the world I was & if I was okay...

All this to say, I am blessed. Being away & finding time to be quiet gives me so much space to be thankful & rejoice in how big our God is.

The kids will be getting home from school any minute, but I will end with this. This morning I woke up too early from jet lag just in time to help the little girls (there are 17 of them) get ready for school. I'll be figuring out what my "role" is over the next few days, but couldn't believe that I get to spend time with these girls. Most of them have never known their parents, in fact i'm not sure any of them do. One girl, Radhika, doesn't attend school due to learning disabilities. All morning Radhika & I talked about her life. I was reading from James & she wanted to read along so I read in English & she read after me in Nepali. If this is any taste of how this time is going to be, then yes, yes yes yes.

peace, love & jet lag,

laur

a free little bird.

Well my friends, up 'til now I had just assumed I would never see the day. There would be lots of talk but never would I have to actually come to terms with the fact that indeed, I AM leaving for Nepal. In two days, I will set off on an adventure that holds a lot of unknowns.

I have always looked upon this season of my life as my "freedom frolic" or "post-college grace period," where I would be a free little bird, that of which it has very much been. With that said, I am grateful, so very grateful for what this season has held & will continue to hold. I learned for the first time, probably ever, what it looks like to be still, to be obedient in understanding a quiet life. I spent hours with little kiddos that I adore & learned what it looks like to love beyond yourself by watching parents whom I respect, raise their children. I spent hours walking, talking, dancing, hiking, traveling & learning to love my friends in deeper, more intentional ways (also, turns out I have the world's greatest friends). I spent way too many hours in my car not knowing if it was going to sputter out or get me to where I needed to be. I laughed a lot. I went to home group every week, knowing that I would walk away with a more clear picture of who Jesus is because of the community & friendship that was built. I learned & am learning that falling in love is not just some cheesy Hollywood gimmick, turns out it's real too. So, there's that. For all of these reasons, I am thankful for a season of rest, a season to understand that it's okay to say "no" to some things & to leave room for interruptions. I am thankful that this all feels bigger than me, that I don't understand it all & never will. I am thankful.

So here I am, a little free bird, heading off to a place I have never been. I invite you to be with me in this, because Lord knows I don't know what I'm doing. I will covet your prayers & do my best to make you feel like you have a better understanding of what i'm doing while in Nepal & a better picture of what life is like somewhere other than the United States. It will be fun. I will be spending the first couple months here, http://www.mendieshaven.org/haven/Welcome.html & then well... stay tuned.

As for now, I don't know much other than I'm going. Oh, I also do know that I have a 12 hour layover in Hong Kong, so hopefully i'll eating some yummy dumplings or something.
Thanks for being a part of my life. I am thankful

talk to you on the other side.
peace, love & the Himalayas,

lauren