We have moved house!
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"And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him." - 1 John 5:15
High time for an update here on this blog! I know everyone is very curious about baby things and that makes sense if you know someone who lives in Nepal and is 34 weeks pregnant. But first, let me start from the beginning and recall what has happened here in the meantime and how God has provided what we have prayed for beyond expectations.
Both me and you as a reader of my blog have concluded that daily blogging is too much for me. It was great to do, in a writing urge at the time, but I am and will not be a full-time or even part-time blogger or vlogger. There is too much other work to do. It is now about half a year after starting this blog. I hope to post more frequently now that we have connected WiFi here. But I promise nothing because it is almost impossible to plan.
Final months in Kathmandu
It is more than three months after posting my last blog. That was from Kathmandu. In the month of June I was busy completing study assignments and writing exams. Immediately after my exams we received visitors from the Netherlands, my cousin sister and her boyfriend, who stayed with us the entire month of July. Unfortunately, due to rain and floods and because David was still working in Kathmandu for a new Christian film, we were unable to move to Ilam in mid-July as planned.
In the meantime, we sold our kitchen table, chairs, cupboard, bed and coffee table. The road to our house was smooth out and partly paved. After having to ride a bumpy road for over a year, this was just in time for our exodus. (In the weeks before, the road was sometimes blocked, the taxi could not even drive our guests till our front door, but on the day of our departure everything was smooth and everything went smoothly ... and that was not just the road ...)
The last two days that we had our NLs visit were busy packing days. They packed their own things and helped us pack our things. It turned out to be more stuff than I thought, but it wasn't much. Mattresses, blankets, pillows, clothing, shoes, laptops, kitchen utensils, the guitar ...
Journey Kathmandu - Ilam
Our guests left for the airport at midnight and we slept a short night to get up at three o'clock, roll up our mattresses and get everything in and on the roof of the jeep that would take us to Ilam. Normally this jeep transports ten passengers between Ilam and Kathmandu. This day we had reserved almost the entire car so that all our things would fit in it. Fortunately there was just enough room so that I could occupy the double front seat on my own. That was necessary, because super tight sitting side by side is not done with a big belly. (I tried it for a short part of the journey, but didn't know where to put my arms.)
There we went, on the way to an unknown future in Ilam. With a vision and all sorts of ideas and plans, but no idea how it would go. We might have to live with our parents on the farm for a month until we would find a suitable apartment in the town. We might have to drag all our belongings to the farm and store them in our uncle's house, who lives below our house on the 'big' road (which is not paved and sometimes quite bumpy). Yet the conviction grew in my heart that God had already provided everything we had prayed for for so long.
And in a wonderful way that became true. Around 6 o'clock in the evening we arrived in the town of Ilam Bazar. Ideally, David wanted to drive home immediately. However, the jeep we came with did not have a four-wheel drive and the driver did not dare to take the road to our house, afraid that he would get stuck on the way back or slip when the car was empty. It was getting dark soon. The driver was able to turn the car safely despite the bumpy road and back at the top of the hill it had become fully dark. The driver had arranged a pickup truck for us to transport us and our things to the farm.
At the start of the road to our house, at the intersection with the main road between Ilam Bazar and Biblyante Bazar, a friend (from the IFGF church in Sirisai) of our age appeared to live, with his wife in their motorcycle maintenance garage. They also rented an extra room nearby for storage and for the boy who worked for them. Since we wanted to move to the town as quickly as possible, they insisted on storing most of our things there. We had often considered this option in advance, but did not arrange anything, except that we had packed the things separately for the eventual case. Later it turned out that the person with whom we wanted to leave some things had already left for another room. Unexpectedly, God provided the storage space that we needed and that was not all ...
We loaded everything from the jeep into the room and partly into the pickup. Along the way this driver turned out to be a Christian. He also appeared to know our uncle because he had recently delivered a load there. After about 45 minutes of slow driving in the dark on the sometimes bumpy road we reached our uncle's house. There we were offered to leave things behind and to carry home tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. With only our direct supplies and laptop and important documents, we climbed the hill to our house. Mother no longer counted on our arrival for today and so quickly prepared us some food. After such a long day and long journey we slept like roses in our room on a double bed of a large shelf on top of a smaller bed and a new mattress.
To the church
Within one day we had reached our destination for now. We had expected having to occupy a hotel room in the town, but that was not necessary. Two days later it was Saturday and time to go to church. I was still pretty tired (also because of the heat on the farm), but I wanted to go to church. Our friends from the garage invited us to join them to a church in the area. Because there is no public transport on Saturdays (because there are no people available who go to the city), we had to walk. On the 'big' road it takes more than two hours to walk (I now know that), but David decided to go straight up narrow paths to Biblyante Bazar to get into a car from there.
That was a whole climb! I had walked this road before, but with a baby underway and tired it was extra heavy. I had to give David the end of my scarf so that I could pull myself up on the steep paths. After a long and difficult climb we finally arrived at a big road ... which unfortunately was broken by heavy traffic and had a deep layer of mud. Only on the roadside you could walk a bit normally, but that too was interrupted once. David jumped a few feet to the next dry stretch, but I didn't dare. So sandals off, leggings rolled up and draped in the mud. A bit further on was fortunately a water tap, where I could rinse my feet.
We finally reached the jeeps and vans that provide public transport here. We got a place in a jeep that was about to leave ... on the back seat, where you have to climb through the back door, sitting with four people tight. Halfway through the ride we had to tumble out again (it was almost like that), because we were at our destination. Immediately we went on our way from the garage to the church, another steep climb. It was good to worship God together with others. But the best of that day - it turned out - was that the boys decided to look for an apartment together. We also met the minister's daughter from Sirisai studying in Ilam city in the church and she was also interested in sharing an apartment and starting an IFGF church.
Apartment found
No sooner said than done. On Sunday David went to the city to look for an apartment with his friend Abram. Our scooter would not arrive until a few weeks later with a bus from Kathmandu, and David drove the motorbike here from Kathmandu only last week, so moving from home to town was a hassle. The jeeps only drive around 9:30 am and 2:00 pm back. So otherwise he went walking or asked for a lift on the way to a lonely motorrider. Anyway, this fight was over soon, because on Monday the apartment they had found on Sunday was reserved for us. On Tuesday I went to town (with a jeep), but I didn't get to see the apartment because the two guys went on the motorbike to talk to the landlord. So I spent the whole day on my phone in the garage (after a long week finally some wifi again).
That evening we ate in a hotel of acquaintances close by and stayed there for the next day to move. The boys went on a motorbike to the farm, where I had already more or less packed everything, to put all our stuff in a jeep from there and to return on motorbike themselves. In the garage, we as women now also packed all clothing and cooking utensils. (The garage is a cabin made of wood and corrugated iron and has been used as a place of residence for a few months by our friends, due to a lack of time to look for some better place.) Wednesday was exactly a day off for offices, so little work in the garage. That worked out well. We rented a small van that was loaded twice with stuff to our new house.
We, as ladies, were allowed to go upstairs immediately (of course we did carry some stuff) and started unpacking. The boys went up and down the stairs from the ground floor to the third floor to get all the stuff upstairs. When everything was inside, the moment came to decide who would take which room. Since I can appreciate a floor carpet and the others would rather have a plastic floor cover, it was quickly decided. The smaller room remained for our student. That room has a wall full of cupboards, we also occupy a few parts of it. Each room had one or two beds and cupboards / tables and the living room is also furnished. In the first week we moved some furniture from one room to the other or to the kitchen dining room.
To put it briefly: we have an apartment with three bedrooms, a living room, a large kitchen, bathroom, many and large windows and a covered balcony (very suitable for drying laundry as it rains here often and irregularly). And the apartment was already waiting for us. The landlord was about to leave for Kathmandu and was still looking for tenants. The boys didn't have to search. The first best gentleman they met and asked if he knew anything in the area was the landlord himself. It is not the cheapest apartment, but ideal to live with several families and individuals and to hold church services.
Mission started
Right from the first day we started with morning and evening fellowship (singing, worship, reading the Bible and explaining and praying), from Sunday onwards we had a schedule for whom it is to lead and which part of the Bible is the turn and who will read it and explain. On Friday we prepared for the church service and immediately that Saturday we held our first service with the residents of the house and two others. Even though the same people didn't come every Saturday, until now we had two or three more people each service. We pray for a crowded living room so that we have to rent a hall for the services in two months. After the service we serve tea, so that people stay for a while and there is time for building relationships.
We were still concerned who would do guitar accompaniment in church services, but the boy who worked in the garage can play the guitar. He left for Kathmandu after two weeks, but ensured follow-up. In the meantime, I can also give a nice accompaniment with guitar and I even led the worship session during the third service, when David was in Kathmandu for the latest film work and voice recordings. The second guitar player has also left (to his house in the village for the holidays), but a next one has already been arranged. It is not our goal to attract people from other churches, but many students who live in the city do church shopping (I actually did that in Utrecht too) and so it is no problem to attract some Christian students (friends of our roommate) who can help with singing and music.
Two more services and then I leave for Kathmandu myself. We have done 'choir practice' twice (practicing songs with choir and musicians), in which I and our roommate formed the choir and a friend did the guitar accompaniment. I hope that within two weeks the choir and the music will be further expanded, so that I can leave that with confidence when I go to Kathmandu. I try to teach the smoother singing style of Kathmandu here, in the villages they sing many songs very slowly. Since this is a city church and we want to focus primarily on young people (and we are young too), a smooth style is more appropriate.
Concluding vocals
There is much more to write, I am sewing here wonderfully, have already sewed a typical Nepalese clothing set (kurta suruwal) for my mother-in-law. (Was my first time, but she was very confident that I can do that, so I had a good experience and received nothing but positive feedback). Except on Saturdays, my sewing machine is on the living room table all week. So I have already started my sewing workshop, but a cafe is planned for later. Furthermore, walking outside here is wonderful, fresh air in abundance without dust and air pollution. Meanwhile I am already busy with the preparations to travel to Kathmandu.
Resume
To conclude this blog a short summary of what God did in the past month:
- a paved road
- the trip to Ilam within one day and without rain
- storage space for our belongings
- moved to an apartment in the city within one week
- live together with other Christians
- I only have to cook and clean once in a while (I was worried about being in an apartment with only the two of us and having to cook every time)
- guitar players are provided
- apartment in a beautiful place, lots of space, large windows, space for church services, sewing and for guest accommodation
Many things to give thanks for! Soon more about the ups and downs of our offspring that will see the light of life, God willing, around mid-October.
<< Lees in het Nederlands >>
"And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him." - 1 John 5:15
High time for an update here on this blog! I know everyone is very curious about baby things and that makes sense if you know someone who lives in Nepal and is 34 weeks pregnant. But first, let me start from the beginning and recall what has happened here in the meantime and how God has provided what we have prayed for beyond expectations.
Both me and you as a reader of my blog have concluded that daily blogging is too much for me. It was great to do, in a writing urge at the time, but I am and will not be a full-time or even part-time blogger or vlogger. There is too much other work to do. It is now about half a year after starting this blog. I hope to post more frequently now that we have connected WiFi here. But I promise nothing because it is almost impossible to plan.
Final months in Kathmandu
It is more than three months after posting my last blog. That was from Kathmandu. In the month of June I was busy completing study assignments and writing exams. Immediately after my exams we received visitors from the Netherlands, my cousin sister and her boyfriend, who stayed with us the entire month of July. Unfortunately, due to rain and floods and because David was still working in Kathmandu for a new Christian film, we were unable to move to Ilam in mid-July as planned.
In the meantime, we sold our kitchen table, chairs, cupboard, bed and coffee table. The road to our house was smooth out and partly paved. After having to ride a bumpy road for over a year, this was just in time for our exodus. (In the weeks before, the road was sometimes blocked, the taxi could not even drive our guests till our front door, but on the day of our departure everything was smooth and everything went smoothly ... and that was not just the road ...)
The last two days that we had our NLs visit were busy packing days. They packed their own things and helped us pack our things. It turned out to be more stuff than I thought, but it wasn't much. Mattresses, blankets, pillows, clothing, shoes, laptops, kitchen utensils, the guitar ...
Journey Kathmandu - Ilam
Our guests left for the airport at midnight and we slept a short night to get up at three o'clock, roll up our mattresses and get everything in and on the roof of the jeep that would take us to Ilam. Normally this jeep transports ten passengers between Ilam and Kathmandu. This day we had reserved almost the entire car so that all our things would fit in it. Fortunately there was just enough room so that I could occupy the double front seat on my own. That was necessary, because super tight sitting side by side is not done with a big belly. (I tried it for a short part of the journey, but didn't know where to put my arms.)
There we went, on the way to an unknown future in Ilam. With a vision and all sorts of ideas and plans, but no idea how it would go. We might have to live with our parents on the farm for a month until we would find a suitable apartment in the town. We might have to drag all our belongings to the farm and store them in our uncle's house, who lives below our house on the 'big' road (which is not paved and sometimes quite bumpy). Yet the conviction grew in my heart that God had already provided everything we had prayed for for so long.
And in a wonderful way that became true. Around 6 o'clock in the evening we arrived in the town of Ilam Bazar. Ideally, David wanted to drive home immediately. However, the jeep we came with did not have a four-wheel drive and the driver did not dare to take the road to our house, afraid that he would get stuck on the way back or slip when the car was empty. It was getting dark soon. The driver was able to turn the car safely despite the bumpy road and back at the top of the hill it had become fully dark. The driver had arranged a pickup truck for us to transport us and our things to the farm.
At the start of the road to our house, at the intersection with the main road between Ilam Bazar and Biblyante Bazar, a friend (from the IFGF church in Sirisai) of our age appeared to live, with his wife in their motorcycle maintenance garage. They also rented an extra room nearby for storage and for the boy who worked for them. Since we wanted to move to the town as quickly as possible, they insisted on storing most of our things there. We had often considered this option in advance, but did not arrange anything, except that we had packed the things separately for the eventual case. Later it turned out that the person with whom we wanted to leave some things had already left for another room. Unexpectedly, God provided the storage space that we needed and that was not all ...
We loaded everything from the jeep into the room and partly into the pickup. Along the way this driver turned out to be a Christian. He also appeared to know our uncle because he had recently delivered a load there. After about 45 minutes of slow driving in the dark on the sometimes bumpy road we reached our uncle's house. There we were offered to leave things behind and to carry home tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. With only our direct supplies and laptop and important documents, we climbed the hill to our house. Mother no longer counted on our arrival for today and so quickly prepared us some food. After such a long day and long journey we slept like roses in our room on a double bed of a large shelf on top of a smaller bed and a new mattress.
To the church
Within one day we had reached our destination for now. We had expected having to occupy a hotel room in the town, but that was not necessary. Two days later it was Saturday and time to go to church. I was still pretty tired (also because of the heat on the farm), but I wanted to go to church. Our friends from the garage invited us to join them to a church in the area. Because there is no public transport on Saturdays (because there are no people available who go to the city), we had to walk. On the 'big' road it takes more than two hours to walk (I now know that), but David decided to go straight up narrow paths to Biblyante Bazar to get into a car from there.
That was a whole climb! I had walked this road before, but with a baby underway and tired it was extra heavy. I had to give David the end of my scarf so that I could pull myself up on the steep paths. After a long and difficult climb we finally arrived at a big road ... which unfortunately was broken by heavy traffic and had a deep layer of mud. Only on the roadside you could walk a bit normally, but that too was interrupted once. David jumped a few feet to the next dry stretch, but I didn't dare. So sandals off, leggings rolled up and draped in the mud. A bit further on was fortunately a water tap, where I could rinse my feet.
We finally reached the jeeps and vans that provide public transport here. We got a place in a jeep that was about to leave ... on the back seat, where you have to climb through the back door, sitting with four people tight. Halfway through the ride we had to tumble out again (it was almost like that), because we were at our destination. Immediately we went on our way from the garage to the church, another steep climb. It was good to worship God together with others. But the best of that day - it turned out - was that the boys decided to look for an apartment together. We also met the minister's daughter from Sirisai studying in Ilam city in the church and she was also interested in sharing an apartment and starting an IFGF church.
Apartment found
No sooner said than done. On Sunday David went to the city to look for an apartment with his friend Abram. Our scooter would not arrive until a few weeks later with a bus from Kathmandu, and David drove the motorbike here from Kathmandu only last week, so moving from home to town was a hassle. The jeeps only drive around 9:30 am and 2:00 pm back. So otherwise he went walking or asked for a lift on the way to a lonely motorrider. Anyway, this fight was over soon, because on Monday the apartment they had found on Sunday was reserved for us. On Tuesday I went to town (with a jeep), but I didn't get to see the apartment because the two guys went on the motorbike to talk to the landlord. So I spent the whole day on my phone in the garage (after a long week finally some wifi again).
That evening we ate in a hotel of acquaintances close by and stayed there for the next day to move. The boys went on a motorbike to the farm, where I had already more or less packed everything, to put all our stuff in a jeep from there and to return on motorbike themselves. In the garage, we as women now also packed all clothing and cooking utensils. (The garage is a cabin made of wood and corrugated iron and has been used as a place of residence for a few months by our friends, due to a lack of time to look for some better place.) Wednesday was exactly a day off for offices, so little work in the garage. That worked out well. We rented a small van that was loaded twice with stuff to our new house.
We, as ladies, were allowed to go upstairs immediately (of course we did carry some stuff) and started unpacking. The boys went up and down the stairs from the ground floor to the third floor to get all the stuff upstairs. When everything was inside, the moment came to decide who would take which room. Since I can appreciate a floor carpet and the others would rather have a plastic floor cover, it was quickly decided. The smaller room remained for our student. That room has a wall full of cupboards, we also occupy a few parts of it. Each room had one or two beds and cupboards / tables and the living room is also furnished. In the first week we moved some furniture from one room to the other or to the kitchen dining room.
To put it briefly: we have an apartment with three bedrooms, a living room, a large kitchen, bathroom, many and large windows and a covered balcony (very suitable for drying laundry as it rains here often and irregularly). And the apartment was already waiting for us. The landlord was about to leave for Kathmandu and was still looking for tenants. The boys didn't have to search. The first best gentleman they met and asked if he knew anything in the area was the landlord himself. It is not the cheapest apartment, but ideal to live with several families and individuals and to hold church services.
Mission started
Right from the first day we started with morning and evening fellowship (singing, worship, reading the Bible and explaining and praying), from Sunday onwards we had a schedule for whom it is to lead and which part of the Bible is the turn and who will read it and explain. On Friday we prepared for the church service and immediately that Saturday we held our first service with the residents of the house and two others. Even though the same people didn't come every Saturday, until now we had two or three more people each service. We pray for a crowded living room so that we have to rent a hall for the services in two months. After the service we serve tea, so that people stay for a while and there is time for building relationships.
We were still concerned who would do guitar accompaniment in church services, but the boy who worked in the garage can play the guitar. He left for Kathmandu after two weeks, but ensured follow-up. In the meantime, I can also give a nice accompaniment with guitar and I even led the worship session during the third service, when David was in Kathmandu for the latest film work and voice recordings. The second guitar player has also left (to his house in the village for the holidays), but a next one has already been arranged. It is not our goal to attract people from other churches, but many students who live in the city do church shopping (I actually did that in Utrecht too) and so it is no problem to attract some Christian students (friends of our roommate) who can help with singing and music.
Two more services and then I leave for Kathmandu myself. We have done 'choir practice' twice (practicing songs with choir and musicians), in which I and our roommate formed the choir and a friend did the guitar accompaniment. I hope that within two weeks the choir and the music will be further expanded, so that I can leave that with confidence when I go to Kathmandu. I try to teach the smoother singing style of Kathmandu here, in the villages they sing many songs very slowly. Since this is a city church and we want to focus primarily on young people (and we are young too), a smooth style is more appropriate.
Concluding vocals
There is much more to write, I am sewing here wonderfully, have already sewed a typical Nepalese clothing set (kurta suruwal) for my mother-in-law. (Was my first time, but she was very confident that I can do that, so I had a good experience and received nothing but positive feedback). Except on Saturdays, my sewing machine is on the living room table all week. So I have already started my sewing workshop, but a cafe is planned for later. Furthermore, walking outside here is wonderful, fresh air in abundance without dust and air pollution. Meanwhile I am already busy with the preparations to travel to Kathmandu.
Resume
To conclude this blog a short summary of what God did in the past month:
- a paved road
- the trip to Ilam within one day and without rain
- storage space for our belongings
- moved to an apartment in the city within one week
- live together with other Christians
- I only have to cook and clean once in a while (I was worried about being in an apartment with only the two of us and having to cook every time)
- guitar players are provided
- apartment in a beautiful place, lots of space, large windows, space for church services, sewing and for guest accommodation
Many things to give thanks for! Soon more about the ups and downs of our offspring that will see the light of life, God willing, around mid-October.
<< Lees in het Nederlands >>
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