back again

Nepal treated Melissa and me wonderfully. When we first arrived, we found that exam week for the students in class 10 was happening, so the load-shedding schedule was at a minimum (as in, we had electricity the majority of the day). Also, the weather was much cooler than Dhaka. Although Nepalis would say it is heating up, Melissa and I were happy.

We spent Saturday in Kathmandu with friends old and new (a new British friend we met in Dhaka and our Nepali co-worker). The afternoon was spent in a garden called “The Garden of Dreams,” which actually lives up to its name—a beautiful oasis in the middle of a busy Asian city. On Sunday we took a bus to Pokhara in search of the mountains. The three days we spent there were very restful. On Tuesday we rented bicycles and rode out of town a ways. Getting on the bicycle felt like freedom. It was very good for my heart.

Wednesday morning as we were arriving at our bus, I saw what had eluded me up to that point: a clear view of the Annapurna mountains. It was incredible. Pictures do not do it justice because it doesn’t convey the enormity of the highest mountains on earth. And, still, what I saw was blocked by buildings. Someday I will come back and take a trek . . .

Yesterday Melissa and I went once again to the Garden of Dreams where we were pleasantly surprised to see our co-worker and her fiancé. Again, the garden lived up to its name.

As I sit in the airport looking ahead to arriving in Dhaka, I find mixed emotions. Nepal and Bangladesh are very different countries in terms of people, culture, and religion. While I am here in Nepal, I feel like my guard is down, but I know that that is because most of where I have stayed in Nepal is where the tourists stay. I have not begun to know the Nepali people like my co-worker has; I have not begun to feel the pain and brokenness of this country. Nepal might not be quite as abrasive toward me as a woman, but that is only on the surface.

I am ready to take on the last two months of language school. I am ready to get back to the friendships Melissa and I have begun. When we left Bangladesh to come to Nepal, I began to feel the pain of leaving . . . a premonition of what will be in two months.

Before I came over to Asia, I did not take into account that I could and would form deep friendships in Dhaka. I didn’t think about how I would in four months have to let go once again of a beautiful community. Now I am beginning to see what is ahead. There is a little apprehension to the next two months because of what comes at the end. There is this tension of knowing I will be heading to K-town where I meant to come in the first place, but knowing that I have to leave dear friends behind in Dhaka.

This is life. One day at a time. I will enjoy each moment I have now, and when the day comes to say good-bye, I will say good-bye. Please pray that I will take it as it comes, as God gives the grace.

Always with hope.