well, so much for the blissful night's sleep in the abu dahbi hotel. it was more like a blissful 3 1/2 hours sleep. sigh. they had this "sleep program" that came complete with a little booklet explaining all the best ways to ensure a good night's sleep (exercise, hot bath before bedtime, dark room, etc...) and both pillow spray and aromatherapy roll on essential oils to put on my pulse points to lull my brain into sleepy-land. they also had luxurious all cotton sheets and puffy pillows and a comforter. how could i NOT get a good night's sleep? well, have a person start pounding on my door at 2:30am. that's how. i still don't know who it was. i woke up to super loud knocking in the middle of the night. insistent, persistent, loud banging. i sat bolt upright in the dark, not knowing where i was or what time it was. then i came to my senses and started trying to find (in the dark) enough clothes to throw on to allow me to open the door. i heard the pounding make its way down the hall to other rooms as well. i was fumbling for light switches (which i never found) and yelling "who is it?" and "hang on!" and "what?" at the top of my lungs with no answer. the banging returned to my door. by the time i got to open it, though, the person or people who were responsible were gone. i didn't know if it was an evacuation or a fire drill, or my abducters finally arriving (joke!) but they were gone. i called the front desk who had no idea what i was talking about and sent security up to check it out. needless to say, it was tough to drift back to sleep after that. i even put some of the roller ball essential oils in my nose. nope- didn't help. rats!
wow. it was interesting to see once, but i don't feel a draw to spend any more time there than a layover or two. seriously, thank god for that.
(abu dahbi airport- mosaic tile ceiling with real gold)
the 4ish hour flight from abu dhabi to kathmandu was a snap after the 14 hour one the day before, and the plane was a big one that wasn't even 1/10 full, so we got to spread out and stretch out. i got to move with the window view and guess what i saw? on approach to kathmandu, the clouds were thick below us- and sticking up above the very highest clouds was the peak of mount everest. amazing. all i could think was that when people summit everest, they are nearly the same altitude as our plane. just standing outside above cloud line and even with a 747 or airbus or whatever we were on. i waved just in case they were up there and watching.
i am not usually a weeper. really, i'm not. i know i know- i cried at the ticket counter of ethiad airlines and was given the go ahead to take my ginormous backpack on against regulations, but i thought that was the exception and not the rule... evidently, i was wrong and i AM a weeper. at least on this trip. the second set of tears were ones of joy and amazement and not born of frustration or irritation- these were tears as i flew high above nepal and saw the himalayas unfold beneath me. they were tears of anticipation as i saw the villages far below, joined only by thin dirt tracks. they were tears of appreciation as i finally entered the land that god has called me to. they were tears of awe as i began to truly understand how powerfully god is moving and working in my life. i felt like destiny was there to greet me and the emotion of that was overwhelming. in some strange but not small way, i feel as if i'm home.
my bags are here!! my bags are here!! that made me very happy since my theory was wrong and day 3 in the same clothes wasn't more fun than day 2. i now have a completely different skirt on and have changed underwear twice- just because i can! that, folks, has made for a very happy woman. :0)
my prayer warriors have come through for me. as i landed, i was told that the bandha (strike) will end today and we will move ahead with plans to head up the mountain to the village of dadeldhura, where TEAM hospital is located. i didn't come literally half way across the world only to be stopped short of reaching my destination. once again, walking by faith and not by sight has been rewarded. i love it when that happens.
now, as i write this, i am in the small guest house of the family i will stay with until friday when i head to dadeldhura in the "far west". steve and marcy and the girls are wonderful. warm, funny, friendly- and teaching me things like how to eat the daal-bhat (lentils and rice) with my hands. they also have a gentle giant of a german shepherd named dakota, so i feel right at home.
(dakota!!)
so far, so goood!
the rest of the day has gone pretty smoothly. i left the hotel and said a silent prayer of thanks to god that he has NOT called me to serve him and be a full time missionary in abu dahbi, where it was already 98 degrees at 0730.
(the view from my hotel in abu dahbi)
wow. it was interesting to see once, but i don't feel a draw to spend any more time there than a layover or two. seriously, thank god for that.
(abu dahbi airport- mosaic tile ceiling with real gold)
the 4ish hour flight from abu dhabi to kathmandu was a snap after the 14 hour one the day before, and the plane was a big one that wasn't even 1/10 full, so we got to spread out and stretch out. i got to move with the window view and guess what i saw? on approach to kathmandu, the clouds were thick below us- and sticking up above the very highest clouds was the peak of mount everest. amazing. all i could think was that when people summit everest, they are nearly the same altitude as our plane. just standing outside above cloud line and even with a 747 or airbus or whatever we were on. i waved just in case they were up there and watching.
i am not usually a weeper. really, i'm not. i know i know- i cried at the ticket counter of ethiad airlines and was given the go ahead to take my ginormous backpack on against regulations, but i thought that was the exception and not the rule... evidently, i was wrong and i AM a weeper. at least on this trip. the second set of tears were ones of joy and amazement and not born of frustration or irritation- these were tears as i flew high above nepal and saw the himalayas unfold beneath me. they were tears of anticipation as i saw the villages far below, joined only by thin dirt tracks. they were tears of appreciation as i finally entered the land that god has called me to. they were tears of awe as i began to truly understand how powerfully god is moving and working in my life. i felt like destiny was there to greet me and the emotion of that was overwhelming. in some strange but not small way, i feel as if i'm home.
my bags are here!! my bags are here!! that made me very happy since my theory was wrong and day 3 in the same clothes wasn't more fun than day 2. i now have a completely different skirt on and have changed underwear twice- just because i can! that, folks, has made for a very happy woman. :0)
my prayer warriors have come through for me. as i landed, i was told that the bandha (strike) will end today and we will move ahead with plans to head up the mountain to the village of dadeldhura, where TEAM hospital is located. i didn't come literally half way across the world only to be stopped short of reaching my destination. once again, walking by faith and not by sight has been rewarded. i love it when that happens.
now, as i write this, i am in the small guest house of the family i will stay with until friday when i head to dadeldhura in the "far west". steve and marcy and the girls are wonderful. warm, funny, friendly- and teaching me things like how to eat the daal-bhat (lentils and rice) with my hands. they also have a gentle giant of a german shepherd named dakota, so i feel right at home.
(dakota!!)
Karin, this brought tears to my eyes and I even had to stop to breathe before finishing! God Bless you girl and safe travels!
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