Life in Tansen, as with anywhere else overseas, has its ups and its downs. You can't argue with the view we get from our window. We have a full-time house-helper, who not only does our laundry (by hand), cooking (all from scratch), and cleaning for us, but she is also a lovely lady. Nepalis in general are really lovely people, easy to get along with, very warm and friendly. We have a very comfortable house to live in (at least we do now that Paul has done so much work on getting it fixed up). Jessica's work is steps away from home, which means we usually get to see each other periodically throughout the day, and we can often eat lunch together. We have a great team of people here, and some good friends. And being here together is such a blessing...so much better than being here (or anywhere) as singles. We have much to be thankful for.
Still, there are many challenges. Water and electricity supply is somewhat sporadic. It is a rare day where the electricity doesn't go off at least once. We have to filter all our drinking water. Even with filtering, we still get sick regularly. We have each had Giardia (a GI infection that is very common here) - Paul twice, Jessica three times - in the last 4 months. Not to mention the wicked food poisoning that Jessica got just after arriving in Nepal in January. Even when we're not overtly sick, we still often don't feel well, and that tends to be most people's story over here. It takes a toll on your health, energy, and overall sense of well-being. Work is busy. There are many cases that are not straightforward, and even those that are take more work and energy here than they would at home. Why? A culture that is different than our own. Trying to do it in a language not our own. Not feeling well a lot of the time. Etc.
There are critters...spiders, cockroaches, snakes (not too many around here compared to where Paul was in Mozambique, but still an issue), termites, and other lovely things. The weather is not freezing cold in winter, but cold enough when you don't have heat inside and you get frostbite from washing your hands because the water is so cold. And in the summer it's hot, and soon it will be monsoon, during which we get so much rain that our 1 million litre water storage tank gets full within 3 days! You don't come to Nepal for the weather, except maybe in October!
Then the community we live in, as wonderful as it is, is small. We get bored of each other. And we say a lot of good-byes, since most people that come come at most for a few years, and then leave. So far in the last 3 months we've said goodbye to 3 families that had been here for 3 years or more! Thankfully, that's it for awhile, now, I think. Goodbyes are tough! We get a bit claustrophobic here in Tansen at times, because there isn't really all that much to do, and there aren't many options for going out or getting away. If you enjoy walking/hiking, living in Tansen is a dream, but that can get old after awhile. Other than that, there's not a whole lot to do, and boredom is an issue more often than we'd like. We watch a lot of movies and TV series (on my laptop). If you want to get away, the nearest place you can get away to is Pokhara, a 4-5 hour drive on a road that makes you so nauseous you really want to make sure you are truly ready for a break before you venture on that trip. Add that to being far away from friends, family, and all else that is familiar, and at times you wonder if you really would be better off packing your bags, heading home, and forgetting this whole thing.
It's easy to think that the proverbial grass is greener on the other side. But if we're always living for the next weekend, the next vacation, the next time we go home, the end of our term, graduation, our children growing up, retirement, or whatever, then we'll miss what God has for us TODAY. At a retreat we were at recently, the speaker said that "the only time that matters is now and the only place that matters is here." This doesn't mean that we don't plan for the future, or look forward to future events. But it does mean that we choose to be thankful for the opportunities God has given us today to love and serve Him, to experience more of His presence and His love in our lives, and to be thankful for all the blessings we already have.
We've been working on contentment this week. The apostle Paul tells us that Godliness with contentment is great gain. He also said that he had learned the secret of being content in any and every circumstance. You don't need to do an extensive study on Paul's life to know that he didn't have it easy! Shipwrecks, beatings, hunger, cold, tiredness, being stoned, etc. (Makes our life here in Tansen look pretty cushy, actually, but that's beside the point). He learned that he could do all things through Christ, who gave him strength. This is true for us, too. God has called us here, and that is far more important than weighing the pros and cons of staying or going. We know that where He has called us, He will give us not only grace, but also joy as we do what He's called us to do.
And really, in the midst of the challenges, we are very blessed. We may not be able to go out for breakfast, or to Starbucks (or Tim Horton's - take your pick!), or out for a nice dinner. But we've been learning to make breakfasts that we'd say are worthy of a restaurant, and we love our weekend breakfasts together. We've also figured out how to make bagels and even some version of cream cheese! We make our own lattes, and other nice coffee. And our most recent endeavour was creme brulee...yum! It's been fun to experiment, and fun to enjoy nice food that we've made with our own hands.
Paul has dreamt of having an orchard/vineyard for some time now. While we're not sure if this will ever happen (at least on this side of eternity), around our house is a plum tree (currently full of yummy plums), an orange tree, a peach tree, and an apple tree! Our didi is currently making plum jam, since we have no way of eating all the plums, even after sharing them with many others. We grow vegetables in our garden, and we're getting some fencing ready to plant grapes in a couple months when the season comes. So we have our own little orchard here, and we haven't even really had to work for it. What a sweet blessing from the God who knows the desires of our hearts and who loves His children!
So we're praying that in the midst of the challenges, we would learn to rest in a place of contentment, knowing that God has called us here, and that sooner than we'd like to think, our time here will be over. May we not miss the joy of embracing TODAY, with all its joys and challenges, and may we be content whatever our circumstances, for that is great gain.
Still, there are many challenges. Water and electricity supply is somewhat sporadic. It is a rare day where the electricity doesn't go off at least once. We have to filter all our drinking water. Even with filtering, we still get sick regularly. We have each had Giardia (a GI infection that is very common here) - Paul twice, Jessica three times - in the last 4 months. Not to mention the wicked food poisoning that Jessica got just after arriving in Nepal in January. Even when we're not overtly sick, we still often don't feel well, and that tends to be most people's story over here. It takes a toll on your health, energy, and overall sense of well-being. Work is busy. There are many cases that are not straightforward, and even those that are take more work and energy here than they would at home. Why? A culture that is different than our own. Trying to do it in a language not our own. Not feeling well a lot of the time. Etc.
There are critters...spiders, cockroaches, snakes (not too many around here compared to where Paul was in Mozambique, but still an issue), termites, and other lovely things. The weather is not freezing cold in winter, but cold enough when you don't have heat inside and you get frostbite from washing your hands because the water is so cold. And in the summer it's hot, and soon it will be monsoon, during which we get so much rain that our 1 million litre water storage tank gets full within 3 days! You don't come to Nepal for the weather, except maybe in October!
Then the community we live in, as wonderful as it is, is small. We get bored of each other. And we say a lot of good-byes, since most people that come come at most for a few years, and then leave. So far in the last 3 months we've said goodbye to 3 families that had been here for 3 years or more! Thankfully, that's it for awhile, now, I think. Goodbyes are tough! We get a bit claustrophobic here in Tansen at times, because there isn't really all that much to do, and there aren't many options for going out or getting away. If you enjoy walking/hiking, living in Tansen is a dream, but that can get old after awhile. Other than that, there's not a whole lot to do, and boredom is an issue more often than we'd like. We watch a lot of movies and TV series (on my laptop). If you want to get away, the nearest place you can get away to is Pokhara, a 4-5 hour drive on a road that makes you so nauseous you really want to make sure you are truly ready for a break before you venture on that trip. Add that to being far away from friends, family, and all else that is familiar, and at times you wonder if you really would be better off packing your bags, heading home, and forgetting this whole thing.
It's easy to think that the proverbial grass is greener on the other side. But if we're always living for the next weekend, the next vacation, the next time we go home, the end of our term, graduation, our children growing up, retirement, or whatever, then we'll miss what God has for us TODAY. At a retreat we were at recently, the speaker said that "the only time that matters is now and the only place that matters is here." This doesn't mean that we don't plan for the future, or look forward to future events. But it does mean that we choose to be thankful for the opportunities God has given us today to love and serve Him, to experience more of His presence and His love in our lives, and to be thankful for all the blessings we already have.
We've been working on contentment this week. The apostle Paul tells us that Godliness with contentment is great gain. He also said that he had learned the secret of being content in any and every circumstance. You don't need to do an extensive study on Paul's life to know that he didn't have it easy! Shipwrecks, beatings, hunger, cold, tiredness, being stoned, etc. (Makes our life here in Tansen look pretty cushy, actually, but that's beside the point). He learned that he could do all things through Christ, who gave him strength. This is true for us, too. God has called us here, and that is far more important than weighing the pros and cons of staying or going. We know that where He has called us, He will give us not only grace, but also joy as we do what He's called us to do.
And really, in the midst of the challenges, we are very blessed. We may not be able to go out for breakfast, or to Starbucks (or Tim Horton's - take your pick!), or out for a nice dinner. But we've been learning to make breakfasts that we'd say are worthy of a restaurant, and we love our weekend breakfasts together. We've also figured out how to make bagels and even some version of cream cheese! We make our own lattes, and other nice coffee. And our most recent endeavour was creme brulee...yum! It's been fun to experiment, and fun to enjoy nice food that we've made with our own hands.
Hello, dear ones,
ReplyDeleteI just "found" this blogspot as I was waiting (sorry to confess it) for the Bruins game to start up. I thought, "H'mmm, what can I do for half an hour." So here I am!
Contentment: I well remember hearing a sermon on that 29-30 years ago (not many sermons I remember that far back). The guest speaker pointed out that Paul's "I can do all things" wasn't in the context of leaping high buildings in a single bound. The context WAS contentment. I hadn't seen that before but have not forgotten it since.
Grandpa used to say, "I have learned in whatsoever state or province I am in therein to be content".