Last night (Wednesday) I returned to the apartment for another visit. I have been there every day now since the family arrived. The family welcomed me. At first I sat at the couch. Later as the conversation warmed, I was asked to have tea and moved to the kitchen table.
Tika told me a little about the fear of their move. There was a dread of the unknown. It reminded me a bit of Abraham's challenge to move to land he did not know. While still in Nepal, Tika had made notes of the time zones in the US. From a map at the back of a calender, I was able to show him the time zones that matched his notes. He asked about the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. I showed where Canada would be at the north and Mexico at the south. If I understood correctly, Tika has an aunt that lives in New Hampshire. They were able to talk to her. It seems like they want to travel. They also new about Chicago and Utah. Tika pointed to the state of Washington and asked if that was the capitol. I showed him where Washington DC is.
We had a rather embarrassing conversation about the temperature in Phoenix in the summer. I explained that we have over 100 days above 100 degrees. He was very concerned that this would be unbearable. Suddenly I realized that he was thinking in Centigrade. I was describing temperatures in excess of 220 degrees! Then I realized I did not know how to do the conversion. I guess that 100 degrees Fahrenheit would be about 35 degrees Centigrade (it is actually about 37). This will require some future correction.
We talked about holidays. Their two big holidays are September 12 and October 28. Diwali is the holiday in October. I asked if they celebrated Christmas. They like Christmas. In Nepal they had Christian friends. This is our first spiritual conversation. It does not go far. I explain that our next holiday is Thanksgiving. They do not know what a turkey is. Tomorrow I will volunteer to invite them to Thanksgiving dinner.
Tika explains what a relief it is that they have a nice place to live. They are very greatful. I asked about the conditions in the refugee camps. They lived in a bamboo hut with a dirt floor and thatch roof. Their camp was Beldangi I.
Tika told me a little about the fear of their move. There was a dread of the unknown. It reminded me a bit of Abraham's challenge to move to land he did not know. While still in Nepal, Tika had made notes of the time zones in the US. From a map at the back of a calender, I was able to show him the time zones that matched his notes. He asked about the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. I showed where Canada would be at the north and Mexico at the south. If I understood correctly, Tika has an aunt that lives in New Hampshire. They were able to talk to her. It seems like they want to travel. They also new about Chicago and Utah. Tika pointed to the state of Washington and asked if that was the capitol. I showed him where Washington DC is.
We had a rather embarrassing conversation about the temperature in Phoenix in the summer. I explained that we have over 100 days above 100 degrees. He was very concerned that this would be unbearable. Suddenly I realized that he was thinking in Centigrade. I was describing temperatures in excess of 220 degrees! Then I realized I did not know how to do the conversion. I guess that 100 degrees Fahrenheit would be about 35 degrees Centigrade (it is actually about 37). This will require some future correction.
We talked about holidays. Their two big holidays are September 12 and October 28. Diwali is the holiday in October. I asked if they celebrated Christmas. They like Christmas. In Nepal they had Christian friends. This is our first spiritual conversation. It does not go far. I explain that our next holiday is Thanksgiving. They do not know what a turkey is. Tomorrow I will volunteer to invite them to Thanksgiving dinner.
Tika explains what a relief it is that they have a nice place to live. They are very greatful. I asked about the conditions in the refugee camps. They lived in a bamboo hut with a dirt floor and thatch roof. Their camp was Beldangi I.
1 comment:
Mike: I just got a call from Carla regarding a refugee family that arrived last night that has no co-sponsorship church. They are a brother and sister. She was wondering if we could give them the extra set of dishes that I took out of the apartment and I told her I don't see why not. Carla and I then began to wonder what they have, or rather, don't have and how we can help. I told Carla to talk to Ganga and see if she can find out what their needs are and to let me know.
Carla indicated she only spent about $200.00 yesterday. How much is in the Ministry Fund? Could that money be used for this other family? Could we co-sponsor them as well??
Kathy
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