Kathmandu here I come!    
    

Spent the evening in Lukla with friends catching up on each other’s lives and drinking tea together.I was the only person in the tea house and plug in for charging phone in the hall with faint wifi connection from across the street.  I sat in the dark building with two coats on and my hot water bottle tucked in them to send messages to Mike & Bryce. I think I may have the imprint of a water bottle on my belly for life! Crossing fingers the weather clears and I get out in the morning. Night night…  
    
 

I cannot explain adequately the feeling of the last hour of climbing out of the valley back to Lukla, the gateway to Everest. It is not the exhaustion and relief like finishing a marathon, but rather some strange combination of emotion consisting primarily of an intense thankfulness for having had the experience and a profound sense of loss at leaving behind another piece of my heart. With every step I choose carefully special moments of connection to this place and these people to carry with me forever.  

If I don’t fly out on Tuesday I could be stuck in the Everest Region for days due to crazy weather. Now this is not necessarily a bad thing for me but I have much work waiting at the university and with ENG so I needed to not miss this window. I’m also very ready to feel warm and get a hot shower.!  The storms in the mountains seem so close and big and have been moving through since yesterday. We left with a 3 hour cold climb and within the first hour the sky opened and we were soaked and then the hail started…. Ouch, ouch, ouch! We had to laugh and keep moving. Just the two of us, nowhere to go but forward… Just may be one of my favorite times in the mountains. You learn some things about yourself when required.   

 
   
    
  

 My friends Nima, Mandira & Samila. Thank you for a wonderful stay!  

Happy Easter everyone!spent the day with Sherpa family teaching me to make momos. Missing my family back home terribly today.    

Kids gather from villages each day and walk through  the mountains. To get to school.   
   

The old Janasewa building, the new land, and local donors planning for a bright future   
    
 

Janasewa is one of the original Hillary schools and had severe damage in the earthquake with landslides on either side. The UMM have partnered with ENG and the local village and will help rebuild and provide resources. The school will rebuild on new land that is donated by local families just behind the original school.    
    
    
 

 Worth the work to get there! The families and culture here is very special