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  
   

When we talk about resources for schools, a library, furniture, a pre-k, science equipment -it sounds so simple but it is not. We take so so much for granted. The ease and efficiency we live in not everyone shares. Not only does it seem impossible at times to even find what you need, but every item big and small must be transported on hard, treacherous trails into the mountains. Life is simple and beautiful in many ways here but also extremely hard and hopeless for so many.

Oh how I love seeing these girls grow and thrive. Our Mingma is here,and Sundari that Bryce  met on the trail and gave his scarf two years ago, and Precious tiny angina with her adorable ponytails. How could anyone not love them.  We had a great time with hugs and catching up a bit. The girls walked me to the school on top of the hill for a visit. The health center we brought supplies for and set up after the earthquake is still in use… Kudos to all who helped make this possible. Later that night the community school Committe, principal, and a few parents showed up where I was staying to plan for the school project. ENG will be partnering with the community to build a library… So so exciting. Getting the materials here will be the challenge! I know we can do it! 

I didn’t realize how badly I needed to be here again until I began the walk from Ghat to Monju. SO many moment of memories rising up of my time here right after the earthquake. Families in crisis, medical emergencies, a dying baby, crushed and burned homes, people in tents in the cold pouring rain. But now so many things put back together, trails across the landslides we threaded, and boulders being pounded into perfect bricks. Re-building, resilient, strong, joy, healing. I think I needed to feel this. I’m very thankful and so inspired.