party of five

Baby goats and catfish were just getting us warmed up for what was to come. Britta turned 24 this past Saturday in a way she could have never imagined. She writes in far more detail on her own blog, but let's just say that clothed with full Nepali sari, hot pink lipstick, and bindi, she listened to 15 children try to sing "Happy Birthday", blew out candles to a cake that spelled her name 'Reecha' and we had to dance an uncomfortable amount of time in front of the children, our houseparents, Laxmi, and her two friends (who are now our two friends), Promise & Julie. Besides such an eventful celebration, we were invited to a family dinner 'party', witnessed a death (don't be too alarmed), were followed home by 35 school children whose backpacks boasted of Korea and the US Army (the children happened to be obsessed with WWF wrestling as well...a theme we are coming across here in Nepal), concocted a rather tasty fried banana pie, have become health care professionals by de-licing heads and treating bedsores, and have discovered that the rice patties are not only good for meditation and brief silence, but can also be transformed into a field day.

First things first...may our next door neighbors' parrot rest in peace. As Britta and I were making the pie Saturday afternoon we heard the children making more noise than usual. We look out the window only to see the annoying bird who jabbered off in Nepali all day constantly reciting his youngest master's name, Angila, come to his demise in the jaws of a mangy mutt who had already gotten one of our chickens earlier that week. I think Britta and I were more upset about it than any of the kids, including Angila.

Business has been a little different with our little ones as well. I should make it known that we finally have come to a consensus on the twins' names. Green shy sweet crybaby twin is officially Jamuna, and little blue devil is Gonga. That was definitely a minor victory. And now their heads are shaved and gentle Jamuna looks more like a baby Sinead O'Connor and Gonga who had a Dudley Moore haircut before now looks like Gonzo...she's hairy and wears blue all the time so that encourages the nickname. Let me back up..the first week we were here we were told that we needed to treat a few sores that Ashish and Tulie had on the back of their heads. While doing so we naturally looked at the twins to see if they had anything similar. Oh my goodness. Jamuna was covered with them and for who knows how long. Needless to say, we forced Laxmi to pay attention and for the past week and a half we have wiped boiling water to clean the wounds and then lathered her up with medicine. While doing so one day Britta and I made the pleasant discovery of lice. This is not surprising considering that every girl here has short short hair because every 6 months or so the lice becomes unbearable and heads are shaved. And so 2 days ago we cut the twins and Ashish's head to a bald roughness. Much puss and dozens of lice later, we had kids who were relatively scratch free. After taking Jamuna to the doctor yesterday with Laxmi for two tumor-like bumps on her head, we are now regularly dispensing medication for what is evidently just an infection. Who knew that an Art major looking into Environmental Studies and an English major looking into Peace Studies would be dressing so many wounds?? (we're still convinced that we were not made for health care)

Along with Sinead and Gonzo, Ashish is sporting his new due with ever-convincing charm. Britta already went into detail of our man who has several blue ribbons for his award-winning pot belly, cackles like an old man, waddles his no behind and pantless tiny legs back and forth from well to squatter to do his daily cleaning, said 'Intuhnet?' when we left them this morning, wears a tee shirt with 'The Rock' decorating his basketball of a stomach, never ever leaves a piece of rice to waste, and when he peeks his head into our door with flaring nostrils and those enormous curious eyes, he is the reincarnation of Jack Nicholson from 'The Shining.' Our four stay at homers have been covered, but today is Secil's day who completes this party of five.

Britta and I have no favorites here at the orphan home and make that clearly known to the few who constantly ask...but Secil is one of our favorites. The 4 year old loner who wears his pants low enough to constantly reveal an inch and a half of his bum crack, has a secret smile that makes you melt, will sneak underneath our legs in efforts to lift us on his shoulders (at which point I always exclaim, 'Hercules, Hercules!'), and when you least expect it will kiss you on your cheek with the sweetest puckered lips. I think it's safe to say that I have fallen for this kid. He has become my go to school partner where he'll swing from my hands, we'll run on the elevated rice patty divider like a thick tight rope, jump obstacles in which he'll occasionally fall and muddy up his enormous khaki pants, and for these kids where everyone's trash is their treasure, he'll pick up the cover of a calculator, a small alue (potato), piece of rope, rubber band, and place it in his back pocket for future delight. For those of you who know Johnathan Davis (mostly just the fam), he looks like a miniature Johnathan without the dreads.

Laxmi explained to us the other day that both of Secil's parents died of AIDS, but with a checkout every 3 months, Secil has miraculously remained negative. From the Gorka Region in Northwest Nepal has come this child who by all accounts should not be healthy, into an orphan home where he is already learning English, is surprisingly a great photographer, and eats rice to his little hearts content. All these things are why I am drawn to this young stud, but perhaps one reason that I realized not too long ago was that he is the closest age to what Hajari (the young infant I fell in love with at Mother's Choice in Hong Kong four years ago) would be today. Hajari will be 4 on April 27 and looked nothing like a full-blooded Chinese boy. For a long time we were convinced he had Indian in him or something to make his so magnificently adorable (don't worry, I think all Chinese babies are pretty darn flawless), but his papers showed that both parents were, in fact, Chinese. Likewise, Secil looks anywhere from Native American, Halfrican American (that's for Nate), or maybe Caucasion/Nepali, but no, his parents also surprisingly were both fulltime Nepali. I imagine what Hajari is doing every now and again when I'm playing with Secil (something I haven't done so consistently in many years), and it makes me sad to know that I will never know him as a young boy or a preteen, but these past 3 weeks with Secil have shown me that that love I had for Hajari will never die...it will be in my prayers for him as he slowly grows into this world, it will be in the love I have for this similar boy in a land not to far from his own, and one day it will radiate from the love I have for my own children.

I wish every single one of you could come spend the night with us here just so you could say goodnight to our five kiddos in their one bed...fist pounds and kisses don't get much better than this.

One week from today Britta and I will be taking a mini-vacation to Chitwan National Park (only 30 minutes away) for 3 days and 2 nights filled with a safari, elephant breeding center, bird watching, and showers. And we just found out the other day that there are only 2 of the older children who have yet to go on a safari...Secil and Budi. So in a couple more weeks we're going to make another day trip for that fun!

I hope all is well, and if you celebrate the Lenten season, I pray that the Lord will open your hearts for a time of repentance and an awareness of his love not only for you but for all his children.

Peace.