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Preparing the fields for planting
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Transplanting the rice seedlings
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The morning mists after a night rain
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The Lamjung Himal
Nepal’s new year started on April 14th and what new things it has brought!
On the national scale, the deadline for writing the constitution was extended 12 months. Thankfully, everyone is ignoring the fact that the extension occurred a few hours after everything expired, partly because no one really knew what had actually “expired” and what had not. So they agreed to not worry about it. That agreement was a big nation-saver. We asked for your prayers about this last April, and we are most thankful for them. The country has been spared a serious constitutional crisis.
The Nepali new year has also seen the monsoon starting just a bit late. With the coming of the rains, fields are prepared for planting rice—so very important—and hydro-electric dams get “topped off”—not unimportant, to say the least! There are now misty mornings in contrast to a different kind of view of the Lamjung Himal.
At the hospital, the biggest thing the Nepali new year has brought is a surgeon. He arrived just after the monsoon, and his arrival is such an important help to the hospital. In the last 52 weeks the hospital has not had a resident surgeon; there have only been visiting surgeons and then for a total of 8 weeks. So people who needed surgery had to go elsewhere. Even so, over 40,000 people will have come to the hospital for treatment these last 12 months.
An added bonus is that the new surgeon is a Christian, adding to the Christian leadership at the hospital.
On a different note, two medical students have come to the Lamjung Hospital; Rachel, from Britain, and Deborah, from France. They have come for their “medical elective;” a time when they have an opportunity to go wherever they want several weeks and observe medicine practices in that country. They have come to Besishahar and their boldness sometimes staggers the mind. Neither has ever been to Nepal before nor speaks Nepali. Yet they flew into Kathmandu and were met by a HDCS staff person who carefully put them on a bus to Besishahar. For that 6-8 hour ride they had no one who spoke much English at all. But they both arrived safely. Bucky assisted in their orientation at the hospital; Carole oriented them to life in Besishahar. Since neither of them has a refrigerator in their room, we “took pity on them” and have them join us for breakfast everyday. That has been a treat for them, and for us as well. It is interesting what simple things become such a blessing!
Finally, the close of the Nepali old year is the time that the hospital prepares plans for the new fiscal year, which starts mid-July. Part of the plans are that the hospital will be fully staffed, including another surgeon who is already on the way, and functioning at a higher level than it does now.
A new year in Nepal. A new level of service at the hospital. We are thankful to God for what He has provided. May we be good stewards of these blessings.
Carole and Bucky Sydnor
On the national scale, the deadline for writing the constitution was extended 12 months. Thankfully, everyone is ignoring the fact that the extension occurred a few hours after everything expired, partly because no one really knew what had actually “expired” and what had not. So they agreed to not worry about it. That agreement was a big nation-saver. We asked for your prayers about this last April, and we are most thankful for them. The country has been spared a serious constitutional crisis.
The Nepali new year has also seen the monsoon starting just a bit late. With the coming of the rains, fields are prepared for planting rice—so very important—and hydro-electric dams get “topped off”—not unimportant, to say the least! There are now misty mornings in contrast to a different kind of view of the Lamjung Himal.
At the hospital, the biggest thing the Nepali new year has brought is a surgeon. He arrived just after the monsoon, and his arrival is such an important help to the hospital. In the last 52 weeks the hospital has not had a resident surgeon; there have only been visiting surgeons and then for a total of 8 weeks. So people who needed surgery had to go elsewhere. Even so, over 40,000 people will have come to the hospital for treatment these last 12 months.
An added bonus is that the new surgeon is a Christian, adding to the Christian leadership at the hospital.
On a different note, two medical students have come to the Lamjung Hospital; Rachel, from Britain, and Deborah, from France. They have come for their “medical elective;” a time when they have an opportunity to go wherever they want several weeks and observe medicine practices in that country. They have come to Besishahar and their boldness sometimes staggers the mind. Neither has ever been to Nepal before nor speaks Nepali. Yet they flew into Kathmandu and were met by a HDCS staff person who carefully put them on a bus to Besishahar. For that 6-8 hour ride they had no one who spoke much English at all. But they both arrived safely. Bucky assisted in their orientation at the hospital; Carole oriented them to life in Besishahar. Since neither of them has a refrigerator in their room, we “took pity on them” and have them join us for breakfast everyday. That has been a treat for them, and for us as well. It is interesting what simple things become such a blessing!
Finally, the close of the Nepali old year is the time that the hospital prepares plans for the new fiscal year, which starts mid-July. Part of the plans are that the hospital will be fully staffed, including another surgeon who is already on the way, and functioning at a higher level than it does now.
A new year in Nepal. A new level of service at the hospital. We are thankful to God for what He has provided. May we be good stewards of these blessings.
Carole and Bucky Sydnor