Thunder woke me up about 5:45 this a.m. But by 7 a.m. the rain had stopped and the sky was beginning to clear. We ate breakfast at 8. The hotel restaurant staff is so nice and attentive. Breakfast is complimentary with the hotel stay as long as you have a card from the reception desk. This morning it was Dal and Nan again. Sam didn’t want any of that so he was just sitting at the table with us. The staff asked him if he’d like piece of toast to which he said yes. The next thing we knew there was a plate with several pieces of toast, fresh butter and jelly and a server placing omelets on all our plates. They just hover over us making sure we have everything we need. For the evening and lunch meals there are two tables placed together giving us 8 seats together but for breakfast those two tables are used for the buffet. The rest of the small dining room is set up with tables seating four. This morning when we walked in they had arranged the dining room so that there was another area set up for all of us to eat at the same table. It is just a small dining room so that was fairly significant. Many of the waiters and even some of the hotel bellmen are deaf but they are very attentive. If one of them is around you never have to even attempt to open a door or carry anything. They jump right into service. All are neatly dressed with white shirts, black sweaters and pants and shiny black shoes. Some wear bow ties. Those who are deaf wear little name tags that say “I am deaf”. All over the hotel you can see at least one of them cleaning something.
Today we had to be ready to go by 10 a.m. We had to have everything with us for the rest of the day as we were not to be back until after the JF showing. So, we packed our backpacks and extra water, jackets and rain gear into the van and headed out of town. We stopped a couple of different places along the way to pick up extra JF team members and T and her sister. T is the wife of S. We first headed north out of Dhangadhi where we soon intersected with the east-west highway. Turning west we headed toward another part of the Nepal/India border. But first we planned to go to the Syklaphata Wild Life Reserve where we are told we can possibly see the Bengal Tiger, Elephants, and Rhinos. To get there we had to drive about 1-1/2 hours to the town of Mahendranagar on the far west side of Nepal. We plan to stay in this town on Friday night. Passing through the town we got to the edge of it, went on a horrible washboard dirt and rock road and finally ended up at the gate to the Reserve. On the way to the town, though, we passed through several small villages and saw goats and cows being herded along the road, people carrying all kinds of things on their bikes and heads, and passed tons of motorbikes and assorted buses and trucks. We all got out of the van at the Reserve gate and waited for our van driver and JF team host to purchase our tickets. Nearly all of us had to use the facilities while we were there. It was a typical outhouse style of building…..and naturally, a squat pot. Unfortunately, when our host came back to the van we were told that because of all the rain the roads inside the Reserve were impassable and we couldn’t come in. So, hmmm, what to do?
We’ll just go see one of the famous bridges that we are scheduled to see tomorrow instead. Finding our way out of town we reached an area that originally was considered to be part of Nepal. According to our host India now claims it. It is on the Nepal side of the river and bridge but there is a strip of land now controlled by India in which we had to get permission to be on in order to see the famous bridge. Our van driver was going to try to drive us all the way to the Nepal side of the bridge but the “road” was washed out. That was not going to deter us. So out we climbed ready to walk about 1/2 mile to the bridge. Once we got out of the van we were in an area with several monkeys clamoring all over. There were also several horse-drawn wagons full of people and many motorcycles all going the same direction. In addition to the muddy ground dodging the vehicles made for an interesting walk. Before finally arriving at the bridge we had to go through a makeshift checkpoint where a guard checked our belongings and looked at our passports. The Nepali with us didn’t have to have passports as apparently both Nepali and Indian can pass freely back and forth. One we arrived at the bridge we looked around a little and then made our way back to the van. The river bed was very wide although there wasn’t a large amount of water in the river. The bridge also acts as a flood control as there are some lock and dam sections all along the length of the bridge. We were not allowed to take pictures and there were guards there to make sure we didn’t. Leaving the area we went back into Mahendranagar to the Hotel Opera for lunch. This is the hotel we are to stay in on Friday. We ate lunch about 3:00 and then got back into the van headed back east.
After we had gone about 45 minutes we turned off onto a small dirt road lined with small wooden houses, many with thatch roofs and small barn areas in front of them or close by. Some houses were block and some brick and mud. The houses were very close together. The road turned into a very small lane and nearly just a path. We reached a spot where we couldn’t go any further so then it was time to walk a kilometer to where our JF showing was for the night. It was still daylight so as we walked we attracted a great deal of attention. Our path was along a footpath leading through a small community of houses. By the time we got to the house hosting tonight’s showing we had probably 100 people, mostly kids walking along with us. Chairs were set up for us and we were crowded up close with kids just standing there staring at us. We started taking pictures of some of them and then showing them the digital pictures. That broke the ice. They loved having their pictures taken and then seeing them. Then the adults started showing up with some of them wanting their picture taken. The next thing we knew we were the ones getting our pictures taken by a few of the teenage kids who had cell phones. Since it was still daylight the local pastor and the JF team lead the group with singing and then a couple of the local teenagers did some dances. During this time I would guesstimate there were nearly 200 people crowded around us. As soon as it started getting dusk we started the film. As it went on and it got darker many of them started leaving, going back to their homes. About three quarters through the film the video froze. We were unable to get it started and the crowd dispersed….but a handful stayed and asked for prayer and at least two said they wanted to accept Jesus Christ right then….and the movie didn’t even finish! While some were praying with them it started to rain….and rain heavily. We quickly got the equipment packed up and started back to the van…..this time through a different route which was a little shorter and quicker. Am very thankful for rain ponchos and umbrellas. Making our rain-soaked way back to town we arrived at the hotel in Dhangadhi by 8:40 p.m. After a light supper of soup and ice cream we headed off to our room for the night.
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