Back in Kathmandu at last!

I arrived safely in Kathmandu last Sunday afternoon after the most amazingly smooth journey. Six of us from the UK met at Heathrow and travelled together, which was so nice. It was lovely to meet colleagues in person that I have only seen on Zoom up to this point! Qatar Airways had very swish new planes both for the London to Doha leg and the Doha to Kathmandu leg. Because of Covid, the planes were also relatively empty, which meant that we could lie down across a whole row of seats and get some sleep.

At the Kathmandu end, we got through the processes of Covid security, paperwork and immigration without any problems or hold ups which was also such an answer to prayer. Definitely felt God’s hand and favour upon us.

The new staff to Nepal are quarantining in a local resort (which looks very nice – except for reports of a monkey opening the bedroom door! You might think monkeys are cute, but in Nepal they’re a bit scary to be honest!)

Karen and I have been quarantining at her flat which has been so surreal as it’s where I did six weeks of lockdown before leaving Nepal in Spring 2020. After being here a few days, it almost feels like we never left! It’s a really amazing blessing to be able to fly halfway across the world to a totally different culture and to feel at home so quickly.

Here’s the view from the roof:

Rooftop culture is something that makes me really happy about Nepal, that we just don't have in the UK. As we have been quarantining, it is great to be able to go onto the roof and get some fresh air and a nice panoramic view over this part of the city! Unfortunately you don't get to see the mountains during this time of year as it's monsoon so the clouds are really low. Otherwise there would be mountains in the background of this picture. We have to wait roughly until end of September/October when the air will clear and the mountains will reappear! This always makes me think of God - often we don't see Him move or we forget He's there - but perhaps its our perspective, busyness etc that clouds our vision - just like the clouds in this photo. I know the mountains are there, even though I can't see them and probably won't see them for a number of weeks yet. And I know that God is right there, even when I don't see Him.

Cooking in Nepal is somewhat more complex than in the UK - remembering to wash everything in filtered water, getting creative with substituting ingredients that you don't have with things that you do. Everything has also got to be properly sealed (for example, if you open a pack of biscuits, sealing it in tupperware rather than just putting a peg or clip on the open end) - Day 1 of being here I picked up the salt and a cockroach ran over my hand!!! Karen managed to kill at least six of them. My job is more to find them and scream - then she gets involved with the bug spray and slipper! (yuck!)

Thankfully, we're now on Day 6 and I've not seen any cockroaches in the last 4 days so I think we're keeping them at bay! We washed and sanitised EVERYTHING in the kitchen. Thankfully, they generally hang out where the food is so I haven't seen any in other rooms.

The internet has also been pretty good - it's extra stressful having an unreliable internet connection when you are teaching online, but this week I have only dropped off one of my Zoom calls, and I managed to reconnect quickly, so that's also been a real blessing.

Other blessings have included: having my bank account unfrozen, having credit on my phone that was carried over from more than a year ago, getting food delivered from Bethesda (one of my favourite cafes!), friends picking us up from the airport, another friend bringing provisions, it being dark when I'm going to sleep and light when I wake up (it is amazing how much easier it is to both sleep and wake with the right cues for dark and light - living on Nepal time in the UK was an interesting lifestyle, but I'm grateful not to be doing it anymore!)

This morning we had our PCRs and they have both come back negative (hooray!) so tomorrow, we're off. I am moving back to the Guesthouse which I am really excited about. I haven't lived there since the beginning of Lockdown #1, so March 2020. I am really thankful to be moving back and getting to be part of that community. A lot of the other expats live just down the road in a colony called "Civil Homes" so it will be fun to be able to connect with them and to be close to school again.

Staff are allowed on site at school, even though students are not, so my plan from Monday is to teach from school so that I can go to work every day and come home again. I am hoping this will mean a better work-life balance and it will be really good to connect with other colleagues who I haven't seen in person in such a long time.

Covid-wise, cases seem to be fairly stable here. There are around 1500-2000 reported new cases each day. Thecho, where the school is and where I live, is about 5 miles to the south of the city and it's quite a small community and much more rural. I will be as safe as I can and certainly avoid public transport for the time being.

PRAYER POINTS:

- Thank God that He got all six of us here safely and smoothly.

- Thank God for negative PCRs and please continue to pray for God's divine protection.

- For the staff Guesthouse and the new community that we will form there.

- For the staff, students and families that are part of our KISC community and for staff who will be arriving in the next couple of weeks as well as new staff to fill the positions that are still vacant.

- For the horrific situation in Afghanistan. I have a friends who are heavily invested in and have contacts in that part of the world and it's just desperate.

- That God will use me for His glory in Nepal and that I won't miss any opportunities He gives me.

Thank you for walking with me, for partnering with me and for continuing on this journey with me. Thank you to those who have given financially to me, thank you to those who are standing in prayer with me, thank you for being invested in me and this wild adventure that God has me on.

With love

Hannah

I wanted to finish with a worship song that one of my students introduced me to this week. I love it! Be blessed.