Thursday, October 22, 2009

Hey everyone,
Where to start, the past week has been one of the busiest weeks we have had. It started with the celebration of national day we were let out of class for a little more than a week. I got a call from some friend the night of the celebration. They wanted me to eat dinner with them and play some pool. For the rest of the holiday they wanted me to go with them on a two day hike with them. I told them I would go with them. The next morning at six I got a call from someone in my class asking me if I wanted to climb the mountain with some locals. I thought this would be a great time to meet some students that I could communicate with a little better than normal. I met a student that told me about the culture as we walked up the mountain. After the short hike we went and had lunch at a place close by. We went back to his house to rest and talk some more. I noticed a copy of the book on his floor. He said he had been reading it and talking to some people about it but he was not a brother yet. I got to talk to him we he had not joined the family yet and explain some things he did not understand.
The next day me and the students I met on national day left for our two day hike. There were five national students, two foreign students me included, and one teacher. I could not be as open as I wanted to be because of some of the group. From that morning till night we hiked, and we barely made it to the first rest stop. The next morning we got up and started again we hiked till night fall again. We reached our destination just to find out the ferry to cross the river was closed. We all decided to go to a town a little north of where we were this town has been influenced heavily by Tibet. We spent two days there and then returned. Even though I did not get to share with my words I was able to share with my actions. All the people that went on the trip know that I am part of the family and that it is very important to me. I hope to share with them verbally very soon.
When I got back we had some new people move to the city that are very interested in the people that I am studying. I helped them move in and got to know them a little. I also met up with another student I met through English corner to help him with a speech that he was going to give in a bigger city south of here. Through our discussion I got to tell him a little about our beliefs. He says he believes in a god, but he does not know who he is. I hope to talk to him more about father.
On a more frustrating note my bike has had the same pedal fall off three times this week I have replaced it twice the arm once so far. Right now it is sitting in my room waiting to be put back on. On top of the bike fiasco I have not been able to keep my computer on for more than a few minutes. This is why it has taken me three weeks to get this post up. I am not sure what is wrong but I am taking it by a computer store sometime this week.
This weekend we had a medical clinic in two villages on the out skirts of town we saw about 150 people. Along with having blood pressure checked many were taught proper dental care, had their teeth cleaned, taught different exercises to help with mobility, and heard the message. The next two days we did follow up with those that wanted us to visit their homes. We have three new brothers and sisters because of this. We are in the process of getting them some of the necessary equipment and information.
Keep talking to DAD for us your brother Justin