Day three of the strike, day two of visiting L

The good news is L has been loved and well cared for by his Didi.  Knowing that he can attach brings much comfort.  The bad news is that they mutually share a deep attachment.  This disruption is going to be difficult as he grieves the loss of the only mother he has ever known.  We miscommunicated what time we should arrive for our visit today.  We tried to avoid disturbing his nap, so I had no idea they woke him for our visit just shortly after falling asleep.  So as you can imagine, he was less than interested in playing with us.  He really just wanted to snuggle with his wonderful Didi.  I completely understood and felt terrible for them having woke him.  We were able to entice him from his grogginess with more cheerios and orange Gatorade in a sippy cup.  After he warmed up a little, she slipped out to give us some time alone with him.  I gave him the ABC phone and he held it to his ear and pushed all the buttons.  He took it to J to show him and J got out his cell phone and pretended to talk.  He also liked the magna doodle, he used his right hand to scribble all over it.  I observed that he has great processing and fine motor skills.  He rolled the ball and car back and forth and tried to screw and unscrew the bubble lid taking it off and replacing it.  He put the wand in and tried to take it back out.  He wanted to figure it out and do it himself.  The battery door fell off  of the Sesame Street toy and he worked very hard to get it to stay on.  He self feeds and drinks.  I got a small smirk out of him when we were playing with the balls.  He tucked them under his legs in an attempt to hide them from me.  I began searching for the balls and squeezed his thighs as I probed around and was rewarded with and almost smile. About 15 minutes after everyone familiar had slipped out, he noticed that we were alone and became distraught.  I took him to Parkita for some comfort and invited her to rejoin us.  After some time, another Nepali couple entered the office and sat in the Director's office, so Didi sat in that room within eyesight while we played a little more.  It wasn't long that he needed a change of scenery, and I sensed he was done our antics.  We said our goodbyes and he even gave me a kiss on the cheek!  It was not a full smackeroo but he not turn his face away when I placed my cheek up next to his lips ashe did yesterday.  It was pretty sweet.




Thank you all for your sweet words of comfort and scripture.  It has all helped me remember that our God is not a God of fear and he will be faithful to complete his purposes for us here.  I recalled the lyrics from the song we have been singing at church, "I have a hope, I have a future, .......tell me whom then shall I fear..."  And if God is for me who can be against me...The ride was not as scary to me today, and later we even went out for a walk among the streets that he was likely to have been found.  We walked right past a group of marching Maoists and were not bothered.  We are understanding that while they are annoying, they are not violent and we are not targets.  Still, the adoptive families here cannot make progress on heading home since none of the government workers can get into their offices.  The Cadres are blocking the entrances.  Please continue to pray that the strike will end soon as there are so many Nepali's who need to work to feed their families.  The hopelessness and despair is overwhelming.  I know these people are typically welcoming and warm and our experience is that they will not even exchange a smile, only cold, hard looks.  Pray that we can be a light in the darkness and bring joy to those we encounter.



Here are a couple of pictures from our walk today.

Our new home



The most prayed over van in the world parked safely at the orphanage.



One of the oldest types of Hindu Temples
Our guide and interpreter Kamal


Riot Police


United Nations trucks