Happy Christmas from Kathmandu!

To Our Dear Friends and Family,

We hope this finds you all well and enjoying a joyful Christmas season. Amos and I think of you all especially this time of year, when homesickness rises to the surface a bit more readily than usual. But while we miss everyone at home, we are thankful for new friends to celebrate with here and for making creative twists on old traditions.

The past 12 months have been adventurous as ever (whether we were up for it or not)! We've ridden elephants in the jungle, went to Cambodia (Heidi) and Bangladesh (Amos), got swept into throngs of festival celebrants and political strikers, discovered new hikes and villages, done yoga on the roof, took a spontaneous trip to Thailand, gallivanted about with my parents for 2 weeks, started a vegetable garden, said some sad farewells to friends (including Ben, who was here for a year with MCC), met many fabulous new friends, got stuck in monsoon rains and rutted rural roads, got burgled (and discovered the strange world of Nepal's justice system), danced at a Nepali wedding, visited friends in Lebanon and Syria, trekked in the Himalayas (Amos), entertained friends from home, and are winding up the year with cookie baking, ornament making, and an upcoming Christmas feast with some of our fellow Kathmanduites.

It's a very silent night here in Kathmandu, ending day #2 (of 3) of nationwide strikes. Shops are closed, roads are filled only with pedestrians, children playing cricket or football, and the occasional skateboarding expat. The Maoist party has been enforcing this strike or "bandh" in their attempt to overthrow the current government (at least according to some). This marks the end of another year of political instability in Nepal. Although the country has been working through a peace process since 2006, frequent strikes, political disputes and corruption continue to make life difficult for many of Nepal's people. Yet, despite all of the challenges, the people of Nepal continue to display a resilience and generosity of spirit that humbles us. We pray that 2010 will be a year of peace and security for the people of Nepal.

Our work is going well. I am continuing to do some editing work for our MCC partners, and assisting them as needed with English writing skills. I am also working with a brilliant women's craft group, doing some designing--mostly cards, but am hoping to help with jewelry design as well. Amos has settled into his role as program administrator for MCC's work in Nepal. He works closely with eight Nepali partner NGOs- developing new projects, monitoring current projects, assisting these organizations in building their capacity, etc. In addition, Amos volunteers two days a week as a peace program advisor with one of MCC's partners. We are grateful to MCC for this incredible opportunity they have given us.

We look forward to 2010. Our tentative plans include hosting good friends in March, venturing to India in April, and otherwise savoring our final months in Nepal, seeing and experiencing as much as we can before the end of our term comes around.

It's hard to believe that we have only 8 months left here. While we are making a conscious effort to be present in each moment, we are beginning to think and dream about our post-Nepal future. There are many unknowns, which is both exciting and unsettling, but we're grateful for this upcoming chapter of our lives. Amos is currently looking at possible graduate programs in the US; he hopes to get his master's in Urban Planning/Community Development, possibly starting in the spring of 2011. I also hope to finish out my bachelor's in the future, but am first of all looking forward to finding a place to call home and settling into a community for a bit. We plan to return to Lancaster next summer, enjoying time with friends and family, before we move on to our as-yet undetermined destination.

An immense thanks to you all for being supportive and loving us in such creative ways: sending pretzels and books, notes and e-mails, skyping, praying, and loving from afar. We are truly grateful.

May you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year!

With love,
Heidi and Amos

Mountains Beyond Mountains

"...let the mountains teach our hearts to reach upward to heaven." -Rabbi Harold Kushner

A few weeks ago, I, along with four friends, spent 8 days hiking in the Langtang, a part of the Himalayas that lies north of Kathmandu. For the fist day and a half of our trek, we walked through a lush forest, which at times felt more like a jungle filled with moss-covered trees and many varieties of birds. The forest is also home to the red panda and 3-5 snow leopards (or at least that what the signs claimed). Unfortunately, these endangered animals stayed out of sight, although I'm sure they were close by. A glistening blue river, on the other hand, was a constant companion, guiding us toward the mountains in the distance. Eventually, as we climbed, the forest thinned, and the valley widened taking us through open, almost barren, land. We passed yak pastures and stacks of prayers stones. Beautiful snow-covered peaks reminded us of our destination. The hiking was difficult at times, but, in true Nepali fashion, we stopped for many tea breaks along the way. We spent our evenings in lodges that are scattered along the trail. After long days of hiking, our evenings consisted of  huddling around wood stoves, eating lots of fried food and crawling into our sleeping bags way earlier than what we would normally consider respectable.

On our third day, we reached the small town of Kyangin Gompa, named for a monastery that sits just above the village. I'm not sure if I've ever been in a more picturesque place. The views of the mountains were stunning, and I couldn't stop taking pictures of them. We spent the next three days, taking day hikes from Kyangin Gompa. We climbed to the top of Kyangin Ri, a 15,000 ft. peak that looms above the town. Again, absolutely spectacular views of the glistening mountains. We spent Thanksgiving Day, exploring a valley beyond Kyangin Gompa, and I was reminded of the many things I have to be thankful for...good friends, the opportunity to live in a beautiful country like Nepal, health that allows me to hike in the mountains, sunshine, good food, etc. Since there were no turkeys in sight, I celebrated the day by eating other comfort food- tomato soup and chapati with cheese (almost as good as a grilled cheese).

After three days at Kyangin Gompa, we headed back to Syafrubrensi, where we had started. We took an alternate route back, following a high ridge that provided a bird's eye view of the trail we followed the fist two days. We stopped for lunch in small, Tibetan town where a boisterous wedding was under way (apparently two Germans were getting married...weird, I know). After a torturous downhill descent, we finally arrived back in "civilization". I had a week's worth of dirt and dried sweat on my body but a smile on my face. It was a fabulous trek!

Click here for pictures-

Langtang Trek