Church in Nepal is very familiar. I met most of the young adults, who make up a large percentage of the congregation, when Rick took them to ice-cream our first week. We went to a restaurant where all the waitstaff are deaf. They are amazing kids. I have since spent more time with them, and I love to hear about their lives. There is one girl, who is an investigator who really latched on to me. Her name is Yamuna. She is 19 and about half my size. Each time I see her, I get to see first hand the reality of this culture. She has a “boyfriend” (in Nepal that means a guy she talks to a lot... no pda or dates or anything here). He is a lower caste, so she knows that they cannot ever get married. Her parents like him, but... This week she told me that her good friend commit suicide because she was not allowed to marry the guy she loved... she was to have an arranged marriage. Yamuna had just been to her friend's burning. I made her promise me that no matter what she would not consider that path if things do not work out with her boyfriend. We had just heard this amazing lesson from Rick on how we are all Children of God, and I really hope that she internalized the message. She told me that a lot of young people commit suicide for the same reason.

The Service is identical to every other place in the world. It is done in a mixture of Nepali and English. The teachers and speakers usually start in English and then translate. I definitely heard more Nepali then English... which is fine by me. All the girls wear traditional Nepali dress (Kurta Surwals and Saris) the men wear shirts and ties.

This past Friday was Nepali New Years. Rick and I met the two couple missionaries serving here for dinner and then went back to their homes to stay. It was a mansion compared to the other dwelling options in Kathmandu. They were so nice... I painted Sister Taysom's fingernails and we talked about her mission experience thus far. Both couples are humanitarian workers. They are currently working on water purification projects, eduction, etc. Proselyting is not allowed in this country, so if anyone is interested in the church, they must seek it out themselves and be taught by Nepali people only. On Saturday (the only free day in Nepal) we went to institute in the morning, church in the afternoon, and a fireside with the young adults after that. The kids are so dedicated because they spent the entirety of their only free day at church!

I was in a talent show on Sunday. It was totally last minute. They asked me on Saturday at church...I sang Let it Be by the Beatles. My neighbor, Babish, is really good on the guitar, and agreed to accompany me. It was a church activity, and Babish and Nabina and Nabina's twin sister came with me. I was glad they got to see so many Nepalis at church w/ Rick and I. There were at least 150 people there... It was awesome, like a cultural arts presentation with lots of Nepali and Hindi dances, Nepali songs, Nepali comedy acts, etc. Rick did the Cha-Cha with a girl in the branch. They had begged me to perform, so I though they were wanting for acts, but not so! There were so many, and by the time I was on stage it was almost over, and I was super nervous. However, Babish and I totally rocked it! I forgot how much fun it is to perform in front of crowds. Rick videoed it, so I can show y'all. I'm sure out of all the other photo and video footage, you're going to me most excited to hear me singing. :) The Beatles number in the midst of all the native music and dance was pretty random, but we all had a good time.