September 6, 2002

Namaste (“hello” in Nepali),

 

Hope all is well in America. As for me, my first week in Nepal has been quite eventful. I got to witness a couple of births: a C-section and the other a normal delivery. That was the most exciting thing that I've ever done.

 

Even though I’m only a teacher, I’ve been given many opportunities to do/witness things outside my field. Watching the birth of two different baby girls was so amazing! For the C-section, I was only a few feet away from the operating table.

 

It began with general anesthesia in the spine and then to the operation, birth, tubal ligation, and the stitching/closing of the lady's stomach. It was so interesting. The best part was the baby! She was absolutely beautiful when she came out. Same goes with the normal delivery.

 

The lady giving birth was kind enough to let Juli and I watch. It took her less than one hour for her to get the baby out. Boy, what a painful process. But it’s all worth it in the end as the joy of seeing your own flesh and blood  takes away the pain. What a great way to start my mission experience, huh? I hope to help out with future deliveries.

 

This is all for now. I've had some other adventures but will save the stories later. Oh, just the other day, we saw this gargantuan black & white cow sit in the middle of the road! He thought he could own the world!

 

Please take care and remember the people here in Nepal. The poor are incredibly poor. A lot of them have medical problems and have trouble paying their medical bills. I feel bad for them. All that we can do now is pray that God will provide and take care of their needs.

 

In Christ's love,

Jovina Koubong

Nepal