Archive for June, 2013

Time and Truth

Time and Truth

The Community is dealing with some tough stuff right now. I'm not at liberty to write about it (plus I'm still trying to understand and sort out my own thoughts -- time and truth will definitely give everyone some perspective on this). So, for now, instead, a few quotes that have been on my mind:

March on. Do not tarry. To go forward is to move toward perfection. March on, and fear not the thorns, or the sharp stones on life’s path.

– Khalil Gibran

The moment we begin to fear the opinions of others and hesitate to tell the truth that is in us, and from motives of policy are silent when we should speak, the divine floods of light and life no longer flow into our souls.

– Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Our heavenly Father understands our disappointment, suffering, pain, fear and doubt. He is always there to encourage our hearts and help us understand that He’s sufficient for all of our needs. When I accepted this as an absolute truth in my life, I found that my worrying stopped.

– Charles Stanley

I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.

– Thomas Paine
This Is How We…

This Is How We…

Make do with no mirror when we need to see our hair after a bath. (An iPod camera works just great, thankyouverymuch.)

Rainy Day Stairs

It's a quiet rainy day. We're headed in for a bath and a nap after some good puddle & sand pile playin'. Squish. Squish. Squish. (Spence built this shortcut path and steps from our little guesthouse up to the main part of campus on a day when the power was down so he couldn't work on his computer. He's so cool.) P.s. As with any of our pics, if you're having trouble because of the ridiculously big size, just grab the corner of your browser and make it narrower and things will resize so you can view them smaller.
H Work

H Work

Every now and then I get to get off the computer to get some work done. Wahoo! (Okay it started with a pencil and paper...ended up mostly back on the computer.) I'm working on an infographic for the fundraising campaign we're helping with. Here's a skip-through of my process: • Pencil drawing. • Inked it. Tool of choice is a fine point Sharpie. (Beware: the toddler's tool of choice is the Sharpie too...attention diverted to colored pencils.) • Erased the pencil. • Scanned. (The school has a scanner, otherwise I'd just grab a pic with my iPod camera.) • Crisped…
This Is How We…

This Is How We…

Make gravel. Of course. (One of many things you never think about the fact that it can be done by hand when you have the time and people to do it.) This particular pile will be used in the cement that will form the decorative window facades on the new building that everyone is helping with. But around here you also see many, many women employed by the road companies to sit on the side of the road crushing rocks for road-building, one at a time. They stick cut tree branches sticking straight down into ground to provide umbrella-like shelter…

To be kind is probably one of the greatest qualities one can have. Be kind.

– Grandma
River Play Day

River Play Day

From the community where we are staying we can see rivers in the deep canyons below. One of the rivers originates in Eastern Arunachal Pradesh and the other originates in the high Himalayas of Tibet. From our guest house we can see the confluence of these two rivers, where they become a single river, just before it flows into Bhutan. We took a trip down to the river that is on the border of Bhutan. It was a two hour ride down in a jeep stuffed with the three of us plus a bunch of staff and volunteers from the…

Everyone on earth has a treasure that awaits [them].

When I have been truly searching for my treasure, every day has been luminous, because I’ve known that every hour was a part of the dream that I would find it. When I have been truly searching for my treasure, I’ve discovered things along the way that I never would have seen had I not had the courage to try things that seemed impossible … to achieve.

Every second of the search is an encounter with God.

– a shepherd boy — The Alchemist
My Little Garden

My Little Garden

I love a little garden. I claimed a little corner of dirt below the guesthouse for my attempts at growing a few edibles this year. The boys helped me get it ready (they like to dig in the dirt too). I planted some of the seeds I brought -- a few kinds of tomatoes, peas, cukes (mostly things we can enjoy without our own kitchen for cooking) cilantro, cantaloupe -- and then gave the rest of the big bag to the Ama las (house mothers). They were stoked to get some new things to try. They are gardening extraordinaires! I…
Ode to Orange Berries

Ode to Orange Berries

We eat lots of veggies, Cooked lovingly (and long): Squish. So when we snack on fresh sweet fruit, It makes us sing a song. Orange berries, oh! For morning walks we go. You tempt our eyes with every step, Your Monpa name is Mrep. Ambling bright and early, We brought a bowl this time: Squash. Shades, hat, monkey on back Sampling is no crime. Orange berries, oh! We pick you high and low. One for the bowl, one for me, How many can we see? The bushes aren't so joyful. They're full of angry prickles: Ouch. My sweatered arm, it…