tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5921383262972342547.post4153754838660060459..comments2023-11-03T05:24:07.671-04:00Comments on A Gift for the Village: Nepali Friends in Blacksburg!Tom Landonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14976595652570707964noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5921383262972342547.post-78337835570282013942007-08-05T03:22:00.000-04:002007-08-05T03:22:00.000-04:00Reba, what a surprise when quickly after Jason, Sh...Reba, what a surprise when quickly after Jason, Sherrie, Jane and Jenna were welcomed home complete with a "Welcome-Home" banner/map depicting the four of them in a plane flying from India to Roanoke, my attention was drawn to a dark-skinned man whom everyone who'd gone to Nepal seemed to know. About that time, someone grabbed my arm and I was ushered over to meet him, being told he was from Nepal, and his name was Sunil. I didn't shake his hand. I hugged him! And jabbering something about my surprise, knowing him from the Blog and the picture, and now seeing him here in America!!! Whereupon he motioned for this lady to step closer and I turned to learn that I was face-to-face with Sarita, his wife. Still jabbering my surprise at seeing their picture in the Blog and knowing of their trip to see their son graduate in Kentucky, I realized she might not be understanding me, so I began to gesture like taking a picture and pointing down to the ground here, trying to say I'd seen their Picture and now I'm seeing them here. Sunil quickly told her what I was trying to say, and she looked up at me with her warmest smile. Well, she got a hug too!!!<BR/><BR/>It was absolutely amazing to me to recall how friends from here were there in Nepal to greet and be with The Team during the Presentation and Ceremonies, only to have friends from Nepal here to greet them upon their return to Roanoke!!!<BR/><BR/>While there wasn't much conversation between me and them, the looks and smiles we exchanged spoke volumes, and I could understand why there was so much Love-bonding here. And when we parted, there was another exchange of hugs. I could only imagine how marvelous it was for those who could share the hospitality of themselves and their homes with this fine couple. It definitely was time well spent.<BR/><BR/>Over lunch, Sherrie with a few pictures she had on a small camera told us some of the details of the trip from Jomsom to Pokhara. I began to think of my blog where I mentioned how when you walk, you can become "intimate" with your trip. I assure you, when I used the word, intimate, I hadn't a clue how broad a spectrum of events that would cover. I began to laugh and wonder what Jane, Jenna and Jason would think if and when they might read that blog. I began to realize my scope of that word was so shallow, that if it were sea water splashing on the shore, there wouldn't be enough to wet the sand, much less wet my feet. But when Sherrie finished, her remarks had given me a Hubble Telescope look at the universe-scope of the word, intimate. That walk/ride went to the edge of the Universe with impact upon them.<BR/><BR/>The story of that segment of this journey made me appreciate their safe return with enormous emotion and gratitude.<BR/><BR/>This whole event, which is not over yet by a long shot (the video/pictures have to be edited and published and the book/books have to be written), has the characteristics and sponsorship of Our Creator all over it. This is a way to make LOVE, not WAR!<BR/><BR/>This trip was like the birthing of a baby. The "baby" has been born. Now it must be nourished and grow. All of us who are participating in this project, no matter how small or large our part, should resolve to be the best "family" this "baby" could ever have.<BR/><BR/>Already, Sherrie and I have begun to use our resources to spread her pictures out so she can work with them. From what little I have seen, if we were quilters, we've got some fine fabric, and once we find the right "pattern," it is going to be one fabulous "quilt."<BR/><BR/>And if everyone is able to do what I was told a Mother told her daughter to do when she cooked, "Stir a little Love into the recipe," all the "dishes" being prepared in the scattered "kitchens" are going to make one humongous Feast!!!<BR/><BR/>Let the focus of this continue to be this simple, "With Love Always."Garlandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09153873101908452483noreply@blogger.com