Smockies

Our ward in Doha is awesome. The RS has decided to utilize the talents of the LDS women by creating classes that help teach and enrich. I have learned how to cook, quilt and stay fit thanks to the programs that have been offered here.

For the past twelve weeks or so I have been teaching my friends how to smock. This has been my contribution to the group, and a way to compensate for all the free yoga classes I have attended. I was happy to show them that it is really easier than it looks (shhh....don't tell anyone. I love people thinking that I am ubertalented and highly capable. No one should know that it can be a simple and mindless activity).

Monique, Lindsay, Afton, Christine, me

The best part of smocking isn't really sitting and doing needlework. Instead, it is the lively conversations that inevitably occur. There is so much juiciness and laughter that it feeds the soul. Our 'smock talks' have really been my weekly delight.

If you'll notice in the picture above, a baby was recently born in our smocking group. Lindsay had her baby in Qatar--unexpectedly in her home--on her living room floor!!!! She was back in the smocking circle two weeks later with such an animated and interesting story I was left in shock and disbelief. It had to have been one of our best smocking sessions ever. She wins the birthing war story by a mile!

Afton was ambitious enough to create this beautiful Mary De dress for her daughter. Can you see the beam of pride on Charlotte's face? It just screams, 'My mom is awesome and she made this dress just for me! I am a princess!'

This week was Christine's last week with us. She is heading back to the US to start a whole new adventure in her life. Luckily, she is 90% done with her gorgeous newborn bishop dress and she may need it for her upcoming baby #5! She already has 4 adorable boys, and is less inclined to make a smocked outfit for them (I can't imagine why?). We are all hoping for a baby girl in her future. Otherwise, her 8 year old son will have to start sporting lederhosen with his smocked overalls, just to keep her fingers active.

We will begin picture smocking this week and soon my schedule will drastically change. I am staring at 2 job offers right now and no matter which one I chose, my days will be full. More on that to come...

T-day

It is great to have a Mormon community in every country we live. Even if I forget that it is November (let alone Thanksgiving) I have a dinner appointment that requires me to just show up with my family and a bean casserole. Easy peezy.

On T-day I slaved away in the kitchen so I could have the perfect dish. It was my first attempt, but I was determined to add enough cream, cheese, and butter to mask any imperfection. 10 minutes before we were to leave, it was done. I put tinfoil over the pan and placed the dish on the floor because it was still burning hot as I was putting shoes on Asa.

Do ya see where this is going????

Within 2 minutes, Xavier's wiggling and jumping landed him right on the only ticket I had to enter the party. A few happy words were spoken and then a rational Axel smoothed out the mess, poured some cheese on the top, and tried to convince me it was adequate.

Luckily, there were plenty of people at the dinner, and I was sneaky enough when I dropped the dish off that no one knew the heap of cheese and beans was mine. But even if they did, it was really not so bad. My strategy worked. Enough butter, cream, and cheese can mask anything. Especially on Thanksgiving.

Stake Conference

Another perk of compound living?

Stake conference without those hard, cold metal chairs.

Oh, and kids upstairs playing with toys.

Mormon Nepali Wedding

We had the honour of attending a Mormon Nepali wedding. It was the first Mormon wedding ever held in Kathmandu. Most weddings in Nepal are arranged. I am not sure if this was an arranged marriage or a 'love marriage' (as they like to call it). It is not really one of those things you feel comfortable asking in the reception line, "So....do you two actually like each other???"

Getting ready in the nursery room

All in white, which is not traditionally Nepali. Women typically wear red and green at their marriage ceremony.

Maid of Honour

It was also interesting to see two people just get married and both of them were too shy to kiss each other in public. It is the second time I have witnessed this in an overseas wedding. Even with a ton of prodding and encouragement, they were not going to display any affection. If only Americans were so modest.

We sang 'Love at Home' before the ceremony began

Walking down the aisle with her father. Her father was one of the first Nepalese members. He was also the first Branch President in Kathmandu.

The ceremony was lovely and our bishop did a great job of talking about the gospel during the ring exchange.

G.C. and Pratima exchanging rings

Hopefully, one day, they will make it to the Hong Kong temple to seal the deal forever.

Congrats G.C. and Pratima!

Youth/YSA Conference

As a friend of mine from Canada mentioned here (such a small world!), we recently held a youth/single adult conference for the Kathmandu branch. Axel and I are both in the YM/YW program and we love it. Somehow we are always given the same calling in every branch/ward we attend, which is just fine by me because it gives me a reason to be a teenager all over again (except without all the zits and goofiness).

The Attendees

The members stayed at a resort in a village high in the mountains just north of Kathmandu. There were 40 attendees and the spirit was as amazing as the view!

The View

What I love about living in this branch is that the leadership is mainly Nepalese and they are ALL spiritual giants.

The Branch President with his wife

The youth here are strong, spiritual, and intelligent. The church has an amazing future in Nepal, and I feel privileged to be a very, very small part of it.

Asa's Blessing

After all of the chaos in our lives for the past several months, we finally had Asa blessed at church this Sunday. Here are some short snippets of the 2 hour blessing:

* He will become a surgeon and save the lives of those in Congress, Hollywood, and the 12 Apostles.

* He, himself, will be an apostle.

* He will have an IQ of 146.

* He will serve a mission in China and baptize millions.

* He will be dashingly handsome (to the likeness of Brad Pitt) and women will swoon.

*He will marry the first female president of the United States.

* He will be extremely athletic and beat Lance Armstrong's record in the Tour De France.

* He will cure cancer.

* He will be a philanthropist who visits various African countries and he will solve world hunger.

* He will never speak ill of his parents and always do as he is told.

Even though we are in a branch where no one understands the language or proper blessing etiquette, I still think Axel pushed the 'blessing envelope' a little bit on this one.

Oriental Boys

The four of us: Bate, Miller, Lay and me; Brom

This is Axel again. This is getting to be a habit! I just got a post from my good friend and old mission comp, Paul Miller and I realized that we are just passing our 20^th year anniversary of going into the MTC. I was called to the Washington, DC South Mission, Vietnamese speaking. I thought I would write a post about the three guys I served my mission with. It will be long, so you are forewarned. My friends' names are Buddy Joe Bate, Jeff Lay and Paul Miller. I am going to talk about them in alphabetical order because there is no other way to sort them, but before I do I also want to mention Mike Morgan, our MTC teacher.

Mike Morgan (Anh Khai)

We had three teachers and only one was funny and actually had a testimony. It was Mike. He always taught us the best lessons and always gave us the truth about what the mission would be like.

I remember during my time at the MTC I was having a hard time because honestly I didn’t know if the church even was true. I questioned why I was there when times were tough. I remember Mike taking some time just for me and reading through my Patriarchal Blessing and pointing out that the best part about it was that I would find out that Jesus Christ was my Savior and that I would know that the teachings were true. I had never read it in that light before and it gave me hope. And he was right. That has been the cornerstone to my life since then.

After the mission Mike was always there for any of us four. He was always good to us and he even sold me the wedding ring on Terah’s finger at a great deal. I still keep in contact with him to this day. Unfortunately I still haven't dug out all our old pictures from the last move so I don't have a picture of him.

Buddy Joe Bate (Anh Tung)

Bate, Bill (a member) and me

Bate was is the MTC with me and he was companions of Jeff Lay. Jeff and Bud got along really well from day one. His Vietnamese name was Tung but mostly we just called him Bate.

Bate was hilarious. He ALWAYS had some funny way of commenting on what was happening in our lives out there. I don’t know where he got his gift of putting people at ease, but he had it. The members loved him and the missionaries all wanted to be companions with him. Being a missionary is lots of things, but between the highs and lows, it is mostly just boring. Tracking, visiting people, doing meetings. Like I say it is mostly just boring. So having someone like Bate as a comp was a real treat. You were always guaranteed a laugh and you knew your time with him was going to be easy.. You also knew that all the members would want to see you and that it would be easy to get referrals out of them to teach people. And that made those two or three months we were companions together breeze by.

Jeff, Buddy Joe and me at the 4th celebration. Paul is probably taking the picture

While the four of us were out there, we decided to make a video kind of making fun of what it was like to be a missionary and especially an missionary working with the refugees. I wish you could see the finished product. It was hilarious, and most of the best parts came from seeing Bate do crazy things.

When we got back from our missions he married a girl who was one of the really strong members out there who always had something nice to say to us missionaries. Kelly and Bud made a great couple then and still do 20 years later. During college Jeff and I got to see him a lot, though not as much as we would have liked. Still to this date I get emails from him and when we get a house in Utah, Bate will be the only guy I trust to give me good information on where and how to buy.

Jeff Lay (Anh Tri)

Me and Jeff with some kids. Jeff is shooting our movie.

The funny thing about Jeff and I was we were never companions. I think everyone of us four were, but Lay and I never were. But even though we were never companions we always talked on Pdays and throughout the week. He was always an easy guy to talk to and I could always trust he would listen and give me great advice. He was also well loved by the members out there and had some really stellar baptisms out there because he was so good with them. The kids adored him and he would use that to our advantage. All the little tykes would run up to him at the playgrounds and he would spend a lot of time with them playing. He was also the tech guy who did all the editing of our moving, Oriental Boys and made it turn out so well.

Jeff, me and Paul hunting bunnies after the mission in Utah

After our mission Jeff and I made up for never being companions. We moved in together at BYU and basically not only were roomies, but became best friends. We pretty much hung out 24:7 and as we like all the same things whatever he wanted to do always sounded like a great idea to me and vice versa. He took me up to Montana and got me introduced to hunting elk with bows. It was always the highlight of my year to go up there and hunt. Honestly the hunting was just the frosting on the cake. The best part was hanging out with his awesome family who always made me feel like one of the family. It was a real refuge from school to go there and get pampered by his mom, or go out with his dad and brothers to hunt. I became good friends with Jeff’s brother Ryan who was also at BYU and with Kenny and Russy as well.

We cruised girls together too. It is always easy to go after the fairer sex when you are doing so with a best friend because you can compliment each other. I must admit we even dated a few of the same girls and it should come as no surprise. If you liked one of us, you probably were going to get along great with the other.

When I went away to Jerusalem Jeff met an awesome girl named Celina and they got married. I went to their wedding and was best man. I honestly was pretty stunned he got her to marry him. I mean, I love the guy, but he really married up. They have a beautiful daughter named Ester who is way too smart for her age.

During my courting of Terah I spent many a night at Jeff’s house bleeding about how much I wanted to marry Terah and both of them just listened and calming me down so I didn’t propose on the second date. They were there with me when Terah went on her mission and of course there when I got married. One of the biggest downsides to me living overseas is I can’t hang out with Jeff. I don’t make friends easily and when I do, I have them for life regardless of the time span in between when I see them.

Paul Miller (Anh Truong)

The thing about Paul is he is always so serious....

Paul was my first companion in the MTC and we were paired up with another Vietnamese guy I totally forget his name. Paul was the DL and his Vietnamese was the best in the group.

When we got to the field my friendship with Paul continued to grow. We would talk about our new companions and about the members and having lived together for two months we knew each other better than anyone else out there.

Our missions progressed and after we had become more of the 'older' missionaries we were put back together as companions. We were comps for four more months in the field. That meant that over ¼ of my mission I was companions with him. And it was great. I can honestly say there aren’t many people out there who know me better or who I know better than Paul for all the time we spent together.

Miller and Bate making food at a member party

It was great to go around teaching with him and I actually have him to thank for my pursuit of other languages. You see, by then his Vietnamese was so good I really felt like if we were with a Vietnamese family he really should do all the talking so at least they could understand us. So I started learning Cambodian just so I could have my own domain. I am not sure how well I did, but it got me thinking that learning languages on my own was possible. .

After our missions we kept in contact and he eventually came back to Washington DC to work and wound up marrying a girl all of us missionaries loved; Vandy. Vandy came from a very strong member family, had about 10 cousins we would always play with and I was so happy to hear my friend had married such a great girl and that Vandy had married such a great husband. It was win win. One of my biggest regrets in life was I didn't have the cash to make it to their wedding.

Because Paul and Vandy lived in AZ, I didn’t get a chance to see him much, but then Terah and I went to Croatia. After Croatia I had heard about Thunderbird in AZ before, but I had no way to ever make it there to start the school. But I knew I had an ace in the hole, and that was Paul and Vandy.

I called him up and he insisted that Terah and I come live with him and his family. I really had no money or options so his offer really saved us. Paul and Vandy made us feel totally at ease living in their home. He showed me around, took time off work to get me up to speed in the city and he even had his mom loan us one of her cars until we bought one. When we finally bought a house, Jeff and Celina picked up our few bits of furniture from my mom's house in Utah, and brought it all the way down to AZ and Paul helped us move in.

Terah and I both finished into grad schools (Terah got her Masters in Communications and I got an MBA from ASU and I also got an MIM from Thunderbird) and we spent many more days and nights hanging out with the Millers. We left when I got a job with ALICO. None of it would have been possible had not Paul and Vandy helped us out when we needed it. There are those times in your life you don’t know what to do, and luckily I had Paul there to offer a hand to help me out of a tough situation. I will never forget that.

I loved my mission and I hope you can see the biggest reasons why. I was really blessed to have rock solid guys who were always there for me, listened to me when I needed to complain, put up with me when I got in a bad mood and always set a great example for me both during and after our missions.

20 years have flown by. We are all balder, fatter and I don’t think playing hoops again on P-day will ever happen again. But I know the love we have for each other is still as bright and strong as it was back when Milli Vanilli were still cool and there was no such thing as the Internet.

There are those people you know that when you die you will make sure your heavenly house is one the same street as theirs. I know we will be kicking back listening to Bate crack jokes, Paul talk about our time in AZ and Jeff and I tell stories about college and Mike laughing along with us all. I don’t want much more out of heaven than being with my wife, kids, family and these guys.

Missionary Moment

My parents in India...I would add one of them in Africa, but my stuff is climbing a mountain at the Nepali border somewhere...

My mom and dad served a CES mission in South Africa. Knowing the crime and serious issues they have there one might be slightly hesitant to accept the call. Nope, not my mom and dad. They said, bring it on...All their stuff stolen, bring it on...Held at gun point...bring it on...Face to face with a criminal...eh, what else do you got?

In honour of my mom's birthday today, I thought I would post a letter written by a couple missionary that worked with my parents.

"I must interrupt this long enough to give you the latest Camilleri-ism. In the past we had told you of two different events concerning Elder and Sister Camilleri where they were victims of theft. Once their apartment was broken into, and their lap top, camera and other personal things were taken. Next, they were visiting an early morning class when one of the drivers coming to seminary, and the owner of the house, were held at gun point, and their cars stolen (one was a new BMW). Well, two weeks ago those same Camilleris were coming home from Institute class in Pretoria. When they stopped at a stop light, some punk came up to the back window, smashed it and reached in to grab Sister C's scripture bag. These thugs always think those bags are purses and have money in them. Elder Camilleri was not wearing his seat belt, which in this case was a blessing. His reaction was swift and powerful! His wife says that as the window crashed it made a horrible sound and as it did Elder C. gave a blood curdling, 'Kung Foo' yell and at the same time swung around to the back seat smacking that guy two healthy blows before he could get his grubby, greedy and malevolent arm out of their car. I don't have a very Christian attitude about such thugs, so my hope is that he was so traumatized and terror stricken, he slunk home to have a heart attack, never to disturb peaceful folk again. After such an adventure, wouldn't you have second thoughts about sticking your arm into someone's back seat? Anyway, Camilleri's will be going home in April and we will miss them very much."

Love ya mom & dad! You make turning 65 not seem so bad. People half your age don't have the same vitality and love of life like you. Can't wait for you to get here so we can go bird watching, orchid collecting, people watching, and of course, shopping together. The kids can't wait for you to arrive and neither can we. So many adventures await us!

Saturday is a Special Day

Saturday is a special day cause it is the day we go to church here in Nepal. I am not sure why, and no one here really seems to have an answer for it. So it is. Therefore, it looks like we will be attending 'Saturday School' and having 'Fast Saturday'.

When we arrived at sacrament meeting, it was so bizarre seeing women in traditional sarees and men in Nepali caps. It was hard to believe it was our church. When the first speaker began her talk, Heavah turned to me and said, 'Wait! Mom, she is talking about Jesus!' I had to a admit, it was so unusual to see a Nepalese person bear their testimony and speak of Jesus' mission. Yet, at the same time although the dresses were different and the people looked different the spirit of the meeting was the same.

Most of the 100 members that normally attend are recent converts to the church. Others have been members for years. We have 3 missionaries out on a mission from Kathmandu. One in India, one at Temple Square, and one stateside (I forget which state). How awesome it is to see these people who have such a deep cultural and religious makeup accept Christ into their lives.

We have a Nepalese bishop who recently overcame the same brain tumor that Axel had. He went to Thailand for the surgery and then was sitting at the pulpit only a month later. Amazing man. Luckily, all other significant callings are filled by Nepalese members and the church is going strong. It is a privilege to be part of this branch. I am sure as time moves on I will have stories to share. I can't wait to get to know the people on a more personal level. At this point the challenge is that most of the members don't speak English. So I guess I need to learn Nepali.

When we were recapping what we had learned at church at the dinner table Heavah said, "Mom, you wouldn't believe how many things at church are the same here as they were in Dubai!" She was surprised and excited to see that although so much else around her had changed in her life, two things remained constant, our family and our faith.

gods

I am Mormon and firm in my faith but that has never stopped me from learning about other religions. Hands down, the Hindu religion is the most fascinating to me. I can't help but be a little intrigued by their polytheistic, idol worshiping practices. While in Dubai, I heard about the modern-day Nepali 12 year old goddess Sajani Shakya's retirement, which ended in a ceremonial marriage with a bael fruit. Yes, that's correct, a fruit. She married the fruit this past March. Imagine attending that ceremony and taking it seriously. Do you take this pear during sickness and in health? I mean sure, I get the whole 'marry a fruit' thing, some are quite tasty. But at age 12! They could have at least spent a little time together. You know, get to know each other a little more.

The process is quite interesting though. Shakya was chosen as a goddess according to several factors, 'Does she have eyelashes like a cow? Body like a Banyan tree? Thighs like a deer? You know, the usual criteria that all men look for.



Apparently, this belief is mainly shared only by the Nawari people here in Kathmandu, but Hinduism as a whole has its share of unusual beliefs. I would never claim to be a Hinduism expert, but here are a few of the Hinduism gods that I enjoy the most -

Shiva - He is depicted as an electric blue god and is regarded as the most powerful of all the gods. In other words, he kicks butt and takes names. Nepal loves Shiva. He represents death and dissolution. He is often seen with many arms and appears to be doing a jig every time you see him. He is considered to be one of the most complex of the Hindu godhead.





Vishnu - He is also part of the trinity with Shiva. He is peace-loving and is a preserver and sustainer of life. He has been reincarnated 10 major times all of which have their own significance. He is bound to righteousness, order, and truth. If these things are out of whack, he emerges and restores order and peace on earth. I wish he would come emerge every now and then in my home!



Ganesha - This god is easy to detect cause its the only one with a fat body and a big old elephant head. And if you look carefully, he is always sitting with a mouse. He is the lord of success and destroyer of evil. He is also worshipped as the god of knowledge, wisdom, and wealth. I guess the intellect and money compensates for the bad body image.


Krishna - He is the ninth reincarnation of Vishnu. This blue-skinned deity has influenced the Indian thought, life and culture in myriad ways - not only its religion and philosophy, but also into its mysticism and literature, painting and sculpture, dance and music, and all aspects of Indian folklore. So he's the chap I can thank for all the Bollywood movies and dance. Thanks.



Rama - Is the most popular symbol of chivalry and virtue, Rama is “the embodiment of truth, of morality, the ideal son, the ideal husband, and above all, the ideal king." So, okay, if Axel was ever a reincarnated being, Rama would be it.



Durga - She is known as the Mother Goddess and she embodies the fiery power of all the gods combined. She also personifies the energy of lord Shiva. She is the protector of the righteous, and destroyer of evil. She is the favorite here in Kathmandu and she has a two week celebration (called Dashain) held in her honor. This would be my two year old on a good day.



Kali - She is known as the dark goddess and is the ferocious form of Durga. Kali is represented with the fiercest features amongst all the world's deities. Her tongue protrudes from her mouth, her eyes are red, and her face and breasts are soiled with blood. This is my two year old on a bad day.




As you'll notice many of these gods have more limbs than normal. This is why the place you want to have a freaky condition (3 arms, two noses or a third nipple) is here in Nepal or India. You would be regarded as a reincarnated god. Now if they would only have a god with bowed legs, I'd be set.

Going to the Chapel

Here are some of the differences of the church in Dubai...

1. We go on Friday. It is really funny to see how hardwired we are to going to church on Sunday. It is 'Friday School', not 'Sunday School'; and our playday of the weekend is after our sabbath day. It is all a real shift in paradigm.

2. 80% of our branch is Filipino. If you want to really feel the spirit, invite a Filipino over. They are incredibly strong and spiritual. Many of them are living through great difficulties. Some have their entire families back in the Philippines, and others are here as a couple but their children (as young as a year old) are living back home with a grandparent or other extended family. Many of them are separated for years. And I bitch and complain when my husband is gone for two weeks. It is so humbling.

The rest of the ward consists of the following nationalities: Australian, New Zealand, Chilean, Mexican, Iraqi (yes, we have a few), Sri Lankan, British and American. It makes quite an interesting dynamic in Friday School.


3. Here is a picture of our 'chapel':





4. Here is a picture of our two baptismal fonts:

This is the new one:


This is the old one (the Persian Gulf):



Axel baptising a newly converted Iraqi member

5. We have NO missionary program. For many of you this may be a dream come true, but you would be surprised how much you miss seeing missionaries around. It is also strange how sometimes I am tempted to share the gospel with others and how disappointing it can be when I can't.

6. All stake gatherings are held in Bahrain. This is the 'hub' for the Arabian Gulf Stake. Any youth activity or leadership meeting requires an hour flight.

Despite the differences, the church is the same. We also have a guy who makes outrageous comments in Gospel Doctrine, a weepy lady who always has to give a 20 minute testimony, and a woman who always sings extra loud so we can hear her beautiful voice. But most importantly, we are equally inspired and strengthened by the members and given a deeper appreciation for the universal truths of the gospel.