Girls' home

On Thursday our team led an educational teaching on human trafficking at a girls home for 28 young women.  We spoke to them about value and worth, establishing their identity in God, the fatherheart of God, and I shared practical info on trafficking and how to avoid it. (I love teaching on these topics and wish we had more opportunities to do so!) They invited us to stay for dinner and afterwards we were treated to dance performances by both the girls and (unexpectedly) from several of our team members...quite the treat. We were laughing so hard we were crying and could barely compose ourselves. (Videos will be posted on Facebook at a later date.)

After our time there, I feel even more certain that one day I will work at/run a girls home or restoration home. Many of the girls had backgrounds of abuse and troubled childhoods, but they were some of the most joyful, welcoming girls I have met. Those girls stole my heart. What struck me the most was how their house was such a home. They all regard each other as sisters, and the newly married couple that runs the home as their aunt and uncle. The girls loved to show off their family photo albums and share their memories of growing up together.

Much of our time here thus far has been spent working with street kids: playing soccer, feet washing, feeding them, playing with them, and just loving them. On Tuesday we leave for a village to spend Christmas week with 450 orphans, so we're all going to get a heavy dose of kids that week as well. I love working with kids, and all children need love, a childhood, and home, but I feel a stronger call towards girls that have been hurt/trafficked. Thursday was my favorite experience of this outreach thus far; I felt like I had spent the day in my dream for a home for girls.

I've now been involved with trafficking prevention, intervention, and restoration. After seeing all three aspects, I do feel more of a call towards working in the restoration and healing process. Some of us on this DTS are discovering that trafficking is not quite the direction we intend to pursue afterwards, but some of us are realizing with more certainty each day that human trafficking is our passion.

Kathmandu: streets kids, a proposal, and dance bar

I changed my current city to Kathmandu, Nepal, today on Facebook, so now that it's "Facebook official," it's probably time to provide an update of the last couple days.  First, I have to say that living in the foothills of the Himalayas has its benefits: on a clear day, one can see the mountains from our rooftop, despite living in the heart of the city. The view of the Himalayas flying into Kathmandu was incredible.

Since arriving on Monday, we've settled into our lovely residence and are learning to live on a rationed water supply and deal with the unreliable electricity. We've already dined by candlelight several times: who doesn't love a cozy dinner with candles? Flexibility is key, and I don't think I've ever going to completely master it, but I am trying. I want my family, chocolate brownies, my car, clean air to breathe, and an abundance of hot water, but I know that God loves these teaching opportunities to increase my faith and reliance on Him. This city is growing on me...it may not quite be in my comfort zone but it's amazing how one can adapt to the circumstances.

The last two days we've gone into the streets to do outreach with street kids, mainly boys. I learned my lesson about giving street kids food: after giving chocolate biscuits to one, four more kids mobbed us demanding more cookies, so we had to find a store and buy biscuits for all. When we returned to pass out the cookies we just purchased, some of the boys had been fighting, most likely over the cookies, with a broken glass bottle and one little guy had bloody scratches on his arm. Way to go in causing trouble, Katie. Geez. I felt so bad, but I learned my lesson.

During that same hour, a guy approached me and my friend, offering his services as a tour guide. We declined, but he then launched into beggar-mode, telling us a long-winded story about needing money for his family.  After we told him we were not giving out money, he asked our ages and marital status. Bad decision to answer honestly: he then told me he liked me and asked if I would marry him. I laughed awkwardly and looked at my friend to see if I had heard correctly. I did. I have seen quite a few attractive Nepalese men, but he was not one of them. He promised to buy me beautiful Nepalese clothes and bracelets, but the offer wasn't tempting enough. He then proposed to my friend while several buddies of this hopeful fiance came over to see what was going on. We soon left and hopefully will not run into that same character over the next several weeks. Moral of the story: always respond "yes" when asked if married.

Last night the team went to a dance bar with the purpose to talk to the dancers, the women who work there. (A Nepalese dance bar is essentially the equivalent to a strip club, minus the stripping.) The strategy is to get to know the dancers, hear their stories, and get their contact information so that we can follow-up with them outside the bar at a later date.  I realized that these women, though dressed and dancing far less provocatively than expected, are just as degraded as women who dance almost naked on a pole. The sexual nature of this city is very covert, unlike Las Vegas, but the effects on the women are just as ruinous. Appearances are misleading. What may look relatively innocent is actually devastating. The men when at the dance bar will often get the contact info of these girls and to increase their earnings, the women will prostitute themselves at another location. These women--no, girls, since most of them were teenagers--desperately need the money yet know that what they are doing is shameful. Despite their smile when dancing, they are so hurt and broken. The girl I spoke with last night is only twenty but she has been working at this venue for five years: she began dancing when only fifteen. She is Hindu and didn't believe in prayer, but allowed me to pray for her anyways. After her parents separated she dropped out of school and left her village to work here in Kathmandu and ended up working at this dance bar. She is open to the idea of working elsewhere if she could find a job that pays well, so we were encouraged to know that she is open to leaving. I don't know why I am attracted to these women, but I am. We're going again on Tuesday night to another dance bar, so pray more divine appointments would be prepared for us!