Dear Friends,

I guess I need to apologize for not writing sooner. The past month has been pretty hectic. Thanks to all who have written recently. So what have we been busy with?

Our first real video drama production

From the 8th to the 14th of May I was working from about 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day on the production phase of a drama about alcoholism. This was new ground for our video team. Our main experience is producing documentaries. For this production, we worked on the story for about a month. A man named Balbahadur has a happy life. He and his wife and three kids have a happy home, plenty of food, kids are in school etc. Then a landslide wipes out his fields. He goes into debt and depression. Some of his "friends" invite him for a drink. Soon he’s selling the little that he has to feed a growing habit. A health volunteer in his village encourages him to seek help. Ultimately, with regular clinic visits and lots of family support he turns his life around. The purpose of the video is to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of alcoholism and how it can be treated. The story idea was written by UMN’s Mental Health Program. We worked on the script. I had to translate it into English myself, for my own ease of use on the set. Then we worked for several weeks on the visual concept. We hired some professional actors. By this I mean they had some acting experience in similar programs. (The actor with the lead role got paid about $10 a day!) We scouted and chose locations and then began shooting on the May 8. Over all, the production side of things went well. Rain only delayed shooting a couple of times. Although a lot of scenes had retakes, the scene itself looked natural/believable. Editing our six hours of tape into a 30-minute program will begin on Monday. Why the delay if shooting was done by the May 14? Because immediately after production was completed I was involved in another project.

United Mission to Nepal’s Annual Conference

As some of you know, UMN has an annual conference for all expatriate staff (over 400). We rent out a school that is closed for holidays. The conference lasts for about a week and is filled with worship, Bible studies ( a speaker comes and conducts these), sports, workshops, and sessions with the executive director. Groups from the United States and Australia come to do programs for the kids. Over 50 UMNers volunteer to help the conference run smoothly. In the past we’ve helped with transportation, displays, equipment, and conducted a few workshops. This year I got talked into being the team leader for the sound system. This involved collecting a truck-load of audio equipment from various UMN offices, testing it, then hauling it out to the school and spending a day setting it all up (eight mics, four speakers, a keyboard, amplifier, mixer, CD, and miles of cable). Then the fun began with the conference. Fortunately, I had a team of four, so we worked in teams of two. But being on the audio crew is pretty much an all-day commitment from 7:30 a.,m. to 9:30 p.m. So after it was all over, I was exhausted. Probably the most difficult part of it was not being able to be with family. Three out of the five days, I did get to the pool with Christopher. We did get comments from folks that we were doing a good job. Will I do it again next year? Only if Christopher and Ellen approve.

Family

Ellen continues to be involved with her "household helpers"group. Since the group has been founded, these 60+ women have been able to attend trainings in cooking, English, Nepali literacy, women’s rights, financial planning, and bike-riding, to name a few. Ellen has made up certificates for all those who attended the trainings (receiving a certificate in Nepal is a big deal). Tomorrow they will receive the cards at their quarterly meeting. Ellen is also completing the finishing touches on a brochure for her office. It looks great! Since we have only a month left here, she has also been packing, getting rid of stuff, and holding sales.

Christopher has had a rather chaotic school term. He was in school for a couple of weeks in February; then we went to Thailand. When we returned he had a three-week holiday in April. Now there have been nationwide strikes. The week before the conference, schools were closed for a week. The student arm of the communist parties was protesting school fees. They were asking that private schools reduce their fees by 50 percent and government schools be free (currently government schools charge exam fees and book fees). After conference there was a three-day strike called by the six communist opposition parties, protesting the current government and seeking resignation of the prime minister. During the strike everything is closed down—shops, transport (public and private). There isn’t much violence except for scattered events involving vehicle windows being smashed or skirmishes with riot police and protesters. Those three days Christopher and I walked to the pool. The weather has been great. I’m proud to say he can now swim across the pool by himself.

Breaking news …

Since I began writing this a horrific event occurred that some of you may know about by now. Eleven members of Nepal’s royal family have been killed, including the king, queen and their three children. We received the news from a Nepali friend this morning at 5 a.m. We turned on BBC and have received a couple of reports. It is uncertain who did the killing, but rumor has it that it may have been a member of the family who then turned the gun on himself. There seems to be no connection with the other political problems that the country is facing now. It seems that the successor will be the king's brother. We pray that a successor can be put in place quickly and smoothly. This is definitely a crucial point in Nepal's history. There has been no reports in the Nepali media yet. So you folks may no more than us. I tried to check the Internet but couldn't get on.

At 11:00 a.m. our time

There is still no official announcement from the government and palace regarding the tragic events there. I was just out doing some shopping. I met a lot of UMNers doing the same thing. There were vehicles on the streets, but not many. There has been some rumor of a curfew but no official word yet. So much is rumor and speculation. You folks may know more than we do. The only reports we are getting are from the BBC on cable. BBC is reporting now that the killings were done by the crown prince, who then turned the weapon on himself. People are in shock. The whole country will definitely be closed down for a period of mourning.

June 2, 10:00 p.m.

We just finished watching on Nepal television the state funeral for the royal family. It seems the crown prince is still alive but in critical condition and in a coma in the army hospital. Under royal law he has been made the successor. The king's brother, who was away from the capital when it happened, has been named regent. The funeral procession included the king, queen, princess, and younger prince and a couple other members of the royal family. Thousands of people lined the streets. The people of the kingdom are in a state of shock. The king was beloved by the citizens of Nepal. We can only hope that such tragedy will unite the country rather than divide it.

Please pray for Nepal at this time.

Love,

Andy, Ellen and Christopher

The 2001 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 1