N.E.P.A.L. = Never End Peace And Love

That's what the kids told us Nepal stood for last night, our final night at the orphanage.

They had a little ceremony for us last night, with many of the older kids getting up and saying a little something in english, followed by each and every child coming up to both of us and putting a 'tika' on our forehead (which is red sandalwood, used for special occasions). Andrew and I both said something also, having one of the older kids translate (maybe?!) in Nepali to everyone else. I felt like I was at our wedding all over again, as i was all tears, mixing with the tika, it was a right proper mess!

But we made sure to stay positive, as some of the little girls started crying, and i was taken back to the camp years. When at the end of the summer, we would all cry our eyes out, not really understanding just why or what it was all about.

But i leave feeling confident that we are leaving the orphanage better than we found it. And i dont say that lightly. I feel proud of what we did and hope that for the little amount of time we were there, we were able to begin patterns (nighttime story reading, gardening, yoga), that might stick with them for a day, a week, hopefully much longer. These kids are so HUNGRY for knowledge, for information, that anything we put in front of them was gobbled up in moments. (example, we hung a big world map on the wall. for the next 45 minutes there crowd of kids was 3 rows deep, everyone angling to see where India was, America was, and yes, Nepal.)

Over the next year, Andrew and i are going to be putting together a benefit photography show with all of our images from our stay here. I am excited and I'm nervous. Its going to be a big task and i really want to be able to do justice to the orphanage and make sure that our 2 weeks there do not end with our departure. These kids are so incredible. If I could take every one of them home with me, I would do it in a heartbeat. They are funny, they are sweet, they are smart, they are talented, they are kind, and they are beautiful. So stay tuned!

On to our final week in Nepal.

Time for a little R&R!





Shiva, the founder of the orphange, watching over the kids from his office.



I cant help but post this image. The kids were about to miss their bus. And Lisa was last. Andrew picked her up and started to run. I was diggin my husband right about here.