Nepal in Pictures

In lieu of the very recent and tragic earthquake in Nepal, I thought there was no better time to share about the trip we took to Nepal last October than right now. Heads up: this is going to be a long blog post. It feels like an impossible feat to tell you each and every detail in a perfectly written story about our trip to Nepal. Instead, I am going to share stories behind the pictures as the words come to me. From jet lag to walking through the slums... we experienced so much... emotions... relationships... adventures. It was truly an adventure we are thankful for.

We are heartbroken over the news of the earthquake. As continued updates inform us that our friends are sleeping outside in tents and their homes are damaged, we are thankful that (as of now) we have not heard news of any deaths in our immediate network. We are grateful for God's grace but will continue to pray for all of Nepal during this time. There are years of healing and rebuilding ahead (all created from a twenty second earthquake - it seems so unbelievable) and we look forward to helping in whatever way we can. 

Allow me to share with you our trip through pictures... I am using a lot of the same pictures I posted on social media during the trip to help with timeline purposes. But there are a lot of other "big camera" photos sprinkled throughout the story as well! I hope you'll hang in there with me until the end!

Traveling / Sunday - Wednesday

We departed the U.S. at 10pm-ish Sunday evening, flying through the night on a thirteen hour flight. The first seven hours held strong turbulence - I honestly didn't even know it was possible to have turbulence for such an extended period. The flight attendants on our Qatar Airways flight were incredible - they were ultra attentive to both Sunday's needs and my own (I was 27 weeks pregnant, remember). The food was great and we all slept pretty decently. We landed in Qatar and got to our hotel around 7pm Qatar time. We ate a late dinner and crashed.


Update on Samaj after the Earthquake

Written by his house father, Prakash (24 yrs old)

"Samaj Waiba is 14 years boy from Makwanpur Distric Central Region of Nepal. His home is 80 KM away from Kathmandu valley by bus then 6 hours walking through jungle. His father informed me that all the houses are destroyed and collapsed in his village. On the earthquake day, Saturday, all his parents were in Church Service when earthquake came suddenly they were able to run away from church but church building destroyed and they had small house, when they came back home it was fully destroyed and nothing was left. All the stuff whatever they had inside home was devastated (Food, clothing and other stuff) they had nothing. Now they are living under one small tent that was provided by local government but that one is too small and not enough for their family. Samaj went last Tuesday from Timothy Home to look his family members and his village. There is no any death of his family members but they loss their house and stuff. His village is very far from market place and government also cannot go and distribute the things that they need. They are waiting for any kinds of help."


Of course we care about Nepalis other than our sponsored child. Prakash also sent an update about three other boys in the same home whose families were also effected back in their villages:

1. Sudip Tamang age 7: fully destroyed no any help till now. No family members death.( Nagarkot, Kavre, more earthquake affected areas.)
2. Kiran Pakhrin age 2: House collapsed and damaged no death, family are staying under tent.(Central Region, Makwanpur District)
3. Bijay Pakhrin age 15: House destroyed and damaged no death staying in tent .(Central Region, Makwanpur District)

If you would like to donate to the Nepal Relief through Allow the Children, click below:


First Clinic / Thursday

Second Clinic / Friday

The second clinic was in a school in another remote village. School was closed for the day so the clinic could happen. We set up two different rooms, one for the medical professionals and the other for the pharmacy. Out on the front lawn were goats tied up and a group of boys playing together, enjoying their day off. Sunday took a long nap this day and our jet lag and lack of good foods caught up to us all. 

By the end of the second clinic, we were absolutely wiped. However, we hopped in the vehicles and drove straight to a completely different city that night.

Scenes from the Road

When we piled in the vehicles for the drive, we all thought we had a one hour trip ahead. You know us American's like to know plans. Imagine how OVER IT we all were when we arrived at the hotel four hours later! Hah. :) We were greeted with working air conditioning and hot, hot water. It was a heavenly treat.

Saturday / Sabbath

On Saturday we visited a Children's Home and attended church at the church on their property. After the church service the building was opened to the community for the medical clinic and Tommy, Sunday and I spent most of the day hanging out with the kids. 

 At the end of Saturday I was discouraged that we were full swing into this work but were not enjoying it as much as I had anticipated. It was hard, long, and we were so tired. Sunday was clingy and confused and we were actually all mildly sunburnt (hah, the three fair white people). 

We made the collective decision to skip the next day of clinics which happened to be hours away in an area with no roads. Which meant the traveling was tough and may be worsened with a tired toddler. It was easier on everyone if we stayed back at the hotel and rested. So we spent Sunday walking along the touristy streets and enjoying the day together as a family. Pictures of that and all of the next week to come! 

To Be Continued...

P.S. You may be surprised to find the website looks completely different than it used to. More on THAT soon. :) :) 

Liz Cook

Liz Cook is a wedding, birth, and motherhood photographer based in Central Virginia. Her intuition and creative perspective allow her to connect both professionally and personally with her subjects, and thus, her portfolio is saturated with authentic emotion. Whether she's sharing her story with fellow entrepreneurs or enjoying quality time with her husband and two daughters, Liz is both present and passionate about capturing and celebrating life. Her work has been featured by O "Oprah" Magazine, The Huffington Post, The Glitter Guide, Essence Magazine, domino, Rue Magazine, among others.