4 - He's not Heavy
Here in Banepa, we have food and water, and some people have shelter. Yes, only some. Many families are still sleeping outside. They are using tarps for makeshift tents. It's too dangerous to go inside some houses. Many families are opening their homes to those who don't have one.
Aftershocks can still be felt now and then, and in fact, just a moment ago, there was one. Please keep us in your prayers.
Probably you have already heard how desperate the situation is, especially in many of the hard to reach remote villages. Bankhu is one such remote village in a desperate situation. The houses are down, food and water are dwindling, and there are injured people.
Along with everyone else in Bankhu, Bij Badhur, rushed out of the house when the quake hit. They watched in horror as their houses crumbled before their very eyes.
They hugged their children tightly.
When the shaking stopped, Bij Badhur ran back into his house, which appeared to be intact, to get some important items upstairs. It appeared to still be intact. The shaking started again
Oh no, this time the house started falling apart.
Bij Badhur had less than a split second to make a choice, jump out of the window and get a broken leg or be buried under the house in the stairwell. He jumped. He wasn't buried in the stairwell, and he didn't have a broken leg. He had a broken spine. He had landed badly. His family and friends tried their best to get him into a comfortable position. He wasn't the only injured one as there were three others also badly injured. The whole village banded together, settled the injured and the children and waited for help. They cooked outside and slept outside--and as the days went by and no help appeared, they wondered what would happen. "Listen!" "Do you hear it?" "Yes, it's a helicopter!" "Yeah!" "Oh no! It didn't see us and is flying by." Despair settle in as the days (and aftershocks, many quite hard) went by. Finally, early on Friday morning, May 1, 2015, his brothers and friends made a decision. They would carry him to the hospital.
This was not just a little walk. This was not even a hike! This was an eleven hour trek in the Himalayas to the nearest bus stop! Yes--eleven hours to the bus stop! It was hard, but they didn't care. He would have done it for them.
Then, it was about a four hour bus ride to Banepa, and our hospital--and help. They immediately told the doctors about the other injured friends. The next morning a team went to Bankhu to help.
Bij Badhur has a long road to recovery, but he has the help and support of his brave Band of Brothers and everyone else in the village.
All over Nepal there are stories of bravery like this one. The stories are not over, and the help needed is not finished.
Thanks in advance for your help and your prayers. May the Lord bless you and your loved ones.