Today is my first full day back at home after returning from Nepal and India. Right after Christmas, I went with a team of 12 people from my church on a two-week long mission trip to carry out a youth retreat and visit some First Love International children's homes. Getting there was absolutely hectic and exhausting - 3 days of travel from San Francisco/USA to Beijing/China to New Delhi/India to Kathmandu/Nepal. It was a challenging, but unforgettable trip overall. I'm excited to go through more photos as I reflect and process the trip more, but for now I just wanted to share some iPhone photos that document our time spent in Nepal on the first week.

1 - As the plane descended into the city of Kathmandu in Nepal, our first glimpse of the city consisted of many colorfully painted buildings surrounded by a dusty haze.
2 - A break taken in the middle of our long and bumpy 6 hour drive straight from the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu to the youth retreat site in Sauraha.
3 - One of the afternoon activities at the youth retreat was a jeep safari ride into the jungle with the youth. We ended up at a calm and beautiful lake - Beeshazar Lake in Chitwan National Park.
4 - The lake was so serene, its water mirrored the trees and surrounding landscape perfectly.
5 - Another one of the afternoon activities was exploring the resorts nearby the retreat site with the team, while the kids were at an afternoon session with their children's home directors.
6 - Our team stopped at a restaurant to enjoy some lassis and play mafia.
7 - This is the main room where the retreat activities took place: devotionals, meals, worship, teaching, small group time, crafts, testimony sharing, performances, and an amazing evening of singing and dancing with the youth on the last night.
8 - Saying good bye to the youth we met as the buses took them back to their homes and hostels.
9 - The First Love Children's Home in Parshadhap, where we stayed a single night after the retreat.

A few weeks back, I helped my friend Kirstie carry out a photo shoot for her online etsy shop, A Jar of Pickles. She opened up this shop a couple years ago when we were both still in college and since then has created so many lovable greeting cards, notepads, and prints! This winter she designed two separate holiday card sets featuring Christmas puns and Christmas song lyrics. It was a lot of fun setting up these little Christmas trinkets and drawing out the festive spirit of the holidays during this shoot. What's also exciting to share about this year's line is that all the proceeds will be going to support the First Love International children's homes in Nepal and India, where we both will be traveling to for missions right after Christmas!