January 23-29 2023

 Monday 1/23: Jared had language class this morning with Paninna. Him and Daniel decided awhile ago that it would be best to close the clinic on Mondays so that Jared can do the third Bangla language book. It’s “winter” now so the clinic is slower than usual anyway. At first we thought of having his class in the afternoons so we wouldn’t have to close clinic but often times that is when he needs to run errands, do visa paperwork or take care of other matters. It just seemed easiest to do it in the morning. We have been surprised with what Bangla Layton is picking up. We haven’t really tried to teach him any other than how to tell Lucky and Sumita thank you for the lunch and then how to say “I’m good” when people ask him how he is. We didn’t want him to feel pressured to talk differently when we are already working on his American speech! So we were quite surprised when on the phone the other night he told Papa several Bangla words and what they meant. Yesterday he wondered what some of the numbers were so I told him so we will see if he remembers. Quite intriguing to me how he soaks things up like that. Wish our adult brains were that quick and limber! I had to laugh because one day when him and I were out and about buying veggies and fruit, when we got home he said “mom, I said dhonnobad (thank you) to that lady and that’s not what I meant to say at all!”😂 I said “now you know how mama and daddy feel sometimes!” His distressed attitude just cracked us up! After language class John and Jared spent the morning going to deliver more paperwork to obtain security clearances for Trevor, Jared and Miss Kallie. Sometimes the men wonder how many times to keep reapplying and trying to get all the various clearances and visas that are “required”. Some are very expired but nothing much happens other than the police occasionally stop in and want to see that you did actually apply to renew. This has been a long standing issue so it’s not a new problem. We are pretty much settled into our new apartment! It definitely feels more homey and cozy than the guesthouse did. Layton is loving his bedroom and all the toys Nikki left behind🥰 Here in Dhaka people eat their evening meal around 10pm. when we go to bed around that time the smell of cooking spices and garlic wafts into our bedroom. It’s quite a pleasant smell! This apartment is far enough away from the rest of the apartments on this complex that we can have all the curtains open! Our living room window faces a veranda which you can see lots of greenage from. It looks like you live in a jungle until you look straight down at the dump piles😂 so we just focus on what we can see from the window! Neil and Carl always said “just keep your eyes two feet above the ground!”😂 It’s really not that bad. The best thing is the kitchen is much bigger than the guesthouse. A bigger oven, more counter space, a pantry, etc. So cooking and washing dishes can be conducted more efficiently. Layton and I spend quite a bit of time down in the courtyard. His latest thing is wanting to learn badminton. In the evenings the teenage boys that live here will string up their badminton net and play for awhile. Layton loves to go sit on the veranda and watch. Below our bedroom is a family of chickens complete with a rooster. He takes his job of crowing the sun up quite seriously! Between him, the crows and the doves it’s quite a beautiful sound to wake up too. 😍 

Tuesday 1/24: Jared had clinic this morning. Layton and I got out and ran some errands, felt good to leave the apartment for awhile! We had just got home and Jared called and needed something brought to the clinic so we went and took that to him. Stayed for abit. The sisters were bustling around cooking fish and other delicious smelling things for lunch for the patients that are staying there. The clinic room and “waiting room” were full of people so didn’t linger long in there. Didn’t want to impede progress. I held a baby that had just had an operation. She looked so healthy! Fat cheeks, plump tummy, and big brown eyes. They don’t all look that healthy, so when you see a baby or child that looks “normal” they stand out. The moms always love when the white ladies show their children any sort of attention. Usually they spend the night at the clinic the day before the operation and then for several days afterwards. So it’s neat seeing the baby before and then seeing what an improvement the facial and/or oral surgery has made afterwards! Sometime I hope to write up a more detailed post on how the clinic works and operates for those of you that aren’t familiar with our program here. I’ve been thinking up some phrases to learn to say to the moms, “how old is your baby?” “Did operation go well?” “Do you have other children?” And simple things like that. Hopefully they know I am interested even if I can’t say much. The people that come from the village can be harder to understand. This evening we had singing with Josna and Sumita. Josna’s sister usually comes too. Jared and I really enjoy doing that! We usually sing for 30 minutes or so and then have a prayer. After supper I helped Jared with his homework. I told him the word or letter and he drew the appropriate hieroglyphic with it.   চাল is how you write bhat (rice). 

Wednesday 1/25: Jared had language class this morning. We went to the clinic for lunch. Chicken curry today! Josna smiled approvingly when Jared took 3 helpings of chicken. Had 3 patients there and then another one came this morning. Jared got the new patient their appropriate paper work and powdered milk since their operation will be tomorrow. Depending on the severity, some of these children that have cleft lip/palate can only drink milk. We give them the powdered kind. Jared had to go to the bank so he took Layton along with him. Layton came home all enthused because on the way they had to stop and wait because the prime minister’s motorcade came through. Spent the afternoon and evening at home. Jared studied and did more computer work and I got all the baby clothes and blankets washed and organized and put away. Hard to believe I’m in the third trimester now! 

Thursday 1/26: Jared had language class this morning. He wrote down a prayer for church in English and then Paninna helped him translate it into Bangla. Sumita came and cleaned this morning. I like having her come, the extra female presence is nice! She’s usually here for about 2 hours a morning three times a week. She let out a little squeal when she saw all the baby clothes. “Sundor!” (Beautiful!) I try to say things to her and if I’m close enough to the right thing then she corrects me and tells me how to say it the right way! I really appreciate their patience with Jared and Is language skills. Layton has been begging to make chicken fingers. I cut up the chicken for him then he likes to dip them in egg/milk/Mayo and then in crushed chips. It all makes him feel quite accomplished! Plus it keeps him entertained for a good 30 minutes😂 Sumita thought it was hilarious that he was doing that. She likes to come see what I’m making for lunch! The auditor came and dropped off some much needed paperwork for some financial matters, then the generator man came to service our generator plus the one at the guesthouse. Later Shurov messaged and said he was coming at 5 to see and talk to Jared! I whipped up some sweet tea for him. It’s a tradition that when he comes on Thursday’s he likes sweet tea. I don’t drink sweet tea at all so I was in a bit of a stew because I don’t ever make the stuff. (yes I know how pathetic that a Mennonite girl doesn’t know how to make sweet tea🫣) I dug out Amber’s recipe and concocted something that I thought would work. I know I can count on Shurov to give me his honest opinion about how I can improve the flavor for next week. Stay tuned… UPDATE: It was a hit. Shurov said “it’s perfect, just like it is.” So my reputation is spared.😂😂 I’m glad Shurov comes on Thursdays and visits. It’s good for Jared, they both think are deep thinkers and are very analytical. 

It’s been a week since Daniels left! Jared and I were up on the roof this evening grilling some chicken and we realized it was exactly a week ago that we stood up there waving at Daniel’s plane flying over. But a week later it’s amazing how much has changed. The pit in our stomachs is gone, we feel more relaxed and happy, and Layton is thriving. We are still adjusting but we have prayed every morning for “strength for today” and every time He has answered. Humbling…. We miss them a lot but that’s life🥰 

Friday 1/26: Church day! Had church this morning. Jared had the message on “Our thoughts and speaking the truth.” We were on the way to UniMart and the police pulled us over (read: stood in the street and waved their arms at us.) It was a random traffic stop but some paper for the van had expired a few weeks ago unbeknownst to us so “I not punish this time ok but go renew.” Jared was frustrated because he thought he had just checked on those types of things but indeed it had expired. I told him “at least we aren’t in jail!” We had lunch at the UniMart food court (very very spicy 🥵) Jared took Layton for ice cream to cool their mouths while I started shopping. Got lots of stares. I’m sure it did look humorous that a white lady was buying so many groceries! The field secretaries come next week and then the next week is revivals so I wanted to stock up extra. The man at the meat counter seemed amazed that I wanted 6# of beef. I wonder what he would have thought if he knew that at Kansas we usually had more like 50# of beef in the freezer from our own cow AND a bunch of chicken. I really miss that! Not used to always having to buy meat. I’ve been trying to stock up to on groceries a-bit. Not sure what all to keep on hand always. At home I just did Walmart pickup (how spoiled I was) every week or so, so I never had a very big stockpile. But with baby coming in a few months I wanted to have extra on hand in case some week I didn’t feel up to shopping. Went home and took naps as we were plumb wore out from all the excitement. 

Saturday 1/28: Lucky didn’t come to cook this morning, which I was almost glad for because we had all sorts going on. Layton and I got the “teacher room” ready for both teachers and a visiting youth girl that will be in Dhaka this weekend. A Christian hospital here in Dhaka wanted some more tracks so Jared dropped some off at the clinic for them to pick up, then Jon came at 10 to go through the papers that the auditor dropped off. He likes coffee and “biscuits” (cookies) when he’s here so I made some coffee for him. I’m trying to remember all these Bangladesh hospitality rules. Sumita came to clean. Finally, I took Layton down to the courtyard to ride bike so that we would stay out of everybody’s way. We are learning to keep an eye out when we walk in the courtyard. 😂 Some people that live a story above us like to throw food like bread and rice over their veranda. Of course the crows come flocking! The other morning we were down there and all of a sudden I heard a thud. I noticed a clump of something on the ground and here it was a clump of frozen fish heads. The sight and smell of raw fish does not set well with me in this stage of the game so I evacuated the area. After Jon left Jared had to run to the clinic since a patient had arrived so he needed to go take care of some things. Then off he went to Farmgate to buy some supplies for the clinic. Seems like here Jared has plenty to keep busy with!! Right before supper a mechanic came to take care of the expired papers on the van. Layton told me that he wanted “something delicious” for supper. I made homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese. He just ate and ate. I finally asked Jared if he thought something was wrong with Layton because for the past 2 weeks he’s been eating much more than usual and hasn’t even been whining about what I make. He’s been eating more meat even which has been something he’s never particularly enjoyed. Regardless, I’m glad he’s eating more and hoping his picky phase has passed. The teachers came later evening. 

Sunday 1/29: Jared had clinic this morning. Had a slow start to the day as it was “onek ThanDa” (very cold 63*) Layton and I went and stopped in for awhile. Sumita made us dudh cha. It was hot tea with milk  powder and sugar added to it. Layton really enjoyed it.  They make it for “boss” every morning when he’s there. Sometimes when we are walking along the street here people just come up to Layton and hug him and pinch his cheeks and coo over him “babo babo!” This is hard for me to appreciate, I don’t like strange people touching him. But I’m trying to realize it’s their culture. In the states you’d probably get in trouble for pinching some random strange child’s cheeks. 😂 The guy for the van papers came and brought the rest of the papers that Jared needed. The teachers had supper with us. That was really enjoyable! Trevor’s stopped in later in the evening and stayed for awhile. Hard to believe another week has passed. Thanks for all the prayers!💖

January 16-22, 2023

 Monday 1/16: This morning Jared and I worked feverishly on our final exam. Made good head ways on it. Trevor’s are in Dhaka now for a few days. Their teacher had family that are flying back to the states this afternoon and then Trevor’s parents fly in Wednesday! They were all at Daniel’s this morning for breakfast so after we had worked on our exam awhile we headed over there until Jared needed to head to the clinic. It appears as though company comes between November to February while it’s cool! Thus why so much company has been coming and going through Dhaka recently. Doesn’t sound like April to October is a good time for anything very exciting to happen due to the heat. Lisa likes to tell me horror stories about how bad and miserable the heat will be. Guess we will soon find out! In the afternoon Daniels, us, Nurse Miriam and the sisters went to a museum at the old Dhaka airport. It was the sisters idea that we all go and they were adamant that Jared and I come along too! Old planes and rockets and even some playground equipment for the children to play on. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the outing. We were able to see the completed section of the new metro rail too while we were in that part of Dhaka. After that Daniels and us went to Jon and Paninna’s (our legal man and language teacher) apartment for supper. She made so much food. Beef curry, chicken curry, fried fish, egg curry, rice, and sobji. She was concerned about me eating spice since I’m pregnant so she carefully only scooped out bits of meat and egg for me to eat with the rice. I didn’t tell her I’ve been eating spicy stuff all along. Then after we had eaten until we were full she brought around ice cream and bananas. I was starting to think we would just roll home instead of walk home. Sometimes we are quite ready to be done eating but they keep putting it on your plate. If you say you don’t want anymore they worry “is it too spicy?” So we say “our bellies are full” and that seems to assure them that it was indeed delicious. Us foreigners aren’t used to consuming that large of quantity of rice at once! We came home weary but with happy hearts and full bellies. 

Tuesday 1/16: Language class: reviewed the final exam and then went over the main points of the last two books. My last class… a real relief to me to be done. I will continue to study and review and do flash cards though as much as I have time for. Jared had clinic this morning. He ran it by himself today and was quite pleased with how well it went. He had about 25 patients. The rest of the crew could speak surprisingly good English without Daniel there! Jared doesn’t want to rely on that and hopes to start integrating more Bangla when he converses with them. No singing this evening since we were with them all yesterday. Enjoyed a quiet evening at home. 

Wednesday 1/18: Felt good to sleep in and not wake up and fly around for language class. Made granola for Amber to take on the plane and then took Nicolee and Layton up to the rooftop to play for awhile. Jared and Jon worked on visa paperwork all morning for several of the CSI men and one of the teachers. Had lunch at the clinic with the sisters. They made chicken curry with the usual sides. You can imagine Layton’s delight! He ate two big helpings of the stuff. I’m convinced he’s in a growth spurt. He seems to just stretch out taller but not ever put much meat on his bones. Must be the Ensz in him. For a “dessert” Josna made payesh. A thick cooked rice pudding sweetened with molasses and raisins. Jared thought it tasted similar to his mom’s rice pudding! Nurse Miriam told me it’s a dish made for special occasions since it’s considered a “miSTi” (sweet) I enjoyed visiting with her while waiting for lunch. She told me about some of her nursing adventures when she worked in Saudi Arabia. She wondered what all types of nursing I had done. I told her I had cared for a lot of elderly people. I’m not sure she understood because she said “long term patients?” Here there is no such thing as nursing homes or home health or anything like that for elderly since it is the son’s responsibility to care for the elders. In the evening we had Daniels and our brother Shurov come to our apartment for supper. I didn’t think it was necessary for Amber to be cooking their last evening here. Since we had such a big lunch I made open face sloppy joe sandwiches and sliced apples. Layton and I went to the dokhane and bought some of Daniel’s favorite chips to go with it all. When we sat down to eat Shurov wondered if this was the Last Supper. We had a good time! 

Thursday 1/19: Dropped Daniel’s off at the airport around 1:30. Came back home and let ourselves feel all the hard emotions. We haven’t been emotional or very lonesome since we came but it seemed to catch up with us all of a sudden. Jared said “I didn’t know this would be so hard.” It helped us to think back to how clearly over the past few years we felt God asking us give time. We know we are in the right place at the right time. It’s part of the process, letting them go so we can continue the work here. Jared said our sad feelings will help us better understand how our members feel when they see another missionary leaving. We are thankful for an underlying peace. All the other missionaries said the day they dropped their couple off at the airport was a day they would never forget so it makes us feel better to know that our grief isn’t unusual or strange in anyway! Rather quite normal. 

Yesterday I was reading Frog and Toad to Layton and I came across this conversation. It struck me how accurate it is for Jared and I spreading our wings and settling in now that we are the official Dhaka couple. 

“I wonder if we are brave?” said Frog. 

Frog and Toad looked into the mirror. 

“We look brave,” said Toad. 

“Yes, but are we?” Asked Frog. 

We are feeling small tonight but are thankful Someone is bigger than us. 

Friday 1/19: Had church this morning. Shurov came in and announced  “the beginning of the Jared era!” The laugh helped Jared and I as our emotions were feeling somewhat unsteady. The service went well. Layton kept wondering “when is Nikki coming?” Jared and I just looked at each other and then tried to gently tell him that she wasn’t coming back. I was able to talk to Josna and Sumita a-bit in Bangla so that made me feel good. They were kinda quiet and I didn’t want to bother them too much as I know it was a hard day for them too. After church we did our usual grocery run.  More traffic than usual and UniMart was packed with people! When we got home the guard told us there was some sort of international fair going on so that explained it. A few weeks ago there was a large Muslim conference with 4 million attendees. Traffic was jammed for miles due to the extra people and all the ones walking on the road, beside the road, etc. So now we are making a habit of checking google maps and the news before we head out! Yesterday after we pulled ourselves and our emotions together we decided to just go ahead and move our stuff into Daniel’s apartment. We needed to stay busy. So we threw our clothes and few earthly possessions into the suitcases and hauled them over. Moving like this brings out the minimalist in me. Why does it take so much for us Bidesi folk to survive??  Most of it is clothes, cosmetics and baby things for the next 3 years so at least it’s useful items. The guard helped us get everything up into the apartment. These guards are so pleased to see the new “boss” and his family move in. Made us feel better about being by ourselves with how friendly and welcoming they were. “Call if problem!” they said! You would think “babo” (term of endearment for a child) was theirs as much fuss as they make over him. Whenever we walk in and out of the gate they act like they haven’t seen us for ages!Layton was just a whirlwind once we got things moved over… he was quite worked up about his room getting organized. Things being in disarray greatly bothers him. (Yes I know who he gets it from.🫣) I just let him do it how he wanted it and he did a very good job! He spent the rest of the evening busily getting his toys and things arranged and getting all his many stuffed dogs tucked into the doll bed for the night. It feels good to be in this apartment now and know that we can just settle in for the next 3 years. It is our home.💖 It’s a huge apartment so the three of us just rattle around in it, but the space will be nice when we host the other couples and teachers. It was hard seeing Daniels tell everyone good bye. I heard someone say once that if you leave the mission and you don’t feel any sorrow at leaving then you didn’t invest yourself enough in the work. A good reminder that now this is our life and work and our members and workers are our family. We spent the evening unpacking more and getting things in their proper place. Sumita comes tomorrow to sweep and mop so didn’t want her to walk into a complete mess! Jared and I were both impressed today with the verse, “where is your faith?” It came to both of us that while we are going through a hard adjustment phase right now that God brought us here and He will always be with us. Also the song phrase, “when we’ve reached the end of our hoarded resources… our Father’s full giving has only begun.” We had several prayers together today the three of us and by bedtime we felt more settled and less nervous. I’m sure it’s a feeling that will wax and wane over the next few weeks. We started opening up our happy pills that all our friends gave us when we left home! Think we might do 1-2 a day to ration them all out. I think there are close to 500 of them if I remember right.🥰 Layton’s question of the day was “when beavers chew down trees, do they swallow the bark or spit it out?” Answers are welcome😂

Saturday 1/21: This morning when we woke up we all felt better about life! Something about being on your own makes you feel like you just got here again. But today we are focusing on the positive!! Went to the guesthouse in the morning and brought all our sheets over to our apartment to get them washed. Took care of some other things there. Trevor’s will need to use the guesthouse next week so wanted it taken care of by then. Lucky came and cooked for us this morning. I was able to talk to her about her daughter and then understand what vegetables she wanted me to buy. Jared wanted me to go with him while he ran errands so that was interesting. We stopped and got a freshly slaughtered chicken for Lucky to cook and then he took another boxful of meds and papers to the clinic to take care of. Went by rickshaw as walking long distances makes me waddle!🤪😂 Lunch was really enjoyable with Lucky. She always stays and eats with us. Seems like we know more Bangla than we think cuz we were able to visit. Wasn’t a big conversation but enough to make it feel pleasant. Today I decided to focus on the familiar things. Knowing the sobji dokane man, the hot pink of my potholders from Audrey, the crocheted doily from my mom, the pioneer woman runner from Jared’s mom, having Lucky and Sumita here for the morning, hanging up laundry, loving on my boys… 💙 Jared spent the afternoon working on paperwork to get a visa extension for the three of us since our 3 month visa expires soon. Who knows if and when we will get our 1 year visas. Daniels were only able to get 1 one year visa the whole time they were here! Layton and I bustled around doing many little odd jobs. Had a quiet relaxing evening! 

Sunday 1/21: Jared had to cancel clinic this morning. Was disappointing but he had to go with John to the visa office for our visa extensions. Today was the only day it suited John and if you want to go anything done in even somewhat of a timely manner the mornings are best. Afternoons you will probably sit in traffic most of the time. Jared submitted all our paperwork and got a receipt that shows we paid the fee for an extension. Then if the police come and ask for our papers we just show them that and they are happy! He was happy that he was able to accomplish what he went after. Layton and I spent the morning getting his room straightened up. He had done a great job putting things away but it needed “a mother’s touch.” He was quite pleased with the result. It is truly amazing what all a 5 year boy can squirrel away🫣😂 The rest of the day was uneventful. 

I don’t intend on this blog turning into a place where we share all our personal and private ups and downs in the mission but wanted to share the past few days just because it is our first real “slump!” 

January 9-15 2023

 Monday 1/9: Language class: had a test… After class Melissa and I took several more pairs of Jared’s pants to get shortened at the tailors. I had a really hard time understanding what the man at the tailor was saying, I was glad Melissa was with me to help me talk. I could have probably pulled the conversation off by myself but he kept trying to say that he only wanted to do a shirt tail hem on the bottom of the pants. I was concerned it would unravel or fray out if it would rip or something because they just roll the raw edge under several times instead of surging it. Finally we got him convinced to just do a normal looking hem like they have when they come from the factory. I’m not sure why he was so adamant about it because he said he didn’t have any other work to do today. The older tailor is a lot more willing to do what you want. In fact Amber will just WhatsApp him a picture of a pattern and he can make it. Made stroganoff for lunch for us and Elwoods. Lunch was later since Jared went to the clinic as soon as class was over and Elwood was running errands in a far part of Dhaka. Went up to the roof and soaked up as much sun as possible. It’s 68* today and the sun feels bright and warm. Not much smog either so stocking up on Vitamin D and clean air. We walked to the tailors instead of taking a rickshaw just to get more sun. Felt so so good. Did a bunch of laundry yesterday so caught up on getting it all folded and put away. Only to start the cycle all over again today! It’s been cool enough that things take at least a day or more to dry even with a fan on high speed.  Amber, Melissa and I got together in the evening and made fajitas with all the fixings minus the rice! We eat so much rice at the clinic and anywhere else we go that we figured we didn’t need it again. The sisters came plus a guy named Natun. He’s mid twenties and has been friends with the missionaries for years here in Bangladesh. Quite a friendly likeable guy. Looks like a youth boy at home! He was so excited about all the food. He looked at Elwood and said “do all American woman cook like this or just the mennonite ladies?” He was like a kid at Christmas when he saw the monster cookies. He said “I’m so depressed! Do I take a smaller one with more chocolate in it or do I take a bigger one and then not have as much chocolate?” He finally took both to solve the problem.😂 Elwood told him that if you follow a recipe when you cook you can make pretty much anything. Natun just laughed and said “how am I supposed to know what “50 grams of this or that means?” Later in the meal I noticed him lean over and whisper to Elwood, “where’s the bones in this chicken?” So we had to explain that you can buy chicken without bones in it, like chicken breasts. It was news to him and he was all enthused at the idea! It felt good to laugh at someone being so silly! Sometimes it seems like we are so sober here. Adjusting to the new, struggling with feeling inadequate for the work, and wondering how we will manage all the paperwork with the government officials after Daniel leaves next week,  handling concerns at revivals in a culturally appropriate way so that both parties will be understood. One thing we know… God has been here with us and for that we are thankful. Seems like He is showing us how small we are and how big He is. 

Tuesday 1/10: Language class: 76 new words. Most of them were words with almost the same spellings but different meanings. For example: PORa: teach, POR: read/study, POR: fall, POr: wear/put on, POre: later/after, PORE ja: fall down, etc. Now you can tell why I’m becoming an expert at hand motions.😂Elwoods left this morning for India. If their visa cooperates they plan to come back here for revivals in February. I find it interesting that years ago they where the first mission couple in Siliguri India, and now they are going back to reopen that post. The new couple that will be taking over comes in about 3-4 weeks. They were placed the same time as we were! It was so fun to have Elwoods here. Layton loved Uncle Elwood’s riddles and funny dragon stories. He was sad to see them leave. In the evening we went to the clinic for Tuesday evening singing. It was so good to all be in that little room again. Didn’t realize how much we had missed it. There were 2 mamas and babies staying there. They were quite curious and joined in the singing too. After we were done singing we tried to have a prayer. We bowed our heads the first time and a helicopter came roaring over so loud we couldn’t even hear each other, then the 2nd time we started praying Daniel had only said a few words and crash! Kale knocked a cup of water over. We just sat there and laughed and laughed!!! One of the sisters said “maybe you should just pray in English this time.” So Jared prayed in English. Once the sisters start to giggle they can hardly stop! It’s such a beautiful sight! 2 ladies, dark colored skin, shiny black hair, even blacker eyes, heads wrapped in ornas, shawls wrapped around their shoulders and tucked under their arms, brightly covered 3 piece outfits poking out from under their shawls, balancing their worn green songbooks on their laps. Hands over their mouths they shake and shake with laughter. Laughing so hard they can hardly talk. They stop briefly before one of them snorts or starts to laugh and there they go again… It was a sight I hope I never forget. You never know what might strike them funny! One day they got the giggles because they thought it was so funny that Jared, Layton and I all wear glasses! You just can’t help but laugh with them , even if you have no idea what they are saying. Our brother doesn’t come to the singing evenings. He comes over Thursdays evening to chat and talk. Visiting is more his thing than singing. I’m glad our church is small enough here that we can spend 1:1 time with each member. After the singing Jared and Daniel restocked the powdered milk and meds. We get most of the meds from Square Hospital here in Dhaka. Lots of vitamins, antibiotics etc. The powdered milk comes from a wholesale market not far from our place. 

Wednesday 1/11: Language class… possessive verbal nouns (before doing, after doing, on my way to, at this time, etc.) Only 3 more lessons in this 2nd book! We are going to take a break for awhile after we finish this book while we settle into Daniel’s apartment and figure out what we are doing! Then Jared will take the third book about written Bangla script. Went to the clinic for lunch. It was good to do that again! Nurse Miriam is so enthused about our baby coming. She wanted to know how I was doing and when I was due. She was telling me that here in Bangladesh people rub mustard seed oil on their babies instead of lotion. Mustard is grown here so the oil is easily available. Since Daniel’s departure draweth nigh Josna made cabbage patties (borah) and biryani. Biryani is mostly rice with whole boiled eggs and chunks of meat in it. (A dish that would be served for special occasions.) The rice in this dish is a smaller grained stickier rice than what they would use with their curry. It’s easier to mush into a little pile to get it into your mouth. You can use any sort of meat in it but she used beef this time. Jared had it with goat meat a few weeks ago. He said Josna’s recipe was much better than what he had eaten at Farmgate. It definitely was spicier than the regular Bangla food that Josna makes but it was still delicious!! Layton was not a fan of the extra spice but he picked out the meat and ate that at least. “Why can’t we have regular bhat and mugi?” was his comment! He does love his chicken curry and rice. The cabbage patties were good, I wasn’t sure what to expect. It was grated cabbage, carrots, egg, garlic, ginger, onion, cornstarch and rice flour. She made it into patties and fried it in a small amount of oil until they were crispy on the outside. It’s one of those foods that grows on a person. By the end of the meal I quite enjoyed them. I want to try making them sometime! They were nice to eat on the side to cool your tongue down. Spent the rest of the afternoon entertaining Layton and doing housework and homework. Jared and Daniel worked on some more papers that the police wanted for Jared’s security clearance. Paperwork seems to be the name of the game here.

Thursday 1/11: Language class… learned how to conjugate verbs to say “used to.” For homework we are supposed to write a story about our childhood. “Use a wide variety of words” she said. In the afternoon Jared and Daniel had their usual Thursday afternoon visit with our brother, Shurov. Amber invited us to come for supper, so that was enjoyable! 

Friday 1/12: Church… Daniel’s last Sunday in Dhaka. Jared and I feel sad for these members having to tell Daniels good bye. Every three years they have to go through this, definitely a grief process. I can’t imagine how I would cope if every three years we would have a complete changeover of support people at our church. Not to mention that when the new ones come they are still clumsily trying to learn the language. Our brother Samir from Kulna was there. He used to work in Dhaka but moved back to Kulna (Trevor’s post) to live with his family. He talks excellent English! Wish we could have talked with him more but he had rode the bus down from Kulna this morning and was “osustho” (not feeling well) so he went to Daniel’s to rest. Bus rides here are notorious for making you carsick. Jared made a comment last night that “I’m glad we can have church tomorrow.” At home we so looked forward to our Sundays off so we could go to church together. I wondered how church would feel here but we always leave the services inspired and happy. I wish we could have a children’s Sunday school but no children come.  It felt good to be back there with everyone. Amber and I sat in the kitchen while the men all visited and watched Josna and Samita chop up their vegetables for lunch. Something I will never tire of watching. Layton told them he liked to chop things up and was eyeing their big chopping blade and I said “don’t even think of it!!!!!” We need to keep all limbs and phalanges intact while we are here. Judging by my family’s history with that it behooves us to be careful.😂 Daniel’s were busy with farewells and this and that the rest of the day so Jared and I got first dibs on the van and went and ran our errands. Layton was one happy boy because he got to ride on the escalators, play in the UniMart play place, and ride in the van all in the same day! Glad he enjoys our “van” day. Jared does so good with driving. Rest of the day was our family time. Playing with Layton, housework, homework, etc. 

Saturday 1/14: Spent the morning studying for our test next week. A “normal” day with nothing that unusual happening.  Jared was busy with paperwork and doing the CSI books all afternoon with Daniel. He ran to another pharmacy in Farmgate to get a few things for the clinic. Layton and I did the usual. (Riding bike, laundry, cooking, etc.) His highlight of the day was being able to WhatsApp his speech teacher at home! He told Jared “she misses me!” 🥰

Sunday 1/15: how is it the middle of the month already? Language class: reviewed some pass content and then learned even more names for family members. Ones for Muslim and ones for Hindus/Christians. Our final for book 2 is due Tuesday. Paninna agreed to let us do it on our own time so we can use our notes. Neither Jared or I feel like we have the mental capacity to write 30 sentences, 11 questions, a 10 sentence paragraph about Bangladesh, correct sentences and conjugate 6 verbs with all tenses without our notes. Our brains are very weary. So after Tuesday we are taking a week off to rest while we move into Daniel’s apartment. After class, Jared went to the clinic and Amber and I and the children went to Farmgate. Lucky (our guesthouse housekeeper) made a meal for us all. She usually does it several times a month on Saturdays but she’s been having to work longer hours at her other cooking job. She made fish curry, the usual sobji mixture, bhat and dhal. She sets the dishes on the table and then we serve ourselves which is nice because then we can have “portion control.” 😂 or at least attempt to. The fish here is full of tiny bones so it takes abit to pick them all out. It was delicious as always! We usually don’t eat until lunch until 1:30 when she cooks so we are more than ready for her “ec number khabar!” Convinced Layton to eat a few vegetables this time as she hadn’t put as much kaj morich (hot peppers) in as sometimes. I’ve been surprised we haven’t had more crummy tummies with the spice here because at home I never made spicy food. Jared said his morning at the clinic was busy. Apparently some old ladies panicked when the street dogs by the clinic started barking at them and they came flying in to the clinic absolutely terrified. The dr finally had to tell them to calm down and stop running.😂 The afternoon was spent baking Layton's favorite cookies (chocolate crinkles) and working on our exam. 

Thanks to all who have messaged this past week! For sure the ones who have sent messages for Layton. He really enjoyed them😀

January 2-8 2023

 Monday 1/2: Language class this morning… had a test. Part way through the exam my mind was in such a muddle from translating Bangla to English then switching English to Bangla then finding the mistakes in the sentences that I got the pronouns confused and used “you” instead of “I.” Pretty sure Paninna thought I was a hopeless cause getting something so basic mixed up. This afternoon Jared spent a fair bit of time familiarizing himself with CSI checklists and papers. Layton and I read lots of stories, rode bike, etc. Made the worst casserole I have ever made in my life for supper. 😂 I love to cook but I do have my moments. It sounded good… “Cornbread pie.” Somewhere there was obviously an operator error. But my boys bravely choked it down. Not sure if I should try and drowned it in cheese sauce for leftovers or just pitch it. I feel so bad throwing food away here because people dig through the trash after it’s been collected. One time we counted 3 different people digging through it at various times to see if there’s anything valuable or recyclable. Spent the evening relaxing and studying. Layton was on a roll about going home and swimming in Randy’s pond. 

Tuesday 1/3: Language class: Learned how to make an active sentence into a passive sentence. Instead of saying “I baked bread” it changes to “Bread was baked.” She read us a paragraph in Bangla and we were supposed to translate it back to her in English without looking at the words in our book. It was hard as half the paragraph was our new vocabulary for the lesson. She gave us probably 30 new words today. Some verbs, names of crops grown in Bangladesh, and other misc words. One thing that I find interesting is that for family names and greetings there is a word that the Muslims use and then there is a word that the Hindu/Christians use, so sometimes you have to memorize 2 words for one meaning based on their religion. For homework we had to write a paragraph about Bangladesh and then 5 passive sentences. Jared can sit and study for hours but I can only study for 30 minutes or so and then I have to take a break for awhile before delving back in. After class we took Layton to ride bike. It was pretty chilly… the guard was delighted because Jared finally agreed with him that it was “thanDa.” (Cold) He always wonders why Jared isn’t wearing a jacket and he can’t believe that we don’t think it’s cool. Came home and warmed up that flop casserole from last night. Cheese sauce did not improve it at all. Jared said “throw it out and forget about it!” So that’s what we did. 😂 

Wednesday 1/4: Chilly today! Pulled out our heavier jackets. 66 degrees. Feels colder than that. Language class: Conditional Participle (even though/even if) and then relative sentences (when/then, where/there, as much as/ so much as, as long as/ so long as and what/that.) then relative pronouns (the person who…) Been struggling with knowing what’s the most important to study… to learn all the sentence structures or to memorize words. Obviously both are extremely crucial. We get at least 10-30 new words every lesson lately. We will definitely continue to study long after the class is over! Paninna told Jared that “you do very good with your homework, like Duane!” People still think Jared and Duane Johnson are related somehow.😂 They think they walk the same, talk the same… haha!  We are learning that they like to compare former missionaries to their present ones. We don’t take it personal but actually find it quite humorous! Who knows what they will say about us! “Andy greeted people like this…” “Duane boss liked palaw and always ate alot!” “Davey was always smiling!” It’s funny how one missionary will start something big or small and then we just continue it for years afterwards!  Doesn’t seem like comparing past and present missionaries is as big of a deal here as what I’ve heard from other missionaries in other places. Again it’s humorous to Jared and I so if you were a former missionary here know the people still love and remember you!!💖 After lunch Jared went to the glass dokhane to see if they could cut a new piece of glass for the fridge. The shelves are glass and one of them broke in pieces yesterday when I was opening the crisper drawer. 45 minutes later he was home with a perfectly cut piece of glass!. It’s amazing how that you can find dokhanes or street vendors that will fix or repair just about anything here. Saw a guy that washed shoes even, all he had was a toothbrush, scrub brush and water! Shops to sew the soles back on your shoes, iron your shirts (they put them in insulated bags so that they are warm when you pick them up.), places to fix plastic lawn chairs, guys that will sharpen knives, print shops, etc. He also went to Farmgate to see if he could find some bags to transport tracts in when they deliver them to places. Daniel and Jared have been using boxes but they are bulky and harder to carry. He went yesterday to look but usually on Tuesdays a lot of shops are closed at the market. We aren’t sure why that is! It’s not uncommon for shops to be closed periodically throughout the day if it’s prayer time but that’s only until the owner gets back from the mosque. After naps we went to my apt at the hospital. All is well. “Unremarkable”. We are grateful. Help us pray that it continues to go that way. 💖💙Daniels got home this afternoon from Khulna. I made a big pot of taco soup and took that and some fresh fruit over there for supper. Miss Trish made biscuits. Kelly’s had finished their airport run so they joined us for supper. 

Thursday 1/4: Language class: Reviewed the past several lessons. I’m always glad when it’s review day as we learn a new concept everyday. It’s a day to kinda give our minds a break and try to remember what we’ve all learned. (And need to learn yet.) Jared and Layton helped me get the guest room ready for Elwood’s. I’ve never hosted night company in my life, but they are easy keepers🥰The day was kinda cloudy and dreary. These kind of days always make me start cleaning or cooking or organizing or dreaming up something creative! I was really hungry for Bangla food, so I decided to try my hand at making it. Not sure what got into me. I was just going to make chicken curry and rice for an easy supper but then Jared said “could you make the vegetables too?” and then I thought “well then we need dal as well!” Jared and Layton were enthused about it so they went to the dokhane and got cauliflower, cucumbers, limes, potatoes and tomatoes all for a little over a $1.   When they got back we all sat around the table and had a real vegetable chopping session. Layton loves to help me chop up vegetables anyway so he was right ready to help. This stove in this apartment is quite small so I had to first cook the dal and veggies then do the rice and meat and then do the potatoes so it took awhile to get everything cooked. Layton and Jared were so excited that they didn’t mind the wait. The food tasted just like Lucky and Josna’s. I got the chicken a bit too spicy but it was still very good!!!! We all ate Bangla portions too I might add. Layton just loves the chicken curry. I used chicken breasts instead of cutting a whole hen apart. It was a fun experiment and a good family project! So now I can say I’ve made it. Want to try making shrimp curry next but I might need to watch Josna make it first. One thing I like about Bangla food is that it doesn’t take a lot of strange ingredients. Mostly things like turmeric, cardamon seeds, cinnamon sticks, ginger, garlic, onions, cloves etc. So that made it less intimidating to cook since I knew what the ingredients were. 

Friday 1/5: Elwoods arrived bright and early at 6 AM. They came on the overnight train from Roche. Daniel was able to get their exit visas yesterday after waiting for 5 hours. 🫣 So they shall depart and go to India next week to get an old mission post (it closed during COVID) back up and running there. There is a furnished house waiting for them. Then they will come back here in February for revivals and then not sure what their plans are after that. Had a mini church service at Daniels and then went to German Butcher for lunch. Bought a whole bunch of beef and chicken to stock up a-bit. They keep the pork in a separate room from the rest of the store so that it isn’t offensive to those that aren’t able to eat it due to religious reasons. If you buy pork at a butcher shop it’s best to carry it in a bag so that it isn’t visible to others on the street. Jared noted that the shops that sell pork at Farmgate all had pictures of Jesus on the wall. Anyways came home and took some much needed naps afterwards. For supper we all went to Daniels. One of their friends from Dhaka and her little girl came and joined us. She wanted to sing for awhile so we did after supper. She got acquainted with CSI back when she was a small girl. She had to have multiple skin graft surgeries to repair a burn she had received on her face so she spent lots of time in between surgeries at our clinic recovering. Her story is quite sad but so typical here. The burn left a scar on the right side of her face. It’s really not that bad considering what all she went through with the surgeries. She got married into a good family but always kept her face covered with her orna. 3 years after she got married her in laws noticed the scar and totally disowned her and her husband left her. Physical beauty in a woman here is just incredibly important to these people. So now she is left alone with her daughter. She is a beautiful woman in spite of the scar but due to culture she probably won’t be able to get married again. At home things like that are just not as big of a deal. When she was with us ladies in the kitchen she let her orna slide off but if she went out to where the men where sitting she always carefully tucked it back around her face and chin. Saddens me that such an outward thing has determined her future. Thankfully she is a skilled sewer and works in factories. For awhile she sewed pockets into men’s pants. With her skill and knowledge she can find a job at pretty much any clothing factory. So once again it’s easy for us to see why we get so many parents at the clinic bringing their girls in to get cleft lip, facial blemishes removed. Having a daughter here is considered almost a burden because it means that someday they will need to arrange a marriage and pay the groom for marrying her and caring for her. Anyways… what a rabbit trail.🫣

Saturday 1/7: Took it easy in the morning. Studied in the afternoon while Layton napped. Made BBQ meatballs, roasted potatoes and Apple Streusel muffins for Daniels and Elwoods for supper. We sat and visited for quite awhile after supper. Enjoying these times as soon it will just be Jared and I here most of the time! 

Sunday 1/8: Language class: How to have a conversation with a doctor, and how to say cold, fever, pain in body parts, diarrhea, mosquito bite, test, and a bunch more medical terms. Paninna sent her brother to teach us today as she had other obligations. He had quite a since of humor and was much more dramatic with his words then she is. His accent was more Bengali so it was harder to understand but it was good practice for us. Jared and I were taking turns reading the interview between the patient and doctor. Jared was the doctor and I was the patient. I guess I wasn’t using enough expression as I was reading and George said “sister you don’t sound sick! Make it SOUND like you are sick. We are acting!” 😂 so we added some sound effects. In the afternoon we studied a-bit and reviewed for our test tomorrow. Elwoods, Daniels and us took a rickshaw to a park to walk. It was beautiful! Lush and green, to this Kansas girl it felt like walking through a jungle. Lots of fog and smog. After that we all went to Olive for supper. They have the best fried rice and sweet and sour chicken. It’s super cheap. Went home afterwards and just did our usual evening things. 

December 26 2022 - January 1, 2023

 Monday 12/26: Language class… learned past perfect tense of “did.” Also learned the names of the colors and some animals. Spent the afternoon napping and resting to try and recuperate from our bad colds. It’s the first time we’ve all been “sick” since we came, so figure that’s not too bad!  Our housekeeper is at her village for a week or so, so did some cleaning around the house. Got the laundry washed and hung up in the veranda to dry. I studied for awhile while Layton napped, so felt good to get that done. 

Tuesday 12/27: Woke up to the sound of rain!!! The first time since we’ve been here. Wasn’t a lot but like my dad would say, “Enough to settle the dust!” Definitely more humid today. Daniels left early this morning to go to the Tea Gardens for several days for a family vacation before they leave! We stayed home so we could keep on with language class. We are making good progress in our second book. Language class… practiced phone conversations… how to ask for someone and how to make an appointment. Then how to start a conversation with someone by asking them questions. Not much homework today. Just need to review past lessons, memorize more words and write out a telephone conversation. Took Layton out to ride bike and jump in the puddles for awhile. One of us always has to be with him outside. White children attract so much attention here and I’d rather be safe than sorry. Later Jared took him to get a haircut. Layton came home all enthused about how he sat in the chair all by himself, and how he wore a cape and how they used a scissors and a QUIET trimmers and “I didn’t even cry.” (A good bribe always helps😂) Some of the dokhanes here sell the tiniest little bottles of Coke. So Jared bought him one for being brave! Layton said he much preferred how they cut his hair here then when I gave him haircuts at home. I said “Hallelujah!!” My college degree is definitely not in barbering. Spent the rest of the day studying and being a mom and a housewife. Been trying to be diligent with taking Layton outside to run around more and ride bike. I’ve decided that children just simply were not designed to be indoors all the time. 

Wednesday 12/28: Language class: Learned how to say the date… day, month and year… and “the first of January”, etc… we had to write a story about our first day in Bangladesh. What time and day we flew in, what we all saw, and what we like the most about Bangladesh. We know enough words that it’s possible to write a simple paragraph but making sure everything is written in the correct tense and the nouns and pronouns are the right ones that it’s quite a challenge. She gave us a whole list of words to memorize. A lot had to do with traveling, names of the six seasons, different weather names, etc. Paninna wondered what the weather was like in Kansas and Jared told her “hot one day and cold the next!” She was surprised how it could be -7 in the winter and then over 100* in the summer. Here it slowly cools off and then slowly heats back up. She was astounded that in the summer we ran our AC day AND night. And we used fans too even with an air conditioner running.😁The rest of the day was spent studying and such. Jared would entertain Layton and take him outside for awhile while I studied and then I would do it while he studied. Definitely a team effort. Otherwise just a low key day. 

Thursday 12/29: Language class: Learned Future Imperative for the pronoun “tumi” and what ending to put on the verbs that you use with it. A fair size pile of homework to do. Plus a whole bunch more memorizing. After lunch we hopped onto a rickshaw and went to the hospital to get the rest of my lab and test results for my drs appointment next week. Could have waited and gotten them then but wasn’t sure if there would be a waiting line or not at the report desk. You just never know in Dhaka! We got what we needed and were out of there in 15 minutes. The rickshaw ride there and back was enjoyable. The air felt crisp and clear. Was a-bit chilly even. Felt good to get out and about. Our electricity was off most of the day. It was on long enough that I was able to do a load of laundry. They are doing electric work right down the street from us. Usually they try to keep the power outages to less than 6 hours. We do have battery powered generator that works great. But it’s best to only have one light on and maybe a fan if you need it. It doesn’t work to run the toaster, electric kettle, washer or fridge with it. Thankfully the stove top is gas. I was going to bake some muffins for supper but the bottom of the oven is electric so went with toasting bread in a skillet. The water pump obviously doesn’t work without electricity either and we didn’t even once think that we should fill up containers with filtered water and regular water. Usually the electricity is off for such a short amount of time that its fine.  So by the evening time we had no water either. A police officer came by mid afternoon and wanted some more paperwork for some of the security clearances Jared and Daniel have been trying to obtain, but no electricity no printer so he left empty handed. Daniels got home from the Tea Gardens this evening so told them to come for supper. That way Amber didn’t have to try and cook with the power out after having been gone for several days. Made sausage potato chowder with the toasted bread. They thought it was such good food after having eaten Bangladeshi restaurant food for three days.  During supper the electricity came back on so we had water again. Discovered that it’s important to let the taps run for a-bit first as the water coming out initially was brown. The things we are a learning! Like who knew that milk comes in 1 liter bags (sometimes frozen) and any fruits, vegetables or eggs need to be washed in bleach water before using, or taking your own toilet paper and filtered water with you when you go places, being very diligent with washing your hands with soap after being out and about, tucking your orna tails in when riding on a rickshaw so that they don’t get caught in the bicycle tires and so on. So many important little details! But they are slowly just becoming a way of life now and we hardly think of them as odd anymore. 

Friday 12/30: After being home most of the week Layton has been eagerly awaiting “van day.” Had church this morning. Seems so empty without the sisters and our nurse. Glad the brother still came. Had an interesting discussion about the Triune God and about how Christian’s should view self discipline particularly when it comes to eating.  With him you never know what you might end up discussing. Jared really enjoys visiting with him! Each of our members definitely add their own unique personality to the group. Love them all to pieces. After church we went to eat and got groceries. Layton is always ready to get groceries because UniMart has 3 stories of escalators plus a large indoor playground. Not sure which he enjoys more😂 We weren’t sure at first if we should go to that part of town because the news said there was supposed to be strikes and political rallies but we didn’t see any until on the way back home. It looked peaceful and wasn’t holding up traffic. Basically just a crowd of people holding signs on the side of street. The metro rail is up and running now in some parts of Dhaka. All the rail by our place is still under construction. Sounds like a year from now our section should be finished. Our brother was saying that yesterday the prime minister got the first ride and there were thousands of people waiting in line to ride too just for fun! Spent the rest of the day at home. 

Saturday 12/31: Spent the morning studying and doing homework from Thursday. Have a test on Monday. Layton got it in his mind to scrub the showers so that kept him entertained for awhile so we could study. The afternoon we studied some more… Enjoyed the lazy day. After Daniels leave I don’t think we will have many lazy days for awhile. After supper the three of us played Monopoly and then I made some hot chocolate. We stayed up late and at 11:30 went up to Daniels roof. It was worth it!! All different colors of Chinese lanterns floating in the sky. At one point I counted 57 of them. (Never mind that the police had announced that they were strictly prohibited!) The closer it got to midnight the more and more people hollered and the more and more fireworks went off! Hardly knew where to look first to see all the fireworks. We let off two lanterns much to the children’s excitement. April 14 is actually Bangladesh’s official New Year. 

But they were sure celebrating the western new year. Jared and I hadn’t stayed up and watched the New Year in for years as we usually were working or Layton was too little to stay up late so it was so much fun to stay up late with him and see what he thought of it all! By 12:30 Layton was begging to come home so we came home and went to bed. Sometimes living in a city of 20 million people has its downsides but then when it’s holiday time and you can sit back and watch a show that you would never ever see in the states from your rooftop  it makes up for the other things that are less desirable.😂

Sunday 1/1/2023: Happy New Year! No language class today… This morning Jon found out that the visa place was open so him, Daniel and Jared quick went. They are applying for  Elwood’s exit visa so they can go to India. After they got back, Daniels left for Kulna (where Trevor’s live) for several days. Layton and I spent the morning packing a few things up for when we move to Daniels apartment, did laundry and put clean sheets on the beds. Found out that Kelly’s plan to be in Dhaka Tuesday-Thursday this week and Elwood’s come this Friday. So came up with some menus what I can make for them all. This will be a new experience for me to host people frequently! Did some studying in the afternoon for tomorrows class. In the evening we got on a rickshaw and went to Olive for supper (didn’t get lost going there like we did last time!) and then stopped at a little grocery store for a few things for my menus this week. I did my best to avoid the fish department. 🤢😁 we are learning that sometimes instead of telling the rickshaw driver the precise location to take us to, that sometimes it’s best to just say the street or gate name or close well known store or landmark and then they drop us off and then we walk to where we need to go. Like tonight the driver knew where the grocery store was so we had him drop us off there and we just walked to the restaurant. There’s so many stores and dokhanes packed along the roads and streets that sometimes it’s easiest that way! 

Happy new year to you all!