April 24-30, 2023

Friday we went to church like usual. Jared’s message was on what it takes to be saved. We went to Herfeys for lunch and Layton really enjoyed the play area there. Any place where we can stop and let him run and tear around is always welcomed. There is a new UniMart in Gulsane 1 so we went there for our groceries this week. Didn’t need a whole lot so didn’t take long. After that we went to Aarongs. Found some adorable little sleeveless cotton dresses for Shania. I just can’t handle not putting clothes on her so these will be perfect! They are all button down the front with the smallest little buttons. The neat thing about Aarongs is that everything they sell is made in Bangladesh. Found some souvenir things I want to get sometime. Little wire rickshaws and CNGs. It’s been absolutely packed with people now during Eid time so we waited until today to go when there was actually parking available in the parking lot! Last week they had part of the street blocked off for quite aways for overflow parking. 

Got a new washer on Wednesday. Been hauling our laundry to the guesthouse ever since Shania was born. A real pain but I decided I was not going to complain one speck because I was just glad I had somewhere to take it to get washed and didn’t have to wash it by hand! We had a mistri come and look at the old washer and he said the electronic panel had something wrong with it. So he took the part to his shop and said it would be done in 2-3 days. A week later we hadn’t heard anything from him. Jared tried to call him multiple times and no answer, we tried again after Eid was over and still no answer so he tried to WhatsApp him as well. No response at all so finally Jared said “ it’s been almost a month… forget it we will just buy a new one!” The old washer was severely rusted out around the door and it was hanging on by a mere thread of life to start with so it was high time. We had decided this would be the last time we fixed it anyway! So Jared bought a new one and had it delivered. The doorway between the kitchen and the back pantry area is pretty narrow so Jared asked them if they could hoist it up 3 stories through the window. The boss said absolutely they could! Well when the delivery men dropped it off they didn’t listen to Jared and brought it up through the elevator. They seemed completely dumbfounded that it wouldn’t fit through the back doorway.🫣 So Jared waited until the technician came to install it and told him the problem. The men ended up taking off the top, front and back panels of the washer and then removing the screen door and the regular door to the back pantry area before they could squeeze it through the doorway. Then they got it back there and discovered it had faulty wiring so the technician called the delivery men and had them bring another washer to replace the one we just bought. That one was then taken apart and scooted to its proper place and then put back together. At this point I had no faith that the new one was going to work after all this hassle! But yes a while later it was running a load and works fine and dandy now!😂 what a deal. 

I have been getting all kinds of advice on how I should be caring for my baby! It strikes me funny. I’m learning to say what Amber told me to say, “In America we do things different…” Sumita and Shurov said Friday that Bengali moms don’t sit their babies up on their laps or hold them with their head on the shoulder. I said I thought it was good for her neck muscle development and Shurov said “they don’t encourage development and always hold their babies flat.” They seem startled at how alert she is and how she will look around with her big blue eyes. The dokan man thinks “babo onek gorom” (baby is very hot) when I walk down the street with Shania in the baby wearing carrier. Miriam thinks I need to put mustard seed oil on her skin to keep it soft. The other day I was out in the courtyard with Layton. I had my orna over Shania’s face so the sun wouldn’t shine in her eyes and was standing in the shade while Layton rode his bicycle. One of the drivers and the guard told me that I needed to stand in the sun so that the baby could get more Vitamin C. ( I think they meant Vitamin D!) So yes, it takes a village to raise a child, for sure a bedesi baby. As I mentioned above we have been taking laundry to the guesthouse to do. Jared has been dutifully hauling the baskets of clothes to and fro for me since I’m still on a weight restriction from the C Section. One day he had so much paper work to do that I hated to bother him. The pile wasn’t that heavy so I plopped it in my basket and carried it down the street myself. The dokan guy met me part way and he looked at me and said “Caesar or Normal?” I thought to myself “what is it his business anyway?” But I said “caesarean.” (They call it “Caesar” here.) He then proceeded to give me a stern lecture on how I was not to be carrying such a load after having a baby. (I couldn’t understand most of the lecture.) He grabbed my basket and carried it for me all the rest of the way to our apartment clear to the front door.😂  Nothing goes unnoticed in this neighborhood I’ve decided. They probably think these white folk come up with quite the shenanigans… for sure this white lady who is up walking down the street and hauling laundry after having a baby and that she isn’t just laying in bed like the physical therapist told her to do.🫢

This past week there was a wedding in our apartment complex. It was neat to watch the hubbub and activity. When there’s a wedding they string lights from the rooftop down to almost the ground… one long strand after the other. All hung about a foot apart vertically. Some red and some white. Then the lights were draped in a canopy over the entrance and courtyard. Over the gates they had tulle and Japanese lanterns. One day Layton and I stood on the veranda and watched a man decorate the get a way car. A big bouquet of fresh cut flowers on the middle of the hood, one on each side of the windshield by the wipers. Then tulle on the sides of the car tied in a bow in front. I thought it was mostly a Holdeman tradition to deck out get away cars but I guess not! All the ladies and men coming to the wedding were dressed in bright yellow. The guard asked Jared if in America we hung up lights like that for weddings. Jared said no just at Christmas! 

Jared continues to work on Doyle’s visa, do paperwork related to the selling of the Khulna van and the Rajshahi vehicle, work on extension for Kelly’s visa, work on exit visas for the teachers who are leaving the end of May, etc. He will go for a while without much paperwork to do and then there are times like now where he has several projects going on at once! Keeps him busy which he is thankful for. ☺️ 

Layton has been my very big helper. He is always wanting to do laundry for me or help me cook. Although he definitely gets frustrated that the wee lass takes quite a bit of my time and attention. Sometimes when Jared is home he watches Shania while Layton and I read books, play games or go buy fruit and veggies. That way he still gets plenty of mama time! I was taking all of Layton’s outgrown shirts out of his closet one day and he told me “we can just save those for Shania!” 😂 But despite his occasional jealous times he loves her quite fiercely. 

In Which They Sweat

 

The Heat… it deserves capital letters… it is something to be respected. I had hoped it wouldn’t be as hot as everyone claimed it to be. Kept hoping since we were from Kansas it would feel “normal.”  But I’m afraid it is most certainly very hot. Very humid… like curl your hair humid. The car mechanic told Jared April was the hottest it’s been in 60 years. 99-105* lately… with an occasional brisk breeze of 10 mph wind if you’re lucky. According to the newspaper there is a front sitting in the Bay of Bengal that’s preventing the rain and cooler weather from coming. “After Eid” it said “things will cool and the rain will come.” I had to laugh, every thing hinges on Eid in this country seems like! Apparently even the weather.😂 In the afternoons we don’t do a whole lot…. things that don’t require a lot of walking outside or high levels of physical exertion is about the limit. With the fans running though it’s livable, so don’t think we are living in total misery! Thankful for all the big trees in our courtyard that keep about half of it shaded. Being in the shade makes such a difference when your outside. After it’s dark it cools some and then we go down to the courtyard so Layton can play. One morning he said “mom I have no energy to do anything!” So we’ve been making sure to drink lots of ice water, consume copious amounts of popsicles, smoothies and ice cream. After supper we turn on the AC in our bedroom and hang out in there until bedtime. Some former missionaries told us to not have our AC set on total frigid cold. Just enough to cool us. That way when we get up in the morning the heat doesn’t seem quite so much. Sage advice! Layton insists on sleeping with his fuzzy blanket. During the night I find him wrapped up like a burrito in it. We’ve finally decided that heat must not bother children as much as adults. One day he pulled out his favorite winter sweater. I said “Child, are you crazy? Take that off!” He said “but mom it’s my favorite!” I decided not to fight that battle. Needless to say he woke up from his nap completely wet with sweat. He’s been having fun making slip n slides on the veranda with soapy water. He runs and slides on his knees from one end of the veranda to the other. Sumita is certain he will get hurt. She watches and says “aste aste!” (Slow down or be careful!) It’s interesting how when the temp drops even a few degrees or there is a slight breeze how it feels cooler. I can now understand why Bengalis are putting on coats when it’s 60*. They seem to notice and comment on the weather about as much as a Kansas farmer. (They even lament on the need for rain as well!) I’ve been staying pretty close to home with Shania. Jared says she will probably handle the heat the best of all of us since this is all she knows! So far I just wrap her up in a thin muslin blanket, no clothes on. We unwrap her frequently just to make sure she isn’t getting too warm. The people here always comment on her long arms and legs and especially her long delicate fingers and toes. “Onek lomba.” (Very long!) For a while I did put onesies on her but she started getting heat rash. I gave both Jared and Layton a very short buzz cut and getting that thick mop of hair off their heads has helped them stay cool and not sweat quite so much. This next week the temp is supposed to drop into the 90s and hopefully more rain will follow. 

UPDATE: Friday we had a rain come through. It came with the most beautiful breeze. Jared quick opened up the veranda doors and it cooled things off. When we were out on the veranda watching the “squally winds” and enjoying the rain, the guard hollered up at us that now it was “thanda” (cold) outside! When it starts to thunder the ladies rush out and grabbed the laundry off their lines. People come out on their verandas and watch the storm. It was a blessed relief to feel that cool breeze! This next week it’s only supposed to be in the 90s so looking forward to that. 

One day Layton and I were out riding bike. A gentleman came by yelling out what he had to sell. He was carrying a basket on his head like usual. When he passed Layton said “why do they have to holler when they have something to sell? Why can’t they just be quiet?” I said “maybe they think they will sell more if they yell that way more people will hear them.” He said “back in Kansas the Walmarts are quiet. People don’t do that.” 

Miriam noticed that I buzzed my boys hair off. She wondered if I was going to cut Shania’s hair? She was serious. I said “not now, she’s just a baby.” (Shania has longish dark brown hair that seems to be getting lighter.) She wondered in America how many times we cut our children’s hair and by what age. Here they say to cut it twice before they are two. (At least I think that’s the age… 1 or 2.) “It grows back thicker that way.” I said I didn’t think there was any set time or amount that we cut our children’s hair other than if it was a boy we would cut it short and let the girls hair grow longer.  So I told her we would wait and see how long her hair will be by next summer and then decide if it needs to be cut to keep her cool. Kelly’s gave Sally a buzz and lopped off her beautiful golden curls. I can easy see why after seeing Layton’s head all wet from sweat. Every night at bath time it’s “mom puleese can I skip washing my hair?”🫣

It is Eid time in this land. Saturday marked the end of the month long time of fasting. They go by the moon as to what day Eid will fall on. So the calendar has red letter days for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Many dokans and stores have closed for several days so we made sure to stock up on fruits and veggies, eggs and milk. Shurov says UniMart has been packed with people buying groceries and meat for the celebration. He said his family went at 2 am one morning and had to wait in line 1 1/2 hours to check out. He told us to avoid UniMart until after the celebrations are over. Just for interests sake we went to the new UniMart in Gulsane 1 after church on Friday. It wasn’t crowded at all so went ahead and went in and got what we needed. Wondered if people were all home cooking? It looks like Eid is like our Christmas. Jared gave all the guards Eid bonuses instead of Christmas bonuses. From what we have heard the Muslims will buy a lot of meat for their Eid celebrations. Today when we were out driving Jared saw a rickshaw walla hauling a whole beef leg. Some markets charge more for meat and other goods this time of year than usual. A lot of dokan owners and shops at the markets hope to make a lot of money at Eid. There’s been several large fires recently at some of the bigger markets and the newspapers shows pictures of the owners crying as their booths get consumed with fire as they hoped to make a substantial amount of income over this time. People buy new clothes and lots of gifts as well. People have been leaving Dhaka in droves, flocks and herds to go back home to their villages for the holiday. The buses have been packed and the trains are crawling with people inside and out. Apparently you can even ride in the goods compartment if you are determined and desperate enough to see your family. Safety doesn’t seem to be an issue. The pictures we’ve seen show people hanging off of train cars, riding on the tops, etc. Friday when we were out there was noticeably less traffic on the streets. The morning of Eid we were down in the courtyard. The moyla ladies were eating ice cream! I wonder if that’s the first thing they ate that day since they were done fasting?😂 I think I would go for a double patty cheeseburger, all the toppings, easy on the pickle with fries and Freddy’s sauce. Just saying… Noticed a lot of the men from our apartment had on their dressy Muslim clothes. Many cooking smells wafted into our apartment. I would have loved to know what all the ladies were cooking! 

Jared has been busy getting Doyle’s visa application ready. That is exciting! Not sure when their arrival time is estimated to be, sometime this summer. 

The rest of us are doing well! Layton dotes on Shania and loves to hold her. Although the minute she starts crying he is ready to head for the woods. Shania is still working on getting her days and nights straightened out. She’s done pretty well. Starting to go 3-4 hours between feedings during the day and every 2-3 hours at night. She is really starting to fill out. I’m feeling pretty much back to normal. Still have to be careful how much I lift for the next few weeks. About have my stash of food in the freezer used up so need to start my menu planning back up. Jared wants to do some grilling this week while it’s “cooler.” 

Some Random Thoughts…

 A few random thoughts and events from our life the past while… thought I’d share! 

Jared was at the milk dokan in KaWran Bazaar getting milk for the clinic. The owner Tanvir invited him to come for Iftar some evening. Since CSI leaves quite a hefty chunk of money there Jared decided to go. Him and Tanvir have become good friends. He really enjoyed it. They all sat on prayer rugs. They dished out the food and just sat and waited for the prayer call that gives them permission to go ahead and eat. The minute it started they all grabbed their cups of water and juice and drained them dry. Jared said it was quite comical watching them drinking. They had the same type of food that Josna had made for us a few weeks ago. (The vast panorama of diversified objects.) He came home so full and stuffed that he still wasn’t hungry the next morning! 

Some more Ramadan observations: Down our street there’s a dokan that sells snacks and cigarettes. Ever since Ramadan started it’s been covered with a black tarp on the front and sides but there’s always a bunch of men in there. You can only see their feet since the tarp only covers it up part way down. I made comment of it because I thought it strange that men would duck under the tarp in this heat just to go to the dokan. Plus when a dokan is tarped like that it means they are closed or at the mosque praying. Someone said “that way no one can tell who’s in there and if they are eating, drinking or smoking during the day.”  Melissa says this is common to see at any cha stall or outdoor restaurant. The other day we were driving along by KaWran and it was probably around 6:30 in the evening. In between the two streets is a big area where it appears people like to socialize in the evenings. Sitting along the sidewalk maybe every three feet were 2 cups (1 of water and 1 of juice) and then a box on top. (We wondered if it was a snack of some sort or maybe dates?)They were prepared to eat and drink as soon as the prayer call sounded. 

We’ve made friends with another family here in our apartments. The kids are often down in the courtyard in the evenings so Layton is always listening and watching for them so he can go down to play. Easter Sunday Jared and their dad were talking and got acquainted. They are Catholic. They have lived here in Siza Court for some time. He asked how Duane was! He went and got us a pork dish that they had made. Reminded me of bone broth with potatoes, large chunks of pork fat and pork in it. The kids all came trooping up to our apartment  after they were done playing “to see the baby” it was said. Every evening that the men are down there at least one of the children has to come see Shania.

The Drivers and guards and moyla ladies have all been oohing and awing over the wee princess. They think it is quite something that now we have “ec meye, ec chele.” One boy and one girl. I say “ses” (finished) and they all laugh. When the guards or our workers see her they all say she looks looks like “boss” and that Layton looks like “ma.” No denying that! Shurov says “they just say that as flattery because they know Jared’s a good looking guy. Plus it’s scientific that a child will favor it’s parents.”😂Can always count on him for a detailed explanation of the matter at hand! My children are very loved here. Sumita always holds Shania when she comes to clean. The dokan guy gives Layton hugs (much to his dislike). One day Layton was picking blooms off one of the trees at the guesthouse. A lady came out on her veranda and hollered at him. One of the drivers came and hollered back at her and told Layton it was fine. 🫣

Miss Trish came and stayed with us for a week and a half after the baby came. She spoiled us rotten with good food. Chocolate cake, homemade French fries, tacos with homemade tortillas and fresh salsa, cookie dough for the freezer. Kelly’s dropped everything and hit the road an hour later to come be with Layton and to bring Miss Trish when they found out we were headed to the hospital. We had originally arranged for them to come the 8th into Dhaka for when things were scheduled but Shania couldn’t wait that long. Apparently my children don’t like to wait until their appointed times to come earth side! 

One day to get out of the house we went and rode the metro rail. Plus we didn’t want Miss Trish to think we were total bumps on a log. haha! We took a rickshaw about 15 minutes from our house to the station and hopped on. It was such a fun experience! I thought it would be a hot crowded noisy ride and wasn’t sure about taking Shania to ride. We got there and everything was incredibly clean! Looked like we were in the states. The metro wasn’t crowded at all and there was plenty of seating room plus it was even air conditioned!! Any where with air conditioning is our new favorite place. We rode 20 minutes to Uttara North (the end) and then rode all the way back. Layton was absolutely in his element. Lots of questions. Everything from “does this have tires on it?” To “could we do this at least once a week?” I was glad we could get out and do something that he enjoyed so much. He has been so patient with me not being able to play with him as much since Shania was born. While we were riding he said “I can’t wait to tell Grampy and Papa about this!” It was 60 taka for one person one way so figured it was cheap fun. The next morning and every morning since… We hear “Can we ride the metro again?” 

Shania and I are doing well. She is well over her birth weight and keeps on eating like a piggie. It’s fun to see! She is doing pretty good at night… can’t complain. It’s been so long since I had a newborn that I’m not sure what to expect. Layton has done really well with her. Very attentive and a bit possessive at times shall we say? He was not happy when the ladies at church were passing her around and holding her. When Lanae told him that he was a big brother now, he said “well, I’m still only 5.” He loves to hold her and often sits by her on the couch. Shania is pretty happy most days but she has her times of being restless and fussy. She sure lets us know when she is upset. One funny thing from the hospital stay was that on day two the physical therapist came into my room. She told me to “get up and walk 2 times a day for 15 minutes each time otherwise stay in bed.” Jared just hooted. After the epidural wore off, I finally convinced them to let me get out of bed and stand up beside the bed at least and the nurse was awfully nervous. She thought I didn’t know what I was doing. So after that I waited until they weren’t around and Jared helped me get up to walk.😂 

Elwoods (“uncle elbows”) left today for India. Was fun having them here in Dhaka with us for several days. Hopefully we will be able to see them again in a few months before they head back to the states this fall. It’s hard to imagine them not being in Bangladesh! They’ve just always been… 

Other than that we are settling into a new normal as a family of four. Jared is back at clinic and our usual schedule continues… Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes during our pregnancy for a healthy baby. We are so grateful for our support group back at home. 

Love, 

Jared, Brianna, Layton and Shania 

🤍 Regehr… Party of 4 🤍

 

March 27-April 2, 2023

 Monday 3/27: Clinic today. Sounded like it went well. There’s been quite a few staying at the clinic lately other than on Friday. Sounds like now during Ramadan that slows down for awhile. Josna sent home all the bed sheets to be washed. Sumita came to clean. Layton was playing hide and seek with himself. #onlychild Sumita came and said “Didi, asun Layton!!!” (Sister come here!) He was hiding behind the door and she was worried because she hadn’t seen him anywhere!!!😂 Spent the afternoon just doing home things. Dhaka Boss did the dishes for me after supper which I thought was the most adorable thing ever.🤍 Elwoods are busy cleaning out their Rajshahi home. I was enthused to get dibs on some games and children’s books. 

Tuesday 3/28: This morning after Jared left for clinic Layton and I went to Carebox to get a few things. We noticed there weren’t many people out and plus when we walked along the main road the traffic was a fraction of what it typically is. Jared said clinic was much slower today and at one point there was no one there! It was pretty toasty and muggy today so wondered if people’s fasting was starting to make them feel like not getting out and about. We had a really enjoyable evening. Had singing with the ladies this evening. Sang for quite awhile. When Miriam comes she doesn’t ever want to quit. Finally they all closed their songbooks and said “sesh.” (Finished) Jared and I want to invite Lucky and see if she would come sing too with us. She often sings while she cooks. We were going to go out for supper but Josna and her sister wanted us to stay for “Nasta” (snack) We weren’t about to pass that opportunity up. Josna laughed and said “ for Muslim food.”😂 It was a very intriguing dish. First we had rice flour pita. That is always good. It was fried this time not steamed into cakes with molasses like we’ve had before. Then she cut up eggplant and dipped it in a puréed carrot/dal mixture, (they soak the dal until it’s soft and the blend it) then fried patties of just the carrot/dal mixture, (reminded me of a hush puppy) then slaw made out of onion, tomatoes, kaj morich and cucumbers. It was all shredded very thin. Then a dal mixture. This dal was big, not like the runnier small dal that we have at lunch. More pea sized if not a bit bigger. Then they tore up all the fried foods into small pieces in a bowl, mixed in the dal mixture and slaw and then added several handfuls of puffed rice. Then they broke up some sweet fried things that were quite crisp. Then they stirred it all up and dished it into bowls. When I watched them mix it up I had to think “a bit of this and a bit of that and other things to marvel at.” It was quite a concoction. So many flavors in one dish! It was good though! If we understood right it’s what the Muslims break their fast with in the evenings. It was the same food that our neighbor lady brought over last week. We didn’t eat any of hers because we didn’t know what it was or if it was from a street vendor. That sort of food is being sold all over now. But Josna’s we felt perfectly fine eating because we knew she had made it! Layton’s comment of the day was “Food is so much gooder here than in Kansas.” 

Wednesday 3/29: This morning Jared went to KaWran and got a new doorknob for the clinic and some screen to fix the screen doors in our apartment. Some of them have holes where the skeeters like to come in. We like to be hospitable but draw the line at bugs and mosquitoes.😂 Jon came over mid morning to do some paperwork. Right while Jon was over Layton took it upon himself to squirt shampoo all over the teacher bathroom floor and shower. He then proceeded to scrub it and pour water over it all to rinse it. Then he used the squeegee and sloshed it all down the drain. Thankfully these bathrooms have drains in the corners. I wasn’t too happy with this method of entertainment while I was trying to get Jon and Jared’s coffee and biscuits around but he said “but mom it was dusty behind the toilet.” 🫣 Well what does one say to that? Had lunch with the ladies at the clinic. Josna made chicken curry and khichuri. Khichuri is made using pilau rice. A rice that’s more sticky and smaller grained. Then mixed in the rice is a larger dal which turns the rice yellow. It was really good! Hadn’t ever had it before. We are learning that are so many different kinds of dal and even rice. I always thought rice was rice but not in Bangladesh. It amazes me how just a different type of rice or dal can make your meal seem so different. Miriam was insistent that Jared and I both eat a plain kaj morich pepper. I said “next year!” Jared took one and took the tiniest bite. He stuffed it in the bone bowl. Then when they were clearing the table they saw the pepper in the bowl and said “BOSS!” and just howled with laughter!😂 It feels like we are slowly able to have more and more of a conversation in Bangla with them. Feels good! Jared did some work at the clinic and then we came home as it was thundering ominously.

Thursday 3/30: First thing this morning Jared and Layton went to the clinic and finished up their doorknob project from yesterday. So that meant I had a bit of time to myself. It was nice! We are adjusting to being together all the time. We’ve really enjoyed it so far but you know a little space from each other once in awhile never hurt a body. 😃 Had a drs apt at Square so made an early lunch and went. The last few times the dr has always been delivering a baby or in surgery so this time we were prepared to wait. They are really efficient though at getting the patients all seen once the dr is back in the office. Today the waiting room was packed. But it only took us an 1.5 hours at the most and we were out of there. Came home and took naps. At bedtime Layton told me he didn’t think he could sleep because he was so excited that Saturday was the first day of April. He knows we are due in April. I was glad to hear his enthusiasm because he is such a mamas boy.💙 He hopes it’s a boy so that “you can say you have 3 boys instead of two!” 

Friday 3/31: woke up during the night to a rainstorm. Electricity was off for several hours. The battery back up ran until it was dead. We had accidentally left all the fans running on high when we went to bed so that’s why the battery drained so quick! So we all piled into Layton’s bed and listened to all the Muslim prayer calls at 3:30 in the morning. Now during Ramadan it seems like there is an extra prayer call at night. We’ve heard that the early one is the wake up call so that they can eat before sunup (around 5:30 AM) Church was enjoyable as usual.  Shurov had the opening on instead of wondering when the Lord will return we should focus on wondering if we are ready. Jared’s message was about if we are sleeping like the disciples did before Jesus was crucified. Went and got groceries afterwards. We always seem to get to UniMart at 1:30 or so right when the prayer call is going. There’s a section of the parking garage that is sectioned off for the workers to go pray. It’s not uncommon to meet a steady stream of workers headed with their mats to the prayer spot. They do their prayers and then abit later they all go back to UniMart. Noticed lots of little street vendors selling “iftar khabar.” Restaurants advertising New hours during Ramadan. Open from 4p to 4a was one place. Numerous stores with Ramadan sales going on. The mosques were absolutely packed. In Gulsane the one mosque had a lane of the street blocked off and men with their prayer mats were filling it up. The mosque by our house was just finishing up their prayers when we came home. I wish I could describe the scene. HUNDREDS of men pouring out. Onto the street, sidewalk and everywhere. So many bobbing heads with Muslim prayer caps on. Jared always says being in Dhaka sheds new light on the phrase “floods of people.” It is just something else. Then to think that each one of the throng has a soul that needs to be saved. How do we reach them? I wonder how many would like to live a different way but because of family pressure aren’t able to? Elwood’s came into Dhaka this afternoon. They brought a load of belongings into Dhaka that is getting divided out between our place, Kulna and Golpagange. Had them over for supper. Jared grilled cheeseburgers and I made some bars and then had veggies and dip. Had a really enjoyable time with them. Having people over doesn’t stress me out as much as it first did. 

Saturday 4/1: Well this morning was an absolute riot. Lucky called and said she was able to cook. So my boys set off in search of a mugi (chicken) and I set forth in search of the sobji (vegetables). I have started going to the sobji man that parks his wagon right outside our gate instead of the dokane down the street. The sobji mans vegetables are a lot better quality and cheaper. He is always trying to weasel  me into things and tells me the vegetables are only available in 1 kg not half kg. Or that I can’t buy 3 cucumbers only a whole kg. What does one need with 1 kg of cucumber?😂 Maybe if you make pickles they would come in handy. Well today I stuck to my guns and told him only half kg of things. After about 4-5 go arounds he grinned and gave me half kg. Then it was the same process when it came time to get potatoes. I told him I needed 1 kg of potatoes. He weighed them out for me using his weights and scales. Suddenly he dumped them all back in the bag and said he could only sell me 2 kg at a time. I said “na na ec kg of alu.” So around we went again until he gave me 1 kg of potatoes. Oh I had to laugh. I may be a bedesi mohila (foreign lady) but I’m not as crazy as I look. I decided while I had an ounce of energy that remained I would trek to the fruit dokan and buy some fruit. I wanted to get a dragon fruit to try as well. An old muslim man did his best to woo me and kept trying to talk to me but I firmly said “na” and marched forth. Even at my slow waddling pace I left him in the dust. He caught up with me at the fruit dokan and came and stood right beside me and tried again to get my attention. I ignored him and the fruit dokan guy told him to leave me alone then looked at me and made the “cuckoo” sign and pointed at the guy. The man muttered “Allah” and walked away.😂 When I paid the fruit man I threw in a few extra taka as my thanks for warding off the offender. I had a good laugh on my way home from my activities and felt sorry for those that haven’t had a chance to experience such funny happenings on their grocery runs!!! Jared laughed when I told him of all my encounters. He was busy all morning and most of the afternoon working on budgets, doing bookwork and printing off financial papers to submit to the NGO bureau to get approved. 

Sunday 4/2: Had a baby…. All is well with both of us🥰 

I will be taking a hiatus from posting our weekly events for the next several weeks due to our sweet girl arriving.