Monday 3/11: Jared had clinic. He said it was quite busy! He wondered if it was because Ramadan starts tomorrow. Last year it was quite slow during March because people didn’t want to travel since they weren’t eating or drinking. My children were an emotional bunch so felt like I spent the day outside, reading stories, swinging, rocking etc. Layton needed an extra boost of TLC, so we moved everything out from under the stairs and put a bunch of blankets and pillows under there. We got out his magic twinkly lights from Aunt Keisha and hung them up and it wasn’t long and his tears were dried! I’m not sure if it was the lights that did the trick or thinking of Keisha but I was thankful for whatever it was. We put suitcases around the entrance to the tent so Shania couldn’t get in. Popcorn and chocolate milk were his snack of choice. After awhile of alone time in his new abode he emerged a much happier boy. Shania spent her time trying in vain to get past the suitcases and into her brothers tent. She gets very hurt feelings if she can’t do everything he does. She’s almost one and this behavior is already starting.🤭 Jared says she obviously gets her strong emotions from the women in the family. He didn’t clarify which side.😂
Tuesday 3/12: Jared had clinic. I woke up with the cough/body aches bug that the children have/had. Took it easy… as easy as a mom takes it! Layton and I made “Kinsey cookies” (no bake cookies). I thought they tasted off and here I realized I had forgotten the peanut butter! Shania had just went down for an afternoon nap and Layton came in looking like a storm cloud. He was covered in sand from head to toe. I thought him and Abdullah had been wrestling again but apparently they had a sand fight. Like usual Layton claims he had nothing to do with it “and mom he threw sand at me 6 TIMES!” Remembering my brothers when they were young I said “well what did YOU do?” Things suddenly got real quiet. Then he said “are you going to tell dad?” 😂 I don’t ever know if I should let him fight it out with the other children or intervene. Up until now he’s been so shy that we’ve never had to worry about him getting in trouble. I’m glad if he gets some back bone to him. The tub had a literal pile of sand in it by the time he was bathed and shampooed. Since he can run and play hard now outside he has been falling asleep right away at night and sleeping soundly, plus he’s been eating more! We canceled singing for this evening. I was grieved, even though I wasn’t feeling well I was wanting to go sing. Jared was maybe going to go and pick up Trevor’s new van but it wasn’t ready to pick up. This is the new van they have been eagerly waiting for! Trevor was really hoping to get a new one before they leave this fall so he could enjoy driving it.
Wednesday 3/13: Naton came over mid morning and then we headed to the clinic for lunch. Shanto, Ridoy, Ripon and Trevor’s came into town as well and met us there for lunch. Chicken curry and the usual! It was delicious. Lisa and the kids went back to the old guesthouse and Trevor Shanto and Ridoy went and picked up Trevor’s new van. We brought Ripon and Naton back to Pink City. Ripon headed off to see his family that lives here in Bashundara and Naton went back to his house. We invited Naton to stay but he declined. He’s been working all nights lately and is so tired. I always tell him to go home and sleep. I’m sure he appreciates me being a mother hen. On the way home, we got pulled over right as we got on the expressway. It was some men doing a survey on if people thought the expressway had made a difference in the traffic congestion and if anyone had comments on what to improve. Only in Bangladesh! Spent the afternoon doing usual things. In the evening the crew all came over. Lisa had drove their old van here by herself and was she ever all smiles😂 The new van looks very nice. Jared went through our house and told the crew what all needs to be finished yet. Fans, lights that need to be hung up. The upstairs bedrooms need to be hooked up to the community generator system. Shanto looked at the leak under my sink and says he thinks the pipes need to be cleaned out under there and it’s causing water to seep out. (Something like that) I told him that I can’t keep anything under there because it all molds because of the constant damp environment. Had to give my crockpot and blender a good scrubbing to get the mold off. That will be nice to get that fixed. It’s where I store our big curry pots and rice pots. The children and I rode along with the rest to Herfeys for supper. Trevors came over later and we visited for awhile. They love how our house is coming together.
Thursday 3/14: In the morning Layton and Jared went and checked on the men at the guesthouse. I made a pan of bars in case anyone would end up coming over. I worked on laundry until the washer decided to stop working. Suspicious it’s the filter that needs to be cleaned. Later afternoon Shanto Jared and Trevor went to Uttarra and bought tile for the guesthouse. Brock came and played for quite awhile while they were gone. Layton was quite tickled about that! Midafternoon Ridoy and Ripon came knocking at the door and said “auntie do you have coffee?” So I said “sure! Come in!” They stayed for awhile. Ridoy wanted to know all about what “university” was like for Jared and I in America. Then he said “aunti can you help me with my English so I can better understand?” At the 6 pm prayer call the boys and I went to the pita lady and bought some Iftar food. Fried onion patties and dal. It was so good! I really like her food it’s not so spicy as some. Brock and Layton went and got themselves chips and pop for supper. On the walk back to the house, I noticed our next door neighbor had probably 30 young boys all lined up in his carport. They were sitting on the ground and wearing their white prayer caps. Looked they had their prayer during the prayer call and then they were scarfing down their food after a day of no eating. Whitney’s friends here in Pink City told her that when a girl starts to gets her period then she is supposed to fast all day during Ramadan too. Not sure when the boys start. The men soon arrived home. Jared said him Trevor and Santo all had Iftar at a random Dokan that they had stopped in at! He said it was very spicy so hopefully no bathroom repercussions hit. Trevor stepped into the house to get something from Jared and saw the bars on the table and helped himself.😂 I didn’t take my famous bars to Kulna the last time we went so figured I better make them now to keep peace. After all Trevor is the senior CSI man.
Friday 3/15: Had church today! Shanto Ripon and Ridoy rode with us. It’s interesting, when we park the van at Siza court and get out we soon smell the unmistakable Dhaka smell. We don’t smell it in Pink City. Jared thinks it’s because it’s less populated plus there’s lots of trees. Jared had the opening and Trevor had the sermon. A sobering sermon… One of Trevor’s close friends in Kulna committed suicide the evening before they left to come to Dhaka. Heartbreaking, he was so young. It happens so much here. Had cha with everyone after church was finished. Naton has been begging us to go out for biriyani with him so we all headed to Danmondi. We got to the restaurant and it was closed! Since it’s Ramadan most restaurants are closed during the day now and open at 5. Just a block away was a Pizza Hut so we went there instead. The crew didn’t seem to mind. Sumita and Anchila came with us too! After lunch people wondered where my “CSI” bars were at.😂 I said “come and get them this evening.” I don’t know why people make such a fuss over them because all they are is glorified cheerio bars. Made them once when Shania was a baby and I was so tired. I had to make a pan of bars then for a get together and these were the easiest things to make at the time and now everyone expects a pan at all times whenever I’m around. 😀We dropped Naton and the girls off at the clinic and then we headed to Gulsan to go to UniMart. Half way there Layton got car sick (which never happens) and then we just pulled in the parking garage and Shania threw up EVERYWHERE. Layton was crying because he was trying not to vomit and Shania was crying because she just had and Jared was mad because he had to use the bathroom horribly bad. I said “pull over and go on the side of the road like the millions of Bengalis do.” This was not a good time for me to crack a joke I tell you. We eventually made it home ok with our marriage intact. Jared made an absolute dash for the toilet while I corralled all our many children upstairs and into bed. Turned the AC on and gave everyone their fuzzy blankets which always take care of any problems. Cleaned out the van and then I took a shower. I may be a nurse but vomit is very low on my list of tolerances. Just ask the people I used to work with. Anyways, after a long rest everyone’s tempers had cooled and the children seemed better. Jared inspected my washer and here one of my bobby pins had gotten in the filter and wasn’t letting water in or out. After naps Naton came to wash his motorcycle. I was out swinging Shania while he was washing it so he told me tales of when he spent two years in boarding school. I think the Naton we know now is a much more refined version than who he was back then! Santo Ridoy and Ripon came for coffee. Sat around and talked until Trevor’s came. We never did really have supper. I pulled out my CSI bars and my cheeto puffs that I found at UniMart the other week. (CSI Bangladesh believes in eating healthy.😂) Been hoarding them away for such a time as this! The Bengali crew was not impressed with them. Layton said “these taste like a hotdog roast!” Lisa and I went on a long walk up and down all the streets here in pink city. We practically had the place to ourselves. Like usual we worked on solving the world’s problems. Stay tuned… During Ramadan there’s hardly anyone out walking and the boys aren’t playing tag or cricket in the street. I miss their joyful whoops and hollers. Put the children to bed and then relaxed for awhile. What a day!
Saturday 3/16: Shanto came first thing this morning and fixed the leak under my sink. I was very grateful. The cockroaches love that damp environment under there so hoping they will relocate now that it’s not always wet. Jared and I did a quick UniMart run. Got what we needed. This time no one vomited or had a bathroom crisis! Lisa and I are putting together some little care boxes for Krystal since her baby is due quite soon. Came home and had lunch. Shanto came back and worked on scraping off the cement from the doors and window frames that the tile mistris had dripped all over. Trevors came over later afternoon. Lisa and I worked on writing an updated list for things that new missionaries need to bring. The old list was quite outdated and a lot of things that are on there are available here now. For supper Naton took us all to a goat biriyani place in Gulsan. It was really good. Sometimes biriyani at restaurants can be quite greasy and spicy. But this was not at all. The past part was that they had put huge chunks of potato in with goat curry and it was so good! Jared and I love the potatoes like that. Naton found Brock’s water gun and shot it out the window at unsuspecting passersby. I have not heard Jared laugh that hard in a long time!! We saw the most unique thing on our way to Gulsan. Today the evening prayer call was at 6:11 pm. Trucks were lined up along the Purbachol expressway and the drivers and passengers were all sitting on the grass in the median eating their food and breaking their fast! We wondered what it would be like at home if we would be driving along hwy 15 or hwy 56 and everyone would pull over at a certain time and have picnics along the road in the Kansas ditches???
Sunday 3/17: Jared went to KaWran Bazar to get milk for the clinic. It’s a government holiday today so the clinic is closed. Ridoy and Shanto were in and out all day. Sanding and painting the ceilings, scraping more cement off of places, repainting the iron bars over the windows etc. The children and I basically stayed upstairs or were outside. Shania kept trying to crawl for Shanto’s paint buckets so staying downstairs amidst all the work didn’t last long! Ripon was busy at the guesthouse with the electrical work there. I got the “new missionary list” edited and typed up for the other ladies to review. Mid afternoon the tile men arrived at the guesthouse. Jared went to check on them and they were already starting in on the work. Shanto got a different crew to do the guesthouse since the crew that did our tile made such a terrible mess of everything. They did a wonderful job with laying the tile but boy did they make a mess doing it. Spent the evening upstairs playing games with Layton. Monopoly is the current favorite!
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