Monday 4/1: We packed up and left Kulna around 10. Whitney came with us. We picked up Ripon and Ridoy. They said they were glad to come back to Pink City with us! Shanto has a few matters to tend to at Kulna so he will come in a few days. Ripon told Kobid yesterday that he likes Pink City except that him and Ridoy think that the guesthouse is dangerous. We said “why?” Ripon who is always quiet said “there’s a ghost in there! Every night at 1:30 the light turns on and I feel a breeze even if the fan is off.” We just roared with laughter because of all things?! Ripon coming up with this?! He insisted and Ridoy said the same thing. Except he says if him and Ridoy are in the same room sleeping then it doesn’t happen; it’s only if it’s just one person. Bengalis are very superstitious for sure the village people. Lisa said “you should pray when you see that happening and maybe it will quit!” Ridoy says “it gives me fear in my chest.” Ripon said he prays but he says he read a verse in Acts that says if you pray for something to stop or to be cast out you have to have lots of faith that it will work. Kobid said “well maybe someone that has more power should pray. Like a deacon or a bishop!” We really laughed then. Jared said he would be sure to let Carl and Darrell know what job awaits them the next time they come to Bangladesh!😂 Poor boys we didn’t go along with their story at all. Trevors say they will see if the “ghost” appears after we move the guesthouse and they spend the night there. Stay tuned.😂 We told them that we didn’t believe in ghosts and that you have to invite those types of spirits into your life and fear is the power that allows them to work in your life. Anyways we dropped off Whitney in Golpagang. Got to meet the latest little Barkman! Edward Aquillas… he favors Krystal and Rafael I think! We journeyed on into Dhaka. Got into town around 3:30. The traffic was really congested. Took us 2.5 hours to get into Pink City. We all had to use the bathroom so so bad. However one does not simply pull over at a gas station and use the bathroom like you would at home. No sir you hold it in until you get to where you’re going for sure when traffic is bad. I told the men they could just open the van door and go on the road since we were sitting in jams and they did not appreciate my suggestion. Ridoy said “auntie that is not happening.” Ripon and Jared were mostly quiet but Ridoy and I ran our mouths to keep our minds off of the bathroom. Ridoy was telling Jared about how he loves to take the train in Bangladesh. As a conclusion he said “uncle, trains have toilets!” Jared said “I’m sorry if I see anything suitable I will stop.” Then Ridoy started talking about how he didn’t like ferries. “But even they have toilets, why can’t your car have a toilet?” Every subject somehow ended up about toilets. We finally got into Pink city and dropped the boys off at the guesthouse. They made a mad dash to their toilets and we went home and made a mad dash to ours. I quick made some box Mac n cheese for people to eat. We took it easy for the rest of the evening. At 9 someone rang the doorbell and said that we had a water problem. Jared went up to the roof and sure enough water was pouring everywhere. He was one unhappy CSI man and I don’t blame him!!!!! We are ready for the water to stop leaking and just work for a change.
Tuesday 4/2: Happy Birthday baby girl! How are you one already? she is so loved and spoiled here! Between Whitney, Brandi, Lisa, Sumita, Anchila, Naton, Shanto and Ridoy the little lady scarcely has a chance to be on the floor cuz they are always holding her. And if they are all in one group setting oh my… it becomes a competition to see who Shania likes best. One day Naton was holding her and she started to cry because she wanted me. He looked and me and said “oh no don’t tell Whitney that she cried while I held her or she will think Shania likes her better!”Shania and Layton played together for awhile this morning. Gave me a chance to get the laundry done and clean up the house some. Today is kinda the calm before another busy streak. Ridoy came over a few times to get something or ask a question. The last time he wondered if I had a sewing machine? I said “yes I do.” He says he needs to fix his pants. I did not offer to do it for him. Every time he left Shania cried. She was not happy that uncle was not taking her along. Jared had clinic. The heat has made its return! I went up to the roof to hang up the laundry and it was hot up there. Good clothes drying weather! Jared had clinic this morning. After he came home he went up to the roof and tried to figure out what the problem is now. It turned out to be a simple fix just needed to replace an old rusty pipe! The kids and I went to the sand court for awhile this afternoon. Made sure they played in the shade! Came back and gave them baths in a bucket. Our bathroom is the only one with a tub and since it has no water at the moment we got creative. Quick gave Layton a buzz cut. He would have shoulder length hair if I let him. Haircuts have never amused him. He said “mom please don’t get hair up my nose.”
Wednesday 4/3: First thing after breakfast Jared and Layton left and went to the Standard Chartered ATM in Gulsan. Shania saw them go out the door and oh my was she unhappy. I’m going to have to start distracting her when anyone leaves the house. Jared says she has FOMO! We left the house around 10:30 and went to Siza Court. Parked at the guesthouse and the children and I stayed there. Jared went to Siza Court and gave Mr Faroque the money that they had agreed upon for a “damage” settlement. Mr Faroque took him up to see the apartment. Jared said our good friends that lived on the first floor had moved into our old apartment! That made Layton smile to know Mahira was living in his old house. Jared said they had torn all the wallpaper off and had painted the walls white and hung up new light fixtures. Trevors came into town with Shanto. They were delayed by some traffic jams so didn’t get to the clinic until 2:45. We all had lunch there. Ripon and Ridoy came by CNG from pink city and Naton came on his motorcycle. It was a good lunch. Of course the motor cycle accident that the men had helped with was described in detail and great length for all to hear. We took the men back to the pink city guesthouse and then crashed. Layton slept for three hours! I just let him. As soon as he woke up he said “Since I took a nap can I stay up late?” He is his mother’s child. Shanto and the boys went and did some shopping in the evening. Trevors came to see the guesthouse and get the electric card for the guesthouse. Lisa and I ended up taking a walk up and down the pink city streets. Takes us 30 minutes to walk them all.
Thursday 4/4: Jared spent the morning doing end of month paperwork. He closed the door to his office and Shania sat outside of it and cried and cried for “dadada.” She hates doors being closed and is sure that she is missing out. Every time he came out to get something she made a beeline in there. She likes to go sit in the boxes that are in his office. The crew is busy over at the guesthouse. Made pizza pockets for lunch. Was going to make bierrocks but I couldn’t find cabbage so adapted and made pizza ones instead. They turned out really well! It reminded me of a time when Layton was maybe 2 or 3. He loved the buns that Jared’s mom made and would eat several. Well one day I made bierricks and he was so excited until he bit into it and there was meat inside. He wouldn’t eat buns for awhile after that. Lisa messaged and wondered we would want to just make lunch for the crew tomorrow instead of eating out. I was enthused! After supper I made some cream puffs with vanilla pudding and raspberry pie filling. I’ve made so many pans of bars and cakes lately so wanted to make something different for a change.
Friday 4/5: Church this morning. It’s so enthusing to have church now when Shanto, Ripon and Ridoy are here! Trevors came too so we had a full room. Ripon had the opening and Jared had the message on prayer. I was in the kitchen with Shania and when Ripon said to kneel for prayer I noticed Layton go down on all fours just like the Muslims pray here.😂 As soon as church was out Lisa and I left and went to the guesthouse. She had most of the food made already. Made mashed potatoes and gravy, chicken, meatballs, cabbage salad, watermelon and then Bangla vegetable bajhi. It was so good. The guesthouse smelled just like Sunday dinner at home. I took my creampuffs. We put a “number one” candle in a cream puff for Shania and sang happy birthday to her! Sumita and her niece and Miriam came and joined us too. It was fun to have everyone there. I’ve been wanting to make a meal for everyone but it’s too overwhelming with Shania and with that many people so I was enthused about helping Lisa get it around. Jared Ripon Shania and I came home and Layton stayed and played with Brock and Kylie. Trevor brought him back to pink city a few hours later. This evening I went upstairs by myself for awhile. Jared said all of a sudden he noticed Shania was being very quiet. He went looking for her and found her eating a bag of powdered sugar that I had left in a bag on the floor. I had taken it for lunch to sprinkle on top of the creampfuffs so I had just put a clothespin on the top to close it. She was scooping it in by the handfuls he said. Maybe that’s why she didn’t want to sleep for the night until 1230 am.
Saturday 4/6: Woke up this morning with the intentions of doing laundry and working on some projects around the house, but that did not happen. Jared had to go to the standard charter ATM which is in the same building as UniMart so may as well go along and get some groceries. Got home and he worked on Trevor’s new work permit visa application. He had to go to the market down the road to get more supplies for the men but couldn’t find everything that he needed. After lunch we headed for the old guesthouse. Us and Trevor’s Went through so much stuff. Oh my… so many years of stuff. Old baby equipment that was filthy, old cosmetics that people leave behind on their way out of Bangladesh, so so many old audit papers, tons of tract records, kitchen stuff that people have left there because they didn’t have the nerve to get rid of it, so much of the furniture is eaten by bugs or just plum worn out, old spices in the kitchen, old pillows and blankets that look they have seen better days, a birdcage, etc. We ordered in Pizza Hut for supper. Right when we sat down to eat Tanvir called and said he was on the way to the clinic with a milk delivery so Jared went and received the milk. We headed home around 9 and thought we would have abit of quiet time before we hit the hay. Well Ridoy showed up wanting some food he had been storing in my freezer and then Trevor called and said he needed his passport to book their air b n b. He tried to use a picture of it but that wasn’t good enough. Jared keeps everyone’s passports in our safe here. Eventually we got everyone taken care of. Anyways I saw something today that really bothered me. Two ladies wearing black burkas head to toe, which isn’t unusual at all. But these women had the lace veils on yet too that totally covered their face. All you could see was a black blob walking. It really gave me the creeps and at bedtime I just kept thinking about those poor women. I wondered do they like pretty clothes like I do? Does the color pink make them happy like it does me? Is there color under their black burka? My pita lady friend wears a burka but her eyes are showing! Her eyes are always smiling and sparkling. We wave at each other when I go by to the Dokan. She slips me extra Iftar when I go to get some for a snack. Do these ladies that have their eyes covered feel ashamed? Or do they feel like it’s an honor that no one but their husband and children know what they look like? Sometimes I see young boys and girls hanging out together and the teenage girls are wearing burkas. How do they boys know which one is their girlfriend when all they can see is their eyes. I feel very naked in my dress. What on earth would these people say if they saw an American girl wearing shorts and a tank top? That would halt traffic. Been having a lot if people come to our gate and ask for money now. This is quite common as Eid gets closer. I tell them “my boss does not have money to give.” I know this sounds heartless but if we give to one then word spreads then we soon have the doorbell ringing constantly asking for money. It’s easier to give to the beggars that sit on the street when we are out and about because they don’t know where we live.
Sunday 4/7: Jared went to clinic this morning. The children and I took some things the men needed over to the guesthouse. Layton helped me clean the veranda so now he can play in the water there. Jared got a long hose for him to string down the stairs from the roof. I took Shania down and went and stared cleaning the porch off. It’s such a wreck. Bikes, scooters, construction material, tile, pipe and who knows what piled up. Shania kept herself well entertained so I worked furiously. One sweet maid came and said hello so I visited with her for a bit. They have been taking liberties and just marching right into the yard so I have to go and walk them to the gate. Anyways I kept on cleaning because I needed something to get my anxieties out. I like to pray while I work. Well I soon noticed the crowd of maids by our gate was getting bigger and bigger. Soon there was at least 14 maids all watching me. Lined up by the gate and all around the fence on the other side. I didn’t think I needed that audience so I went next door and got my friend’s driver and he chased the ladies off. I sat and cried. I have no idea why but I did, just cried my heart out. Right about then here comes Ridoy happy as a lark to get water. I was still crying and I said “Ridoy there was 14 women standing here watching me why can they not understand that I like to work?” He said “and this is why you cry?”😂 Bless his heart. He said “actually it’s ok that you cry. One time my friend made food for some people and then someone thought it needed more liquid so they dumped in a bunch of water and made it bad. She cried too.” Anyways he cheered me up with a gruesome story of one of his family members going into someones house with a pipe and hitting them on the head until he was “senseless.” I tell you… life is not dull here. I left the cleaning and went inside for some respite from the people. I pulled myself together and told myself I was not raised to be a quitter so I straightened my crown and I went back and finished sweeping the yard. The driver had to come over one more time to chase off more watchers. At least it’s all women. When you pray for missionaries pray for “nerves of steel.” I thought I had thick skin before we came and then when some silly incident happens like this and it makes me cry I feel like I’m such a baby. The maids have been going around in flocks today going to peoples houses collecting their Eid bonuses. I watched a group and asked the yardsman what on earth was going on and that’s what he told me. About 20-30 women were all up by the neighbors gate all eagerly waiting for their money. The rest of the day was uneventful, Trevor’s had the trash man and the paper man go to the old guesthouse to get all our things that we discarded. Sounded like the men were very happy with their new treasures! We are enjoying a quiet evening at home with just us. 🥰
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