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This month I’m going to try to be more prompt about writing. September I waited until the end of the month to write anything then after I posted it remembered all sorts of neat things I was going to write.
October 1: Got up at 6 and finished packing and headed to Golpagang. Shania has been doing so good with sleeping during the night but alas it was not her night. Anyways… got on the road by 7:15. Nathon came for pizza and the evening last night so didn’t get as much packing done as I usually do, so got up early and did it this morning. Took us awhile to get out of Dhaka since we left later in the morning but eventually we cleared the city and made good time to Golpagang! Doyle’s have been putting a lot of work into their yard and it is beautiful now. Was neat to see the finished product. Sheema made us chicken curry, which was delicious as usual. Later afternoon we took a long walk through the village behind their house and showed Shana the Hindu cremation site. Found out that if they can’t afford the firewood to burn the body, they do bury them off to the side of the crematorium. Still gives me the spooks to see those idols there. The bowls of sugar that had been left as offerings in front of the idols were covered in ants. Thankful that my “offerings” ascend directly to my God.
October 2: loaded up after breakfast and went and took a boat ride on a Noka. I’ll post a picture from Google images that is similar. It was so neat to go down the river at a slow pace. We definitely got our purification sweat in though. The humidity was next level! Some places the river was so choked up with water hyacinths that Doyle had to climb to the front of the boat and shove them aside so we could go through. The water hyacinths are considered invasive. Several places the farmers will harvest a bunch and then turn them upside down in the river, and plant a garden on the top. That way they can have a floating garden in the monsoon season. One bridge we went under we saw a whole bunch of men and boys run to see us go under and then they all ran to the other side to see us come out the other side. It struck us so funny!!! Felt like a human version of Winnie the Pooh playing “Pooh sticks.” 😂 One dokan we floated by that was on the edge of the river was a barber shop. It appeared as though the barber threw all the black hair out the window onto the river bank as there was quite a pile of black hair! At home there would be all sorts of colors of hair. After our boat ride we packed up and left Doyle’s and headed to Kulna. I wasn’t sure what it would be like to be there without Trevor’s. The house just has the basics in it so without all their pretty personal touches it felt like good closure that they were indeed gone. Poor Shania didn’t handle it too well. She walked around crying and crying. Room to room then outside. I took her outside and showed her Tulsi uncle but that didn’t help. Finally Jared said “I bet she is looking for Lisa!!” Later evening we video called Grandma Lisa and Shania saw her and got the biggest smile ever on her face!🥰 Unpacked our things and turned on all the fans and ACs. Now that it is rainy season and the house has been empty for a few months, mildew can show up quickly. So when us or Doyle’s aren’t there, we finally got the maid and Tulsi to agree to leave fans on. Went to Shanto’s for lunch. Took a van rickshaw which is always one of my favorite parts of going to Kulna. The road into the house was so tore up we barely made it in with the van. Shana thought CSI needed a Jeep or Land Rover instead of a van car after that ride in. Anyways got to Shanto’s, and it was SO good to see them again. Shania went to Shanto after she was done having a meltdown over Shotti’s ducks. Shotti has two cats that Shania just was obsessed with. But the minute they twitched their tails she sobbed. She was quite an emotional mess. Shotti made chicken curry for us. Oh it was good!!!!!!!! We sat and visited for awhile and then Shanto and Jared took care of some bills and money issues. Shanto is helping us with some things now that the post is empty. It looks like he kinda enjoys being involved! Went back to the house and slept for awhile. Shania snuggled up against Jared and fell sound asleep. She needed that security after her morning of tears and meltdowns. In the evening we went and got fuska and chapoti. I was determined Shana had to try it. I told her that the only way it tasted good was if you had sweat running down your back and face the whole time you ate it and it did not fail to disappoint. The van rickshaw ride home was so fun. The Bengalis rise and shine at night when it’s cooler and all their dokans were open and lots of people were out and about just socializing and standing around. I just love showing Shana this country. Bless her heart she is a very good sport!
October 3: we spent the morning at the house. We did go to Shanto’s for breakfast for dim and ruti. Got back to the house and Dipti came to clean. She was so glad to see someone at the house. She gets so lonesome. I did have to give her some marching orders about cleaning because there was gecko poop all over upstairs. She didn’t seem to mind. Jared payed her for the month of October and gave her her puja bonus. Shana and I took a walk through the village behind the house. I always love that walk! They were setting up bamboo poles in preparation for the Hindu pujas that are fixing to happen. Pujas are the big celebrations. There are alot of them this time of year. Different pujas for different gods. This year with all the protests against the Hindus after Sheik Hasina’s fall, Shanto said that the pujas would be quieter than usual. I asked Dipti about it and she said the same thing. They are worried about drawing unwanted attention. Spent the rest of the morning packing our stuff up and leaving Trevor’s house Spick and span since it will be a few weeks until anyone stays there gain. Told Tulsi bye and headed to Dhaka. Got home around 8:30 pm. From the time we entered Dhaka until we got to pink city was 2.5 hours! Nathon told us that if we want avoid the majority of the jams we need to be back in Dhaka by 4:30 pm but we got a late start.
October 4: first time we had church in 2 weeks. Between going to Rajshahi, Golpaganj and Khulna and Jared being sick we haven’t been there for singing or lunch either! Josna was more than delighted to make us cha. She said “I haven’t made you any food or any cha for many days.” Stayed for quite awhile after church. Nathon and the ladies wanted all the details and then Nathon and Jared always have to have their visiting time.
Well there is where things went off the rails. I kinda forgot to write and when I remembered I didn’t feel inspired.
Speaking of pujas, while they were going on, there was a school by the clinic that was hosting one. One Friday Shana and I decided to go walk down the street past it. It’s fun to see from afar and to see how everyone is dressed. Sumita caught wind of us going so she decided to come to. Well we got there and into the celebration she marched. I gave Shana a look of pure horror because I did NOT want to go in, only look from afar. Well what to do in that large crowd of people but to follow Sumita. She went right in and when the guards saw us they cleared a path for us. Sumita took us right up front to the idols. People were putting fruit by them for offerings. Felt so out of place that I said “ok I’m done now.” we walked out of there and I felt somewhat defiled. Jared assured me I was not defiled from the whole ordeal. Anyways, they were handing out kichuri bowls to people but we did not participate. I was glad to get back to our clinic and have our church service, that does not have loud music and big naked idols up front. 😳
Us and Doyle’s went to Nathon’s for supper one evening. He has been wanting to come over and cook his special beef and kichuri. I love kichuri. So I’ve been hounding him about it because I did not want him to forget what he had promised. One evening him and his roommate decided to just cook it at their apartment for us. Boy where we plum tickled. Hardly ate anything all day in preparation. It’s quite a drive out to his place. Out in Gazipur. Come to find out we had been literally driving right by his place when we went to Rajshahi. It doesn’t feel like Dhaka at all out there. Just more like a village. His apartment is very nice. I had a good chuckle because Nathon messaged and said “can you please bring paper plate and cup? I do not have enough dish.” Made him some “cow food” (cabbage salad) to. They made beef curry, kichuri and then a sweet dessert that reminds me of rice pudding. We ate and ate! I was glad I had fasted all day. Afterwards we drove around the area abit. Gazipur has lots and lots of factories, mostly clothing. Since it was night by the time we left, the factories all had their lights on inside. We could see right in. Jared the pulled the van up beside one and we sat and watched for abit. Rows and rows and rows of ladies sewing. No AC, just huge fans in the windows. Jared said he bet production doubled at night since that’s when it’s cooler. Have heard those are miserable places to work in the heat. Wish everyone at home could see those factories. It is quite something! And to think that a lot of Carters and old navy’s clothes come from factories like that.
Last time Doyle’s came into Dhaka it was Amaryllis’ birthday. We all met for lunch at Burger King and then Krystal and I spent the afternoon at the play place at Jamuna with the kids while Doyle Jared and Nathon had man coffee time. That play place is worth its weight in gold. It’s air conditioned, clean and has so many things for the kids to do. It’s a lil pricey so we just do it once in a while when things get monotonous. When it’s 100* plus and playing outside isn’t an option it’s a good place to go for the afternoon to wear the children out.
Krystal’s parents flew in October 17. Bruce and Mavis Schartner. It was neat to see them! Bruce’s are planning to spend three months here. They will live in the Kulna house and help out with the work over there. They were only able to get a 30 day visa instead of the usual 90 day visa. So a few weeks after they got here, Bruce, Doyle, Jared and Nathon are planning to go the visa office to see what they can do to obtain another visa. The high comission in their area at home assured them it would be no problem at all. “Once you get to Dhaka just reapply for an extension.” Har har. This is Bangladesh folks. None of us are here legally currently. We are rebels like that.
The best news ever this month… One night during the night at 3 AM I noticed Jared was listening to a WhatsApp. I thought “now that’s strange he never does that during the night.” He said “Darrell found a replacement for Kulna and they are hoping to come in January.” Well we were pleased as punch I tell you! Prayers of thanks ascended. Lonnie and Lynette Koehn from Lobelville Tennessee. 😊They have three girls, 10 year old, 8 year old and 18 month old. Layton is enthused that they have someone his age, he doesn’t even care it’s a girl. We are very much looking forward to having them here!
Our Kuakata trip was enjoyable. We went for three days for abit of a break. Some missionaries go to all the places…. Tea Gardens, Coxs Bazaar, etc. Those places are lovely, but we have wanted to go back to Kuakata ever since we went there with everyone last December! We decided we better go now because by the time the winter business subsides the heat will be back full force. However it would not be a true vacation without sickness. We had decided that we would leave at 4:30 am to beat the traffic out of Dhaka. Well I was so tickled because by supper time the evening before Jared, Shana and myself had everything ready to go. I thought “we certainly have our act together when it comes to traveling.”😂 Layton started throwing up and having other bathroom problems at 11 pm. Then Shania woke up with a fever. Layton’s sickness seemed under control enough to still go by morning. So we loaded up extra clothes and a trashcan and took off. We have been looking forward to going to Kuakata for months so we weren’t about to let anything deters us. Got there around 12:30. Oh it was beautiful! We all took naps and hit the pool! Layton and Shania seemed to feel better by that point but we still took it easy. For supper we got chicken and nan at the cafe beside the pool. Rested the rest of the evening. The next day we ventured out. Packed a picnic lunch and hired a van driver. Went out to the beach. It was quite hot and the sun was intense. Gotten so used to Dhaka smog that we don’t even think of using sunscreen. We all got quite burned. Shania was very fussy and feverish despite the meds we had given her. Plus everyone was getting hot so we ended up taking our picnic back to our motel room and dining on it there! I wished we could have been at the beach longer but it does not pay to have a sick child out in this heat for longer than necessary. We all had good naps! Later afternoon once Shania had settled, we went to the beach Bbq. Jared’s been looking forward to coming back to this since last December! He got tuna, shrimp, crab and then another type of fish. It was delicious! Also got homemade tortillas for the kids. Jared had to message Trevor about what he was eating. Last year him and Trevor ate so much and later they were in the bathroom due to the spices….. wellll what can we say. History repeated itself. The victim kept declaring “it was worth it… it was worth it… it was worth it.”😂 We did some shopping at the beach market there. Layton wanted a new Kuakata shirt because his one from last year was much too small. Got some sea shell things too… Layton keeps finding all these little treasures and says “I want it for my Kansas bedroom mom.” Went back to the motel and went swimming again. Shania and I stayed up in the room for some peace and quiet. We got our moneys worth out of that pool that’s for sure! Layton is becoming a fish in the water. I’m glad because that had been a big fear of his. You’d never guess it now! The next day was quite overcast… we decided to just stay at the resort. There’s lots of things to do there. There was a cyclone headed for Coxs bazaar so it was abit rainy and windy. Had hoped to go back to the beach to see the waves but it didn’t seem like beach weather. Rode on the pedal boats, the kids swung for awhile, we took a walk on the grounds, and then went swimming again. Mid afternoon we went on a drive around Kuakata. It’s so beautiful there. I am so thankful we got the chance to go back one more time!!!!! The next day we packed up and headed home. It really rained and the wind blew! The cyclone ended up hitting more by India instead of Cox’s Bazaar where they had originally predicted. We hustle to leave because the road into Kuakata took an hour to drive :::::: because of all the potholes. Thankfully the rain stopped and we were able to get out and down the road. Jared was worried it would flood with as bad of shape as the road is in. Drove 20 mph or less the whole way down there. Decided we were never complaining about any Marion country road ever again. Got home around 6 pm or so.
Enjoying a few weeks at home. We are really looking forward to the winter activities. Several sets of visitors are coming, Lonnie’s come, several outings, etc. Shana and Layton are busy with school. I just love seeing Layton’s progress. He is starting to sound out words and read them. Any words on water bottles, food packaging or any signs he is always trying to read . I love when we says “hey mom! I know that word!” He’s been into doing word search puzzles too and spends a fair bit of time in the evenings working on that.
Shania seems to be finally over her fever/cough illness. She got two molars in the process. Let’s just say for a whole week she slept no more than 3-4 hours a night. I tried to be Pollyanna and say “I am so thankful that she isn’t sleeping at night because taking a nap in the afternoon is so fun to look forward to and enjoy!” I almost convinced myself. She keeps adding more words to her vocabulary. Cow, fishies, Layton, bye bye, hello… It’s so fun having a little girl. It will be neat to see her playing with Lonnie’s girl that’s only 4 days older than her. Her blanket and her thumb are her ever present companion. She’s starting to come tell me if she poops her diaper. So that maybe the next thing we undertake.
Several have asked if there is protests going on yet. Yes there is. We accidentally stumbled upon one one day without meaning too. Police everywhere and the water cannon truck was out. Lots of yelling about “no Hindus”. We quietly and quickly drove through the area as quickly as possible. Now the latest is that the students are threatening to take to the streets again if the president doesn’t step down. The interim government remains in place. No idea when election for the next prime minister will be. But as always… we feel safe and aren’t worried and are careful where we go.
Ok much more could be said about our life and the clinic, but this is enough for now I think!
Love to you all🩷
