August 7-August 13, 2023

Time has been a blur this past week. Seems like the days just run into each other. I get up get my day going and it’s not long and it’s time to make supper.🫢 Life is good though! Took a day to do laundry and get reorganized after being gone to Fellowship. Singing on Tuesday evening… lunch at the clinic on Wednesday… beef curry and egg curry. Oh it was delicious! A patient’s father was impatiently waiting at the clinic gate for Jared to give him some milk when we got there. Of course the man didn’t think the amount Jared gave him was enough. Apparently this man had come to the clinic earlier in the morning and hounded the sisters all morning. Not sure why they didn’t call Jared and tell him  he was there instead of just have the guy wait until we showed up for lunch. Never saw the sisters so grumpy before. 🫢 Josna was in the kitchen stirring her pots and Sumita was upset when we got there. Her Bangla was fast and clipped, she was so worked up I couldn’t understand a word she was saying. Apparently it was because the guy comes every month and always forgets to bring a bag for the milk so he always has to use one of their bags. After the ordeal was over Miriam said “We are Christian, the Bible says to talk nice not dirty. Boss is good at helping poor people out.” By the time the gentleman left and we had eaten the sisters had gotten back to their usual happy selves 😀Shania’s been more fussy lately. Drool abounds. Her wee hands look like wrinkled prunes sometimes from all her chewing on them. Her thumb continues to be her BFF. It’s hilarious, I have never seen the like! Layton never sucked his thumb at all. She is determined that her thumb should be in her mouth at all times. When she drinks her bottle she tries to wedge her thumb in sideways. Sometimes one thumb isn’t enough, two is needed! She likes her paci though at nap time and bedtime and that gives her hands a chance to dry out. Layton has been busy with his little projects. One day he wanted me to write down all the parts it would take to build an airplane. Good thing dreams are free. One morning he was quite perplexed. “If I fly from our place to Grampys or papas, what happens if I run out of fuel?” I said “well… get a bigger fuel tank.” That provided him a few more minutes of deep pondering on how to solve this dilemma. He has really been into drawing. I printed off a whole bunch of airplane pictures and he has been busy coloring them and designing how his future plane will look. With all the solemnity that such a young entrepreneur needs he informed me that the new plane will be called an “Airbus 786 R.” Stay tuned to local news to see how this turns out. Saturday evening we had Josna, Sumita and Doyle’s over for the long awaited Stromboli. Natun invited himself too but last minute some work related things came up so he wasn’t able to come which was a real bummer! Sumita wanted chocolate cake and ice cream too. She said she wanted to eat them out of a bowl so she could mix the two together. I made chocolate sauce to go with it, and they weren’t quite sure what to do with it. I showed them how to drizzle it over the ice cream and cake and they were delighted. At the end of the meal they said it was very good! Made my heart feel happy and fulfilled to make them their pizza and cake. After supper when us ladies were doing the dishes, Sumita and Josna reminded me of Grandma Ensz. They scoured the bottom of my cookie sheets with a scrubber until they shone, Josna wiped off the stove to within an inch of its life because Sumita thought I had too much oil on it. Then I was told I needed new dishpans since mine have a crack in the side. Sumita scrubbed the dish drainer and then propped it up to dry. what a deal! Sunday the children and I went to the jute store. Kinda wanted to just get out for awhile. I love that store. Everything there is made from jute. After seeing it harvested at Golpagange it was especially interesting. While we were browsing the lady working there followed me around. When she saw Shania one of the first questions was “Caesar or normal?” 🫢 (speaking of ‘Caesar’s, a lady told me on the street the other day, that I could only have one more baby, because three Caesar’s is the limit.) Came home with some treasures. The moyla lady spotted me coming through the gate with my bags. I had Shania in the baby carrier and was holding an umbrella in one hand and the bags in another. I almost slipped because the courtyard gets slick when it rains.  Unfortunately she saw my clumsy plight and came running. She grabbed my bags and hauled into the elevator. On the ride up to our floor, I got a stern lecture about having “babo” out in the rain and didn’t I know that “babo” could have hit her head if I would have fallen, and I could have landed on my rear?!?! So don’t worry, these Bengalis are keeping this lady at the straight and narrow whether I like it or not. Pretty sure they think this is my first rodeo. Sometimes it really wants to annoy me how they are so curious, but then the next week it sorta cracks me up how they think I’m so helpless. Maybe I am… Jared has been busy getting papers around for the next financial audit. Jon was able to get Kelly’s work visa renewed which means we won’t have to have to pay a huge chunk of money for exit visas for the six of them the end of the month. Still absolutely not one word on Jared’s visa. Not even a security clearance… Hoping it will all of a sudden go through like Trevor’s did. 

July 31-August 6, 2023

 In Which They Have Fellowship… 

Friday 8/4: We packed up and left the house around 7:30. It was a few minutes after leaving that we made the sickening discovery that the AC on the van had quit. Thank goodness that it was a cloudy cool day. We drove through rain but kept the windows open otherwise the windshield fogged up. At one point Shania’s burp rag was used as a rag to wipe the fog off the windshield! Since we left on Friday the traffic was good. All of a sudden though things came to a halt, we couldn’t figure out why. As we approached the area we soon realized that many many motorcycles had parked under an overpass to keep out of the rain, so a three lane road was now a 1 lane road. If they would park their bikes somewhat in an orderly fashion along side the road it would help but instead they were all scattered hodge podge thus clogging up the road. Having 5 children 6 and under in the van proved to be controlled chaos. We only stopped once. Seemed like it was best to just power down and keep on hustling. We kept all the windows open the whole way to Kulna to stay cool. I was worried how Layton would handle the trip. He woke me up at 3 am before we left and was having bad stomach cramps. We prayed about it together and finally around 5 he was able to relax enough to go back to sleep. He was much quieter than usual on the way to Kulna. I was so glad we made it there without any vomiting or diarrhea episodes. Got to Kulna around 1230. They have gotten quite abit of rain in the past two weeks! We noticed a lot more standing water in the rice and jute fields. Had a quick lunch and then we all took naps. Around 4 we headed to Santos for fellowship. None of our Dhaka members, Meso and Masi, Beauty and Harun’s wife were unable to come. Harun had the opening and Trevor had the message. After the service everyone took a break and then there was a members meeting. This fellowship this year was the first time that the members themselves were in charge of organizing and orchestrating it. The decision was made last year that us missionaries are merely guests attending. Since so many members did not attend, that was a topic of discussion about why aren’t our members more enthused about the meeting and getting together? Some were planting rice, some didn’t want to pay for their bus fare there, some had ill family members. Reminded me of the parable about no one wanting to attend the banquet. Several of the members do seem to have the vision and realization that if they care about their spiritual life they need to arrange meetings and attend and not always depend and expect CSI to fund it and arrange sleeping arrangements and transportation. (We take care of revivals but not fellowship.) As one member put it “If we care we need to attend.” Another member said “in school our teachers teach us how to do a job and then it’s our responsibility to get a job, the missionaries have come and encourage us and share the gospel so now we need to take responsibility for our spiritual lives.” And I had to chuckle because I do love a good dose of this Bengali honesty…. One member was asked why he wasn’t enthused about coming as he had been one that made a stink about it. He said “I can’t afford to host it at my house.” Another brother said “I didn’t ask about you hosting I asked you why didn’t you want to come?” Then another brother was having another lengthy ramble and the interpreter said “he’s talking and talking but not saying much!”😂We had supper around 8. Rice, Dal and vegetables. We just had the kids plop on the floor and dished out the rice and dal so they would eat and be quiet. By the time super was over Shania had absolutely had it with all the noise. Santos yard was full of mud so the kids were just playing inside their small house. Jared so kindly brought the children and I back to Trevor’s. Some good showers, a cool quiet bedroom and some alone time with mama seem to calm my children’s nerves immensely. I’m learning to not push them once they have reached their limit. It just goes from bad to worse! Tucked them in for the night and after they were asleep we escaped back downstairs to be with the adults. Good times and hilarity followed. Laughter doeth good like a medicine when one is weary from dealing with matters of the soul.

 Saturday 8/5: Breakfast was at Santos. Lanae and I stayed at the house with all the children. Santos yard is full of mud and there is a pond right by the church. We just felt better having the children in a bit more of a controlled environment. Sounded like they had a church service and then a members meeting where people could express themselves or share what they felt too. Later we packed up the children and went to Santos for lunch. Had SPICY chicken curry with rice and dal. I thought it was just me thinking it was spicy but all of a sudden the children were all gasping and hollering for water to drink!😂 After lunch fellowship was over. The members left and went to their houses. Jared and Trevor took a van full into Kulna to get on the bus. Santos did an excellent job hosting us all! It was encouraging to see. The rest of us went back to the house and put all the kids down for naps. After naps we turned them loose outside! They had all been begging for sand and water. They all played and played in the sand pile. Right when they were coming in to clean up it poured and poured rain. The kids were so filthy you could hardly see the color of their clothes. So Lanae got a bucket of soapy water and some shampoo and Jared got the hose going. We lined them up and gave them all showers out in the rain. It was hysterical!!!😂 Anyways… same routine as the day before… after the kids were in bed the adults stayed up late. More hilarity ensued. Coffee and bars happened. It feels good to just laugh and be crazy with the others… doeth our souls good! Around 1130 pm Jared and Trevor went to pick out van up from the mechanic. They had dropped it off there earlier in the day to get the AC fixed. 

Sunday 8/6: headed towards Golpagange after having breakfast with everyone. Doyle and Jared helped Kelly move all the furniture and meds from his old eye clinic into his new dokan. It’s a brand new building and looked really nice. After that was accomplished we headed for Dhaka. Such relief to have a working AC. The children slept about half of the way home. Made good time and it felt so good to be home! 

July 24 - July 30, 2023

Monday 7/24: Jared was really busy at clinic. It was quite hot today! So sitting under the fans and not doing much was the priority. In the evening after the sun went down behind the apartments and it had cooled some, Layton and I went down to the courtyard. I needed to walk for awhile to clear my head. Really looking forward to the cooler weather so I can walk every day. When I was younger I always thought my mom was funny for taking a walk every day but now I understand why she did it!🫢Anyways one of Layton’s little friends has been into making little parachutes out of plastic bags. He’s given Layton several, so he likes to come up to our veranda and drop them over the edge and then the kids below catch them! It’s fun to watch! 

Tuesday 7/25: Jared had clinic this morning. He’s been letting extra patients come. Makes up for the months of Eid and December when not as many come. So far he’s been seeing about 200 - 300 a month. Most are just simple things… need a med or something like that. He had a set of 1 year old girl twins come in that were just cute as buttons! Both had cataracts. Right after lunch he left and went to pick up Doyle’s. Kelly brought them to the Padma Bridge and then Jared picked them up from there. Got back into Dhaka at 6:30 and then I fed them all supper. I was expecting them to take quite awhile to get back as they were coming into Dhaka right at rush hour and there is two roundabouts that we go through to get home. Those roundabouts are always horribly clogged up. But I was pleasantly surprised when they suddenly were only 30 minutes away. Made honey garlic meatballs, cooked carrots and cut up some apples. Since Jared was gone most of the day I decided to do some mending. We have a Singer sewing machine here at our apartment that usually works great. However today by the end of my mending session, it was obvious that someone needed a reconsecration. (Someone not something) The tension was all out of wack… In the back of my mind I could hear my mom telling me that rethreading a machine can sometimes fix the problem. So after several rethreading attempts and adjustments we were in business. Got my mending done which felt good because I’ve been putting it off. It was too menial of things to take to the tailor. Layton sat beside me and wanted me to take the plastic off the outside of the sewing machine so he could see how it worked. Then he wanted to push the reverse button for me. “Mom whenever you need to go backwards just let me know and I’ll push it!” Then after that it was “why can’t you use your hand on the pedal instead of your foot?” And then “mom when can I sew?” And then “when we get back to Kansas, can I use your serger?”  Help us all… 

Wednesday 7/26: This morning I decided to try to give Shania some rice cereal! She spit out the first bite or two but then started swallowing it and smacking her lips. Didn’t give her too much as I didn’t want her tummy to hurt! But looks like something we might continue. Her stomach isn’t nearly as sensitive as Layton’s was that’s for sure. Jared put an apple slice by her mouth yesterday and she was licking it so seems like soon she will be ready for the first stage of baby food maybe?! I feel like a first time mom all over again when it comes to knowing when to try all these firsts. Did laundry and the usual mom things. Been trying to have 1:1 time with Layton while Shania naps in the morning. He seems to really enjoy it. Usually play Uno or draw. When we were down riding bike this evening I noticed something that made me grin. One of my friends was out with her daughter. She was wearing western clothes! Usually she is wearing kameeze of some sort. I wonder if she woke up and thought she wanted to feel more American so she donned her western clothes?😂 I’ve been noticing that some of the women here in Siza Court kinda go back and forth between their “native” garb and Western wear. These people here in Siza Court would definitely be more from the upper crust here in Dhaka. Maybe that’s why they can afford western clothes and regular clothes. Mid morning Jared went to the passport office and picked up Layton’s new passport. He asked if Shania’s was ready also but it wasn’t. 30 minutes after he left he got an email saying to come back in two days and pick hers up.😂 Went to the clinic for lunch. Poor Doyle looked miserable. They have been sick with some sort of bug since they went to Golpagange. Felt so sorry for them. We were sick alot when we first came and now to see them ill makes me feel bad for them. We remember those days all too well… feeling awful and then trying to take language class at the same time and plus trying to work through jet lag. Made a person wonder if we were sane or otherwise. But we got through it…  Jared spent the evening doing bookwork… he’s been working on getting ready for this years audit. 

Thursday 7/27: This morning Sumita came to clean, otherwise we had a slow lazy day. We’ve been turning our AC on while we nap and rest in the afternoons and it makes the rest of the day so much more bearable if you can lay down and completely cool off for a hour! Bought a big thing of Gatorade powder. We drink so much water and sweat so much that I figured the extra electrolytes would probably be a good idea. Jared invited Shurov to come over this evening to meet Doyle and to visit like old times but he never replied to Jared’s message. We try to reach out to him but seems like our efforts are in vain. It’s grievous to us… how much do we continue to try when it’s rejected? Prayers for the situation are appreciated. Jared wishes Shurov would come over so they could talk face to face instead of over WhatsApp. Seems like when you try to discuss soul matters via text messages it’s easy to be misunderstood or take things differently than they were meant. Sometimes it feels awkward to be trying to be a missionary to these people when they are all older than us. Bengalis have very sensitive feelings so that adds some more challenge to the situation. This evening Natun messaged and wondered if he could come over so Jared said “absolutely!” Natun was enthused to share with us. He has been asking God that an opportunity would arise that he could share his Christian faith with a Muslim. Recently he has found a colleague that is Muslim but is open and interested in other beliefs. So he feels like God is answering his prayer. He’s so enthused and excited. Jared gave him a Bangla Bible for when Natun feels like his friend will be ready to accept it. Natun wants Jared to tell him what verses would be the most important to read and then he will mark them before giving his friend the Bible. Jared told him to suggest to his friend to start reading the four gospels as Muslims follow the Old Testament. This is why they still slaughter animals once a year at Eid. Natun was telling

us that since Mohammed had four wives that his friend feels like he could have four wives too instead of one. It was refreshing and so encouraging to see Natun so enthused about sharing his personal faith. 

Friday 7/28: The political rallies that were supposed to be held yesterday were canceled and changed to today. We weren’t sure if we should still go to Gulsan for lunch and groceries but the rallies were  on the opposite side of the city. Even though they weren’t in Gulsan sometimes they can still affect traffic in other areas. The good thing is is that they are usually later in the afternoon so we can come and go before they start. The parties are really ramping up their marches and rallies since election is only 6 months away. We aren’t afraid of them but are careful to avoid parts of town where the crowds are, just so we don’t suddenly find ourselves in a bad situation. (They always announce in the paper several days in advance as to when and where they will be.) Like any political crowd there is usually arrests and clashes with the police. The last time there was a rally it was supposed to be a “peace rally.” The next day in the paper there was an article that said two people from the same party started hitting each other chairs because of a seating issue.😂 We sure get our jollies out of that “Daily Star” newspaper. 🫢😀 Anyways we ran our errands in peace. Wasn’t as many people out as sometimes. Noticed quite a few police and guards were stationed at corners and intersections. 

Saturday 7/29: This morning was busy. Had all sorts of people coming and going. Jon came to help Jared with some paperwork. Sumita came to clean. Lucky came to cook… Jared bought some shrimp  for her to make this time. Shrimp curry is our favorite and Krystal loves it too! Haven’t had it for a really long time. Lucky made pilau rice to go with it and it certainly did not fail to disappoint! Jared worked on paperwork for visas in the evening. He still doesn’t have a security clearance or a work permit. He’s starting on paperwork for Doyle’s security clearance and work permit for when his 3 month visa expires. 

Sunday 7/30: Jared had clinic… 25 patients. I moved Shania into Layton’s room. Layton is beside himself with excitement that now he doesn’t have to sleep by himself! So we will see how it all works out tonight. Set up the baby monitor so I can hear if Shania fusses. With a sound machine, fan and AC at night it’s quite a roar. 😂 She’s been sleeping all night so hopefully the change in bed doesn’t upset her. After lunch Jared went to the Argagyle metro station and bought metro passes. Now we just have to put 1000 taka on each card and we can ride without having to wait in line for tickets. He said This time the station wasn’t so packed. He rode to the first stop just for fun and then came back.  Jared hired a motorcycle to take him to Gulsan and then he picked up Shania’s passport while he was out and about! He said he won’t ever take a CNG again now that he knows how to get a motorcycle to give him a ride! He has an app that you put in where you want to go and then the driver calls you to verify then comes to your location and picks you up. Basically a Dhaka version of Uber! Jared was quite pleased with himself. 😃 Little discoveries like this make navigating this crazy city easier. I have to laugh sometimes when we are knee deep in traffic because my one coworker told me that if she had to come to a complete stop at the Hesston four way stop that there was far too much traffic. I wonder what she would say about Dhaka?! 

July 17 - July 23, 2023

 Monday 7/17: At clinic today Jared saw a 6 year old girl. Her legs were so skinny he thought they were a bit bigger around than his thumb. Obvious malnutrition… she also had cerebral palsy. Dr Elizabeth referred her to a children’s hospital here in Dhaka. Spent the day getting ready to leave to go to Kulna tomorrow. Made a cookie sheet of bars, some baked beans, then packed up and got the freezer stuff ready to go in the morning… all the buns, hot sauce, boxed Mac n cheese, yogurt, meat etc that the other ladies needed me to bring them from UniMart. Did laundry and made sure nothing wet was left laying around so that it won’t mold while we are gone. Jared was taking off his leather belt this evening and he noticed that there was mold on his belt!!🤢 welcome to a tropical climate.😂 Both the children woke up from their afternoon naps on the wrong side of bed. Grumpy and owly… Layton went down and played with the kids for awhile and that seemed to help his frame of mind immensely. Shania got a dose of Tylenol because it seemed like her gums were bothering her. She just crams her little hands in her mouth and chews on them like it’s going out of style!! She only wanted mama this evening so I spent the rest of the evening walking around with her until she fell asleep. 

Tuesday 7/18: Left the house at 7 or so and stopped and picked up Doyle’s and their luggage. Headed out for Kulna! They are harvesting jute in the villages now so was fun to see the big shocks of dried jute out in the fields. Some would have their jute bundles layered over a bridge banister to dry. It was so neat hearing what all Krystal recognized from 10 years ago! The kids did so well with the drive. Layton and Amaryllis sat in the back with the luggage. I just am not a fan of the no seatbelt thing here… if it’s just us then he wears it but when the car is full it’s not really an option. Got to Trevor’s a little before 12. Unpacked everything and then headed to Santos for lunch. I had a fun surprise when we got there. I thought Sotti was wearing something familiar and here it was one of my shifts from when I was pregnant with Shania!! It fit her perfectly, the tailor had to shorten it but otherwise it was like it was made for her! Lisa gave her two and then Pinky got one and one of their friends got the rest. They were so excited and thought they were “onek sundor.” (Very beautiful!) it made me really happy to see them so excited about my old dresses! Santo made chicken biryani and oh my was it ever good!!!! It’s pilau rice mixed with seasonings and the meat and/or eggs are usually mixed in with the rice. He put 1/2 kg of onions in it so no wonder it was good! Lots of big chicken pieces too.. Had egg curry on the side. Santo used to cook for a school years ago so he enjoys it. At revivals the beef curry was exceptional. Later we found out that Santo had tasted it before it was served and told them to add more salt and to cook it longer!😀We all ate and ate until we were stuffed. Santo just sat and watched us all eat with his giant smile on his face. Us, Kelly’s, Trevor’s and Doyle’s all sat on their cement floor with their family and all ate together. Santo’s rice pot was huge! After lunch, Doyle’s boy Jonas climbed on top of the lid on it and sat down on it. That really made Santo smile! After we got back to Trevor’s us ladies went on a long walk through the village and by the river. The walk did my soul good. Quietness… lush green grass, a quaint brick path, talking with the ladies as we walked, no harsh Muslim prayer call, no constantly dodging people and motorcycles, no strong diesel smells or mosquito spray… I enjoy our bustling city but to get out to the village once in awhile is a real treat! Anyways… The brick path abruptly ended into muddy trail but Lisa was not to be deterred😂 she trekked right through the mud while the rest of us opted to walk through the steep slimy ditch. Some kind village ladies offered that we could wash our feet at their pump so we cleaned up and continued down the brick path. While we were cleaning our feet, I happen to glance up and there was probably 20 ladies and children just standing there watching us!😂 Felt like Dorothy from Wizard of Oz and followed the yellow brick road! Saw where Trevor’s have their Sunday school. They have a huge group of children that come. I found it interesting that it was right by a bunch of Hindu idols. For some reason seeing the Hindu idols just leaves me feeling bothered and hollow. How could one find solace for their soul, praying to an idol that has octopus looking legs that is perched in a brightly colored house that is open on the front with metal bars protecting the gods? I suppose if a person left a big enough bag of sugar by the front of the building maybe one would feel a sense of relief or yet abit of trepidation and all you could do is to hope that the gods would be pleased enough to honor your request of forgiveness. After supper the moms put all the weary children to bed and then the adults stayed up and sang and talked until late. 

Wednesday 7/19: After breakfast the men had their CSI meeting. Much uproarious laughter occurred and I wondered if they got any business done?!😂 Lisa pulled out all her big black totes that they used to pack their belongings in when they came here. Each kid got one and then they took them out to the backyard and filled them up with water. We hardly heard a peep from them after that! They played and played in the water. Us ladies took the opportunity to sit and visit while the house was quiet. Had fun discussing the latest wedding details that we had heard about from home and just any little detail about clothes and food from the states.😀 The children were all so happy we delayed lunch just so they could keep playing. Eventually they all came in tired, hungry and sunburned!! After naps the kids all went back out to the big sand pile across the road from Trevor’s and spent the afternoon digging huge holes and making sand castles. Needless to say Layton was asleep in no time at bedtime. He told me that while he likes his friends in Dhaka he was sure glad to be with American children! We all did the “put the kids to bed and stay up late” trick again. 

Thursday 7/20: We all had breakfast together this morning before heading out. Layton was in tears that I wouldn’t let him go play in the sand again. Doyle’s went with Kelly’s to Golpagange for the week to get aquatinted with their new habitat. We got home around 4:30. The drive went well. Dhaka traffic wasn’t too bad but maybe we are getting used to it? Stopped a few times for awhile but nothing terrible. While we were gone both of the political parties had huge marches. They went down part of our road. The paper said traffic was stalled for hours so very thankful that we were able to come and go without being hindered by that. As soon as we got home Layton went straight to his Lego table and began to build. A man’s got to work while the sun shines!😂 Jared and I rested for awhile and then resumed our duties. Jared did some paperwork and I worked on the laundry. After supper Layton went down to ride bike with his kids. It was pretty quiet so I went and looked over the veranda to make sure he was doing ok. He was down there drawing a hopscotch game and taught the other kids how to play it! 

Friday 7/21: Headed to church this morning. Jared was worried his thoughts were too scattered. I told him not to feel bad because he hadn’t had much peace and quiet the past week to prepare! Natun and Jared visited for quite awhile after church again. They talked about the Hindus and their black magic. It amuses us that when Natun talks about the Muslims and Hindus he lowers his voice and talks quietly, almost like he is afraid of being overheard. We had quite a hilarious happening after we got back to our apartment. Collected our wits and cooled off and then headed back down to get in the car. The driver that parks in the stall in front of us usually leaves his car in neutral then Jared and the guard just shove it out of the way when we need to leave. Jared went to give the car the ole heave ho and here the driver had put it in park. The caretaker called the owner of the car to notify his driver to come move it for us. Meanwhile we trekked back upstairs because we didn’t want to wait out in the heat. Soon the guard called Jared so we went down. The driver was away so the owner of the car was trying to figure out how to put the car in neutral. He was frantic and said “BOSS! I can’t get my key.” Jared finally just went and climbed in the car and put it in neutral and got the key out of the ignition for him. It struck me so funny to see this owner all frantic and then to see Jared climb inside this car that was designed for a tiny Bengali man. We held our laughter in until we were out on the street. I asked Jared if most of the owners in Siza Court truly do not know how to operate a car and he said he was pretty sure most wouldn’t! We got our groceries and ate lunch then got back home. Naps were had by all. 

Saturday 7/22; Sumita came to clean. She hasn’t been here for over a week. One of her family members had an operation so she needed to go to her village for a week. Unfortunately I didn’t sweep and mop once while she was away so the floors were quite a mess. I’m glad we don’t have white tile floor like the Kulna and Golpagange houses! Bangla vegetables for lunch with some stir fry meat. Layton has finally started eating vegetables here. Spent the rest of the afternoon sitting under the fans or anywheres that’s cool. It hasn’t rained for several days so the heat is picking back up. Jared worked on audit paper work for quite awhile. 

Sunday 7/24: Just a usual day today… Jared had almost 40 patients at clinic. Spent the day indoors other than taking Layton out to ride bike to burn off some energy! 

July 10 - July 16, 2023

 Monday 7/10; Jared had clinic this morning. He was quite busy… did inventory on the milk and meds plus had 30 patients. While Sumita was cleaning this morning she very slyly asked me if I knew how to make pizza? I said I did! I knew where the conversation was headed after that.😂 Josna and Sumita LOVE pizza. She told me that Amber made it in a long narrow piece (Stromboli) and Duane’s wife made it round. I asked her which she liked best and she thought long and narrow. But she said to make “duy piece” (two of them) otherwise there might be a “Somosa.” (Problem) haha! So I told her we would have them for supper soon for pizza😃 It’s been something we’ve been wanting to do for awhile but just haven’t got to it I guess. Krystal brought Layton a Sunday school book when they came. He was so thrilled! He said “mom this looks just like the one I had at home!” This morning we spent a fair bit of time reading the lessons. Yesterday Jared and Natun got the Scorpio sold. Took most of the day. The men came and looked at it, offered a price then went to the bank and got the money… it dragged on forever. By evening Jared said he hoped he never had to sell another vehicle in Bangladesh again😂They had to settle for a lower price than they had hoped for. He’s glad that it’s taken care of now and so thankful that Natun could help because who knows how long it would have taken us to find someone. I told Jared it makes parking vehicles for sale at the Goessel corner look pretty simple! Later afternoon Jared grilled up a bunch of chicken for the freezer. Kept some out and made chicken fajitas for supper. Being up on the roof was just gorgeous tonight! Doyle’s came and joined us and that was so fun. There was a breeze and the humidity wasn’t that much. The visibility was great not much smog. There was a group of boys on a rooftop nearby that were singing at the top of their lungs! 

Tuesday 7/11: Had a busy morning. Decided to clean out the storage room as things had just been getting thrown in there from the doorway. Found a big box from the old washer that had been bought way back when. Layton and I turned it into a playhouse much to his joy!! Hopefully that will keep him entertained for a few hours. In the afternoon we had singing. Doyle’s came with us so we had a nice sized group. Was so enjoyable! Afterwards we went to Parktown for supper. Doyle’s children do so good with trying new things. Came home and took it easy before bed. Layton totally surprised us and wrote out some numbers using Bangla Script. It amazes us over and over how much he learns purely from observation. He is definitely a “noticer.” Not much escapes his attention. 

Wednesday 7/12: Sumita came to clean today instead of tomorrow. Several of her family members are sick in her village so she is going to go spend a week with them. Had lunch at the clinic with Doyle’s. I could just eat Josna’s vegetables and make a meal out of them. So good… turmeric and cumin just elevate vegetables into the next world. The evening was uneventful. 

Thursday 7/13: This morning Amaryllis, Raf and Jonas came over to the play for awhile while Doyle’s had class and studied. I was so glad they came over because Layton was having one of his bored days. He soon was very busy with them all. Had them all over in the evening again and I practiced making Stromboli so that when I make it for Sumita it’s half decent. Hadn’t ever made it before but it turned out great. The humidity here makes any yeast bread rise up beautifully. Jared and Jon went off to the auditors office to figure out some issues with paying taxes here. Apparently not everyone charges tax like they do at home. Some businesses charge it and some don’t. 

Friday 7/14: Church today! Natun has agreed to interpret for us since Shurov is not able to attend church at this time. It was so nice to have a normal service. Doyle had opening and Jared had the message. Natun is so fun to visit with so we stayed for quite awhile after church while the three men visited. Miriam was giving me an update on some recent patients that we’ve had at the clinic. One boy had a cleft lip and palate. He had one finger on one hand and two fingers on another. Both feet had only two toes, the big one and the small one. Miriam said he could use his two fingers great. She concluded that “God gave him extra brains to get by with two fingers.” This boy had come awhile back when he was a baby but they weren’t able to intubate since his airway was so small, now he has grown enough that intubation was successful and he was able to have surgery to fix his mouth. Another baby that we had last year passed away. Apparently the mother and grandmother thought the baby was the devil since it had malformations. Honestly, who could think such of such an innocent child?? Miriam said “Gods plan was that it would die, it would not have been taken care of.” Under her tough skin, she has a very soft heart for these village babies. After church we took Doyle’s to Farmhouse Burger and then showed them around UniMart. Doyle drove on the way home and did great! 

Saturday 7/15: Lucky came and cooked for us this morning. I was very glad… After naps we decided to take Doyle’s to the metro so they could get out of the guesthouse for awhile. We got to the station and there was literally a thousand people in there. Doyle and Jared finally found the line to buy tickets but they were turning people away as the metro was full. So we had to cancel that idea. We had some very very sad little boys over that deal. Then we went to a park to walk. There was lots of people there too but at least the children could run off their energy for awhile. Sometimes when we are at places like that park people are always trying to take pictures of us or selfies with the children or they will just stand right in front of us while we are walking and take our pictures. It’s gets really annoying! When we got home Jared and Layton were totally peopled out so the rest of the evening was spent relaxing and being quiet. Dhaka just is not the sort of place where one goes out on the town to have a leisurely outing. 

Sunday 7/16: Today our gas was shut off all day. They installed prepaid gas meters so now we will put taka on them every two months. When we were down riding bike the guard asked me if we had a “microwave oven” to heat up our food since the gas to our stove was shut off. I said no we didn’t! I didn’t bother trying to explain to them what a crockpot was. So I just said “ajke thanda khabar khabo.” (Today I will eat cold food.) The guard and the caretaker found this uproariously funny for some reason. Layton enjoyed looking at their parts and pieces and watching them from the veranda. Jared had clinic. He saw 30 patients. Three babies are currently having operations this week. The rest of the day was uneventful… 

July 3 - July 9, 2023

It’s been an eventful week… Doyle and Krystal Barkman and their three children (Amaryllis, Rafael and Jonas) arrived Wednesday morning! We were all so excited to see them. The poor dears had that same overwhelmed exhausted look that we felt like we had when Daniels picked us up!  They’ve been working on getting their days and nights straightened out and are doing really well! We’ve been really enjoying having them over for meals and visiting and getting to know them. Layton is tickled pink to have some more children to play with. Krystal taught in Golpagange 10 years ago so her Bangla is great. I told her I was envious that she had that part of the mission adjustment already under her belt! Doyle will take language class though still with Paninna or George. Having a new couple around makes Jared and I realize that we are more settled here than we think. The things they thought were exciting or unusual are things that we have already started viewing as normal already. It’s been a good feeling! Trevors, Daniels and Kelly’s have done so much to help us settle in and feel comfortable here so now it feels so good to be able to pay it forward and help Doyle’s get settled in. 

Friday afternoon we heard the horns blaring at the metro station behind our house at Farmgate!! Jared and Layton raced up to the roof and saw the tail end of the metro disappearing around the bend. It was the first trial run on this section of rail. It’s to be officially complete and ready for the public by October! We are excited to go on a spin.😃 Then we will be able to whisk from Farmgate clear to Uttara with no jams or traffic worries. Like the Bengalis like to say “Kube bhalo, jam ni!!!” If one doesn’t know what to talk about with a Bengali you can always bring up the traffic and the conversation will always end the same… “onek jam… jam bhalo na.” Or if you say you’ve been somewhere the question is always “jam? Jam ni?” There is also a major highway project that is supposed to be completed as well by next year. Seems like a lot of these projects are suddenly in a hurry and scurry to be completed… Jared wonders if they are trying to be done by the next election in January so the prime minister’s political party can brag about what they have accomplished for Dhaka infrastructure.

The beautiful rain continues every other day or daily. Some mornings will be quite hot and then afternoon rain cools it off. This humidity makes my hair curly!! The city smog is noticeably less. One day Jared noticed the air quality was considered “good” instead of “hazardous.” 

June 26-July 2, 2023

Monday 6/26: Immediately upon awakening this morning, the question of the day was… “Mom, how do crows not get their feet zapped when they sit on a electric wire?” No clinic this week due to Eid. During the first Eid no patients came. Jared had a lot of things on his to do list for this week so the timing of no clinic worked out well. The children and I went and stocked up on veggies and fruit today before Eid starts and the dokans all close. Jon came over and helped Jared with some things related to Kelly’s work permit, then they headed to the visa office. Layton was invited to a birthday party this evening for one of his little friends. Him and I went and we could not find their apartment so we came back home. I felt so bad for him, he had been looking forward to it all day! Jared forgot to ask them what their apartment number was and their phone number so we had no way of finding it out. We rang several door bells on the floor where we thought they lived but no luck. Layton was in tears so I told him the next time he played with him in the courtyard we could give him his present then and ask his dad for his phone number! Natun came over this evening. It was so enjoyable. He talks great English. He really liked my chocolate cupcakes! He wanted to know all about Kansas. I told him there were more cows than people. He threw his hands up and said “What?! How can this be?!”😂 He wondered if in America there were vendors all along the street selling food like here in Dhaka. Jared told him the closest thing to it would be a food truck maybe? Or a farmers market? We had a good laugh because yesterday Jared texted him and told him he needed to go the visa office for Kelly’s papers so Natun should wait to come until later afternoon. Natun messaged him back and said “ok, please find USA visa for me too.”😂He is going to help Jared sell Elwood’s Mahindra Scorpio. It’s a white elephant car in Dhaka so not sure if they will get much for it. He stayed until late. It was so fun talking with him. He explained all sorts of Muslim traditions to us. Makes one’s mind whirl… 

 

Tuesday 6/27: Woke up to two big Brahman bulls and a goat in the courtyard. Yesterday Jared saw quite a few rickshaws loaded down with hay and straw. Sure enough these cows had big tuffs of hay for their victuals. The goat spent the day voicing its grievances to us all. Jared wondered if it had a sense of foreboding as to what was coming. Mid afternoon two more bulls arrived. 3 were tied by the trash barrels and one at the far end. One lucky cow got to eat his meal out of a rice pot. We went down to ride bike and here were two more cows out in the street. The birthday boy (from yesterday) gave Layton a container full of Spider-Man birthday cake. Jared quick went down and got his dad’s phone number and apt number so next time they invite us we aren’t stumbling around like lost bedesis! I put some chocolate cupcakes in the container and sent it back over there with Jared. For once I had something on hand to give them! I’m not very good at keeping sweets and such on hand for hospitality gifts. Not long later another neighbor lady rang the doorbell with fruit and chocolates. So zip went the rest of the cupcakes! She wondered if we would want to eat some of their beef when they prepared it for Eid? Jared said “sure!” After she left I said “Jared, are you sure that’s safe to eat?!” He said “why not, it will be fresh meat and cooked right away!” It was cool and rainy all day. we very much enjoyed the coolness! Had a quiet relaxing day… felt good after everything that we’ve been doing the past week. This afternoon I was thinking that if you had told me two years ago that I would be LIVING across the seas and have BULLS in my front courtyard and partaking of the neighbors Eid goodies I would have thought you were crazy! God sure has a sense of humor. 

Wednesday 6/28: Three more goats have joined the Siza Court zoo. This morning it poured rain… was a roar for awhile. I just love going onto our back veranda and looking at the rain pouring through the mango trees. Been thinking about putting a chair there so I can just sit and enjoy the sight. For a minute one can forget the bustling city and it feels like we live in a lush green forest. Lisa and Lanae say this type of weather is the rainy season. Sounded like last year they never really had this. Kulna in particular is very dry. Empty ponds and such… Sumita came to clean today instead of tomorrow. She said she didn’t want to be out and about tomorrow when everything was “onek moyla” from the slaughtering that will happen. We went to the clinic for lunch. Josna made pilau rice, beef curry and vegetable mixture. It was so good to have beef curry again. Josna always manages to find such a good beef for the curry. Apparently you have to tell the butcher “no fat or bone” otherwise that is just what you get! Josna’s pilau rice just cannot be beat! We stayed and visited awhile since the rain continued then we splashed home. I told Jared that I’d like to get a sample of water off the street and put some in a pitri dish and see what type of organisms would grow! (Something we did in Microbiology class in college.) Along the sidewalk men were selling grass tufts and hay bundles for the Eid animals. The street traffic was significantly less today. (The other day when Layton and I were out the streets were jammed and sidewalks were full of cycles.) When we got back to our courtyard the cows were gone. I asked the guard where the cows went. He said it was too cold for them out in the rain so they had to move them “bhitore.” (Inside) I didn’t ask where they put them. I asked Josna why the people were spending so much money on cows and goats when they could buy cheaper meats like chicken and fish. Apparently now for this Eid, four footed animals are the requirement. Now by the end of the day the animal count is up to 5 cows and 8 goats. 

Thursday 6/29: Today is the 2nd Eid. It is the bigger of the two Eids. (The first one was back in April when the Muslims all fasted for a month.) Jared did some research and this is what he found out… It celebrates the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. Since God sent a ram in a thicket for Abraham to sacrifice instead, Muslims butcher animals as their sacrifice. Part of their meat is consumed by the family that kills the animal, while the rest of the meat is distributed to the poor and the needy. Sweets and gifts are given, and extended family members typically visit and are welcomed. A lot of people from the cities will leave and travel back to their villages. It reminds me of our Christmas at home! (Minus the butchering.) Woke up to the sound of pounding and banging. The slaughtering had started. It was pouring rain, so they were cutting up the meat in the garages. Everything was kept very clean. They were constantly sweeping and hosing off the courtyard. We watched off and on during the day. Very intriguing. A man dressed in white would go around and slit the throats of the animals. I had always imagined that it would be utter chaos and animals would be bawling. It was all very organized and quiet. Some families were down in the parking garages watching the slaughtering and processing of their animal and other families it looked like they had hired a butcher and the butcher and the driver were doing the grunt work. Layton got an A and P lesson on the organs of a cow. Mid afternoon some beggars came to the door and asked if we had any meat for them. Jared told them we didn’t butcher any today. Then later the trash lady came and wondered if she could put meat in my freezer to store. Well right then we were in the middle of defrosting the freezer so we told her no. Later in the evening the neighbor across the hall came and brought us some cubed beef. We want to have Lucky make beef curry with it!😀 After dark the courtyard had a strong aroma of bleach. Today it was so humid outside that nothing would dry on the clotheslines so had to bring it all inside to put under the fans to dry. 

Friday 6/30: The sisters had plans today with some friends so church is tomorrow instead. The traffic was wonderful today in Dhaka. So drove around abit. Went to Mohakali to find the travelers clinic where we will take Shania for her baby vaccines. It’s a clinic that has American vaccines for NGOs. Went to Lola’s for lunch. UniMart was closed so we went to Schwapno. They are a much much smaller grocery store than UniMart but I was still able to get the most important things I needed. While we were there a man was checking out next to us and we noticed he was wearing a K-State shirt. We just stared. He looked like a Bengali, so wonder if he knew about K State or what?! Since we’ve just been at home the past few days we went to North End for awhile just to stay out of the apartment a while longer. Love that place. It’s always so cozy. Even though Jared and I still aren’t coffee drinkers we like to go get their shakes. Barely got home and the rain started. It was a downpour for most of the afternoon. It’s so fun to see rain like this for hours. In Kansas the deluge never lasts long so this is quite fascinating to us. It just pours straight down literally like the Heavens have opened. (Some days when I’m feeling poetic I stand on the veranda and wonder if the pouring rain is like Gods grace washing over us.) We noticed today that wherever animals were slaughtered in the courtyard there was white powder sprinkled. Not sure if it was bleach powder or a deodorizer powder. Noticed this several other places too while we were driving around. 

Saturday 7/1: Lucky came to cook today. She told me last time she came that she wants to buy her own vegetables at Farmgate when she comes to cook. I never can find good enough ones it seems like that she approves of. So I was very very happy to have her come up with this idea. I had thought about asking her if she would do that but I didn’t want to be a bother to her. So I told her just to tell me how much money she spent and then Jared would pay her when she comes to cook. Went and did some tract work at the guesthouse this morning. Someone wanted 500 tracts. The humidity today could best be described as “smothering.” Mid afternoon the Heavens opened. Around 4:30 we left for church. The downpour had reduced to a heavy sprinkle, so decided to walk. We turned down the street by Ec Number Gate and ways down there the street was flooded with about 4 inches of water so we hiked up our pants and sloshed through. I was glad I had decided to wear a kameeze instead of a dress. Layton had the time of his life sloshing through the water. All during church he was so antsy because he wanted to leave so he could splash through the water again. By the time we had church and visited with the sisters and took care of some things at the clinic, the drains had caught up and the street was back to normal. Layton was so disappointed! Apparently on Green road where Pizza Hut is, the water was up to the tops of the rickshaws tires. 

Sunday 7/2: Left the house at 1130 for the US Embassy again. This time for Layton’s passport renewal! We left super early because wasn’t sure if people would be flocking back into Dhaka after Eid. It took 20 minutes to get to UniMart.😂 so had a lot of time to spare. Got the rest of the things I needed that I couldn’t find at Schwapno on Friday, then Layton ran off some energy at the play place. Didn’t take too long at the Embassy. When we left the line of people outside the building was very long… Jared thought they must be applying for visas. Since we are Americans and had an appointment we could go straight inside. After we were done there went to Chefs Table and got some smoothies. Made it home in record time. Hardly any buses out. Noticed there wasn’t a line at the gas station so went and filled up the van. Usually the line is clear down the street so Jared goes at 6 in the morning. When we get home it’s going to feel strange to be able to go places whatever time of day we want and not have to plan around rush hour or holidays or other unknown factors.😀 Unless Goessel has rush hour.😂

Some Eid statistics we found in the paper… 2 million animals were slaughtered  in Dhaka during Eid which created 18,000 pounds of “waste.” A little over half were cattle and the rest goats.