June 19-25, 2023

 Monday 6/19: Kelly’s and Trevor’s left Dhaka this morning and headed to Mallumgaut and Cox’s Bazaar. They invited us to go along but we weren’t sure about having Shania out on the beach at Cox’s Bazaar in the heat and sun all day. They are going to be down there for several days. Another reason we didn’t go was its our turn to go to Kishorganj to see Michael and Monica. We wanted to go before Doyle’s come into Dhaka. Maybe next year us and Trevor’s or Doyle’s can go to the beach! It’s a 8 hour drive from Dhaka there. That’s where there is an American hospital. When we first came we were originally going to travel down there to have Shania. They were unable to get a visa for an expat American OB doctor so we stayed here and went to Square Hospital. (Which we were very happy with!) Kelly’s had Sally there so they wanted to go back one more time before they leave. We try to always have one couple on the field that knows the contacts and Nurse Mary there at the hospital. Just in case an emergency happens and one of us needs to go down there for care. It sounds like a really neat place! Anyways… our day was pretty uneventful. Jared had clinic. He was met by a happy Josna because they caught two mice overnight in the mice traps he had given them! The mice were starting to eat holes in their mattresses so hopefully these scoundrels were the culprits. Shania wanted to eat and be held all day so mama was quite weary by nightfall. 

Tuesday 6/20 : Jared had clinic… Layton and I worked on laundry and getting things around for our trip this week. We are getting good at packing! We’ve learned to always take towels and washcloths with us whenever we stay at a motel for the night here. Often they only have 1 towel available. We also take along pillows and blankets because sometimes the beds just have sheets. Had a beautiful rain for awhile in the afternoon. It really cooled things down so opened the windows to cool off the apartment. It was nice to wear dry clothes for a change instead of being so wet from sweat. These cool moments are sure savored! Singing at the clinic was as enjoyable. After we got home we got the sobering news that Casper and Janalee’s (Jared’s sister) baby girl Eden Rose had went to Heaven during labor. The rest of the evening was quiet and with a “pit in your stomach” type of feeling. 

Wednesday 6/21: Got up and got ready to leave. Our hearts and minds were in Carrot River with Casper’s and their angel baby.💗 But we felt like we should still go ahead and go to Kishorganj and see Michaels. Layton’s enthusiasm kept me going. He was ready to leave by 9:00 AM!😃 He loves to travel. His favorite thing is the motel. (When we were still at home he would often say “mom can we go to a motel again?”) He said “Mom just think of all the sights we are going to see!” Then after we had been on the road awhile he said “I just have never seen such beautiful sights!”😂 bless his heart💙 the drive went good! Drove by the airport, it was interesting to see how much had gotten done there on the new terminal since we came! Saw parts of Dhaka we hadn’t been to before. Words just fail me to try and describe all a person sees. It’s just continuous ebbing and flowing of people… Sometimes we weren’t sure if we were on the right road or even headed in the right direction but we soldiered on. So much road construction in Dhaka all over. Once we got out of Dhaka everything was so lush and green! It looked like PA… winding curves, so many trees… went by a big nursery that had thousands of potted plants. Bright colored flowers… Once we got closer to Kishorganj the road took quite a turn. Some was paved some wasn’t… huge potholes filled with water since it was raining. Wasn’t sure if the oil pan was coming or going as we lurched and banged through the potholes. Good thing our van is slightly lifted. Now I know why when we told Kelly we were coming to see Michaels he smirked and said “that will be a fun drive.” (Never a good sign!😂) The roads in Kishorganj are very narrow and barely two lanes. They are dirt and most often lots of trash on the sides. Lots of cows wondering down the roads some just meandering along and some eating the garbage. The cows look much more healthy than the ones we see here in Dhaka! A van our size and a CNG can squeak by with a few inches to spare. Parking was an awful hassle.  The hotel we stayed at had a parking garage but it was full. We didn’t understand the gentlemen at the top and so we drove down a very steep ramp to see a total of three parking spaces which were full. So Jared stuck it in reverse and barely made it back up the steep ramp. He told me later he didn’t think we would make it back up to the top. I sat there and prayed mightily that we would make it back up the ramp. We finally called Michael and asked him where we were supposed to park. He came and hopped in with us and we just parked the van at their place. Later on him and Jared found a better location to park at. The hotel owner let us park in his courtyard! As soon as we got to Michaels, Monica (his wife) made us cha and biscuits. Michael used to be a member and Monica and Marcie are currently members. We met Steven (Michaels brother) Steven’s wife (Lucky), Franklin, Happy and daughter Christiana. (Michael’s son and family) and Michael’s mother. They were all really friendly. Michael talks good English so it was nice to be able to converse with him easily. Marcie (Michaels daughter) is in nursing school. She was excited to hear that we were both nurses. She asked me tons of questions… how many courses did I take? How many years did it take? She showed me her books and notes. It was really enjoyable. The old grandma of the bunch was laying on the bed where we were all sitting. All of a sudden she sat up and peered at me and said “madam do you like our country?” I said “yes I think it’s beautiful!” She smiled and plopped back down and went back to sleep. Around 7:30 Monica fed us all chicken curry, rice and okra. It was good! I told her that Chelle didi missed her cooking and that sure made her smile.😃 Layton wouldn’t eat so later when we got back to the motel I made him a PB and J. I’m learning here to always bring something for him to eat later since he won’t eat if we aren’t at home. (Not sure how to handle this problem. He did this at home too.) Anyways we came back to the motel around 8. Shania was crying over every strange noise. There is a mosque right beside Michael’s apartment and when the prayer call sounded with great volume she just lost it. As soon as we came back to the motel she was happy as can be. The motel room was very nice! White walls, white tiled floors, two beds, AC… 

Thursday 6/22: Around 9 we headed over to Michael’s for breakfast. They live in a two story cement house. Open windows with metal grates over them. It is really nice! Each family has their own room. For breakfast we had ruti (type of tortillas), fried eggs and fried potatoes. The potatoes were slivered with onions and kaj morich in them with a-bit of turmeric and salt. After breakfast Jared had devotions. Afterwards Jared Layton and Michael went and saw where the old mission was here in Kishorganj and then stopped to talk to some of Michael’s friends. I stayed at the house with Shania and enjoyed visiting with Marcie and Monica. Went and sat down in their kitchen for quite awhile and watched them chop up their vegetables and things for lunch. Lunch was chicken curry with chichinga, green beans and potatoes. Michael and Jared visited quite awhile once they were back at the house. Since Michael’s were the first members here in Bangladesh they know missionaries from way way back! Very interesting to hear about. He told us about one missionary that had come here had taken a rickshaw all apart and taken it home.😀  After lunch we went back to our motel to rest for several hours. I was thankful we were able to have some alone time for awhile. I needed some time to just be in a quiet place to kinda let my brain rest after all the things that have happened this week. After naps we went back to Michael’s. Layton just loved playing with their granddaughter Christiania. He couldn’t wait until she got out of school. I was proud of him. It used to be that when we went somewhere new here he would hang onto my skirt and cry and not let me out of his sight. He played and played this morning and would occasionally come and find me to see where I was but there was no tears and no anxiety!!! Around 7 we went back. I sat in the kitchen with all the ladies while they made egg curry. I helped Monica peel the eggs and potatoes. After supper the majority of Michael’s family all came upstairs and we had a church service. Sang a few songs and then Jared had some thoughts. He encouraged them to get to know Jesus and if they felt like they already knew Him then to stay with Him. Before the closing prayer Jared asked them if they had any prayer requests. (Something we always do in our services). It impressed me what they asked for. Michael wanted prayers that his family could stay healthy, Monica wanted prayers for the pain in her right side, Steven said “boss, you remember I told you that I want to build my own house? Can you pray that I could?”  So Jared prayed and included the requests. It was really special. We told them bye. They were so appreciative and happy that we had come to see them. Jared told them how much we enjoyed being with them and Franklin said “it made us happy to have you here.” We assured them that we would come back and see them again! Jared took the children and I back to our motel. Then him and Michael went to see one of Michael’s Hindu friends. He runs a medical supply dokan. Even though this gentlemen was Hindu he still wanted Jared to pray with him. Found that very interesting! The guy was so enthused to see Jared coming to see him. One thing we found interesting was all the stares we got when we would be out and about in Kishorganj. We get stared at too in Dhaka but it was a whole new level in the village. I saw one man driving an easy bike. He stared the whole time he went past us then pulled his rig off to the side of the road and turned around and stared some more.😂 

Friday 6/23: We left from Kishorganj around 9 and didn’t stop until we were back in Dhaka at 1. Noticed many loads of cattle on the back of little pickup trucks coming into Dhaka. We wondered if they will all be sold for Eid? Mostly Brahmans… Wish my brother Clarke could see the cow hauling. He would think his red stock trailer was just pretty spiffy.😂 Traffic in Dhaka was busy but not jammed up. Layton made himself a bed in the back of the van with pillows and blankets and was happy to be back there. Usually I make him wear a seatbelt just like at home much to his displeasure. Shania was pleased to be held by mama the whole trip home. She’s been more fussy than usual lately. Just chews and chews on her wee thumb. Is she teething already?! Finally started giving her some Tylenol to help her settle some! Was so good to be home again. When we travel through the streets teaming with honking buses it always gives us a new appreciation for our quiet Siza Court! Came home and had lunch then we all napped for quite awhile. For some reason we were exhausted. Bless Sumita’s sweet heart, she had put away all the dishes I had piled on the drain board and folded all the laundry that I had left on the veranda. I did not expect her to do all that for me while we were gone!  I started in on all the laundry that had accumulated. Jared started working on paperwork to renew Kelly’s work permit. Even though they leave in 2 months and it’s highly unlikely he will get them, he still has to attempt to renew it. Just in the odd event they would go through then we don’t have to pay the massive exit visa fees. 

Saturday 6/24: Sumita came to clean and Lucky came to cook. Right when Lucky came in the door Shania was crying because I was dealing with Layton right then. Lucky picked up “Sania” and boy did Shania give her some big grins! These two ladies are becoming my “near and dears.” Sumita wanted to hear all about how Michael’s were. Jared went over to the guesthouse and checked on Trevor’s and Kelly’s since they were ill with various maladies after getting back from the coast. Layton was in tears that he couldn’t play with them but I told him we did not need to be getting bad colds, diarrhea and fevers from them. Plus one of Trevor’s girls had lice last week and we don’t need that either.😂 Had church this evening. When we walked out the gate to leave, the guard and caretaker said “BOSS! BOSS!” They were all excited that Eid is this week. They told us that will would soon be “onek goru” (many cows) in the courtyard. Shurov wasn’t able to come so didn’t have an interpreter. Jared read about Job and talked about patience. He couldn’t find what the Bangla name for Job was so that Sumita could read the verses out loud so out came google translate. Miriam came half way through the service so we did some extra singing afterwards. After the service Jared got some milk out for a patient. On the way home we noticed that in the apartment complex close to ours they had 10 goats tied up in the courtyard! The paper keeps saying how the cows for Eid are so expensive this year so Jared wonders if people will rather buy goats instead? In the evening Jared kept working on papers for Kelly’s. 

Sunday 6/25: Hustled and bustled this morning to get some things done before we left for the US Embassy. Since traffic is so busy now before Eid we left at 11:30 to give ourselves plenty of time to get to the Embassy for our 1:15 appointment. We got to UniMart to park the van and then took a rickshaw to the embassy. He wanted 500 taka and then dumped us off half way to where we were going! Oh the joys of white skin.😂 It wasn’t terribly hot so we just walked the rest of the way. Walked by Germany, Italy, France, Germany, and Canada Embassies. They were all plain brick buildings but Saudi Arabia’s Embassy was next level fancy!! We had to leave our phone and keys in a locker, thankfully they let us bring in Shania’s bottle. The website made it sound like nothing could come in. We weren’t sure how particular they were about bringing things in. The people there were really nice. Most of them were Bengalis but the gentleman that helped us was white and talked American English. I could have hugged his neck. Jared said it was so nice to just be able to talk and not have to first stop and think how to explain what we needed. Sounded like he was from New York. In three weeks we should get Shania’s passport and born abroad papers. Stopped at Chefs Table for some ice cream and then headed home. The traffic was awful. Took us 1.5 hours to get home from UniMart. Miriam said that a lot of people will be leaving Dhaka today to go to their villages for Eid. Definitely looked like that was happening! Our friend Natun was going to come over this evening but he messaged and said he was stuck in traffic and hadn’t moved at all for quite awhile! So hopefully he can come tomorrow… 

June 12-18, 2023

 Monday 6/12: Got news this morning that Jays had a baby girl! I think it’s neat that now at Hesston there’s two girl babies that will be Shania’s age. When Layton was born several other ladies that were due close to the same time had boys too! Anyways… When Sumita came to clean this morning her allergies were flared up. She went to my pantry and got a raw onion and ate it to try and unstuff her nose. Oh we had a good laugh together as she shuddered at the awful taste! I told her I was going to have Jared do that the next time his allergies are bad.😂 It rained this morning. A downpour for quite awhile. Layton was very sad he couldn’t ride bike. I rummaged in my bored box and pulled out some slime I had bought at UniMart. I keep random little things in my bored box for when he’s bored or needing a change of scenery. He LOVED the slime and played an played with it. Had a quiet afternoon. Jared helped me cut up all the mangos I had gotten last week for the freezer. After supper Jared worked on some CEUs to renew his Kansas nursing license. People have asked if we use our nursing skills here at the clinic. The answer is no we do not. We don’t have Bangladesh nursing licenses. Our Dr Elizabeth does all the assessing and treating at the clinic. The people that come to the clinic usually don’t need any sort of urgent care or dressings. 

Tuesday 6/13: Jared had around 20 patients at the clinic today. The RO system at the clinic has been having problems. Keeps getting holes in the tubing. He replaced it two weeks ago and now there’s another hole! He is suspicious it’s mice. One of the sisters said during the night she felt something nibbling on her toes. So needless to say, after lunch Jared went to Farmgate in search of mousetraps. Had singing this afternoon with the sisters. The last few times they’ve been teaching us Sunday school songs from their childhood. It’s been really fun learning them! I wish Layton was more enthused about singing them but he could care less. I’ve started taking along things for him to do while we sing. He gets awfully bored otherwise. After singing was over, Jared had some matters to tend to with a patient. Kelly had sent a eye patient from Golpaganj that needed some financial assistance for testing. (Kelly and Trevor send their

patients to Dhaka if they have done everything they can to help them.) Went to Hotel Shuktara at Farmgate for supper. Hadn’t been there in months! The waiter said “I haven’t seen you for quite some time!” Jared told him we had a baby that’s why! We got egg drop soup, garlic ginger prawns and spring rolls. Layton has taken a real liking to egg drop soup. The view is always amazing from the restaurant since it’s 9 stories up. Some smog this evening but not terrible. Walked home.. When we got home our neighbor man wanted to visit for awhile. His children are the ones that Layton plays with. He knows very good English. His oldest daughter is studying abroad in Australia. He was enthused because he got a visa for him and his family to move to the states to Mississippi so his children can get a better education. He was in the Bangladesh army for 17 years and now is a higher up in a bank close by. 

Wednesday 6/14: Jared let me sleep in as during the night the two hoodlums needed me lots. Sometimes I almost wonder if it’s even worth it to sleep in. I get up and everyone is out of sorts because mama hasn’t been up before hand making sure everyone’s morning is off to a good start. You know the little details… the precise amount of sugar a 6 year old likes in his cornflakes, just how Shania likes to be wrapped tight but not too tight so that she can still find her thumb… Daddy manages these things very well in fact just as well if not better than mama but for some reason MAMA is the special one! Went to the clinic for lunch. Chicken curry and then the vegetable mixture had okra, carrots and potatoes in it today. On the way there our rickshaw’s tire got caught in the drain grate on the street. Layton and I flew off and thankfully Jared and Shania stayed on! Layton hit his head good but he was fine after he collected his wits. That is why Jared always holds Shania when we are riding on one! The driver felt so bad and we assured him we were all just fine. Payed him good so he wouldn’t feel so bad. It was so cute he put his hands around Layton’s face after he was back in the rickshaw and in English said “I am so sorry!” While we were eating Miriam and the sisters told us what to expect at the next Eid. Muslims have two Eids… the first one was in March and now the second one is the end of June. The 2nd one is considered the “sacrificial Eid.” Sounds like we should have plenty to watch. Apparently they slaughter live animals right here in Siza Court. Stay tuned…. 🤢 Sumita and Josna weren’t too happy with one of the patient’s mother. She was chewing pawn (a big green leaf) inside the clinic and spitting it all over the floor. The pawn makes a red juice which stains their teeth and lips. We often see red puddles of pawn spit on the street and sidewalk when we are out walking. It’s a big no no for people to chew inside the clinic. I guess this lady took the bucket that the sisters have in the hallway and took it in the bathroom and spit in it too. Jared and I had to stifle our laughter at how underlying disgusted Josna and Sumita were by it all. They take great pride in how clean the clinic is so this was a horrible occurrence.😂 they took her pawn away and hid it until she leaves. 

Thursday 6/15: This morning people were in and out. Sumita came to clean, Jon came to get Trevor’s passports to get their work permit finished up, the caretaker came to get money for the electric bill, etc. Jared and Layton went to the guesthouse to change the water filters on the RO system. We are very diligent at changing the filters. If they go too long without being changed they don’t work well and we don’t want to be getting sick from bad water. Something Jared and I are paranoid about. We take our own water everywhere.   The rest of the day we stayed indoors under the fans. Layton was the only one brave enough to go ride bike in the heat with his friends. Until he had a accident. After supper Layton said “mom, I want to message my friends.” This is the first time he has asked to do that since we came. He had quite a list… Marcie, Kobe, Silas and Nixon, Stacey (his speech teacher at Goessel), Amber, Shantel and Raelynn! 

Friday 6/16: We changed our church services to Saturdays at 4:30 pm to see if this better accommodates our brother Shurov and his situation. So no church today. Went to Aarongs and got some bigger dresses for Shania. Then went to Farmhouse Burger for lunch and then to UniMart for some groceries. Layton played with one of his friends in the evening. He’s getting quite an assortment of people to play with. I have thanked God so many times for them all. A child just simply needs other children to play with. It feels something in them that playing with mom and dad doesn’t. 

Saturday 6/17: Sumita came to clean, and Lucky came to cook! Lucky told me that at her other cooking job that she has been so hot while she cooks that she can wring sweat out of her orna. Thankfully now the electricity has been staying on since the one power plant got coal in, so I made sure she had the kitchen fan blowing on her while she cooked today. She made sweet and sour chicken, okra, then a mixture of potatoes, carrots and green beans, and then fried pumpkin. Earlier in the morning, I had went and bought a significant pile of vegetables to eat throughout the next week. I told Lucky to make her yummy okra and pumpkin so she did but she also used up all the other vegetables too! Oh well, I can always get more! She loves to try new things with what I have on hand. She rummages through the fridge, freezer and pantry and concocts quite the assortment of things! At 4:30 we had church. Shurov wasn’t able to come until 5. Was worried he wasn’t going to show up. He always get a a ride on one of the pickups to come to church and he had to wait 30 minutes for one as the streets were quite busy. He said “now I know why we have church on Fridays!” His father has said he can keep coming to church as long as we don’t have services on Fridays. Jared had some thoughts on how God can use our small amount of faith and multiply it into something bigger. He always worried that his thoughts out scattered. I tell him I think he does fine. Being able to only say a sentence at a time then having it interpreted would really rattle me too! Came home and made mango smoothies for supper. After Lucky’s big meals no one feels like eating. Seems like the rice just expands and expands in one’s stomach. 

Sunday 6/18: Jared had clinic. It was a quiet morning at home for the children and I. Layton and I played some games then he wanted to be teacher and play school. He made me a worksheet and I had to practice my numbers from 1-5.😂 so at least I have learned something while we are here! A cloudy morning… with some rain. Shania napped off and on seemed like she was feeling kinda lazy! Jared and I have noticed the past week or so that it looks like her hair is starting to have quite a red tint to it! Wonder if it will be auburn like Janalee’s? She is starting to recognize the three of us and just grins away and screeches when she sees us. Yesterday I had her sitting on my lap while we ate lunch and she got so excited! Kicked her little legs like crazy and waved her arms. Lucky was pretty sure it meant that she wanted some rice! She told me when she is 6 months old to mash up pumpkin and potatoes to feed her. This evening the AC technician was at the guesthouse to fix the old AC unit. Jared went over there and called and said “Kelly’s are here you should come over!” I totally forgot they were coming into town, so that was a neat surprise! 

“Story time with Grandma” (I miss you Penner!) This little girl was the recipient of Jamesport’s Bible School Money. Jared wrote this up so thought I’d share! 

Johana is an 8 year old girl that lives with her family in a cement apartment building in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Her father and mother own a small clothing business.

One day in December of 2022, Johana was playing outside in the rain. Nearby where she was playing, a pole was leaned up against an electrified power line. With the wet conditions, the pole became electrified and Johana accidentally touched it with her right arm. She was shocked by the electricity and got severe burns on her right arm. Her family rushed her to the hospital, where she stayed for about a month. After multiple skin grafts and surgical attempts to save her arm, it was decided that her right arm would have to be amputated about 3 inches below the elbow.

She has fought multiple infections and is now on daily antibiotic doses that cost about $10 USD per dose. Since December 2022, her family has racked up medical bills in excess of $7,000 USD. (This may not sound like a lot to Americans, but to Bangladeshis this amount can appear to be a large sum of money. The average worker in Bangladesh earns about $3,000 USD per year and many earn significantly less than that!) Her mother and father have had to go into debt to pay the medical bills.

As of May 2023, she has limited movement in her right elbow, but it is hoped that she will slowly regain strength in the remaining part of her arm. Once she regains enough strength, she will need an artificial arm or prosthesis.

Accidents like this are devastating to Bangladeshi families. Even though Johana is an otherwise normal little girl, this accident may prevent her from getting married or finding a good job when she comes of age. 

June 5-11, 2023

 Monday 6/5: This morning the paper said Dhaka government primary schools are canceled this week due to the heat. There is so much about power outages in the paper and the lack of fuel and coal. We don’t think an hour several times a day is that bad. Jon says though before the war in Ukraine Dhaka very seldom lost power. So when you compare it to that it has definitely increased! It was 95* in our apartment yesterday afternoon so I am glad the outages aren’t much more than an hour at a time. Layton and Shania nap with a fan blowing on them. It amazes me how when we are out and about how many people I see walking barefoot on all this hot cement! Doesn’t look like it bothers them that the ground is so hot. They must have very calloused feet. Some have asked if we have AC why we don’t run it all day when it’s so hot. These cement buildings aren’t insulated and it would be cost prohibitive to keep an apartment this size cool all day. So we just run them at night and shut our bedroom doors so that the cool air stays in. If Jared is doing paperwork in the afternoons he turns it on for awhile otherwise the fans blow his papers all over the place or he sticks to the chair from all the sweat. Sumita came and cleaned today. She cleaned the windows in Layton’s playroom within an inch of their lives. She put on a mask and wrapped her head all up in a red orna so that she wouldn’t get dusty and so her allergies wouldn’t flare up. Then she pulled down all the curtains and dumped them by the washer and said “onek moyla, poriskar lagbe didi!” (They are very dirty and need to be washed, sister) Tomorrow she is coming to wash all the windows in the teachers room. This apartment will be clean whether it wants to be or not. In the afternoon we were all a bunch of grumps for various reasons. I made everyone coke floats and then we all had some alone time in our respective rooms. When we are together all the time sometimes we just all need some space to breathe our own air! 😂 Paninna stopped in and picked up some jars for mango jelly. Around 2100 the car mechanic brought Elwood’s Scorpio back to the flat. Jared had him take it for a service and tire repair. Now Jared hopes to get it sold. It’s a white elephant vehicle here in Dhaka so hoping we can get a decent price for it. Selling a vehicle as a NGO here takes jumping through some hoops. You can’t just put a for sale sign in the window and park it by the road like you do at home. 

Tuesday 6/6: Sumita barely made it here to clean today. I thought she was going to have a heatstroke with as rough as she looked when she came in the door. As soon as she got here I made her sit in front of the fan and gave her water to drink. The air feels like pudding today. Very humid. But there’s hope! It’s suppose to cool off next week into the 90s and there’s high chances of rain for then as well. We shall endure!🤗 Made honey mustard chicken wraps for lunch. Didn’t feel like turning on the oven to bake something. Lanae wonders what character trait this heat is trying to teach us?! I thought maybe endurance.😂 they say your first summer here it seems pretty rough and then the next summer you don’t sweat quite as bad. Shania was fussy today. Only wanted mama to hold her and wouldn’t sleep unless she was laying on my chest. So that’s what I did! Life is short… soon she won’t want to hold still ever so I enjoy this sitting and holding her while she sleeps even if the timing is somewhat inconvenient at times! Layton on the other hand tends to have some jealousy when this occurs! I said “I did this for you when you were a baby too!” That settles it. Jared had clinic today. Only had 6 patients and then the power went out so they closed shop early. Sumita told me that she didn’t want to sing this evening if the power was off at the clinic, so we called right before it was time to leave. Power was on so off we went . We stopped and bought them some mangos and apples to cheer them up. (This heat and the current load sharing makes them anxious it seems like.) They don’t eat any fruit unless we buy it for them. Fruit is sort of a rich man’s food here. Often times if there aren’t patients at the clinic they won’t eat much meat either. After singing we stayed for awhile and waited for Tanvir to deliver the milk. The walk home was enjoyable! After the sun goes behind the apartments and it’s dusk it’s not too bad outside. 

Wednesday 6/7: Caught up on laundry. Didn’t get much of it done yesterday since the power kept going off. Think it went off 4 times at least, 3 of those for an hour. At 1 we got a rickshaw and headed to the clinic. Typically we walk there but with the heat this week we take a rickshaw so that Shania isn’t in the heat for too long. 115* real feel today… Jared and I pay the rickshaw drivers a little extra just because we really appreciate them hauling us around in this heat. They work hard that’s for sure. Their shirts are sopping wet from sweat on these morbidly hot days. Lunch at the clinic was amazing! Fried fish, egg curry, vegetable mixture, rice and dal. Her vegetable mixture is never the same. I always like to guess what’s in it. Today was snake gourd, carrots and something else that I couldn’t tell what it was. Josna was especially pleased because Jared took 2 eggs (“Duane boss ate three!”) and Layton liked the fish. His comment was “do these things (fish) have flippers to swim with like sharks?”😂 Whenever Shania cries during lunch all three ladies immediately say “Shania bhat lagbe?” (Does Shania need rice?) They think it’s hilarious. When Josna makes fish for lunch it’s always a topic of discussion about how many kg the fish weighed. This one was 3 kg. I told them Shania weighs 4.5 kg so they found that humorous. For a few weeks we’ve been kinda burned out on so much rice and spice but now we don’t mind it again! We eat pretty light bland meals the rest of the week to make room for the rice and spice the other 2 days of the week. While we were there a patient fromKishorganj came. Her daughter has some health issues. They needed milk so Jared gave them 12 bags. The lady was wearing a full burka with gloves. When the lady wasn’t listening I asked Josna if that black burka outfit wasn’t awfully hot? She laughed and shook her head and said “Muslim burca onek gorom!!!” (Very hot!) The fabric doesn’t look to be very thick but all black has got to be stifling. This lady only had her eyes showing. I almost felt naked beside her in my dress and orna! Got home and the power was off. We immediately shed any unnecessary clothing items and took naps. Later in the evening our neighbor across the hallway brought us some mangos! I need to take her something now in return. 

Thursday 6/8: Trevor’s came into Dhaka last night sometime! Jared needed to have a visit this evening with someone and it was felt it would be best to have more than one brother in on the visit. Trevor needed work done on their van anyway so they came into town for moral support and then Kelly came in by bus. In the morning I made granola and brownies before it got too hot. Trevor and Jared went and bought a new AC for the guesthouse. Some of these ACs are still the ones that Carl put in years ago! (Thank you Carl!) We had it serviced and cleaned out awhile ago put it still lacks luster. Doyle’s will be staying there for a few weeks when they first come to Dhaka so it is prudent to get the dears a good AC as the heat might be a slight change from Nova Scotia weather. Sumita came to clean like usual. Her and Layton spent time writing their names on paper. Layton wrote his and then she wrote hers in Bangla. I complimented Layton on how neat he had wrote his name. With him being a lefty it has been hard for him to write his name straight on the lines. Then with all the drama only a 6 year old can muster Layton said “it’s only taken me 10 years to learn how to do that!” In the afternoon we had a small rain shower and then the most delicious cool breeze came up. Jared and I just stood on the veranda and savored the coolness. It was truly amazing! I will never complain about wind ever again🤭 I told the guard how thankful I was for the “thanda batash” (cold wind) and he clapped his hands and smiled like only he can smile and “Kube bhalo batash!” Meanwhile while we were enjoying the breeze, one of the drivers was trying to teach a lady how to drive down in the courtyard. You very very seldom see ladies driving here. One day we saw a lady driving a cycle and that was really unusual. Out in the village you pretty much never see a lady driving. The women in Dhaka overtime are slowly becoming more “liberated.” The children and I went over to the guesthouse for the evening with Lisa and her kiddos while the men had their visit. We got pizza and then had the brownies I made earlier. Sent some to the men too for them to eat during their visit. Layton played and played. When we first came it totally overwhelmed him to play with the other children and now he just plays with his whole heart. Makes me so happy to see! The longer we are here the less overwhelmed he is by things. It is a relief to me. We’ve had to use a lot of tough love with him to help him overcome some of his fears and anxieties and it seems to be effective. He’s also becoming more independent and isn’t constantly wanting to be right beside me all the time. Kylie, Brock and Layton had the ripsticks out and were sitting on them and would zip down the parking garage ramp! The men stayed up late talking. I don’t mind when they do that, just glad that Jared can visit with other men. The children and I hit the hay. Kelly spent the night here at our apartment. 

Friday 6/9: Kelly left at 5 this morning and took the Dhaka cycle back to Golpaganj and then Trevor will pick it up from there and take it to Kulna. On the way to church this morning it was really muggy. Let’s just say that the humidity amplifies the odor coming from the trash wagons. Church was full this morning. The sisters, Miriam, Lucky, Trevor’s and us. A book seller and his wife came to the service too in hopes that we would buy some of their books. Later the wife asked Miriam if we could give her money to help her daughter get through school. Miriam told her we only give out money to the sick and to people needing operations. Seems like our white skin makes people think that we dish out the taka. After church we tried to tell the children “act as though you were in church at home.” This seemed to have little effect on the wall climbing and gate swinging. Honestly if we come home with children that act like savages we really did try to keep some semblance of rules and discipline while we were gone! Trying to remind your children how to act in church “like at home” seems strange though because there is no comparison between the two. Walked home from church in the rain. Soon after we got home it turned into a downpour. It was amazing! Coolness followed. The one man that lives in the apartments near by was out in the courtyard just walking back and forth back and forth enjoying the rain! On the way to the restaurant when we were going up the flyover a bunch of little boys had foam blocks and were putting them on the side of the road watching them float down the stream. Another guy was washing his hair under the rain pouring off a roof. A bunch of rickshaw drivers parked their bikes on the edge of the streets where the puddles were and were washing their rickshaws. Of course the cycles stop and park under any bridge they can find to take cover from the elements. This slows traffic and then causes jams! It’s fun seeing how the rain makes people so happy. I wonder if they will still be as enthused about the rain in a few months from now? The rickshaw drivers keep plastic under the seats to put over your laps when it rains. One of the drivers had a little head umbrella on his head. Us and Trevor’s went to Farmhouse Burger. It’s a real favorite of ours. Their burgers are interesting. One is a BBQ burger with a fried egg on top of the patty, another one has barbacoa beef and a crisp corn tortilla on top of the patty with a spicy dipping sauce. Their fries have Parmesan cheese and parsley on top.  Layton thought it was cold and I said you better enjoy the reprieve for the few hours that it’s cooler! By everning it was 78*. We spent awhile in the courtyard riding bike and walking. When it’s cool like this the electric is on pretty much all the time since they don’t need to load-share.

Saturday 6/11:  Sumita came to clean. Lucky wasn’t able to come cook… Shania took a long nap this morning. She slept all night last night for the first time. Woke up with a start and here it was almost 6 am! While Shania napped I spent time with Layton. Went and rode bike for awhile, did some worksheets with letters and numbers, etc. we stopped and bought some vegetables for the coming week. The dokan man was quite jovial. Probably because of the cooler weather. Usually he sits under his fan and in a drab weary voice he says “ki lagbe?” (What do you need?) Today he was up walking around, got me what I needed instead of making his grandson, and then talked to the children.😊 I don’t blame him… this cooler weather makes us all a lot happier! Sumita was cleaning the kitchen windows while I was making lunch. I had bought several eggplant. I have been hungry for Josna’s fried eggplant. Sumita showed me how to do it. Cut up the eggplant into thick slices. Put them in a steel bowl and sprinkle with turmeric and salt. Let sit for five minutes. Then heat up oil and fry on both sides for 2-3 minutes. Put on paper towel and sprinkle lightly with salt again. When she told me to put “holud” in with the eggplant and salt, I was so confused. I could not figure out what holud was. I quick used google translate and it said “yellow”. Then all of a sudden I thought turmeric!!! Turmeric is very yellow and sure enough, that’s what “holud” is. Thats my style of learning Bangla. This afternoon was cloudy and thundered ominously. We just had a relaxing afternoon and evening at home. Called some family… 

Sunday: This morning after Jared left for clinic, the children and I went out and about. I took two more 3 piece sets to the tailor for him to sew. Then Layton wanted to go to the clinic to see Josna and Sumita and daddy. Stopped in there, they didn’t have any patients right then so stayed for awhile. Watched Sumita cut up a chicken plus the feet. She said she would freeze the feet for later. Josna was busy cleaning the kitchen. That clinic is spotless! We headed off to the fruit dokan and got 5 kg of mangoes. I want to cut them up and freeze them for smoothies. Stopped off at the veggie dokan and then headed home. Today it’s cloudy and still cool (90*) from the rain.Now that’s it’s cooler we still sweat like crazy but it’s more from humidity then heat. I really enjoy going out. I don’t go many places without Jared, but I feel comfortable going to the tailors by myself. 

A clinic story… Trevor recently sent a baby to Dhaka from Kulna for Jared and Miriam to assess and potentially help. The baby was born with severe deformities to the face and mouth. I will not go into great detail because it was pretty bad. Jared said he wished he could unsee it. Upon giving birth the mother put the baby in a bread bag and put it in the trash. She fled elsewhere. Someone happened to be walking by and heard the baby crying. They took the baby out of the trash and took it to a nearby neighbor lady. The neighbor lady was no relation to the mother. She has been caring for the child ever since. She took to the baby to Trevor for assistance. He gave her some milk as no one expected the baby to live. Every time she came back for more milk Trevor noticed the baby was getting bigger and growing despite the severe deformities. He had to increase the amount of milk to give her, so he decided to send them here to Dhaka to see if surgery would be beneficial. Miriam says they will cut the skin from over the eyes “to see if the eyes are alive.” The baby has hydrocephalus so it needs a shunt to drain the fluid from the brain. However due to the oral cavity being so deformed it is unsure if anesthesia and intubation is even possible. Often times when the oral and nasal cavity is so mishappened they are unable to advance an airway. Sometimes their throat is too small so they have to wait until the baby get older. Wish this baby could just fall asleep for a nap and go to see Jesus. Keep it from all the suffering! Anyways, just thought I’d share that story. We get occasional updates on some of the children that we see. We spent the evening at the guesthouse with Trevor’s. The men fixed some plumbing problems. 

May 29 - June 4, 2023

 Monday 5/29: Jared had clinic this morning. He only had 15 instead of the usual 30. Sumita came to clean. I spent most of the day on the couch or in bed with a stomach issue. In the afternoon the children and I slept for 2 hours! Layton has started taking naps with me again. Seems like he feels more secure that way. Jared went to Farmgate for some clinic things. While he was there he endeavored to find the tailor that Elwood used for his shirts. Need to get him some shirts made. It’s amazing how quick they wear out here. The armpits get all crusty like… Took it easy the rest of the day while my guts felt like they had been turned inside out and backwards. Layton was the sweetest, he made me water with a lime wedge in it and told me “take 5 sips every so often. It’ll help speed things up!”😂 He’s been going down every evening to play with 3 older children in the courtyard. They do all sorts of crazy stunts. Give each other rides on their bikes, chase the apartment complex cat, play bike tag, etc. I’m so thankful he has the three children to play with. Today one of the kids was handing out Canadian Smarties! The other day he came upstairs all in a huff and said “these kids talk so fast I can’t understand a word they say!” They all talk some form of English. I just stand on the veranda and watch him play down there. 

Tuesday 5/30: Woke up feeling like a new woman. Which is good because “the show must go on.” Jared had clinic. 20 patients today… At 5 we went to the clinic for singing. Sang for almost an hour. Went to Parktown for supper. No rain stopped us this time! Air conditioning and good food… what more can a person want?! Layton wanted to take a CNG home so we did. I’m slowly getting used to them but still feel like a dog in a cage while riding in those things sometimes. They don’t have shocks so when one is lurching over speed bumps and dodging potholes in a narrow alley one feels like one is in a boat rocking on a tumultuous sea. One day while we were out and about we saw a pink CNG… it was cuter than a bug’s ear! 

Wednesday 5/31: Jared and Jon went to the visa office this morning to pay for Trevor’s work permit. Jared has to take their passports back in a week or two to get the appropriate stamps put in them. Then they will officially be here legally… 1 1/2 years later! Hopefully Jared will get his security clearance soon so his work permit can be issued. Went to the clinic for lunch. Josna made the usual… chicken curry. When we go out, the short guard tells me that I need to cover Shania’s head to protect her from the heat and then the tall guard tells me that I should uncover her so that she gets Vitamin C! Layton informed me this morning that it made him feel loved when I made him good food. So endeavoring to be a good mom, I whipped him and Jared up a chocolate cake while Shania napped. The rest of the day was unremarkable. Jared did end of month bookwork… we are having another heatwave so afternoons and evenings are spent inside under the fan! Layton has gotten all enthused about his Magna Tiles and Legos again and spends hours building with them. Or we’ve play Sorry. These heatwaves seem to last for about 2 weeks then it rains and cools off for about a week and then the cycle starts over. They have been shutting off the electricity for an hour 2-3 times a day to conserve energy. Bangladesh has the capacity to have power all the time but due to the fuel shortage they are unable to do so. We don’t mind the short outages. Now that the battery backup is fixed we still have three fans that can run and a light or two. 

Thursday 6/1: June! Layton clothespinned a sheet onto a pedestal fan and turned the fan on as high as it would go. This resulted in a big bubble. He spent quite a bit  of time in his “tent.” Put a light in there and everything! Made granola this morning. It’s interesting to cook when it’s so warm. Frozen meat thaws quickly, butter can go from frozen to squishy soft in a very short amount of time… Layton left a cup of milk out one afternoon. It stayed out overnight and it turned to yogurt consistency by morning. Who needs an Instant Pot to make yogurt? 😂Jon and Paninna invited us for lunch today! Haven’t seen her much since we quit our language classes. Their daughter is in medical school and has the week off so they wanted us to come over so they could see the baby. As always she cooked so much food. Fried chicken, fried fish, beef curry, shrimp curry, egg curry and pilau rice. For dessert she had strawberry and vanilla ice cream and then after dessert she cut up mangos yet. We were so full!! I royally embarrassed myself on the way there. We got there and rang their apartment bell. When Paninna’s brother George came to let us in at the ground level, we had to go up 5 flights of stairs. On the 4th flight I tripped and fell while I was holding Shania. You can imagine the scene that caused. Shania wasn’t hurt at all because I managed to keep ahold of her the whole time. I quick jumped up and said “bhalo bhalo!” (Good good) But when we got to their apartment George told Panina that I tripped and she was in a tizzy! Again I said we were all fine. Jon was annoyed that their electricity had went off during the night. He said it was so hot that he went to market first thing and bought a battery backup system like we have. I was glad to hear that he thought it was hot too, made me feel like I’m not such a pansy! We really enjoyed visiting with their family. Jon has traveled all over the world so he has a-lot of interesting things to say and viewpoints.  We didn’t stay long after lunch because Shania was getting fussy. Came home and took it easy. Smoothies for supper because who feels like eating when you have a belly full of rice? We needed something light “to fill in the cracks” like Layton says! 

Friday 6/2: Shania is two months! Feels like a lot of water has went under the bridge since she was born. Sometimes I wonder why I’m so tired in the evenings and then I have to remind myself that she is only two months old. I told Jared it feels like she ought to be at least 6 months old. Anyways… church this morning! Jared and I had a good chuckle this morning as we were getting ready to leave. He has started carrying sweat rags with him to the clinic, because the electric will go off and it will be absolutely sweltering in there with all the people and not one speck of a breeze. So when we go to church now, into the diaper bag goes a sweat rag in the event of a power outage! Plus a big thermos of ice cold water. I wondered if anyone is doing that at Hesston for church?😂 Jared’s inspiration was on the story of Lazarus rising from the dead. Miriam and Sumita took turns reading the scriptures in Bangla. We pray that they receive some sort of small inspiration from our service since we don’t have an interpreter at this time. So thus why Jared has them read the Bangla scriptures out loud. There was a mom staying at the clinic with a little boy this morning. He came to have a palatal lesion fixed. He was absolutely the cutest little thing. About 2.5 years old. I wanted to take him home with me! I rubbed his bristly hair and he just stood there absolutely stock still. As long as I didn’t look at him he was ok.😄Jared gave them some milk, money and meds before they left. They looked like really clean people. She wanted to hold Shania so I let her hold her during church since they were sitting in on our service. Went to Lola’s for lunch then went to UniMart. It amazes Jared and I how incredibly rude some of the foreigners in the Gulsane area are to these Bengalis. We’ve seen it several times… a foreigner will be rude and insulting when asking one of the UniMart workers where something is or when we were at Lola’s last there was a foreigner in there being snotty with the waiters because his food took longer than 15 minutes to make. We try to be extra courteous and respectful so they don’t think all foreigners are like that! Came home and took naps. This heat saps our energy. After supper we played our usual round of Sorry. Layton went down to play with the kids but came up every 5 minutes or so to get a cold drink or sit and cool off. Shania wanted to be held and walked around so that’s how the rest of the evening went. Every evening in his bedtime prayers Layton thanks God for “sending us Shania.” My heart… 🥹❤️

Saturday 6/3: Been in Bangladesh 7 months!🇧🇩 For once I was mostly caught up with things around the house. Or maybe there’s something I’m forgetting! So spent time just holding Shania and talking with Layton. Did some alphabet practice with Layton to keep his mind off the heat. He’s been having a lot of little fears since we came here. One of them is the electricity going out. I was so proud of him this morning because the power went out for an hour and he just kept on playing in the living room even though I was nowhere around him! The living room was fairly dark even. He used to would have yelled and came running for me and not leave my side until it came back on. We are proud of progress being made! Him and I went to get fruit this morning. The water trucks were out watering the streets. Not sure if it was to keep the dust down or because of the heat? We stood and watched until we started becoming a stumbling block on the sidewalk. This afternoon I took Layton down to ride bike. We noticed in the parking garage there was a BMW. Rather unusual for Siza Court. The guard saw us looking at it and said “onek dam!” (Very expensive!) and then “onek taka!” (Much money). The driver was standing nearby and looked quite pleased with this observation. 

Sunday 6/4: Jared had clinic today, he saw 30 patients. The children and I went to the tailor to pick up my 3 pc. It fit very well so I’ll take him the other 2 that I have sitting here waiting. I got some beef chunks for beef curry but Lucky didn’t come Saturday so I cut it up and trimmed it and put it in the crockpot with potatoes and carrots for supper. By the time I trimmed all the fat and gristle off and picked out the bones there wasn’t much meat left. When it had been in the crockpot for several hours the meat was actually pretty good. Not fall of the bone quite but good enough! I really miss Jared’s grass fed beef that we had at home! We can get good ground beef here but seems like anything else is tough and chewy. 

Dhaka CSI Project Explanation

 Dhaka Health Project

CSI rents a 5 room office/flat in Monipuripara, Dhaka for running its health project. It is the ground floor of a 4 story apartment building. The building is old, but in fairly good condition. The streets are about 16 feet wide in front of the building. Sometimes the sewer drains get plugged up, so at times, we have to be careful about stepping into “puddles”. The CSI clinic/office is about a 15 minute walk from the CSI House (about 0.4 mile). Walking to the clinic means navigating busy sidewalks and streets. Occasionally the streets are so jammed, that it is even hard to walk.

Two church sisters live in a room of the flat and help with managing patient’s, which includes cleaning the office/flat, cooking two meals a day for the patients that are staying the night at the clinic, educating patients on clinic policy, helping take care of the babies, etc. Babies that are in Dhaka for Cleft Palate or Lip repair can stay at the clinic in a large communal room. The sisters also cook Wednesday lunch for the missionaries. This lunch is eaten in the clinic/office room at the table. The baby’s mother or female caregiver is allowed to stay with them. The communal room is about 18 foot x 12 foot and has a small cabinet for supplies and 4 double sized metal beds with hard mattresses. There is an adjoining bathroom. We can keep up to four sets of patients at a time, but there are times when up to six sets have stayed at a time. This is rare and most times, only one or two sets of patients are staying at a given time.

On the way to the clinic, on a busy sidewalk, a poor lady lives under a tarp. She sells flowers that are spread on top of a pallet. There is a fruit shop that sells all sorts of fruit; apples, bananas, mangos, pineapples, dates, oranges, melons, jackfruit (looks like an oblong hedge apple, but about 4-5 times the size), grapes, pomegranates, coconuts, lichu (looks like a strawberry, but the skin is peeled off to eat it), etc. Close to the fruit shop, there are several cigarette vendors. They sell cigarettes and plain tobacco leaves from a table. Many people smoke, so they usually are always busy. There is also a tea and biscuit vendor at the corner of the street.

The buildings in Monipuripara average about 6 story’s tall, which lets in more sunlight than some other areas of Dhaka. It is estimated that there are around 2.5 million buildings in Dhaka and many of those are over 4 story’s tall.

The office/clinic is a 18 foot x 12 foot room that opens onto a 3 foot x 30 foot patio. The gate into the apartment is about 2 feet wide. There are windows on two sides of the room. The patio is covered, which allows patients to wait in a comfortable, albeit small, place. There is one ceiling fan, and two wall-mounted fans in the room. Surprisingly, it does not get too hot, due to being well-shaded by taller buildings on all sides. But there are days when we all sweat a lot, especially if the power goes out, which happens at least twice a week. On the far side of the room, there is a 12 foot x 7 foot tall cabinet. Medicine, powdered milk and various other supplies are stored in this cabinet. The doctor sits behind a table opposite the cabinet in the corner of the room. In the middle of the room, in front of the cabinet, a desk is placed. The project director and the nurse sit at this desk. We have a weight scale, BP cuff, stethoscope and thermometer for patient assessment. The doctor is the one that assesses the patient. The nurse does not take BP or temperature. Once the doctor is ready to see patients, she calls out the number and the patient comes in and sits down on a chair at the table. The doctor assesses the patient and writes prescriptions accordingly. Most patients come in with mild complaints, like back aches, headaches, knee pain, itching, fungal skin infections, eye problems, and of course, cleft palate/lip, etc. Some come asking for financial assistance for major medical problems such as surgeries, medical supplies, medicine, etc. Once the doctor is finished seeing the patient, the patient record is given to the project director and assistance is given, if applicable. We keep a small stock of about 100 different medications; antibiotics, anti-fungal creams, cough meds, Tylenol, BP meds, a few cardiac meds, diabetes meds, a few anti-psychotics, vitamins, lice cream, de-worming medicine, etc. The policy is to usually allow the patient’s to come every other month and if they are poor to supply them with 1 months’ supply of medication. They are then supposed to buy the second months’ supply themselves. If the patient is pregnant, has Cerebral Palsy or other serious chronic diseases, or has cancer, we allow them to come once a month. In these cases, we will give either all of their required medications, or give them a 20 day supply once a month, depending on circumstances (if they are poor, we help them more). Most meds are sold in packs of ten, so this means they have to buy one strip of their medications. This is called making the patient’s put skin in the game... If they come asking for assistance with medical bills, we try to help some. Especially if we sense that they are poor. If it is a serious problem, we may give them up to 12,000 Bangladeshi taka (or roughly $118 USD). We usually only give money to those that have proper cash receipts or memos from the doctor or hospital.

We also stock powdered milk and baby formula. We usually only give this to malnourished children and/or cleft palate/lip babies and children. If budget allows, we like to give each cleft palate/lip baby up to 12 boxes (500 grams) of formula once per month. Sometimes this is possible, but sometimes there are so many babies, we can only give 6- 8 boxes of formula. We try to prioritize giving to those who are underweight, which usually means the mother/father are too poor to buy formula.

When we arrive at 9:45 am on clinic days, there are usually several patients waiting in line. They are each given a numbered card. Most patients are courteous and are honest about who is first. We usually see 20-30 patients in 3 hour period. We operate 10:00 am to 1:00 pm on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.

There are many poor people in Bangladesh, which consequently means that we cannot help everyone, but we try to do our part. 

Jared Regehr 

May 2023 

May 22-28, 2023

 Monday 5/22: Jared had clinic today. Since we didn’t have clinic last week or yesterday he was really busy today. He really enjoys the clinic. He says it’s getting easier for him to say no to the patients that seem to just be there for the handouts. Sometimes they get perturbed when they get turned down or they think they don’t enough financial help. Miriam says “they should not be annoyed! We give much taka to them.” It was a normal day for me. This evening Jared grilled up all the chicken I had marinating. Layton was all excited because he thought it was all for supper. He said “mom it smells so delicious!” We let him have some. If he is asking to eat meat we let him!!!!! Watched the airplanes for awhile too while we were up on the roof. With there being more of a breeze and more rain lately the air is definitely clearer so it’s easier to see the planes. Sometimes you just hear them roaring above and can’t see them. Our mango trees in the backyard are loaded with mangoes. Unfortunately they are all out of our reach from our veranda. The drivers and moyla ladies have been going back there and picking them up off the ground. One day we kept hearing this loud boom in the backyard. Every time we raced to the back veranda to see what it was because it was quite loud. We never could see anything. Finally we realized it was the mangos hitting the tin roof of a shack back there😂 Sumita just laughed at us jumping! Loud crashing noises make both Jared and I jump… must be the nurse in us still. There’s a new mango dokan that just went up beside our regular fruit dokan. Looks like they have several different kinds. 

Tuesday 5/23: Layton could hardly stand it that Shania slept in this morning. “Mom can’t I pick her up?” She is over 10# and 21 inches long. Her legs and arms are starting to get little fat creases in them! Guess I don’t need to worry whether or not she is getting enough to eat. Wish I could get Layton to put on some weight. Jared called mid morning and needed some things at the clinic. We took a rickshaw there since it was so hot. Layton said “are you sure you know how to tell the driver how to get to the clinic?” I said “sure I do!” Several of them know where the clinic is and you just tell them “office.” He is rather doubtful of my abilities at times. Don’t blame him.😂 I am too sometimes. 😂 on the way there we met Tanvir with a load of milk for the clinic. He was finally able to see Shania. He’s been bugging Jared to send him a picture of her. We didn’t stay long. Came home and did random things. Had singing this evening at the clinic. I was really looking forward to going since we missed last week. All the usual ladies were there except Miriam. We were right in the middle of singing a song towards the end and the electricity went out! So that was the end of that. The wind picked up and it rained and rained. We stayed for awhile hoping it would let up but finally we just left. We made a dash for home in the downpour and got home absolutely soaked to the bones. Layton thought it was all quite an adventure😂 We were going to go to Parktown for supper since we haven’t been there for a long time. Thought corn soup, spring rolls and some cashew chicken sounded heavenly! I didn’t want Shania to get drenched on the ride there so we just came home. When it rains in Dhaka the streets fill up with water pretty quick! Not flood style really but huge puddles so we got our puddle splashing in. One tries not to think of what could all be in the puddles. Thankfully we had brought a huge umbrella with us and Jared had me use it to protect the baby. Trying to dodge between cars, rickshaws and not bumping into other people’s umbrellas proved to be quite a task. I got the umbrella hooked on a gate once. Once we got back to the main road we had the sidewalk to ourselves. I told Jared it was probably the only time that would ever happen! . Ended up making grilled cheese sandwiches and egg drop soup for supper when we finally got home. Jared thought it was good comfort food for a rainy evening. It really cooled down which was enjoyed by all! The guard told Jared “boss! Ekhon thanda!!” (now it’s cold!) With the slightest change in weather or temperature or wind it seems like everyone comments about it being or getting “thanda.” 

Wednesday 5/24: Woke up to an absolutely beautiful morning! Layton and I went down to the courtyard right after breakfast and played badminton and rode bike for awhile. Jared went to Gulsane to an office somewhere to drop off a packet to get Shania’s “born abroad” paperwork started. After he got home I went to the tailor. Dropped off a 3 piece to get sewn. I’ve been putting off going there for weeks. Been worried that my Bangla isn’t good enough to convey how I wanted it sewed! Sumita finally told me I better go soon before the 2nd Eid comes (the end of June) otherwise it might be awhile until the tailor can sew it. It went better than I thought. I had written down all the phrases that I needed to know beforehand so that really helped. Lanae and Lisa helped me with some of the phrases because I wanted him to sew the pants a certain way. When it comes to having a tailor sew for you there’s so many details that need to be discussed it seems like! I told him round neck, short sleeves, long kameeze and elastic in the waist on the pants. If it turns out ok I’ll take him two more to sew. It’s the same tailor that Amber used so I’m pretty confident he’ll do a good job. This winter I’m going to have him sew some actual dresses for me, as my postpartum ones are getting plenty big on me. When we got to the clinic for lunch I told Sumita I had finally taken my 3 piece there to get sewn. She laughed and thought that was funny. She saw the receipt in my purse and wanted to know how much he charged. I said 500 taka. She was horrified! She told Josna and Miriam that the tailor charged me way too much and that her tailor only charges 300 taka maybe 350 if you ask for piping on the edge of your kameeze. I just listened because not too long ago Miriam was griping that the sisters and her took their clothes to their tailor and “he has no brains” was how the story ended.😂😂 So I’d rather pay more and have things turn out than not. I said he probably charged me that much because I’m a foreigner. They thought that was probably true. 😊 Anyways I’ll go pick up my 3 piece next week some time. Josna made chicken curry for lunch. It was as good as always! Spent the evening at home doing home things. 

Thursday 5/25: Got the teacher room ready this morning for the girls last stay in Dhaka! Kinda sad… after they leave it will be quite awhile until there are teachers in Bangladesh again. Lisa is going to teach her children next year and I’m going to teach Layton kindergarten. Doyle’s won’t need a teacher for awhile for their girl. So probably no teacher until Layton starts first grade. Jon brought over the teachers passports with their exit visa stamped in them for the teachers for tomorrow when they fly out. Got some encouraging news in regards to some paperwork about getting funds released. The children and I went and ran errands for awhile in the morning. In the evening Kelly’s, Trevor’s and the teachers all came over. Jared got pizza from the Pizza Hut, Lanae brought brownies and Lisa brought a salad with REAL LETTUCE! If you ever want to see a bunch of happy CSI people… pizza and ice cream and being together usually does the trick! 

Friday 5/26: I typically focus on only sharing the positive things of our lives and leave out the negative and the struggles. Some have said they wished they knew when we were struggling so they knew to pray extra for us.  It’s hard for me to share when the challenging times arise because I don’t want anyone to get the impression that we aren’t happy here or such like! But life is real here just like at home. Pray for the church in Bangladesh. Seems like there’s several members that are down or discouraged. Pray specifically for the ones that have chosen to not attend church, those on repentance, those that used to be members. In a culture like Bangladesh it’s not easy to be a Christian. Pray for the missionaries that are supposed to be leading the congregations and encouraging the discouraged ones. We feel like children some days and wonder how we are supposed to have the wisdom and maturity to know how to answer their questions. Some times it seems like God called us here for our own sanctification and personal growth. In the end we all are just helping and walking each other home. On the bright side… today church was full! We could have used an overflow! Kelly’s, Trevor’s and the teachers worshipped with us… Miriam came and who should come with her but Lucky herself.😊 Made my heart so happy to see her there. The singing was beautiful. Had 4 part harmony… really miss congregational singing like that at home. Kelly had the message in Bangla. He had Sumita read the verses in Bangla for him. There were two patients and their mamas at the clinic so they peaked in with wide eyed wonder at all the Bedesis having church. The one little boy had already had his cleft palate operation and he was just crying and crying. He was so hungry for rice like he saw his mom eating but all he could have was milk! I felt sorry for the poor little fellow. I was in the kitchen changing Shanias diaper and I turned around and there were the mamas lined up just watching me! Ater church we all went to Farmhouse Burger for lunch and then to UniMart. While we were waiting for them to ground up some beef for us they offered us some oxtail. We declined. We enjoy trying new foods but oxtail seemed a bit much. There was a young guy making cotton candy for free so all the kids lined up to get some. I don’t know why kids enjoy that stuff. Basically a sweet spider cobweb. 🤢 Layton was thrilled because he’s been begging for some ever since he saw the boys selling it on the street. In the evening we all ended up at the guesthouse and bugged the teachers about how much luggage they had! When it was time to leave they put their American head coverings on. Miss Kalli put on the same dress that she was wearing when she came 2 years ago. It was a bit shorter than the ones she wore here!😂 It was hard to see the girls go. I will really miss them coming and going when they came into Dhaka. Was so fun to be with young girls again! Felt like I was with my manor girls again when they were around. When we hugged them goodbye Layton was very worried that his Thomas and Krista were leaving. I assured him that not yet not for a few months! 

Saturday 5/27: Sounds like the teachers flights are going well. In the morning Jared and Jon went to the auditors office. (AGAIN!) They’ve about wore their own trail there.😂 Jared says there’s about 10 apprentices that do all the work. Looks quite tedious. So it’s no wonder that there’s been so many mistakes made with that many students. But they have to learn somehow. They thought about switching accountants but not every accountant here in Dhaka knows how to do the books for an NGO like us. Their trip there was somewhat of a dry run. Mid morning the children and I went over to the guesthouse. Lisa Lanae and I were going to go through some dishes, books and things that Elwoods left there from Rajshahi. Wanted to get all of the boxes taken care of before Doyle’s come. I had to abort the mission early because Layton wasn’t feeling well. We came home and I tucked him into bed and gave him his favorite hot cocoa. Shania was fussy so finally I gave up getting anything done so all three of us piled into our bed and remained there for awhile and listened to the thunderstorm that rolled through. Lately Shania will only nap if someone is holding her. The past few days her aunties have been making sure that that isn’t a problem. When I went to the guesthouse this morning, Marci met me at the street and asked for Shania before any one else could.😂 As soon as Jared got home he headed to the clinic. The sisters were having problems with the water system there. A pipe was leaking so Jared hoofed it to Farmgate but the shop was closed so he went and bought a bunch of jugs of drinking water until he can get the right part. After naps Layton seemed to be feeling better so we all headed back to the guesthouse for round 2 of decluttering and preparing. So many of the books are all rippled and worn from the humidity here. Going to give them to the moyla ladies or the caretaker to recycle and get some extra taka. Lucky came and she took quite a lot of things for herself and to take back to her village. By the time we were done it everyone seemed pretty weary so we invited them all for supper. Whitney came home with me and she made tortillas and fresh salsa and I got out the grilled chicken Jared had grilled earlier in the week. Cut the meat thin and sautéed peppers and onions… it made delicious fajitas! After supper we sang for awhile… it gave us a boost! The men had been tracking the teachers flight from Singapore to San Francisco. Right before they landed in California we messaged them and sang them the first verse of “The Star Spangled Banner” to welcome them home. 🥰 

Sunday 5/28: Jared was at clinic like usual… I spent the morning doing laundry, dishes and trying to get my life somewhat organized for the coming week. Trevor and Kelly were both over to get various things they needed. Trevor is going to send our Dhaka cycle back to Kulna by train and then Jared is going to find an electric bike. We just don’t need that big of a cycle here in Dhaka. We either take the van or go by CNG or rickshaw if we go somewhere that’s too far to walk. CNGs will take you quite a distance. Spent the rest of the day doing usual things. 

May 15-21, 2023

 Monday 5/15: We left Chitra Resort around noon. It was such a beautiful morning before we left! Went and swung in the hammocks by the river and watched the sand boats go by… had breakfast there at the kitchen. Potato balls, veggie mixture, a sweet rice cake of some sort, tortillas and a fried egg. It was edible😊 Kelly’s went back to Golpaganj and we followed Trevor’s home back to Kulna. We had never been there yet! So fun to see all the sights while driving. It looks like in these villages a person can do about anything if you have bricks and bamboo poles. Drove past a brick kiln… piles and piles and piles of bricks. Layton took a much needed nap on the drive. He has been playing HARD the past few days. Got to Trevor’s around 2:30 and unloaded the cars. Had lunch and then crashed for awhile. Around 7 we decided to go to Kulna for fuska and chotpoti. We all hopped on vans. (Flatbed rickshaws with electric motors). Took three of them to haul all of us!! Trevors convinced their guard to come too. Layton was pretty nervous about the ride but as long as he held my hand he was fine. It was about a 20 minute ride into town. Taking a rickshaw is fun because you go at a slow enough speed that you can enjoy the scenery. Every village house has rows of poo sticks either leaning up against their fence or stacked up in a shack. Sticks with cow manure pressed around them that are then dried and used for the cooking fires. Laundry on the fences or hanging off the porches, naked babies running around, ducks, mama hens and their chicks scratching on the road, goats and their offspring trotting around, cows tied to trees and grazing on the sides of the road. Eventually we pulled up to the restaurant dokan and sat down at a table outside where everyone else was sitting. We hadn’t even been sitting for 5 minutes and all of a sudden a ferocious wind came up out of nowhere and just blew like mad. (Welcome Cyclone Mocha) Stuff started blowing around and people took off running for shelter. A big transformer blew not far from where we were so there was a crash and a loud boom. We all grabbed the children and ran inside the dokan and crammed as many in there as could fit. When they saw Lisa and I with the children they emptied a table for us to sit at. Lisa took Shania so I could take care of Layton. Storms of any kind frighten him considerably so he needed to be close to me for awhile. It soon started pouring like crazy but oh boy the cool breeze after the wind settled was absolutely divine! The rickshaw drivers were going to wait for us to eat and then take us back home but with the rain and uncertain wind, Jared and Trevor rode back to the house and brought the van back. The rest of us stayed in the dokan and ordered our food and some for the men. The chotpoti is a soup made of potatoes, chickpeas, onion and kaj morich. Fuska is a crispy shell filled with potatoes and then topped with chutney and sliced eggs. They served it with a sweet sauce and some sour sauce. It was really good. We asked them for some that wasn’t quite so spicy but it was still pretty stout! But if it didn’t have spice it wouldn’t have half the flavor that it does so one just drinks lots of water or sprite to cool your mouth off!!  Got back to Trevor’s and the current was out for awhile. Thankfully I had thought to clothespin my laundry on Lisa’s clothesline on the roof. With that wind I wasn’t sure if our clothes were floating in a nearby river or not but they were mostly all still up on the line. Took us awhile to unwind from the events but eventually we all drifted to bed. 

Tuesday 5/16: Jared went with Trevor to his clinic for the morning. They closed at 1230 and then came home for lunch. Us ladies and children just stayed at home. The girls held Shania all morning and Lisa and I talked quite a-bit. It was fun having some lady time with another lady that talks English😂 In the evening we went and walked along the River. It was a beautiful walk. The water was pretty choppy because of the wind. Saw a bunch of big sand boats and barges. We walked along until we came to Shanto and Shottis. They are both members. They have 2 older boys (youth age) and a younger boy. She was collecting her ducks and putting them in for the night when we got there. Lisa and I went with her to get her goats. They are like her babies. In the winter she makes little coats for them to wear. She herded them up into a little shack that’s right beside her kitchen. In her kitchen she has a window that opens up into the goat shack so she can check on them during the night! They all have names… Penny, Tyson, Lulu, the rest where Bangla names that I couldn’t understand. She made us cini cha (hot sweet tea) and then some fried patties out of dal flour and shredded carrots. The other dish was potatoes and dal mixed together and put in something that looked like a wonton wrapper. I enjoyed them both! She also had a mustard sauce to dip them in. They just fell in love with Shania. Shanto always wanted a little girl so he just held and held her. (We found out that “shani” (shu-nigh) is Hindu for flute! So several times when we were out and about at Golpaganj and Kulna people would mention about the flute when they heard her name. Found that interesting!) While we were there the wind picked up and in came the rain just like the previous night! We all stayed in their house and sat on their bed. Shanto wanted to sing so we did for awhile while one of the boys took Trevor back to the house to get the van. (We had taken rickshaws into town) One of his boys had a big plastic tote with the cutest little ducklings he was raising to sell. There are so many ducks all over out here. We haven’t had the pleasure yet of “sampling” duck yet. On the way home we stopped at a gas station for octane for the generator. There were cycles and trucks parked there waiting for the rain to let up. We noticed under one of the trucks about 6 guys were crouched under it taking shelter from the downpour!  We came home and sat around and ate and talked for awhile. 

Wednesday 5/17: We left Trevor’s around 10 and got back to our Dhaka apartment around 2:30 pm. It was wonderful to go where there was green fields and peace and quiet but coming back to the city to our home was great! The drive went smoothly. Drove through some heavy rain but it was short lived. Layton asked every little bit “are we at the Padma Bridge yet?” Crossing the Padma Bridge is always a highlight. Seeing all the boats, etc. At Eid they opened the bridge up to motorcycles and ever since they continue to let them come across. Before they had trucks waiting at either end that would load the cycles and their drivers up and haul them across and drop them off. Got home and unpacked and started some laundry. Now that it’s getting more humid I have to do laundry almost every day other wise any thing damp or wet in the basket starts to stink. Didn’t have a lot to wash since I had done laundry at Lisa’s. It was cool enough we opened the windows to let some fresh air in! Layton and I went down to the courtyard to ride bike for awhile since it was nice. The new children that moved in the next door apartment were down there as well. They could speak decent English. I had to laugh because I overheard them calling each other “scaredy cat!!” Sounded so strange to hear a Bengali using an American term like that. Both Shania and Layton were ready for bed before 9. All the fun times wore them out. Shania loved all her aunties holding her so much the past week. It appears as though she expects that sort of treatment to continue… 

Thursday 5/18: Today was a day of odd jobs. Made granola, did laundry, bought vegetables. The vegetable man seems to keep an eye on who I am buying things from. If he sees me buying from the veggie man outside the gate he makes sure to remind me that his vegetables are good and don’t I need milk and eggs? And he makes sure I know he has the good milk available! If I go to carebox he tells me he has laundry soap and hand soap available too.😂 Went to the pharmacy for more diapers. Last time I went I bought a package of what I thought was small diapers. Didn’t realize they were pull-ups. Never seen such a tiny pull up. The package said it was for 4 kg babies which is Shania’s size so I just assumed it was diapers! In the states you can’t even buy pull-ups until the toddler sizes. I mentioned it to Lanae because I thought it kinda strange and she said a-lot of people here like pull ups on their babies instead of diapers. (If they even wear them in the first place!) so now I have learned to make sure they are diapers and not pull ups! Who know buying diapers could be tricky?! The battery backup guy came and checked out our IPS system since it hasn’t been working. The batteries are old and “damaged.” So we need to get new batteries. Another thing to replace😞 in case your wondering where your CSI money goes!😂 In the evening Shurov came over for cookies and sweet tea. Layton and I worked on some alphabet worksheets and then went and enjoyed the cooler weather outside. Shania always falls asleep anytime we go outside. Probably because I’m holding her. 💗

Friday 5/19: church this morning. Jared’s thoughts were on prayer and finding our secret closet. Josna thought Shania looked bigger! She’s definitely been eating and sleeping more during the day. She’s almost ready for 0-3 month clothes. Jared and I have been talking about what we miss the most. We both decided it was going to Sunday school. Layton says it’s “mornings in Kansas.” I asked him what he meant and he said “the dew on the grass!” Went to Farmhouse for some good burgers and fries. Headed to UniMart. Trevor’s and Kelly’s come into town next week to drop the teachers off at the airport so wanted to get some extra meat in case they all want to come over. If not then I’ll just have extra in my freezer which is never a bad thing.😊 Jared likes to grill chicken for me to freeze on days when it’s cooler. Came home and the children and I took long naps. Spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on laundry, tidying the house etc. Seems like I’m not as organized and efficient as I was at home so trying to learn to give myself grace in this new season of life. I have to tell myself I also didn’t have a new baby at home either. 

Saturday 5/20: Lucky came to cook today. That is always a relief to me when she comes. One less meal for me to think about. She made dal, rice, chicken and then a unique vegetable mixture. It has papaya, long beans, carrots and chichinga in some kind of sauce with toasted garlic on the top. It was really good! She had me buy 10 kaj morich so I was wondering if it was going to be something extra spicy or what she was going to cook up. (I let her cook whatever she wants… she’s pretty creative. Plus it’s a good way for us to keep trying different foods here.) Our stomachs have all been upset lately especially Layton’s so that was why I was concerned. But when lunch was served it wasn’t any more spicy than usual so I was glad! It’s fun to see what all she comes up with. She is a cook at her other job too. She was telling us that her village house lost the tin off its roof in the wind from the cyclone. After lunch we all took naps. This hot weather seems to make us all more tired than usual! Hopefully next year we all are better acclimated to it. We are slowly getting used to it though. Now it’s in the low 90s but the humidity has definitely increased! At night it cools off in the 80s which is so nice because then the apartment cools overnight and then in the morning when we get up and leave our bedrooms it’s not so stifling! 

Sunday 5/19: Jared and Jon went to the Visa office “first thing” this morning to get the teacher’s exit visas. (First thing in the morning in Bangladesh is 10 AM!) Jon has been there twice last week to get them and he didn’t have much luck. So today they seemed to have more luck and were able to get what they needed. The IPS man came and brought new batteries for the battery backup. So for now all the broken things are fixed.😂 Spent the rest of the day doing mom odd jobs. Made meatballs with cream sauce over mashed potatoes for supper.