October 2024

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 This month I’m going to try to be more prompt about writing. September I waited until the end of the month to write anything then after I posted it remembered all sorts of neat things I was going to write. 

October 1: Got up at 6 and finished packing and headed to Golpagang. Shania has been doing so good with sleeping during the night but alas it was not her night. Anyways… got on the road by 7:15. Nathon came for pizza and the evening last night so didn’t get as much packing done as I usually do, so got up early and did it this morning. Took us awhile to get out of Dhaka since we left later in the morning but eventually we cleared the city and made good time to Golpagang! Doyle’s have been putting a lot of work into their yard and it is beautiful now. Was neat to see the finished product. Sheema made us chicken curry, which was delicious as usual. Later afternoon we took a long walk through the village behind their house and showed Shana the Hindu cremation site. Found out that if they can’t afford the firewood to burn the body, they do bury them off to the side of the crematorium. Still gives me the spooks to see those idols there. The bowls of sugar that had been left as offerings in front of the idols were covered in ants. Thankful that my “offerings” ascend directly to my God. 

October 2: loaded up after breakfast and went and took a boat ride on a Noka. I’ll post a picture from Google images that is similar. It was so neat to go down the river at a slow pace. We definitely got our purification sweat in though. The humidity was next level! Some places the river was so choked up with water hyacinths that Doyle had to climb to the front of the boat and shove them aside so we could go through. The water hyacinths are considered invasive. Several places the farmers will harvest a bunch and then turn them upside down in the river, and plant a garden on the top. That way they can have a floating garden in the monsoon season. One bridge we went under we saw a whole bunch of men and boys run to see us go under and then they all ran to the other side to see us come out the other side. It struck us so funny!!! Felt like a human version of Winnie the Pooh playing “Pooh sticks.” 😂 One dokan we floated by  that was on the edge of the river was a barber shop. It appeared as though the barber threw all the black hair out the window onto the river bank as there was quite a pile of black hair! At home there would be all sorts of colors of hair. After our boat ride we packed up and left Doyle’s and headed to Kulna. I wasn’t sure what it would be like to be there without Trevor’s. The house just has the basics in it so without all their pretty personal touches it felt like good closure that they were indeed gone. Poor Shania didn’t handle it too well. She walked around crying and crying. Room to room then outside. I took her outside and showed her Tulsi uncle but that didn’t help. Finally Jared said “I bet she is looking for Lisa!!” Later evening we video called Grandma Lisa and Shania saw her and got the biggest smile ever on her face!🥰 Unpacked our things and turned on all the fans and ACs. Now that it is rainy season and the house has been empty for a few months, mildew can show up quickly. So when us or Doyle’s aren’t there, we finally got the maid and Tulsi to agree to leave fans on. Went to Shanto’s for lunch. Took a van rickshaw which is always one of  my favorite parts of going to Kulna. The road into the house was so tore up we barely made it in with the van. Shana thought CSI needed a Jeep or Land Rover instead of a van car after that ride in. Anyways got to Shanto’s, and it was SO good to see them again. Shania went to Shanto after she was done having a meltdown over Shotti’s ducks. Shotti has two cats that Shania just was obsessed with. But the minute they twitched their tails she sobbed. She was quite an emotional mess. Shotti made chicken curry for us. Oh it was good!!!!!!!! We sat and visited for awhile and then Shanto and Jared took care of some bills and money issues. Shanto is helping us with some things now that the post is empty. It looks like he kinda enjoys being involved! Went back to the house and slept for awhile. Shania snuggled up against Jared and fell sound asleep. She needed that security after her morning of tears and meltdowns. In the evening we went and got fuska and chapoti. I was determined Shana had to try it. I told her that the only way it tasted good was if you had sweat running down your back and face the whole time you ate it and it did not fail to disappoint. The van rickshaw ride home was so fun. The Bengalis rise and shine at night when it’s cooler and all their dokans were open and lots of people were out and about just socializing and standing around. I just love showing Shana this country. Bless her heart she is a very good sport! 

October 3: we spent the morning at the house. We did go to Shanto’s for breakfast for dim and ruti. Got back to the house and Dipti came to clean. She was so glad to see someone at the house. She gets so lonesome. I did have to give her some marching orders about cleaning because there was gecko poop all over upstairs. She didn’t seem to mind. Jared payed her for the month of October and gave her her puja bonus. Shana and I took a walk through the village behind the house. I always love that walk! They were setting up bamboo poles in preparation for the Hindu pujas that are fixing to happen. Pujas are the big celebrations. There are alot of them this time of year. Different pujas for different gods. This year with all the protests against the Hindus after Sheik Hasina’s fall, Shanto said that the pujas would be quieter than usual. I asked Dipti about it and she said the same thing. They are worried about drawing unwanted attention. Spent the rest of the morning packing our stuff up and leaving Trevor’s house Spick and span since it will be a few weeks until anyone stays there gain. Told Tulsi bye and headed to Dhaka. Got home around 8:30 pm. From the time we entered Dhaka until we got to pink city was 2.5 hours! Nathon told us that if we want avoid the majority of the jams we need to be back in Dhaka by 4:30 pm but we got a late start. 

October 4: first time we had church in 2 weeks. Between going to Rajshahi, Golpaganj and Khulna and Jared being sick we haven’t been there for singing or lunch either! Josna was more than delighted to make us cha. She said “I haven’t made you any food or any cha for many days.” Stayed for quite awhile after church. Nathon and the ladies wanted all the details and then Nathon and Jared always have to have their visiting time. 

Well there is where things went off the rails. I kinda forgot to write and when I remembered I didn’t feel inspired.

Speaking of pujas, while they were going on, there was a school by the clinic that was hosting one. One Friday Shana and I decided to go walk down the street past it. It’s fun to see from afar and to see how everyone is dressed. Sumita caught wind of us going so she decided to come to. Well we got there and into the celebration she marched. I gave Shana a look of pure horror because I did NOT want to go in, only look from afar. Well what to do in that large crowd of people but to follow Sumita. She went right in and when the guards saw us they cleared a path for us. Sumita took us right up front to the idols. People were putting fruit by them for offerings. Felt so out of place that I said “ok I’m done now.” we walked out of there and I felt somewhat defiled. Jared assured me I was not defiled from the whole ordeal. Anyways, they were handing out kichuri bowls to people but we did not participate. I was glad to get back to our clinic and have our church service, that does not have loud music and big naked idols up front. 😳

Us and Doyle’s went to Nathon’s for supper one evening. He has been wanting to come over and cook his special beef and kichuri. I love kichuri. So I’ve been hounding him about it because I did not want him to forget what he had promised. One evening him and his roommate decided to just cook it at their apartment for us. Boy where we plum tickled. Hardly ate anything all day in preparation. It’s quite a drive out to his place. Out in Gazipur. Come to find out we had been literally driving right by his place when we went to Rajshahi. It doesn’t feel like Dhaka at all out there. Just more like a village. His apartment is very nice. I had a good chuckle because Nathon messaged and said “can you please bring paper plate and cup? I do not have enough dish.” Made him some “cow food” (cabbage salad) to. They made beef curry, kichuri and then a sweet dessert that reminds me of rice pudding. We ate and ate! I was glad I had fasted all day. Afterwards we drove around the area abit. Gazipur has lots and lots of factories, mostly clothing. Since it was night by the time we left, the factories all had their lights on inside. We could see right in. Jared the pulled the van up beside one and we sat and watched for abit. Rows and rows and rows of ladies sewing. No AC, just huge fans in the windows. Jared said he bet production doubled at night since that’s when it’s cooler. Have heard those are miserable places to work in the heat. Wish everyone at home could see those factories. It is quite something! And to think that a lot of Carters and old navy’s clothes come from factories like that. 

Last time Doyle’s came into Dhaka it was Amaryllis’ birthday. We all met for lunch at Burger King and then Krystal and I spent the afternoon at the play place at Jamuna with the kids while Doyle Jared and Nathon had man coffee time. That play place is worth its weight in gold. It’s air conditioned, clean and has so many things for the kids to do. It’s a lil pricey so we just do it once in a while when things get monotonous. When it’s 100* plus and playing outside isn’t an option it’s a good place to go for the afternoon to wear the children out. 

Krystal’s parents flew in October 17. Bruce and Mavis Schartner. It was neat to see them! Bruce’s are planning to spend three months here. They will live in the Kulna house and help out with the work over there.  They were only able to get a 30 day visa instead of the usual 90 day visa. So a few weeks after they got here, Bruce, Doyle, Jared and Nathon are planning to go the visa office to see what they can do to obtain another visa. The high comission in their area at home assured them it would be no problem at all. “Once you get to Dhaka just reapply for an extension.” Har har. This is Bangladesh folks. None of us are here legally currently. We are rebels like that. 

The best news ever this month… One night during the night at 3 AM I noticed Jared was listening to a WhatsApp. I thought “now that’s strange he never does that during the night.” He said “Darrell found a replacement for Kulna and they are hoping to come in January.” Well we were pleased as punch I tell you! Prayers of thanks ascended. Lonnie and Lynette Koehn from Lobelville Tennessee. 😊They have three girls, 10 year old, 8 year old and 18 month old. Layton is enthused that they have someone his age, he doesn’t even care it’s a girl. We are very much looking forward to having them here! 

Our Kuakata trip was enjoyable. We went for three days for abit of a break. Some missionaries go to all the places…. Tea Gardens, Coxs Bazaar, etc. Those places are lovely, but we have wanted to go back to Kuakata ever since we went there with everyone last December! We decided we better go now because by the time the winter business subsides the heat will be back full force. However it would not be a true vacation without sickness. We had decided that we would leave at 4:30 am to beat the traffic out of Dhaka. Well I was so tickled because by supper time the evening before Jared, Shana and myself had everything ready to go. I thought “we certainly have our act together when it comes to traveling.”😂 Layton started throwing up and having other bathroom problems at 11 pm. Then Shania woke up with a fever. Layton’s sickness seemed under control enough to still go by morning. So we loaded up extra clothes and a trashcan and took off. We have been looking forward to going to Kuakata for months so we weren’t about to let anything deters us. Got there around 12:30. Oh it was beautiful! We all took naps and hit the pool! Layton and Shania seemed to feel better by that point but we still took it easy. For supper we got chicken and nan at the cafe beside the pool. Rested the rest of the evening. The next day we ventured out. Packed a picnic lunch and hired a van driver. Went out to the beach. It was quite hot and the sun was intense. Gotten so used to Dhaka smog that we don’t even think of using sunscreen. We all got quite burned. Shania was very fussy and feverish despite the meds we had given her. Plus everyone was getting hot so we ended up taking our picnic back to our motel room and dining on it there! I wished we could have been at the beach longer but it does not pay to have a sick child out in this heat for longer than necessary. We all had good naps! Later afternoon once Shania had settled, we went to the beach Bbq. Jared’s been looking forward to coming back to this since last December! He got tuna, shrimp, crab and then another type of fish. It was delicious! Also got homemade tortillas for the kids. Jared had to message Trevor about what he was eating. Last year him and Trevor ate so much and later they were in the bathroom due to the spices….. wellll what can we say. History repeated itself. The victim kept declaring “it was worth it… it was worth it… it was worth it.”😂 We did some shopping at the beach market there. Layton wanted a new Kuakata shirt because his one from last year was much too small. Got some sea shell things too… Layton keeps finding all these little treasures and says “I want it for my Kansas bedroom mom.”  Went back to the motel and went swimming again. Shania and I stayed up in the room for some peace and quiet. We got our moneys worth out of that pool that’s for sure!  Layton is becoming a fish in the water. I’m glad because that had been a big fear of his. You’d never guess it now! The next day was quite overcast… we decided to just stay at the resort. There’s lots of things to do there. There was a cyclone headed for Coxs bazaar so it was abit rainy and windy. Had hoped to go back to the beach to see the waves but it didn’t seem like beach weather. Rode on the pedal boats, the kids swung for awhile, we took a walk on the grounds, and then went swimming again. Mid afternoon we went on a drive around Kuakata. It’s so beautiful there. I am so thankful we got the chance to go back one more time!!!!! The next day we packed up and headed home. It really rained and the wind blew! The cyclone ended up hitting more by India instead of Cox’s Bazaar where they had originally predicted. We hustle to leave because the road into Kuakata took an hour to drive :::::: because of all the potholes. Thankfully the rain stopped and we were able to get out and down the road. Jared was worried it would flood with as bad of shape as the road is in. Drove 20 mph or less the whole way down there. Decided we were never complaining about any Marion country road ever again. Got home around 6 pm or so. 

Enjoying a few weeks at home. We are really looking forward to the winter activities. Several sets of visitors are coming, Lonnie’s come, several outings, etc. Shana and Layton are busy with school. I just love seeing Layton’s progress. He is starting to sound out words and read them. Any words on water bottles, food packaging or any signs he is always trying to read . I love when we says “hey mom! I know that word!” He’s been into doing word search puzzles too and spends a fair bit of time in the evenings working on that. 

Shania seems to be finally over her fever/cough illness. She got two molars in the process. Let’s just say for a whole week she slept no more than 3-4 hours a night. I tried to be Pollyanna and say “I am so thankful that she isn’t sleeping at night because taking a nap in the afternoon is so fun to look forward to and enjoy!” I almost convinced myself. She keeps adding more words to her vocabulary. Cow, fishies, Layton, bye bye, hello… It’s so fun having a little girl. It will be neat to see her playing with Lonnie’s girl that’s only 4 days older than her. Her blanket and her thumb are her ever present companion. She’s starting to come tell me if she poops her diaper. So that maybe the next thing we undertake. 

Several have asked if there is protests going on yet. Yes there is. We accidentally stumbled upon one one day without meaning too. Police everywhere and the water cannon truck was out. Lots of yelling about “no Hindus”. We quietly and quickly drove through the area as quickly as possible. Now the latest is that the students are threatening to take to the streets again if the president doesn’t step down. The interim government remains in place. No idea when election for the next prime minister will be. But as always… we feel safe and aren’t worried and are careful where we go. 

Ok much more could be said about our life and the clinic, but this is enough for now I think! 

Love to you all🩷

Mission Voice Article

 Mission Voice

Jared and Brianna Regehr 

Dhaka, Bangladesh 

July 2024

 

Greetings (Nomoskar) from Bangladesh. We came to Dhaka in November 2022. Moving from a rural area of Kansas to one of the mostdensely populated cities in the world has been an adjustment. Over time, we have come to love the people and culture and enjoy our work here. 

The population of our city is ~25 million. The geographical size of Dhaka is 100 square miles. For comparison, the city of Wichita, Kansas has a population of ~450,000 in 160 square miles. When we are out and about, we never lack for interesting things to see. People riding on top of the trains and buses. Rickshaws piled high with bags of vegetables and with the vendor riding on top. Motorcycles with a father, mother, and two-three children riding on it. Trucks with stacks of rice in burlap bags piled twice as high as the sides of the bed of the truck. Double decker buses that lean to one side (it is amazing that the buses don’t tip over). Traffic jams with vehicles flowing and moving in every direction. Markets with fruit and vegetables stacked high and the vender sitting in the middle of the pile. Colorful clothing drying on the railings of the apartment buildings. Children flying kites made from twigs and old plastic or using an old foam container as a toy boat in the gutter. People sleeping on the raised curb beside the road, inches away from the buses and cars driving by. Goats tied up on the roof of a market (probably no room for them on the street). Cement buildings in various stages of construction for as far as the eye can see. Driving in this busy city has been somewhat of a sanctification at times, with the rickshaws, buses, CNGs (green three-wheelers that are used to haul people and goods), motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians vying for a spot on the road. Recently a Metrorail (subway) was opened, along with an elevated expressway, which is comparable to an interstate at home, in hopes of improving traffic congestion. To see the teeming crowds of humanity constantly moving around, leaves one wondering, how does one reach the ones that are searching for God? How many are longing for a relationship with a loving God that extends grace and mercy versus an Allah who determines your salvation on a good deeds versus bad deedsscale?

We are here under CSI. We have a small office/clinic and medication dispensary. It is open three mornings a week from 10am to 1pm. We see up to 40 patients a day. We allow only women and children to participate in our program. Many women come for vitamins or medications for minor illnesses or underlying medical conditions like thyroid issues, hypertension, or diabetes. The women can come once a month for vitamins and prenatals. We have many cleft lip/cleft palate babies and children come through our program. In our last fiscal year (June 2023-June 2024) we helped 100 children who suffer from cleft lip and palate problems. They come and are evaluated by our physician, who refers them to a local hospital. They get blood work done and have their surgery at the hospital. Depending on the severity of the lip/palate, many children come back multiple times to have lips, palates and cosmetic facial surgery done. It is beautiful to see a child come back from the hospital with a closed lip and a beautiful full smile. The babies and children come back and stay at the clinic for several days afterwards to rest and heal. We give them the antibiotics and other medications that they may need. After surgery they can only have milk for nutrition. We assist with this as well and have a milk program to assist with this. Many babies come from surrounding villages, so they will stay until their post-op appointment. We have two employees that live at the clinic. They cook meals for the mother and the baby and help care for the babies as needed. 

We also occasionally assist in some major medical expenses. A family must bring in doctors notes, cash memos, and reports from blood tests and/or X-rays to receive reimbursement for a major medical event. We also use any Bible School funds that we receive from home to help in these areas. Last year we used some Bible School funds for a girl that was electrocuted and received severe burns to her arm, which eventuallyrequired amputation. There are so many that beg for assistance. It is hard to discern who to help. We also have those that fake an illness or disability. They will bring fake or old cash memos to get some extra cash. We think of the song, “Oh to be His hand extended… Reaching out to the oppressed. Let me touch Him, Let me touch Jesus, so that others may know and be blessed.” 

We have three members here in Dhaka currently. Two are faithful attendees and one has chosen not to worship with us currently. We hold a church service every Friday morning at the CSI clinic, along with a singing meeting one evening a week. Being a Christian in this country is challenging. The Muslim faith is very dominant and overpowering. We are reminded of this many times, as the prayer call from many mosques around goes wailing through the air 5 times a day. Dhaka has ~6,000 mosques. This is to ensure that every Muslim can hear the call to prayer. Christians are the extreme minority here. It is not uncommon for an employer to hire a Muslim over a Christian. We are not able to pass out tracts currently. We do have a few tract racks in some Christian clinics that we keep filled. Occasionally we will receive emails asking for our tracts and/or Bibles. 

At times we feel discouraged with the lack of growth in our church here in Bangladesh, but over time there has been some growth. Pray for our church that the members can strengthen their relationship with each other and God. We know a slow growing tree has more strength than a quick growing plant that quickly withers and dies.

September 2024

 Well just like that September is over. Seems as though we just blinked and zip it’s over. I’ll see if I can recount the months events in a precise non rambling manner. 

The biggest highlight was that Brandon and Jennifer Koehn and their family from Mize Mississippi came to visit for 10 days. Josna and Sumita have looked forward to this for months. Honestly we all have. We have heard much about Brandon boss! They flew in Friday at 2 in the morning. Bring the robust souls they are they came to church with us. It was so fun to see Josna and Sumita giggle and carry on in the excitement, Nathon was overjoyed as well! A lot of backslapping and carrying on was had. These people love when former missionaries come to visit. I don’t know who gets more excited Nathon or Josna and Sumita!  We took Brandon’s out to lunch to Shuktara. It was so enjoyable to visit with them and hear how things were back in their day. They couldn’t believe how much Dhaka has changed in the past 8 years. They were impressed with Al the plants and trees planted in the medians on the streets. We shopped Farmgate for a bit then they went off on their own and we came back to pink city. They spent most of their time here over in the Kulna area. We were so glad they could because now since no one is there, it helped a lot that they could go spend time with those people. All too soon it was time for them to leave. Monday before they left, the clinic girls made beef curry, shrimp curry, pilau, sobji and pyash. Some of us clearly thought it was our last meal and ate accordingly. It’s so fun to the visitors children’s reaction to this country and culture! Looked like Brandon’s kids just jumped right in. After being here, I think every youth age person should visit another country to broaden their horizons. It changes a person. 

Shania is 18 months now. This past month she has really grown and started doing a lot more new things. It is quite evident that she is very observant. I saw her pick up my phone the other day and use her dress to clean the screen off.😂 She loves to give hug and kisses to daddy and Layton. She will just go up to Layton and want to hug him. One day she came up behind me when I was sitting and she tried to rub my shoulders.  We are SLOWLY making progress with getting her to sleep through the night. Those parents that have their kids sleeping through the night at 6 weeks old… good for them. The rest of us try. She is starting to enjoy playing with her dollie. She wraps it up and holds it and bounces it and goes “sssssss.” My heart cannot even. Shana has been trying to get her to talk, She is getting quite a vocabulary!  On the days when there is school and clinic Shania is quite sad when everyone leaves. She likes “her” people close by. She stands at the door and cries. 

Layton is still really enjoying school. He likes to come home and tell me the latest Mercy Watson happening from Story hour. He always hopes it’s a science experiment day. One day they put gummy worms in baking soda and vinegar. And another day they put mentos in coke. He too seems like he is getting really tall. Had to go through his shirts the other day and take out the small ones. We bought him a cricket bat and ball and Nathon has been teaching him how to play cricket when he comes over. Layton jumps at Scootie rides any chance he gets! One morning I took him with me when I went to get dim and ruti for breakfast. It’s a little restaurant maybe 5 minutes down the road. Shana and I go there at least once a week and pick up breakfast. (We can feed our whole family breakfast for $3) We were sitting in there waiting on our order to be done and one of the local high school students came in. Layton whispered “is he a protestor?” I said “no I don’t think so.” Anytime we get caught in a traffic jam he wonders if it’s because of a protest. 

Jared keeps busy with clinic like usual. The numbers are slowly creeping up. 40-45 patients are starting to become more and more common. Every so often we close the clinic for a day or so and it keeps the crowds at bay. One day they had 5 patients and their mamas back in the patient room. Last week Jared was inflicted with dengue (a mosquito carried virus). One Friday after church we were grocery shopping and he told me had body aches. I told him it was probably from the heat because it was very hot that day and he was dripping by the time church was over. We got home and by evening he had high fever. Lasted several days and the body aches were really bad. He came downstairs shuffling like an old man. He spent two days in bed just because it hurt too much to move. 2 days after his fever broke he got a rash all over his body. He itched like I have never seen a person itch. Reminded me of some of my liver patients that itched. He literally was climbing the walls. It seemed worst at night and he could sleep because the itch was beyond miserable. He took so many different things and nothing seemed to help. I prayed and prayed that God would ease the itch for him so he could finally rest. Eventually it eased up. By now his rash is mostly gone and the itch has mostly subsided. He still has achy joints but from what we’ve heard that can persist for awhile. We are thankful he wasn’t sicker. This time of year there is a lot of people being hospitalized from it. 

We took a few days off of life and went to Rajshahi. We have never been there! We weren’t ever able to make it when Elwoods were there because I was large with child at that point. It is beautiful there. Lush green jungle. The drive there was interesting! Lots of road construction, narrow two lane road where you play chicken and dodge the oncoming traffic and get ran off the road by the buses. The rice paddies were thick and green and on the levvis were mango trees. Oh my…. “Too much beautiful” like these people say. The mango groves and banana tree groves were immaculately groomed to perfection. At one place along the road it looked like a wholesale banana place. Thousands and thousands of banana bunches were all on the ground waiting to be sold or shipped off. We passed a lot of trucks and CNGs that were packed full of them! The banana bunches are so heavy, I saw a grown man carrying just one and it looked like quite a chore. I’ve always wanted to count how many bananas are on those things. We got into Rajshahi and what a neat place. Literally… hardly any trash on the roads at all. Shana noticed that even the sewer cutters along the edge of the street didn’t have trash in them. The River Levvi was built up quite high and it was covered in plants and bushes. Quite a sight for our Dhaka eyes!!  We splurged abit and got a nice motel with a pool on the roof. It was 13 stories high. From the pool we could see a great view of the river and could faintly see India even. Shana thought maybe she would just swim across and go see her old haunts😂 the first day there we got there around 2:30, checked in and admired the luxury that beheld us. Spent the rest of the day there at the motel, swimming in the pool for hours and then had supper at the restaurant there. Jared rested a lot since he was still achy and itchy. Shana and the kids and I spent the evening at the pool again. There was a small cafe beside the pool so we got us some dessert to enjoy. The second day, we drove around and enjoyed the beauty and cleanliness some more, took some easy bikes and drove to the river and walked along it for abit. It started to rain and rained and rained so back to the motel we went! Later in the day we went to Michael’s and had snack with them and visited for several hours. It was so different seeing this time. The past two times we’ve visited them it was in Kishorganj. Michaels brother and family, Michaels mom, their three children and several other family members all lived with them! Now it’s just Michael, Monica, Marcie and Anamkia and Michaels mother living there. Felt kinda empty! Michael was very sleepy and his speech was slurred. Him and Jared were still able to visit. I really enjoyed seeing Monica again. We back the next day and had lunch with them. Monica’s cooking is so delicious! She made chicken curry, pilau, sobji and fried cauliflower! Their family actually ate with us! We had a church service with them. Short. We left for a few hours and went back to the motel and then went back late evening for cha one more time with them. I wished I could have talked more with Monica. She told me she wishes her and the girls could leave and move somewhere else. Michael is not easy to live with and his anger is always the problem. They left him once for awhile earlier in the year. Jared wanted to ask Michael if he was taking his meds like he was supposed to be but he wasn’t sure if that was our place to get involved with that. When we left Monica hugged me and cried. I told her I would pray for her. I got her phone number so I can message her or call her. I felt so guilty after we left. Here they are living in an unfinished cement house. Michael doesn’t work because of his depression/anger issues. They all seem tired and worn of the situation and just want him to better and easier to live with. Here I am in my beautiful house in pink city. And to think I have the nerve to get annoyed when my rugs don’t match or something trivial like that. I felt like such a heel. But it was good for me to see once again that those things don’t matter at all. 

I really think God sent me here to realize that a lot of the things I get worked up over are so dreadfully earthly. 

Once again at the September placement meeting, no one was found to replaced Trevors. This is the third time. Hopefully the fourth time in December will yield fruit. Until then we are waiting… 

Ok, I think I have carried on long enough here! We plan to leave tomorrow for Golpaganj and Kulna. 😊 Love to you all! ❤️ 

August 2024

 8/4: Our anniversary! Jared had clinic… He got home in record time! I made a comment about how the traffic must have been remarkably less today. He said “No! I barely made it home. The police were blocking everything off again!” Sure enough… by evening everything was shut tight again. Trevors got into town at midnight last night. It’s a good thing they came then because I don’t think they would have made it in if they had tried to come in during the day. Us and Trevors went out for a supper at a place that’s just right down the road from here. It’s up on the 13th floor of a business building. It gave a tremendous view of Dhaka! Wish everyone at home could see that view. Miles and miles of apartment buildings so close they are literally touching! A different sort of beauty…. All different colors of buildings. Off in the distance we could see the black smoke from the protestors burning something. It was interesting to look down at the roads. It was curfew time and hardly a soul was out. The only reason we were out was because the building was a stones throw from our house. Had a good time with Trevor’s and lots of good laughs like usual.  Brock came for a sleepover! Him and Layton made popcorn and chocolate milk for a late night snack. They were both in bed and asleep by 11pm.😂 

August 5: Doyle’s left Golpaganj at 5 in the morning to come into town. If it wasn’t to be with Trevor’s before they leave they never would have dared to try. There was lots of barricades and checkpoints. Anytime they got stopped and asked where they were going Doyle said “can you tell me the way to the airport?” And they let them through. They made it here in 2.5 hours!! Everyone came here for lunch for sandwiches. Thankfully I had had this thought last week that I should stock up on groceries just in case we went into lockdown again. Good thing I did!!!! Because everything was closed. Herfeys, Pizza Hut, and all our usual haunts here are all closed. Even the pink city gates are closed. Jon messaged Jared and said “brother it is not safe to go out, please stay inside with doors closed.” Our friends here are keeping us quite updated and message us often with warnings. Between Jon and Nathon we feel quite taken care of. Spent the afternoon with everyone. The men checked the news frequently to keep up with the latest on all the protests. Mid afternoon, we saw that Sheik Hasina the prime minister had left the country and was flown to India. Her house and the parliament were totally ransacked! Like totally and completely. She resigned her position and her and her family all fled. She was hoping to seek asylum in the UK but it was denied. The airport shut down for the rest of day. Later evening the men went out driving. As soon as the news was made of Hasina resigning everyone was cheering and celebrating on the streets. The barricades were all thrown to the sides of the roads, motorcycles and CNGs and people were all going on the Expressway that’s been closed for 2.5 weeks, police boxes were getting burned. What really took the cake is that on the Purbachal Expressway there’s giant light up letters that say “Sheik Hasina Sarani” one bridge has it in English and the next has it in Bangla. Kids were there with long sticks and were hacking away at the letters to get them off the bridges. Statues of Hasina’s father (he was assassinated back in the 70s) were being knocked down with excavators. Postures of her were being ripped down or painted over. The men didn’t stay out long because they couldn’t go very far. Trevors guard Tulsi called him and was frightened because there was fighting in the village. Sounded like he was inside Trevors house for safety. Hasina is Awami League Party and a lot of Hindus and Christian’s support her because she is more lenient with minorities. During the day several times we all mentioned how thankful we were that we had moved here to pink city!  Even though things were locked down, we could still go out and take walks here and the children spent the day playing soccer, riding bike, etc. At Siza court that wouldn’t have even been a possibility! The kids would have been all cooped up in our apartment or the guesthouse. Plus Siza Court is by Farmgate and there was a fair bit of protest action going on there. Josna and Sumita said they heard guns going off.

July 6: The men went out on a drive again! Everything was open and the roads were somewhat busy again. Lisa made breakfast for everyone. The men went to our house for a CSI meeting and us ladies and children went to the guesthouse. In the evening we all ventured out for supper. Nathon came with us. He showed us pictures of Hasina’s house. He went there to see the damage. People had went looting through her house and had taken out ACs, furniture, the vegetables out of her garden, her pets, and even her clothes and underwear. It was truly ridiculous and disgusting. Then they went to the parliament building and ransacked that place too. Any thing or place that has to do with Hasina has gotten burnt or demolished. Brock came for a sleepover again. Popcorn and Gatorade was the snack of choice🥰 I’m learning how to be the cool mom that has sleepovers. I must say I quite enjoy this new phase of mom life! 

August 7: the students are all out directing traffic. They appeared to be doing a very good job too. They weren’t letting any motorcycles or CNGs on the expressway today. We got on like usual and the toll booth arm was up so everyone just drove through and didn’t have to pay anything! Are we ever glad that road is open again!!!!! There’s people fishing in the pond in Kuril. That pond is owned by the government and now that there is no government currently people are lining the banks fishing. Hundreds and hundreds of people all lined up… some with homemade bamboo poles and some with fancy fishing rods. Nathon says they will fish until there is nothing left in the pond. Everyone did their own thing this morning. Doyle’s were at the guesthouse, Trevor’s did some last minute shopping etc. I had Shania take a morning nap because her sleep schedule has been all out of wack and her behavior and mood show it. While she napped I cleaned the house, did laundry, (discovered Layton’s favorite shirt from Luci is covered in mold because I got behind on the laundry. Does anyone know how to get mold out? I have it soaking in vinegar to see if that will take it out. Update: it didn’t) Anyways it felt good to get things taken care of and abit under control. We all met at the clinic for lunch and I ran to the closest vegetable seller and bought a ton of vegetables, eggs, etc to get ready for round two of company that comes tomorrow. In the evening we had one last CSI meeting. An air and share. Couldn’t bear the thought of telling Trevor’s good bye so pushed it off until morning.

August 8: Got up at 5:20 am and trekked over to the guesthouse. Told Trevor’s bye. That never a pleasant experience. It looked quite interesting to see Lisa and Whitney wearing their American coverings! Layton had been adamant that he was going to ride to the airport with Jared but at the last minute he needed mom. after a Doyle and Jared left with Trevor’s and their luggage we went back to the house and sat on the couch and cried for a while. Shania went back to bed. An hour later Jared came back with Daniels and Shana! I was so glad to see Shana! I told her she came on the perfect day. Getting her settled kept my mind off of Trevor’s leaving which I was thankful for. Daniels napped for a while and then came for lunch. Used my grilled chicken that I had squirreled away in the freezer. They brought all the books that some friends from home had sent for the mission kids here. Layton promptly sat down and looked at them all for a long time. Since then we have read and read and read them so THANK YOU!!!! We were all shot and exhausted so after lunch we all slept for several hours. Shana was determined to be like her dad and stay awake until bedtime but she succumbed and commenced to sleep for the next 18 hours straight! The poor dear looked exhausted. The interim governor arrived in Dhaka late afternoon and was sworn into office. 

August 8: Had church. Daniel had the message. I was so thankful Jared didn’t have to preach with the busy week 😊 Nathon literally squealed when he saw Daniel again!😂 We were going to stay for cha and then the airport called and said that Shanas suitcases were getting delivered so we hustled home and accepted them. For being in a different country over here I have been very surprised at how the luggage gets here every time even if it doesn’t come with the flight it always shows up a few days later! 

We met up with Daniels later and had lunch in Gulsan. Shania has been obsessed with her new socks that granny sent her. It’s hilarious😂 She will not wear shoes but socks are ok. She wants them on all the time. She walks around stops looks down at her feet and walks some more. She is plum tickled! 

August 11: The expressway is now collecting toll fares! Things are slowly slowly returning to normal. Hindu temples are getting vandalized and burnt. I’m not sure why exactly other than it’s kinda a known fact in this country that Hindus and Christian’s are Awami League supporters which is Hasina’s political party. The landlord at the clinic took down our CSI sign because it says “Christian Service International.” He was worried the word Christian would bring undue attention. Later Krystle messaged and said someone had taken down their CSI sign at their clinic too. Jared wonders if he should get one remade that says “CSI” instead of Christian Service International. Now that there are no police out and about guarding the streets people are very fearful of robbers. Every night in Pink City a group of men sit in a circle right inside the gate, half way down the Main Street and then again at the end of the street. They stay there all night. Often we hear a motorcycle patrolling the streets too and some night the men walk up and down each street checking for “boogie men.” Every night at 2 am they bring out their loudspeaker and go around saying something. No one can figure out what it is. A few times when we’ve gotten up in the night we’ve seen the guard chasing boys/men that have pipes and cricket bats. Who knows…. We aren’t fearful. We don’t have anything to hide so we sleep the sleep of the just. Paninna told me there is 25-50 men guarding the area where they live. She said they can hardly sleep for fear of what might happen. Sounds like the robberies are in the poor parts of Dhaka. In the richer parts people are hiring  guards. It looks like some of the men that are helping watch at night are some of the men that live here in Pink City. Read on the news that the interim governor is going to drive on the roads like all normal people. He will still have an envoy for safety but he’s not requiring the roads to be stopped and cleared like Hasina did. It will be interesting to see how this affect “movement” in Dhaka now. 

August 14: Jared dropped Shana Layton and I off at Farmgate, when we went to the clinic for lunch. That was so fun! I’ve always wanted to take my jolly ole time going through that place but Jared doesn’t appreciate that sort of shopping. So now that Shana is here I get my chance! She got three kameeze sets and I got a bunch of fabric. Made sure we took a rickshaw to the clinic after that so she could experience the rickshaw.🥰 Right outside of Shuktara there was a man making fresh samosas. (Veggie and potato filled pockets) We got some and they were so so good. Shana loves food so I told her she came to the right place!!!! She has won Josna and Sumita’s approval beside she takes seconds.😂

August 17: The trains are running again, also the intercity train is going as well. Saw it going today with people standing on top of it so business as usual. The jams are absolutely frightful these days. It’s been taking Jared an hour and a half to get to the clinic. He flys along on the expressway and then as soon as he is off the exit ramp at Farmgate everything comes to a halt. They closed off a shortcut road close by that area so now all traffic through there has to creep and crawl around a roundabout. He’s started leaving at 8:15 in the morning because at that hour it’s not jammed. Shana made us the most amazing Indian food for supper! I

told her she might wished she hadn’t cooked it for us cuz we might want more. 🫣😊

August 21: The children Shana and I took an Uber to the clinic. That’s my latest sense of adventure. If Jared has to go meet the auditor or attend to other business matters at the clinic on Wednesday the rest of this household gets an Uber. 😊 it makes me feel like I have an ounce of independence. Sometimes I have to run down to the gate and have the guard tell the Uber how to get here.  We got off at Farmgate and behold a jam. I told the driver to drop us off on the side of the road. I think he thought I was crazy. So we bailed out, payed the guy, walked all through the jam up past the metro up to the intersection of old airport road then hailed a rickshaw and went the rest of the way to the clinic. Shana and I felt like raging feminist by the time we got there. We got our jollies because the clinic road is now paved and would you believe it they painted stripes on it just like a road at home!😂 it looks so out of place. The lanes are so narrow that at home they would be considered bicycle lanes. What a hoot. The students have been going around Dhaka painting huge murals on the walls and medians. They are beautiful and add color. Of course they are all about Hasina’s fall, the new freedom and very patriotic. some are graffiti and some have an astonishing amount of detail. The Bacha English School by the clinic has a lot along the wall. It’s kinda nice to see that instead of all the political posters that usually adorn any open area. Shana got her clothes from the tailor and they fit her perfectly! 

August 23: Got to church like usual and what a pleasant surprise! A houseful of people! We got to church early so Shana and I went to the veggie wagon and got some vegetables. We were standing there deciding what to get and all of a sudden I hold “BRIANNA KHOKI!” (Auntie) I turned around and there was Hridoy and his friend Shurov. Shurov helped work here in Pink City when we were in the remodel phase. I said “ki?” Hridoy is in Dhaka now working at a textile factory. It’s about two hours commute to the clinic and he decided he wanted to come! We were thrilled. So church was Josna, Sumita, Miriam, Nathon, Hridoy, Shurov, us, one of Josna’s friends, one of Sumita’s nieces and then Abs wife Metali. It was FULL but so enjoyable. After church us ladies all sat and had cha in the kitchen and visited and Nathon and Jared discussed Lucifer or something like that. Hridoy and Shurov had to leave right after church to report back to the factory for duty. I said “next time you will stay for cha young man.” Hridoy told Jared that his factory has been working on sewing women’s jeans for a store in the US. He showed him a picture and they looked kinda gothic style. Supposedly they are selling for $180 a pair in the states. We asked Nathon and Hridoy if we could get a tour of a garment factory but he said they don’t let visitors in. After church we went to Jamuna. Uncle Trevor gave Layton his fish supplies so we needed some fish. Got just plain ole goldfish. Want to get some of the more fancy colorful fish but thought we’d start out easy first. The fish are cheaper than dirt here so if they die on us it’s not a huge loss. It’s so fun to watch those little boogers dart around. 

August 25: Layton and Miss Shana’s first day of school! She turned the tract room into the cutest little classroom. Layton has been really excited to start school. She brought all kinds of fun things for school.😊 I made a banner that said “first day of school” and hung it up by the living room with a bunch of balloons and then made a “smart cookie.” A giant chocolate chip cookie with glasses and a big smiley face. (Thanks to Pinterest) wanted to do something special for the first day🥰 Layton and Shana came back from school saying they were starving so smart cookie didn’t last long. Layton told me “mom, I am pooped!” Later he said “if I have something interesting to say I have to wait until recess. But if I forget she’ll tell me.” Think it might take him a bit to remember that one. Shana said he did well with raising his hand. So ya we were all enthused at their enthusiasm🥰❤️ The metro has finally reopened. Curious to see if this will help the traffic jams? The metro workers were supposed to return to work quite awhile ago but they went on strike and demanded a higher wage. Finally an agreement was reached and they agreed to return to perform the safety tests needed to reopen. Two metro stations are still closed due to the vandalism they received July 18. But sounds like the remaining ones will be opened. 

We have been getting lots and lots of rain this month!!! It’s been wonderful and the weather has been beautiful. Cooler. One day it was down to 80* and Layton was ready for socks and a sweater😂 The humidity is absolutely through the roof though. There have still been hot days (one was 96* and 90% humidity) but more cool days. Two more months and the heat should break for winter. 

August 28: Layton told me after school that “I really like all that fun paperwork.”😂 This mom is trying to get used to her boy being gone in the mornings. Shania still takes a morning nap, so in the mornings I have two hours to myself where she sleeps. The house is really quiet and I do kind an enjoy it but I’m always glad when Layton and Shana come bursting through the doors hungry and happy about their school day. Layton is really enjoying school so far. Him and Shana did a science experiment where you put eggs in vinegar and food color and the shell gets eaten away and it leaves the egg all rubbery. This is right down Layton’s line.😊 Had lunch at the clinic today. Doyle’s came into town last night so they joined us. Josna made beef curry and shrimp curry. The beef curry was EXCEPTIONAL! 

August 29: Doyle’s and Nathon came for

Supper. A really fun evening. Made enchiladas, Mexican rice and cabbage salad, then chocolate lava cake and icecream. I was glad for Shana’s help. Shania was in a rare mood and cried whenever anyone dared to look at her. Usually she loves when people come over for sure Nathon but she was not feeling it. 🫣

Thanks to everyone that has messaged and said they were praying for the situation in Bangladesh. We feel safe but it helps us sleep easy knowing all the prayers that are going up. For the most part all protests have stopped. Now there have been some “demonstrations” in the villages where Awami League was dominant but they seem to be more peaceful and less violent. 

still committed…. 

Brianna and Co.