The Extended Family

Today I became the daughter of Danny and Marissa, the twin sister of Diana, the niece of Kakoli, and the extended family is growing every hour by at least two or three. I came out of my house this afternoon to be dragged into my new “house” where my new mom had prepared me a lovely dinner of Ice cream and curry that was made from water and sand. Of course she put a few greens on my plate (clovers) because that is what every good mom does. My father, Danny took me to Hili and Dhaka and then he preached a good sermon on Sabbath. You can do so much when you play house! I even had my birthday and got a huge mound of sand… I mean cake!
            I couldn’t help but laugh as I was dragged around the campus and forced to “sleep” in a bed made of broken tiles behind a tropical tree. Marissa would tell me in a motherly tone, “Chantel, it is time for you to sleep… no, lay all the way down,” the rest of the kids would just giggle at me being treated as a slave of a daughter. These kids are fun and they really do bring out the kid in me. My love for them is growing everyday. I almost cried today when saying goodnight to Danny because he was just so sweet and kept asking me not to go. I use to give huge giant hugs to a few of the kids before bed and now I give giant hugs to almost all of the older kids and my face gets so many kisses that it can get gross sometimes.
            This morning was a little tough because I really wanted to talk to my family at home but I couldn’t because I don’t have access to a phone right now. But as the day kept going I realized that I have a family here in Bangladesh as well as in America. These kids are my family now and I’m not just talking about the game of house we played this afternoon.
            I feel that family is more than just blood relations. Family is people that you love no matter what. You love them when you haven't talked to them forever or seen their face.

God is teaching me so much. One of the biggest lessons I'm learning is how to really Love.