Pictures!

Finally I have some pictures for you guys. We still can’t upload many so I picked 5 so that you guys would have proof that I am actually in Bangladesh. 

This first picture is of a grandpa and a baby in the village that is by the orphanage. This grandpa is always holding his baby and it makes me happy because they usually have the older siblings taking care of the children.

 

This is Luke. Isn’t he adorable? When we were taking pictures for the sponsors I looked over and he smiled at me so I took a picture and this is it! He’s so photogenic.

 

On the morning walks we generally see a lot of cow poo on everything. The people here pick up poop as soon as it drops and either put it on houses, trees, or sticks. When it is dried they use it for their fires. It maybe gross but they are using their resources!

 

Here is a picture of the last village Sabbath school. They are all coloring pictures of Naaman. You can see some of the village ladies sitting in the background.

 

Although this is not a very good picture of me I am putting it up for you to see that I am in Bangladesh. I don’t have many pictures of myself because they are all on other people’s cameras. I am with Luke, Jamie (in my arm), and Joni!

Thank you for reading my blog even though I am not the best writer J

I hope you enjoyed the pictures! 

Trip to Dhaka

(Warning: this is a long post and may contain lots of errors because I’m too tired to edit it)

             Our trip into Dhaka started on Sunday night. At around 10 pm we got on a bus that looked like it was nice at one point in time (and it probably is way nicer than some of the buses here) but it was covered in dirt and had lights that looked like they were from a 70’s themed kitchen. I sat by Lauren and we stayed awake for the first little while because we were afraid of our stuff getting stolen but as the night continued we became to exhausted to care about our stuff so we fell asleep. Every time I woke up I would be so afraid; there were so many times that our bus almost hit oncoming traffic. I could literally see the bus shifting every time the driver would swerve out of the way. Finally I decided it was best to just close my eyes so that I wouldn’t realize how many times I almost died. I never want to go on a bus like that again.
             We were suppose to arrive at 5:30 in the morning so that we could sleep for two hours before we rushed off to beat the Dhaka traffic but since we hit so many traffic jams on the way into Dhaka we didn’t arrive to our destination until around 8 or 9. The traffic in Dhaka is horrible because this is one of the most densely populated countries in the world.
             As soon as we ate some rice and dhal we were off to New Dhaka to begin our shopping for the kids. It was a very long day and by the end of it I was so emotional I just wanted to bawl.  There are so many people that you can barely breathe and when you do you wished that you hadn’t.  An open sewer runs along the road and the smell of the people alone makes you sick. I just cried when I was finally alone because of the things that I saw. Crippled people are everywhere begging and most of them are that way because their family members maimed them so they could earn money. The parents drug kids so that they don’t make a sound while the parent is begging… I wish I could explain everything but it is so hard when I have nothing to compare it to. It seems as if the worst places in America are equivalent to the nice places in Bangladesh. How can I look at a beggar who obviously needs my money more than I do and tell him no or give him two, ten, or even fifty taka (1 dollar = 78 taka)? Yet so many look at you with these haunting eyes that have felt so much pain in this life and you want to give them everything.  I thought of Peter and John when they healed the beggar in Acts 3, I wanted to tell these people “Silver and gold have I none but what I have I give unto thee.” But I can’t heal (or maybe I don’t have enough faith). I felt so helpless and hopeless. It was too much for me to handle on so little sleep. 
              After a bucket shower and some more rice and dhal (I’m tired of eating it already) I fell asleep in the dental clinic terrified of what the next day would bring.
             Despite my fears for Tuesday it turned out to be a rather pleasant day even though I saw worse stuff than I did the day before. First we stopped at stadium market because we needed a restroom.
I haven’t decided what is better: Dehydration or using the bathrooms in the city. They were gross.. enough said. 
Next we went to this sketchy factory looking place with a million shops in it. Mrs. Waid is very interesting shopper. I am one of those odd girls that doesn’t enjoy shopping for long periods of time. I like to just be done with it. However, Mrs. Waid is one of those shoppers who takes her time and can go all day. I’m going to be honest and say that it was boring until Lauren and I started wandering off to find things to look at. Bargaining for things is so fun here (whether or not I am good at it is to be questioned). Lauren thought that everything should be worth 50 taka so we would go up to people in the shops and when they would ask for some really high price we would say “no.. 50 taka.” They just laughed at our bargaining skills.
             In the afternoon we made our way to Old Dhaka. Since it had rained in the morning the streets were covered in mud. We had to make our way down this extremely packed muddy street for about half a mile to get to the fabric stores. There was a man behind me whistling but it had an Indian hint to its melody. It helped make the experience more positive than it could have been. The Bengali people just stare at us everywhere we go but it seemed to be worse when we were in Old Dhaka. We basically get tons of attention anywhere that we go. While Mrs. Waid was haggling for some fabric I notice this little girl. She was about 10 years old and she looked horribly dirty there was stuff in her hair and she had no shoes. She had been following us around for a while like most people do. I tried to talk with her a little bit but the language barrier kept us from really communicating. So I simply smiled at her every time we made eye contact and it made her so happy (I bet she had never gotten attention from a white person before). Simpson had bought me bananas (in Bengali they are called colas) and I offered her one, I think it made her day. There are so many kids here that need love and food but in the city they live in they have no chance. It really makes me think positively about the orphanage and what they are doing. They are saving the kids from living on the streets where they would either have to beg, work, or end up in the sex trade. Bangla Hope is saving children and it is beautiful.
             After that encounter we took a rickshaw ride to another part of town and it was so fun. I feel bad for the poor little men who pedal the bikes that power the rickshaw. They must have some buff legs because I’ve seen them tow a family of 5 on those things. We road back on a rickshaw van that an old man was pedaling and he was able to tow 5 of us plus all the fabric that we had bought. It was intense.
             When we got back to the dental clinic we had more rice and dhal and that ended the second day in Dhaka. Random fact: I have had rice and dahl every meal that I have been in Dhaka.  I am so ready to get back and eat Shati’s cooking!!
             Today (Wednesday) we finally got to shop for things that we liked. It was a pleasant day where we went to nice shops and ate good food. We didn’t buy much because everything is expensive in Gulshan. There was a mini grocery store that we went to and we bought some oatmeal (all of us have been craving it) the first bag we found was almost $10! I wanted to buy Muesli but it was just as expensive. We finally bought two little cans of rolled oats for $5. It will be worth it!
             I am so excited to get back to the orphanage and see the kids! We leave tomorrow at 6 A.M. Pray for us!

The Flexible Life of a Missionary

             I have never been a flexible person. I cannot even touch my toes without bending my knees. However, when you are in the mission field you have to become extremely flexible because everything’s is always changing.
             Today was one of those days where I got to practice my flexibility. I felt a little stressed about all the things that I had to do and it turned out that most of the plans that I have been relying on have changed.  I was supposed to start teaching tomorrow and today was a day to prep me for that. This morning at breakfast we were informed that we might be going into Dhaka tonight at 11 on the public bus. Now it is official that we will be leaving tonight and returning Thursday morning. This means that my teaching is delayed for a while. Classes go from Sunday-Thursday here and I will be leaving next Sunday to pick up three babies from a village. Who knows when I will be able to really start teaching?
             We will be buying things for the kids in Dhaka and doing other random tasks that need to be done. Please pray that we will have a safe trip tonight. The buses are pretty sketchy here and I’m going to be exhausted the next few days because we have to stay up all night.

This shall be interesting.

I might not be able to update you until Thursday night (your Wednesday morning)!

God's In Control

“Always be joyful. Keep on praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17

What a beautiful Sabbath this was.
              We decided to go to the English Sabbath School but when we got to the Waid’s house Mr. Waid was sleeping so we decided not to disturb him. This gave us plenty of time to read our Bibles and old guides/insights. Church was really good too even though the sound equipment is absolutely dreadful.
             At the end of church we found out that we were suppose to have lunch at two, which is the time that we usually do the village Sabbath school. So I went to find Pastor Ponwell (I’m not sure how to spell it) to ask him if we could move the time of the Sabbath school. He told me that he would rather just do it at two but he wanted me to eat but I insisted on going at two (I was suppose to tell the story) and that I would get food after it was over. By the time two rolled around Lauren, Heather, and I went down stairs but Ponwell was nowhere so we decided to ask the waids where he was. The Waid’s convinced us to sit down and eat while we were waiting for him to show up. I ate super fast and kept checking to see if anyone was out there but I couldn’t tell if anyone was leaving the gate. I decided that I should go ask some of the older kids if a few of their friends had gone to help with the Sabbath school (our kids help out with song service). The kids told me that they had already left so I ran back into the kitchen to tell everyone. Mr. Waid saw my distress so he asked someone if they could take us to the village school on the rickshaw van.
             Not sure if we would make it in time for me to tell the story of Naaman I prayed that God would work everything out. When we got to the village school we ran into the courtyard but realized that Ponwell wasn’t there and neither were any of our kids! All the village kids saw that we were there so they gathered together on their mats and looked at us with expecting eyes. We had no translator (besides the teacher who spoke little English) so we just started singing songs. They didn’t know all the English songs we sang and there were definitely some awkward moments but we just kept on pushing through hoping that Ponwell would show up soon. The village kids really liked it when we did father Abraham even though they had no clue what they were saying. I kept giving the Sabbath school to Jesus knowing that everything would work out the way that he wanted it to. We did song service for about twenty to twenty five mins (poor kids hahah) and then we heard the rickshaw van coming with Ponwell and the kids!!
             They sang three more songs and then I told the story of Naaman and how God had healed him and then Ponwell translated it all. Then we gave out colored crayons and some coloring sheets. When they had finished they were suppose to come show it to us and then we would give them a little treat. It ended up being a really good Sabbath school and I’m pretty sure the kids enjoyed it a lot. God is definitely working in these villages. Not only do we get 30-40 kids that are Muslim or Hindu but we also get a large crowd of adults who stand along the fence and watch as well.
             We found out later that Ponwell had arranged it so that we could eat at 2 and be in the village at 3 but he had neglected to tell us that he had done this. Oh well. Everything went the way that God wanted it to go.
             God is teaching me so much here it is amazing. I’m learning how to lean on Him in new ways. He is also showing me some things that I have been holding onto in my life and that I am not letting Him have full control! These are things that I was just beginning to realize in America but I don’t think that I would have been able to really let go and surrender all. In Bangladesh I have no choice. God is so Good, He is perfecting me so that I can become more and more like Him! Amen. 

I Wouldn’t Have it Any Other Way

              God gave me plenty of time to spend with Him today. It really refreshed me and reminded me that He knows best and He has a reason for me to be here. I was reading one of my old prayer journals from May and I realized that I had no clue what was coming when I was praying about going to Bangladesh. One of my fellow Student Missionary friends said it best when she was describing how her trip was going so far, “God has already shattered every expectation that I had about how this year would go.... He's definitely been teaching me a thing or two about faith, gratitude, and humility.” This year may not be going the way that I thought it would go but it is definitely going the way that God wants it to go. I feel as if He is cleansing me of all the things that are not of Him so that I can become more humble, grateful, and faithful.
 
             Deuteronomy 30:6 “The Lord your God will clean your heart… so that you will love Him with all your heart and soul and so you may live.” My Lord knows best!

              After God renewed my spirit I was ready to hang out with the kids again. I bounced out of the room and began hanging out with a group of the older kids. One of the kids asked me what my mother’s name was and so I decided that it would be best if I showed them a picture so they could see her. So I ran up stairs to my room and grabbed all the pictures that I had of my family. I told them all to “bacho” (sit) and I started telling them about each one of my family members. When they saw my mom and little sister Lila they kept saying “Shundar,” which means beautiful/attractive.  One of the little girls Joni kept on kissing the pictures of Lila, my mom, and me. They thought it was funny how my Dad and brothers all had the same chin as me; the kids really love my dimples. When I looked up I realized that a crowd had grown and there were even some caregivers in the group who had the biggest smiles. It really helped my homesickness to tell the kids about my family back at home.
             I was running around with the kids all evening so by the time the sunset I was exhausted and just wanted to sit. Luke came and faithfully held my hand even thought I was being a boring playmate. I can honestly say that I don’t have a favorite kid here because I love them all but I have a special place in my heart for Luke. His skin is so dark and beautiful and he has the cutest little face with big eyes and loooong eyelashes. Every night he gives me a kiss on both of my cheeks and tells me goodnight. Oh my word, that boy has stolen my heart hahaha. I suppose I’m falling in love with all the kids and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

(Please continue to leave comments on my posts. You have no clue how happy it makes me to have so much encouragement)

Spiders, Smoothies, and the Market Place

            Mornings seem to be the worst. I go to bed happy every night but by the time I wake up in the morning I become miserably homesick. That is why the morning walks that Mrs. Waid goes on are good for me; it forces me out of bed and into the Bangladesh culture. This morning was a holiday where the people received their gods again (the ones that they threw into the water last week). There are several stations where they place their gods along the roadside and they had loud music playing. Although I don’t believe in their plastic gods I find their devotion inspiring. I think the Christians in America should celebrate God and his Love everyday like it is a celebration. Everyday is a gift from God.
             After the walk I came back to my room to have my devotions. In the middle of my reading Heather freaked out and exclaimed “THAT IS HUUUUGE.!” Being overly curious to what she was talking about I got up and walked over to her bed. I looked down to see the biggest spider I have ever seen in my life! With its legs it was about the size of my palm and it was super fast. Lauren and I wanted to take pictures of it so we got really close and all of a sudden it turned around and started running straight towards my feet. I seriously jumped up a couple feet in the air and landed on Heathers headboard. At this point we were all screaming and had our sandals in our hands prepared to TAKE THAT SPIDER DOWN! We lost sight of it for a few minutes and then it magically appeared on our table (it was like something from a horror film). It made its way under the tablecloth and against the side of the table top and Lauren started beating the place it was. I have never seen so many guts from just one bug. It was gross! Mrs. Waid told us they weren’t poisonous but that they ate the cockroaches and it was possible for them to get bigger. I would rather have a cockroach in my room.
             Us four white American girls (Mrs. Waid included) decided that we wanted to go to town this morning so we got our personal rickshaw van to take us. I absolutely love going to town on that thing. Everyone in town just stares at us so we have decided to smile and wave wildly back at them. It seems to make most them happy, especially the kids. I bough two more outfits because having just one daily outfit wasn’t really working out. We helped Mrs. Waid buy stuff for the orphanage’s laundry room and I bought a air tight Tupperware to keep the ants away from any food/cough drop that they decide to go after. Overall it was a successful trip and I’m beginning to learn my way around the market place!
             When we got back from shopping we had mango smoothies and then we had the meeting to find out what classes Lauren and I would be teaching. I am teaching 2^nd graders English/math and 3^rd graders health. I am so nervous about being a teacher. Please pray for me; I start being a teacher on Sunday. I’m not sure they realize that I have no clue what I’m doing.
             God’s got it all under control… I have to remember that. 

Focus on the Rose not the Thorns

   Earlier today I wrote a blog that was rather pessimistic (I ended up not posting it) and then I received a comment from Constance Spano on my last blog entry. In it she told me to focus on the rose and not on the thorns. In other words focus on the good things and not the bad things that are happening around you. As soon as I read that I began to look at things in a more positive light. I am now making a list of the things that I like about being here or that I am thankful for no matter how small they are:

-The food is good (tonight for dinner I had curried string beans and then for dessert we had ice cream that tasted homemade)
-I love when the kids yell my name from across the campus
-When you ring the doorbell it plays a little song
-I get to go for a walk every morning and attempt to speak bangla with the villagers
-The kids draw me pictures
-I have a western toilet and shower
-I HAVE AC IN MY ROOM (although electricity is unpredictable it is still especially appreciated at night time)

My new goal is to push out the bad things and only embrace the good.
             After I got done using the Internet Heather, Lauren, and I went down to finish the pictures. We took the rest of them this morning but now it was the hard part of figuring out which name went with each kid. We couldn’t find any of the caretakers so we decided to find one of the kids that spoke English well. Lauren went and came back with Danny. We sat on Mrs. Waids porch as Danny identified each of the kids. Mrs. Waid came up by the time we were done and let us into her cold house (It felt so good). I am keeping whatever snacks I have left from the ants in their fridge and I decided that Danny deserved a treat for helping us. I pulled out my bag of Dark Chocolate covered pomegranates and gave him a few while telling him “I’m not sure you will like these.” The moment that the chocolate hit his tongue he got so excited and exclaimed how good it was. It made me so happy. Chocolate is everyone’s friend!
             Eventually I made my way back to my room to put my computer away and I noticed that my bed was covered in ants yet again. My package of ricolas had attracted all the ants in the country to a party on MY bed. Determined to save my delicious treats I took them out on the porch and began to de-ant each package. I was so focused that it took several minutes for me to realize that there were people below me talking. I glanced down and noticed a group of about 10-15 villagers just staring at me. Feeling rather friendly I waved at them and yelled “Nomasgar” (a Hindu Greeting). They all pathetically replied and then continued staring at me as I worked. It made me laugh; they were probably wondering what this crazy white girl was doing banging little packaged cough drops on her railing.
             So maybe I lied when I told you that I had conquered the ants. They are unstoppable. I am just thankful that God answered my prayers and there are no ants on my bed right now.


Update: I wont have pictures up for a while because we are only aloud to use 1 G a month and I'm still using Heather's internet. I'm sorry. :(