Picnic to Flames!!!!!!!!

Bengali firemen with their little firetruck (red pick-up)

FireWOMEN of the day

Remains of the 12 ft. haystack

Whitest firefighters in the country!

School picnic was off to a great start with little girls and boys reciting Bangla rhymes and songs. Hair pieces and belts were given out to celebrate the end of the school year and special snacks were shared while watching a little cartoon-what a treat! After lichiis, ballons, and special egg curry for lunch, the kids went to their rooms to take their afternoon naps.

            Normally, Lisa and I will only eat a late breakfast and early dinner here because they feed us so well we can’t handle any more! But today, all the teachers were called to eat a delicious curry lunch together to end the picnic. God must have known we needed the extra caloric energy for what was coming.

            Just minutes after we come up to our room after lunch, Lisa looks out the window to investigate why the children are making so much noise during their nap time. She finds all the kids being taken from their rooms and ushered onto the grass in front. Woah! She spots the smoke and follows it to flames behind the cow stalls of our small campus. “Kelsey! Their trash-burning fire has gotten out of hand!” We race down the stairs and comfort the kids for a few minutes before running to join other staff at the scene. The once 12 ft haystack right beside the cow stall is now going up in flames. Immediately we begin running back and forth carrying bucket after bucket of water and sand to throw on the flames. In the smoky chaos our lungs burn and at times we cannot even see, but still we throw sand and water at the haystack, relentlessly fighting the flames licking around the edges. After about an hour of this a few firemen show up. By this time we had some control of it, but we were glad for the hoses the firemen had in the back of their little red pick-up. With the firemen spraying all the water, our job became removing all the hay from the haystack. With water, soot and ash flying everywhere, we reach again and again for smoldering hay bundles and fling them behind us.  Though some are quite warm, they do not burn us.

            By the time we finish strewing the 12 ft haystack all over the ground, we are covered head to foot in ash, soot, and hay and reek like a….firefighter I guess! We must have been quite unrecognizable as the kids wouldn’t even come near us and one little girl screamed when I looked over at her! Shati(our amazing cook)was so worried about all of us working out there she sent us all tea as we left the site of such great misfortune. Two showers later we still reek, though we fare better than our clothes! Four times we have washed them now yet still they smell as bad as the smoldering haystack behind the cow stall.

            Walking through the burnt remains this morning I am again filled with gratitude for how closely God was watching over our little campus yesterday. He fed us so we’d have the energy to fight, he let the kitchen lady hear the distressed cows and alert everyone of the fire, he kept the flames from spreading across our campus or to any of the electrical lines nearby, and he brought the man to work on the antenna because he turned out to be the only one on campus who had the fire department number! After all the scares and uncertainties, the only thing we ended up losing was the cow food. And, we gained an unforgettable bonding experience with the people here…good common trauma J

Independence Day

Decorated courtyard

"Pakistani fighters"

Freedom fighters(Bangladesh) are victorious

Music and decorations appear well before 8 a.m. today. It is not only the first day of Christmas vacation, but Bangladesh’s Independence Day and we are celebrating by having a sports day with all the kids; the first sports day they’ve ever experienced!

The event begins in the courtyard with all the children standing at attention in the grass facing a flag atop a bamboo pole.  The compound is filled with 100 little voices belting out their national anthem. Then the honorable guests present (the founders and board chairman of the orphanage) together cut the ribbon and the event officially begins! Children scatter to the four corners of the courtyard and gather around their team flags. Their excited anticipation is beaming from their faces as they squirm on the wall eagerly awaiting the first event. Being the oldest kids of the orphanage, the 1^st and 2^nd graders get to start the first event, a simple race across the courtyard. Then my beloved KG class and finally the two youngest groups race. After each race, the 1^st 2^nd and 3^rd place winners are ushered over to some bricks arranged as a podium to salute their achievement. Then the caregivers, teachers, and even the Waids got to race!

Next I witnessed 100 kids play their first game ever of musical chairs! It’s such an exciting game to win, but all the elimination makes lots of  ‘losers’ of the game as well….there were a lot of tears with that game L However, the tears were soon dried with the following frog race. With their hands on the back of their thighs, 100 cute little ‘frogs’ hopped across the grass as fast as their little legs could bounce them! Then their hands were tied behind their backs for the final event and they raced to tear a candy off a string with their mouths. With the string hanging just above their heads, they jumped and jumped until they grasped the candy firmly in their mouth or fell and couldn’t get up because their little hands were tied! Even Shuniti was wheeled over in her new chair to play the candy game alongside the other children.

To finish the events, the boys were dressed in costume and emerged with sticks and painted moustaches, representing the freedom fighters who fought against Pakistan for Bangladesh’s independence. A role-play of the fighting and Bangladesh’s triumph ended in an excited victory parade circling the courtyard.

After a mid-day break, a frozen banana, and a last-minute dance preparation, the awards ceremony was held. Once our dance was over we were able to enjoy Bangla rhymes, songs, and dances presented by cute 5-8 yr old girls. Finally, the winners of the morning received their awards; hairclips for the girls, wind up planes for the boys and other special treats. Then we got our special treat—eggplant and potatoe curry for dinner! MMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!

A visit to the freedom fighter(a friend of the Waids and veteran of Bangladesh’s independence war) was such an appropriate end to the holiday. Well celebrated and thoroughly enjoyed by all was this country’s 39^th birthday! 

It chills and it thrills

I sit on my bed still snuggled under my sheet and blanket. A cool morning breeze coming in through the window keeps me chilly after a cold shower. I am thankful for the thin sweater I bought in Dhaka for $1.50 and the socks I never thought I’d use. After days with a misery index of 118 F, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever feel anything but hot and humid here. December has brought cooler weather with it and though it is chilling, the new feeling is also thrilling! 

Along with the chills come the thrills of warm clothes! Hour after hour has been spent finding long pants and jackets for each child here. It has been long but rewarding work as their faces just beam when they are handed their new ‘wardrobe’ for winter. One night while saying goodnight to the kids we discovered even the caregivers had been given new pajamas for the cooler weather. One mother was wearing her new pj’s and others must have been watching as we marveled at how nice they were because pretty soon there was a whole group of them crowding around eager to model their new pj’s! The sheer thrill of wearing their new knit pajamas was beaming from their faces. 

The night of the kangaroos was my favorite. December has actually brought some ‘American cold’ weather, and the kids weren’t warm enough with their regular pajamas. So, all the younger ones were given kangaroos (the cute pajama one-sies).  We came to kiss them all goodnight the first night they had them and we were greeted with the cutest sight! They all run in their new kangaroos towards the gate as we approach yelling, “Kelsey Lisa Teacher! Kangaroo! Kangaroo!” I have never seen so many kids in one-sies in one place before! Jumping around, tugging at our clothes just absolutely thrilled to show us their new pajamas, they made the cutest kangaroos I’ve ever seen 

Rice Paddies

When I think of hard-core missionaries out in the “mission field,” one thing I picture them doing is working with the locals in the fields for their mere survival.  I sometimes imagine myself as that hard-core missionary, and I absolutely love the experiences that make me feel anywhere close to it! So when I heard the day was actually coming when we would get to help harvest the rice, I was stoked!

It is morning and we all gather around and pick out a sickle for the job. Even the older kids gather to help carry out the rice we will cut. Then single file we carefully wander around a maze of rice fields until we get to our own. I have no idea how they know which field is whose-they all look the same to me! We tie our ornas (scarves) in a more practical, working style and begin watching and learning. Grab the rice paddy about 8 inches from the ground and cut it somewhere below your hand. Each person takes about 4 rows of paddies and works across the field, leaving the cut rice in neat piles to be bundled and carried back to the orphanage. Looking around at the 30+ other laborers in the fields with us, I cannot believe what I am doing. I am cutting rice, out in a field with the locals, in Bangladesh, harvesting their staple food for the year, just like in bible times! Though the sun makes the sweat drip, I am absolutely loving it. They probably think I’m crazy having so much fun with their work! We continue to cut field after field until I am called to breakfast. I don’t want to leave! In a culture where it’s rude to refuse food though, I must go. Before we leave one girl shows us how to tie a bundle of rice together and carry it on our heads.

             It was only a small taste of the harvesting life, but it was something I had dreamed of doing for years so I am just ecstatic I had the opportunity to experience it! And for those of you that have seen my klutzy side….I did NOT cut any fingers with my sickel J  

Panchbibi on Mr. Puffin

Putt putt putt. We’re going shopping with Grammy again! It’s about an hour on the motor van to Panchbibi, and by motor van I mean a motorized bike sort of thing with a flat bed on the back we all sit on. Lisa and I jump on the back, our feet dangling just inches from the ground. Did you ever have one of those old school station wagons you could sit in the back facing the car behind you? I loved that seat! And that’s the “seat” Lisa and I were in the whole trip. First thing Grammy wanted to do was name the putt-putt, and we eventually agreed on Mr. Puffin Toot! Lisa and I had quite an entertaining view on Mr. Puffin of what people do AFTER we pass. Some try to hide their curiosity but can’t help looking back 3 or 4 times, others hold a captivated stare until we are out of sight, and still others just point and laugh hysterically! Bikes, motorcycles and buses coming up behind us to pass seem to speed up right next to us, then take their sweet time with their close-up view before finally passing. And goodness do they like cutting things close! I’m still getting used to it, but they come up and pass so close you can easily reach out your hand and touch the bus!

On our quest for a big container in Panchbibi we discover a number of  “naughty” salesmen as Grammy likes to call them. One salesman even changed the price when we came back after looking in other shops! The others gave us such high prices some local girls just laughed at him and later told us it should only cost about half that much! Silly man! We may be white, but we’re not completely clueless about Bengali prices J Luckily, the Waids have connections there, and we found their nice Muslim friend who helped build their orphanage. He agrees to help us and goes ahead to try and get the big container Grammy needs from the naughty salesman who changed the price on us. Maybe a Bengali can get us a good deal if we stay out of sight? We wait in the shade under some hay atop bamboo poles….a Bengali gazebo? Almost instantaneously it seems a crowd gathers…they seem friendly but just stare and stare with such intense curiosity! Our friend tells them to go, asking them how they would feel if they went to a foreign country and everybody just gathered around and stared at them…..2 men left(we weren’t really bothered by it, our friend was just trying to be polite I think). Then a woman pipes up saying she’s a woman, so it’s ok for her to stare at other women (us). Then another man speaks up and wants our friend to translate to us that they have never seen foreigners before, so they are just very happy today because they get to see us! We laugh, it was innocent enough! They see we are happy too and feel no need to leave. Then they bring us chairs! Grammy compared us to monkeys at the circus….they just loved to watch us! I found it rather entertaining myself….a win-win situation J

The Waids’ friend was able to get Grammy her huge container for a better price, and after a bit more shopping we load it up on Mr. Puffin and squish ourselves around it. As we putt-putt out of Panchbibi the crowd follows us…it looks like a parade as we turn the corner and this mass of people just follows us! A little later we have to stop and wait for a train and are once again surrounded, people getting out their phones to take pictures of the wondrous sight passing through their village! It makes me curious as well…what will they say when they go home and show their friends and families the pics?

On our way again, I can’t help but laugh at the bikers we pass that, after seeing us, pedal faster to catch up for a better look. The ones that are able to catch up often fall back, catch up, fall back, and catch up again before they have the courage to practice an English phrase they know…..“Sister, what eez jour country?” or “What eeez jour name?” After a beautiful bright orange sunset over the rice fields, it begins to get dark, which means we now get flashlights in our faces from the curious people we pass. One group of boys gets so excited they start dancing as we pass and point, “How are yoooooooouuuuu!” A few other kids break into song as we pass…it just makes me smile J

So that’s my experience with Panchbibi. Naughty salesmen and many curious but very friendly people. Thanks Mr. Puffin for the good times! 

Dhaka

WARNING: This is a super long, not uber exciting blog. You may get bored, fall alseep....may want to grab a pillow before you start :)

5:15 a.m. I am mysteriously awoken….why are we getting up so early??? As my cold shower awakens me, the realization sets in. OH YEAH! WE’RE GOING TO DHAKA! A total of 11 people(including 3 kids) are going on the trip to the capital for a few days and I’m excited! Lisa, Grammy and I each take a kid on our lap and putt-putt out to the bus station. By 7 a.m. I am on my first Bengali bus with Danny on my lap, beginning the 7-hour ride to the capital. It is such a treat for any of the kids to get outside the orphanage, these 3 kids were just enthralled at everything they saw out the window!  Danny is about 8 years old, speaks very good English, and was very faithful in giving us a narration of everything we passed. “Sugar cane! Truck! Boat! Fishing! Airplane! Train track!” And every time he saw a train he would stand up with his face intently pressed against the window yelling, “Train! Stop! I want to ride you! Train! Stop!....” It was adorable, and I was absolutely loving travelling with these kids J

After a stop to taste our first nann, we arrive in Dhaka. While the kids get their dental work done, we go with Grammy to experience our first Bengali market.  A few hours later we are still wandering around a maze of small shops squished so close together I could barely stretch my arms out to each side while walking down the aisles separating the rows of shops. After dark we meet up with the kids who, now that they had their teeth pulled, just get to enjoy the rest of the trip! A group splits off to see a doctor and we go with Grammy to a “mall”, 5 stories of enclosed, air-conditioned shops. A few pairs of shoes later we finally take the kids back to the dental clinic where we will be staying. Thankfully the Waids are staying with another friend so there are only 9 of us to share 3 beds J But that also means we get to give the kids bucket baths and get them to bed! I had fun with that J

Next morning we have the kids up, ready, and fed by 7:30 a.m. because we are going to another market, the BongoBazar! Getting stuck in traffic on the way is only the first of many experiences that day. Cars are so close together you can stick just your finger out the window and touch the car next to you. In that traffic we discovered how small 5-year old Tiesha’s bladder is and how easily Bengali’s get carsick! Tiesha had to pee, but the cars were too close to open our door so she peed her pants on the seat beside me. Then Deborah (also about 5 years old), without any warning, just upchucked all over the van floor. It was a surprise to all of us! We have nothing to clean it up with….oh wait! Buy a newspaper from the paper man wandering through the traffic! We spread the leftover sheets on the floor as a precautionary. Then Tiesha had to pee again. Somehow our driver managed to get over to the outer lane this time where I could hop out of the car with her and let her go on the side of the road. We get back in the car, and a few mins later Tiesha upchucks, missing the newspaper we had down for Deboarh. Then Deborah pukes on the paper again…the poor girls looked so miserable I felt so bad for them, but also just a little grossed out at what they were giving us to clean up J

We make it to BongoBazar which turns out to be a huge, dirty, super super squished collection of shops—2 people shoulder to shoulder could not even fit in the dirt paths between these shops! It is here that I am blown away with Grammy’s shopping stamina. She spent ALL DAY LONG in that market bartering for shirts, pants, leggings, sweaters, shoes, and belts for all the kids at the orphanage. Just trying to keep up with Grammy and keep track of the kids made for a crazy day! Such small spaces packed with so many people touching and talking to the kids became a little nerveracking after some guy started walking off with one of the girls! Luckily Grammy noticed, grabbed her back, “Oh no you don’t take our little Deboarh!” Aiish! Markets can also be quite entertaining. In the shoe market a transvestite walks by and waves, “Hello!” we reply, “Hi!”, then he/she continues, “I am half ladies!” and keeps walking. Bahahaha everyone around that understood that English was laughing for quite awhile J

I could go on and on about experiences there, but I must wrap this up soon. We split up for the journey home the next day, Grammy, the 3 kids, 3 other girls and I left at 5:30 a.m. in the van packed with all the blankets, sweaters, shoes, and other clothes for the kids we had bought. Squished on a bench seat with the 3 kids, I was thankful only one of them got carsick on the way back! We were expecting it this time, so we had what we thought were some waterproof bags…we soon found we were mistaken when Tiesha puked and it all came out the bottom of the bag onto the floor anyways! Poor girl’s tummy hurt so bad she couldn’t keep still in the car, but that talented little girl did manage to miss the bag and puke on my hand instead. Haha! Is this what mothers have to deal with? I sure felt like one cleaning up after them, bathing them, and getting them in bed that trip…and I’m loving them like my own kids more and more everyday. J Well, I hope this gives you a taste of Dhaka life! It was exciting, but it sure felt good to come back home…BanglaHope feels like home now J

Happy Bangla Birthday!

“Kelsey, we’re celebrating your birthday right now.” It is the evening before my birthday and Lisa drags me to the front of “chapel”(the evening worship with the kids) in a headlock. I KNEW she’d been acting suspicious the past few days! But what exactly had she done? My mind races and the excitement builds as she begins talking to the kids. I am so lucky to share my birthday here with quite possibly the cutest little boy EVER! Jacob will just melt you with his smile, and he was called to the front with me. They begin singing “Happy Birthday” to us and Jacob is just beaming beside me with a huge smile on his cute little face. Then Lisa passes out a candy and banana cookies she had made to ALL the kids and caregivers-she must have made at least 140 cookies in her lunch break that day! It is QUITE a tasty treat for them. Then she again disappears, but the kids want to hear a special story for the celebration. I tell them how birthdays are celebrated in other countries. They didn’t like the idea of birthday spankings, but they loved the Ecuadorian tradition of smashing birthday girl’s face into the birthday cake! Something about being able to smear frosting all over everyone was appealing to them J After the story I was called up to the balcony(still in sight of the kids) for another surprise! A few of the staff(mainly Banni and Lisa I believe) had put up a banner and very carefully decorated a table with a cake and candle on it. Following more songs and laughter it was time to cut the cake. The 1^st slice I placed on the napkin Lisa was holding so close to my face was just too tempting for her—I soon had cake all over my face and everyone trying to dodge me as I made sure they got to experience some cake on the face as well! Lisa hadn’t heard me telling the story of that tradition to the kids just minutes earlier, but I later found out the kids were watching as Lisa so perfectly brought the story to life for them! When I felt I had shared enough frosting love they passed out the slices of delicious Funfetti cake with chocolate frosting MMMMMMMM! It was soooooooo good. They even had Bengali ice cream to go with it! The mango was my favorite J Festivities continued with much laughter, good times, and even a game of badminton. I was thoroughly enjoying myself and it wasn’t even my birthday yet!

Birthday morning I awoke to a table of packages-another one of Lisa’s wonderful surprises! Lisa and Banni got me Doreos and Nucilla—Bengali version of Oreos and Nutella. Of course we put them together and tried them right away--SOOOO TASTY! Needless to say, with such a scrumptious chocolatey start to the day it was truly one of the best days I’ve had here yet! It was absolutely packed with so many awesome experiences like my mom getting to meet my 7 yr. old mom on skype, a bunch of cute little balls of energy singing at my door, and even helping a few people experience their 1^st ride on a bike...but this blog is already way too ridiculously long to tell everything! The “little gifts”(but really huge gifts of love) from staff and kids alike throughout the day were such inspiring reminders of how much we have to give, even when we have nothing—love is the greatest gift of all!

Before coming here I’d dreamed of being able to give that gift of love to a child that didn’t have much hope, even of survival. I dreamed of rescuing a child and bringing it to the orphanage where it could be well cared for and grow up knowing that God and all the wonderful people working here loved them. We’d heard of a baby boy we may get to rescue….could my dream come true already?! On my birthday, Mrs. Waid took us to the boy’s village to bring him back to the orphanage, but that’s another story for another blog. It just made my birthday that much more unforgettable. A perfectly splendid day ended in star gazing with my “adopted” twin sisters J

Grammy's Here!

“Grammy’s coming! Grammy’s coming! Grammy’s coming! GRAMMY’S COMING!” Everyone’s faces have been beaming with these words for the past week as the anticipation is almost too much for them to handle. It is clear from the sparkle in their eyes and the excitement in their voice when they talk about “Grammy and Grandpa” that the Waids are dearly loved here. And it’s contagious—I find myself just as excited for my new grandparents to arrive, even though I’ve never even met them! The past few days have been filled with preparations of not only cleaning the entire compound but lining the sidewalks with brightly colored flags and constructing a bamboo arch near the gate and covering it in balloons(that say Happy Birthday, hehe).

Today was probably one of the most exciting days of their entire year. The Waids are not only the kids’ beloved grandparents but also “Mommy” and “Daddy” to many of the staff that now work here. AND THEY WERE COMING HOME! In honor of the occasion school was cancelled for the afternoon. At the ring of the bell children come running to line up at the gate. We are hardly able to stand still in eager anticipation of Grammy and Grandpa’s arrival. With eyes sparkling and smiles beaming the van bringing the Waids is finally spotted and drives in, letting out some of the most loving people I’ve ever met (well I hadn’t met them yet). Immediately being smothered with hugs and kisses from staff and kids alike, the Waids greet every single kid, each interaction making it more and more clear to me why Grammy and Grandpa are loved so much. But the welcome ceremony has just begun. After many a hug and kiss and even a few tears of joy, the Waids are ushered to some chairs where their feet are washed. Then a group of girls dressed as beautiful angels perform a dance as huge paper leis are tenderly placed around the honored grandparents’ necks. They are finally ushered through the bamboo arch of birthday balloons and along the colorful sidewalk up to their house where the ceremony ends. Then I got to meet Grammy for the 1^st time! I was so excited, they felt like my own grandparents I hadn’t seen in a long time! In talking to them a little more over dinner I am even more amazed at the love they have for all their “kids” here. Grandpa even said “they would go crazy without being able to come and live here with their kids.”

It is exciting, relieving and refreshing to have their presence on the compound. Tonight, the lightning illuminating the sky through cool rain with the powerful booming thunder in the background was like God’s reminder of what a powerful yet refreshing light was brought to this campus today. The sign hung with love on the Waids door says is perfectly: “Welcome Home Grammy and Grandpa.” 

My Prayer Tonight

Tonight I pray that love be communicated. That these kids could realize how much we love them, even when we make them obey. That when we follow through and they don’t get their own way they could still know that we love them. I pray that our love for these kids could grow everyday, and for the strength to love them unconditionally. It seems so backwards that the biggest recipient of our love also be our biggest frustration. We are so thankful for the love we have received, we long for our love to be received in return. I pray that our families would know how much we love them too, even when we aren’t able to communicate. Most of all I pray for the wisdom and the patience to love as You do.

From Dream to Reality

Since I left my house on September 21, I have been living in quite a blissful dream. Sure there have been culture shocks, hot nights with little sleep, and times I’ve wondered how I was going to do this when it had only been ONE WEEK. But it was all ok. I had fun with the kids, I loved their smiles, they made me laugh, it was so easy to love them, I felt I was exactly where God wanted me, and every day was a good day. This was the dream I was living in.

I still love these kids, we still have fun and laugh together everyday, I still feel this is exactly where God wants me to be. But I am no longer living in a dream. I have awoken to my reality here. Maybe it was the discovery of how challenging it is to control a Nursery class when the teacher leaves the room and all you can tell them in their language is “no” and “sit down”? Maybe it was the kid in class who was crying because I didn’t call on him when he wanted to be called on. Maybe it’s subconscious culture shock. Maybe it’s just a big reality check. Maybe it’s the overwhelming realization of what I’ve gotten myself into. Whatever it is, I am really here now, actually doing “this”. I don’t know what “this” will become in the next 6 months, but I know God will be doing “this” with me.

I’m discovering how hard patience can be when you feel you’re running low. How difficult forgiving and forgetting can get for the same kid over and over again. How wrong it feels to have to “put on” the loving face when other feelings won’t let the real love underneath come out. But despite it all I’m glad I am awake now. I like dreaming, but even better than dreaming is living out your dreams. And what good is a dream if it never becomes reality?

Perfect Day

10/10/10. Tens all around today, so naturally it was perfect for a lot of things…

Perfect day for a girl to pee on MY pants

Perfect day for me to continue to wear them all day for fear of another occurrence (we only have 2 outfits so far and I need my other pants for tomorrow)

Perfect day to make masks with the kids in art

Perfect day to teach my Kinders an Old McDonald remix with the vowels (Old McDonald had some vowels a,e,i,o,u…)

Perfect day to go through the alphabet backwards with the Nursery kids

Perfect day to play steal the bacon with the kids

Perfect day to eat dinner with my fingers

Perfect day to hoky-poky

Perfect day to make baby Gracie laugh

Perfect day to kiss all our kids goodnight

Perfect day to practice the patience of love

Perfect day to say, “ami tomake bhalobashi” (I love you)

Perfect day to thank God for bringing me right here, right now. 

Just 1 week, but...

It blows my mind to begin to realize how much one can learn and change in just one week. And at the same time how much doesn’t change. Sabbath afternoon we went to do a program in the village nearby and the Bengali ladies were staring, talking, touching me, pinching my arms-Woah! It’s white skin!-haha Yes! I’m still white! I don’t think that’ll ever change!

I’m thinking this is the most hot and humid combo I’ve lived in, but I thought by the end of one week I was beginning to get used to sweating so much all the time. Well, apparently I’m not adapted well enough yet because last night the weather stole quite a bit of my sleep. One of our hottest days here turned into our most miserable night yet. We lay on our sheets, sweating. Despite our two fans going, our room on the 4^th floor is even more warm and stuffy than usual. Sleep is definitely not coming, so Lisa turns on our lifesaving A.C. for a few mins (it cools the room….pretty well, but it uses precious electricity so we try to use it only for about ½ hr. each night). Somehow we manage to begin a cycle of tossing and turning finding a new slightly cooler position every few mins, occasionally turning on the precious A.C. for a few mins for lack of other options to get any sleep! We were later able to borrow a temp/humidity gauge and found the misery index (temp and humidity combined calculation of what it actually feels like) reaching 118 in our room! No wonder we had trouble sleeping J

My first week here has been filled with many other things too. We’ve been learning the language since our 1^st day here with our 1^st phrase we learned and practiced with the kids “Tumi kaman hacho?”(“how are you?). I have now learned a handful of other phrases, animals, names, and even how to count to 23! Lucky me even got to speak for vespers our 1^st week here! I also got to play badminton for the 1^st time ever in the court they set up here! It was fun, but I do need some practice—Banni (one of our friends here) has agreed to teach me if I teach her piano J

I have also learned that not only do geckos crawl on your wall, they squeak! And frogs….they can jump a looooooong ways. Thanks to Lisa I have learned to stay even farther away from frogs when she is on the other side of themJ

But, we now have super comfortable, thin Bengali clothes that I love! So life is good J

Shopping and Dancing

Super Sunday! Hehe J The exchange rate here is amazing(currently 69 Taka=$1). So now that we have Taka instead of U.S. $ we feel quite rich J We travelled to the nearest town, Hele in a “motor van”.(pic above) Now I have no idea where that got that name because neither is it a van nor does it have any kind of motor. Their “motor van” consists of a bike with a wagon type of back on it designed for maybe 4 Bengali people? Well, our poor biker guy was pulling 900+ pounds on his bike with 6 of us in his “van” (4 of us being Americans-a.k.a. bigger). Needless to say he was quite relieved when we found another “van” to split the weight with!

            Lisa and I were so stoked to go shopping! We finally decided on 4 Saleur Kameis outfits, got measured, and left them to be sewed! Roughly $5 for the fabric of each and about $1.50 for the labor of sewing it all—bargains! On our return voyage we rode in a different type of van that actually had a roof and may have been battery powered. We were fortunate enough to encounter our first traffic jam in this, big trucks trying to pass each other completely blocked the whole road for awhile. While we were waiting something hit the roof and we freaked a little cuz people throw things at you when they’re angry at you, and we had no idea why anyone would be angry at us-we were waiting in the same traffic jam they were! Then we noticed a fruit on the ground beside us and realized it had just dropped from the tree above us! Hahahahaha we all had a good laugh!

            We returned to the orphanage to begin, once again, preparing for our major embarrassment. The staff began dressing us up, doing our hair, make-up, put the red dot on the forehead, and even painted our hands and feet with this red paint they use just for dancing(pic with one of our twin friends here). After they had us all decked out they sat us down for the cutest program I’ve ever seen kids do! They welcomed us with confetti, dances and dramas that though we didn’t fully understand were funny nonetheless and everyone was laughing! My favorite was a group of kids that acted out the 10 little monkeys jumping on the bed, one fell off and bumped his head…. J Then came time for our embarrassment. In front of EVERYONE at the orphanage, all decked out in our Bangla dance attire…..yes. they made us dance(embarrassing dancing pic). We tried our best to follow this dance they had shown us the night before but they just laughed and laughed and laughed! It was fun, but goodness IT WAS EMBARRASSING! Aiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiish! It seems that every mission experience has one of those unforgettably embarrassing moments, so we’ve had ours, we might be safe now J

            To finish our Super Sunday of Super shopping and Super embarrassment we had some super good curry the cook Shati made for dinner! It is the BEST curry I have EVER had! Oh my word. If we successfully learn how to make it, I will have to share this heavenly goodness with you all because man are you missing out! I don’t think I’ll even mind eating all the rice with that kind of curry mmmmmmmmmJ

Shubo Shabat!

Happy Sabbath! The other American missionary and a local here were very patient dressing us in their sarais, which is quite a complicated process. Then we went to church and messed them all up with kids pulling on them and sleeping on our laps J Oh, and did I mention Lisa and I had our first story-telling opportunity in Sabbath school? We are sitting there with the kids and they ask us to tell a story, so we start telling the Joseph story. All is going well until we tell the kids Joseph’s brothers found his cup in their sack and took it back to Joseph saying “Here, we didn’t take this but we found it in our bag and it’s not ours”…..not the soldiers came after them and searched their bags for it. Woops! Um….the missionaries may need to brush up on their bible stories J I have a feeling we will have plenty of opportunities to redeem ourselvesJ

            It was raining again after church, so lisa and I and 3 other local girls went up on the roof and hung out in the rain! That is, until this peel of thunder exploded and sent us screaming downstairs. The storms here are pretty exciting! A few of the staff here that know Enlgish were patient enough to teach us a few words on the balcony tonight, until we began what I’m pretty sure will become our first major embarrassment here. More to come when it happens J

Home Sweet Home

I’m finally home. After a night in Dhaka and a crazy 6 hour drive(seems to me drivers seem to prefer driving down the middle of the road playing chicken with oncoming traffic), we are at Bangla Hope Trust Orphanage. We arrived during quiet time, but after their naps we got to meet them and I love them so much! Though some are more shy than others, you can still see the desperate need to be loved in their eyes. And there are plenty that become attached within seconds! We got to practice our 1^st Bengali phrase with the kids “tumi kamon hacho?” which means “how are you?” AND I got to hold my first baby, Gracie, today!! J Names are going to be a challenge, but I love the Bengali food! We had an amazing breakfast this morning! Surprisingly I loved it even though it was rice! We had Dahl with chili and the spice was so scrumptious.

            Back to the final stages of our journey here, it took us awhile to get through customs because we didn’t have our address here in Bangladesh with us…woops! The police enjoyed trying to communicate with us though until Lisa saved the day spotting someone holding a Bangla Hope sign on the other side of the glass. They let her go with an escort and get the address from him before they finally let us through! Meanwhile, we got our luggage brought to us because we took so long, so actually worked out better for us! The orphanage is nestled down this cute pathway through a few little villages, out in the middle of some rice fields. To our surprise there were 2 other Americans at the orphanage! A missionary couple from India is staying here for a few weeks because of visa rules, and we’ve learned a lot of helpful things about the culture from them. Take off your shoes when you go in certain rooms, don’t eat with your left hand, people hold hands just as a sign of friendship, and if you finish all the food you’ll get even more for the next meal!

            As we arrived on a Friday, we went to vespers before sleeping in our new house for 6 months.(pic is where all the kids sleep, kitchen, laundry room...) Tomorrow we get to experience our first Sabbath and full day at the orphanage J

Little Realizations

Things couldn’t have worked out better. So many things have just fallen in place, convincing me more and more this is really what I should be doing. Up until we were in the airplane I honestly could not believe I was really doing this. After a 15 min. drive in the plane down the runway, we finally took off from LAX and realizing there was no going back now! 14 hours went by surprisingly fast with the sweet entertainment system on our Chinese flight! Music, games, live outside camera, movies and more we could use at our convenience-it was LEGIT! Watching Letters to Juliet got me thinking about love, something I will be thinking about a lot at the orphanage. I saw my first lightning storm from a plane and it was truly…striking J After a few banana cakes for breakfast we landed in Hong Kong to another realization—we’re half-way around the world! In our 14 hour layover we decided to visit Lantau island, Hong Kong’s largest island which holds the world’s tallest, outdoor, seated bronze Buddha(pic above) located in Ngong Ping village. Getting in at 5:50 a.m. we had to wander until things opened and found a huge grocery store with an entire wall of oil! Hmm…I wonder what they use a lot of in their cooking here J We planned to take a tour to this Buddha from the airport as neither of us are experienced in travelling in countries where you don’t know ANY of their language and…we didn’t really know where we were going. However, we were skilled enough to not be able to find the tour, so ended up just taking a bus to and from the gondola, saving about $15 each, yes! Now I love gondolas. But this gondola ride was especially awesome. It was about 25 min. each way up this lush humid hill to the Giant Buddha, and they even had gondolas with glass bottoms! Also by the Buddha is the Po Lin Monastery where we found people burning incense, worshipping, and a monk chanting and bonging a bell (I wish I knew what it all meant). We noticed these red blow-up bunnies with wings on them hanging all over the village up there(pic above) so we finally asked what they were for. The vague idea we got was they were for a festival on September 22 celebrating this man and woman getting back together. For some reason this couple is not allowed to make love so the God upstairs had to separate them and they can only see each other this one day each year. As for the bunny, we were told it just stays with the woman on the moon all year protecting her? There must be more to the story.

            On our trip down the mountain back to the airport we were reminded of God’s perfect timing once again. We had gotten such an early start we had a gondola all to ourselves just the two of us. When we got to the bottom they were packing the gondolas with 10+people and there was a huuuuuuge line waiting to get on! (we had just walked on). On the bus back to the airport it started raining—if we had been sweating up those steps to Buddha just a few minutes later we would have been drenched!

            I’m hoping Hong Kong airport sink water is safe to drink because I guess they don’t believe in drinking fountains there and I was feeling too cheap to buy the bottled water J We’re back at the waiting game in the airport, excited for the next leg of our journey but still nervous for what’s to come!

Fun fact: Wednesday this week was only 9 hours long for us

Realization: We will be travelling from Tuesday p.m. till Friday a.m. in Bangladesh without a shower. Maybe our smell will help keep away the curious American-lookers J

Leaving...

In just a few hours I will leave my house for 6 months. Those months will be spent in Bangladesh, mostly at Bangla Hope orphanage. Other than that I'm not sure what these months have in store for me. I am excited, a little nervous, and not believing i'm ACTUALLY LEAVING! Unfortunately I have some last minute things to get done before I leave, so I will write more probably while I'm waiting at the airport. I love you all!