Thurs Jan 29 cremation and field secretary’s arrival

Tulshi let us know that Dipti’s father died last night around 6:30 and that she wouldn’t be back to work for 13 days! He also told us, today would be a good day for us to go be with Dipti. So Lonnie and I and the littles got on a rickshaw van, with Tulshi giving instructions to the driver. We Thought we were headed to Dipti’s Father’s home but the driver turned down a different road and we just hoped he was taking us to Dipti and decided he must know a different route!? But we soon saw the smoke rising and as we rounded a huge haystack we could see a small crowd, maybe 50,…the cremation grounds. The fire was crackling, Dipti met us and said, “shesh” (it’s finished). She led us to a small pavilion giving the low concrete wall a quick dusting with her hand and we sat with the family a bit. Dipti and her 3 sisters stood in a tight semicircle for us when I asked about her siblings. That was neat to see those 4 grown girls standing next to each other. Their brother was there also. We visited what we could in our limited Bangla while 2 men with long poles tended the fire. Gentry was passed around among the ladies and Annslie was glaring and swatting at each person that tried to pinch her cheek or get her to come to them 😏 When we left, Lonnie slipped some Taka 💴 to Dipti and she helped push our rickshaw van out over the rough path. It made me glad we don’t have to just watch our loved one’s body burn after their life is over💔 

The girls were just heating leftovers up for lunch when we got home.. Lonnie was leaving at 3:00 to go get Daryl’s from Gopalgonj and I was severely missing my maid😳 I had to wash up the dishes, make sure the floors got swept at least, clean the girls’ room for our guests, get laundry hung out on the roof, make supper, plus look after the toddler and baby in just a matter of a few hours🤯 thankfully after school was out the girls and Miss Christina came to my rescue

Wed. Jan 28 evening guests

 Lonnie made tortillas 

I made a couple desserts and got supper started

Music class Singing with the girls

Lamar and Megan arrived at 4:30? for supper and the eve. They are a Southern Baptist couple from Huntsville AL that we met at UniMart in Dhaka last month. They have spent their 1st year in Dhaka studying the lang. and are now ready to go to their post. They were asked to come to Khulna, a 1st for their group, and build a team that would cover surrounding towns… Gopalgonj, Jashore, etc. this trip down,  he and his wife worked to secure a place to live while they are here. Lonnie got them together with Kobid and they were very impressed with the help Kobid was to them.

Lamar’s have 2 small children, Jemma 3 yrs old, just 7 1/2 months older than Annslie and they are a pair! Hit it off right from the 1st hello and had a high o’ time the whole evening!🥰 Jemma is a bright little girl with a headful of blonde ringlets…Baylor the little brother is 8 months. A happy, busy little feller who played all evening on the living room floor, army crawling to get around. 

After discada, cooked apples, and hazelnut parfait, the men took the toddlers on a walk into the village, Megan and I visited while we took care of our little boys. A little carrom yet before it was time for them to catch a rickshaw van back to their hotel in Khulna city.We are looking forward to spending more times with them in next couple years.😊

Sat. Jan 24

 To Khulna 1st stop- Artisan (they have a nice bathroom for a toddler needing a potty break) and we went ahead and shopped. Found 2 sweaters for the big girls… Children’s Place brand with the American tag on it also stating the US price $39.95 the Canada price $57.95 and then another tag with the Bangladesh price 695 which is like $6 USD. Then I got to the checkout and found out they were running a 50% sale so ended up only giving about $3 USD for a nice sweater!🤗

A man was asking Lonnie again for medical help so he called Kobid to come meet with them to get more details. The man is a rickshaw driver so he went off on another run while waiting for Kobid’s arrival. The girls and I went into New Mkt to shop while the men were busy. Kobid and Lonnie found us after waiting for awhile and the man never showing up. So then Kobid shopped with us, happily sharing whatever expertise he felt like he had on fabric and shopping. Seeming to thoroughly enjoy helping us shop for kameeze and panjabi(native women’s and men’s clothing).

Oh, yesterday, at the 1st S.S. one of the little boys, 8 yrs old maybe? Noticed and commented that Gentry has dimples just like he does🥰

Fri Jan 23 Day of Worship

 Today is a Hindu festival celebrating/worshipping the goddess of education. Therefore only 5 children showed up at our 1st S.S. And at Chakrakhali we waited around for awhile, visited with the lady of house and then went home. 

Wed Jan 21

 After breakfast, I got Dipti started on lunch, us ladies spent some time with on the roof while laundry was taken care of up there. Then the whole crew of us went for a walk in the village leaving the men at home playing carrom while the babies slept.

Dipti cooked us up a Bangla feast: rice, chicken curry, dim(egg) curry, dhal(lentils), and Shobji(stir fried veggies)

After lunch the company packed up and we all went to the river to spend some time in the sand by the water. The river was fuller than normal with more boats and some bigger cruise boats that were creating some pretty good sized waves. A beautiful afternoon with rice threshing going on across the road and the men got to help a Bangali who drove his vehicle too far into the deep sand. The 3 white men lifted the front of the vehicle while they backed out.

Then it was goodbyes and once more just our little crew that made our way back to a house that felt a little sad and empty. 

We are happy to have our field secretary’s visit to look forward to tho!

Tues Jan 20 overnight guests

 Spent the day getting ready for overnight guests. Bedding washed and line dried, a couple desserts and supper made. Our Dhaka couple brought their visiting family thru. Brian’s brother Tyler Friesen and wife Shayla from Roblin, Manitoba. It was special that they shared them with us😌 and it was fun to make connections. Tyler was in the unit with Al Bergeron from our cong. and Shayla would have been at 2 of the same weddings we attended, one in Ronan, as that was her home cong and one in Mt Pleasant, where she taught…

Sat Jan 17 Dristidan Eye Hosp. 23rd Ann. Celebration

 We left the house at 11:00 to get to the Dristidan Eye Hospital in Bagerhat by 12:00. We were invited for a celebration and lunch along with Doyle’s from Gopalgonj . Doyle’s had vehicle trouble so arrived 45 min later. But we started by gathering in their comfortable conference room… conference table with rolling office chairs all the way around, a nice sitting area with low leather couch and chairs, glass topped coffee table, a bathroom off one corner and a tiny kitchenette off the other corner with a glass sliding door. The little kitchenette was perfect for a servant to prepare cha. 1st fruit plates were brought out with carefully arranged guava, apple slices, mandarin segments, and grapes. Then tea was served in clear glass cup n saucers. 

Next was a tour of the eye hospital where exams and surgeries are done, the wards upstairs where the patients stay over night, the little room where surgery instruments are sterilized, and the kitchen, Very 3rd  world! with the typical mud ovens except these are on a built up to Bangali counter height where they cook huge pots of rice, etc. This is the hospital that our CSI program does eye camps with once a month at different locations and funds the eye care of patients that need it.

At the exam room, they asked if anybody needed an exam.  Jaira and Doyle’s 8 yr. Amaryllis got exams. Jaira came away with an updated prescription for choshma (glasses). We plan to take care of that on our next trip into Dhaka.

Next we were escorted to their little assembly room for the program celebrating 23 years. I believe it was a grandson 12 years old sang a song then it was time for the 2 CSI representatives to give little speeches as we have been working with them from their beginning in 2003. 1st Doyle shared with them in Bangla and then Lonnie started off with “ Ami dukkito. Bangla jani na” (I am sorry. I don’t know Bangla) receiving a round of applause from the crowd 🙃 and then gave his speech in English. Picture taking throughout the ceremony… CSI representatives receiving flower bouquets (red roses, pink gladiolus, and baby’s breath). Then the founder was supposed to cut the cake. But alas, he is an old man with dementia and the crowd got quite the laughs over him🫣 I really felt sorry for him and felt like he was past the point of being the center of attention at a formal ceremony. At one point, he pulls his Muslim prayer hat off so his by sitter can scratch his head for him, and then he needs to spit and tissues are hastily grabbed for but no, he thinks he needs to spit into something so a bucket is brought! Finally with joint effort a cake knife is put into his hand and is guided to perform the ceremonial task and then it was a bit of a fiasco getting him to eat the pc of cake🤦🏼‍♀️ his 8 yr old granddaughter was up there having the giggles over the whole scenario!

Then it was time for lunch. They took our crew up to a private room where they served us a Feast!!

Bottle of water and coke by each place

Rice

A little fried minced beef patty 😋 just bigger than an Oreo

Round slabs of cooked eggplant 

Dim (egg) curry, chicken curry, mutton curry, fish and beef

Came around with a fresh plate, Lime slices/carrot slices with hot peppers

For dessert : meeshti balls and little cups of doy (yogurt)

Now it was time for the rest of the crowd to eat.. they went out back to a “party tent” while we went to the front of the hospital, just inside the main gate and found some sunshine to sit in. The teachers and Maddie played badminton and all the littles had a high o’ time playing in a sand pile and running around the building.

Next on the agenda was a Pita contest in the party tent out back. There were 4 different groups competing. One group all had matching bright yellow sharis☺️ Pitas are a special winter food here. They come in all shapes n sizes.. We asked Kobid and Shomid one time how many different kinds there are. They didn’t know, maybe thousands! Anyway, I gave Jaira the task of counting how many different kinds were here this afternoon. She came up with 75-77!! Some of the shapes for this event were: rose, pumpkin, leaf, eye (since this was taking place at the Eye Hospital)

More Badminton and carrom yet before parting ways