Tues- Wed June 9-10

 These days we worked on a few things in preparation to going to Dhaka Sat for Gentry’s upcoming appt at the US Embassy to get his passport paper work started.

I made bread and cookies, cut out a dress, got the rooms ready for the Dhaka folks who will be staying here over Fellowship when we get back from Dhaka..

Tulshi got the van washed and the interior vacuumed and cleaned

And The Bud has been miserable.. he’s had ongoing diarrhea for 3 wks which we have attributed to a bug that seems to be going around and then he was working on his 3rd tooth (1st one on the top) but it has steadily been getting worse and Ive been wondering if we’ll be able to wait till Sat to leave for Dhaka.. It got to where he would drink 1 oz. and start straining as it seemed to hit the bottom of his stomach and go straight thru. I was changing So many pooy diapers all day and night and the diaper rash…. At 10:00 Wed. eve I changed  a n o t h e r  pooy diaper. Something prompted me to take it into the light and check it out. I was not prepared for what I saw… a very bloody diaper! I had never seen the like before and it very much alarmed me! I decided to go back thru the collection of dirty diapers from the day, 13 to be exact, to see how long this has been going on. I found 3 more although this last one was by far the most dramatic. By 10:30 we decided we would head into Dhaka as soon as we could get packed and ready. 

Mon June 8

 Gentry is finally learning to crawl!… 7 months 3 weeks. We were wondering if he would just go straight to walking as that is his favorite thing to do, hang onto your fingers and walk everywhere as long as you’ll do it with him! He’s pulling himself up on furniture etc so we’re glad he has learned to crawl

Sun June 7

 Kobid was here all morning helping Lonnie on this document for obtaining the use of the facility for Fellowship. After lunch, they met with the CSS folks. Side note, while Kobid was killing a little time while waiting on Lonnie after lunch, he was reading children’s books in the living room. The Little Golden Book, Nurse Nancy, lit a fire in him. And he proceeded to share passionately how this book needs to be translated into Bangla with Bangali children in the pictures! And how so many Bangali’s think being a Dr is the best thing to strive for But, what is also desperately needed, is good nurses! And that they need to know it is a very worthy profession!

I mixed up a batch of cinn rolls… recipe from the Love Wears An Apron cookbook that caught my attention.

Sat. June 6

 Kobid came in the evening to help Lonnie with the Bangla notes that had been recorded the night before, as Google translate was not doing a precise enough job. Lonnie had been given the assignment of putting together an official looking letter for the head haunchos of the place where the brethren are wanting to have Fellowship. Here’s a link to the organization https://cssbd.org/index.php and the place where the fellowship is desired to be held is just and 8 min drive from our house https://maps.app.goo.gl/vQ8DJCn9kcaYCYm38?g_st=ic it is CSS’s head office used for training purposes. So our event needs to be under the heading of Training Purposes to fit their criteria🤔  But here again, connections are a valuable asset as well as white skin and an official looking document that says all the right things🙃 Our Brother Shanto was part of the staff years ago as head cook and our Brother Liton’s dad, currently works there as yard man, formerly a cook also.

Fri June 5

I forgot about writing about our visit to our day guard, Tulshi’s, house last night. We’d been telling him we’d like to come see where he lives and meet his brother’s wife and dau. Now this evening when the children and I went out for a walk, we found Lonnie just right next door at the repair dhokan. And we had the inspiration that maybe tonight would be the night to visit Tulshi’s home. Tulshi agreed to go with us, so we locked everything up and followed. His bro, Bishnu, was not home. Said he would be out till maybe 10:00, as he is a rickshaw van driver. Bishnu’s wife, Eeti and 14 yr old dau., Puja, were at home. Eeti was very friendly but Puja was quite bashful.. their house has a mud foundation built up about 2+ft, low metal roof, 2 bedrooms, a place where their crop of rice was stored in big bags, a “dining room” with a table covered with a plastic table cloth, and tiny cooking area at the end(like really only big enough for 1 person to work in at a time. I thought they kept asking if Gentry ate rice and I would tell them “some” but he likes eggs! Anyway, pretty soon Eeti was squatting in front of her mud oven frying an egg. She dished rice out of the pot to go with the fried egg and wanted Annslie to sit up and eat which she was happy to do, as we had not had supper yet. As soon as her egg was finished she asked for another. Eeti seemed happy to fry another! And then she carefully gathered all the rice that had ended up on the smooth dirt floor, by hand, so it was all nice and clean again. I asked how often they have to “re-mud” their floor. Tulshi said every 2-3 days! That sounded like quite the upkeep to me! I would like to watch it done sometime.. We looked at Puja’s school books she was studying. It’s especially fascinating to look at their English books, partly because we can actually read it😜, and visited a bit then took our leave. Outside, Tulshi tried to show Annslie their ducks or was it chickens 🤔 that were already in their little house for the night. And then their 2 cows which decided to get up about that time, Tulshi said it was their normal time for going into the barn for the night. It was dark and Tulshi walked back home with us.

Today, We wondered if we’d be able to have S.S. because of the rain.?. But children were at the gate and interpreter Kobid was already in Chakrakhali by 8:30! Umbrella in hand, we walked to S.S. We have had a very small attendance lately… 8 visitors and then 2 boys showed up at the end and colored a picture yet. We opted to not go to Chakrakhali S.S. as it would be a wet rickshaw van ride. It continued a gentle rain never getting too hard to down out voices. But we Did play a round of musical chairs at the end as it was still raining and the children would probably be hanging around yet anyway.

Not long after we were back, Kobid Bro and Dipti (our maid) showed up. Dipti wanted Kobid to translate for her.. and her mission today…. Asking for 5 months advance wages!! So she could put on this wedding for her son! The food, tent, wedding apparel for the whole family AND bride-to-be! She remembered how her and her husband had a very poor beginning and he had only been able to buy a petticoat for her, no blouse! We had coffee together before they went on their way. 

At the afternoon service, I took note of how nicely Annslie was sitting, it gave me hope.

After church, Shanto, Liton, Kobid, and Espondant came to our house and spent the evening making plans for Fellowship here in Khulna this month. They got a count of all who are planning to attend written down and the menus figured out and recorded. I had to think how differently it was done here with the men doing the food comm. duties😌

Thurs June 4

  Lonnie left at 6:30 to catch the bus for Eye Camp in Chuknagar, an hour West of us. He took 3 boxes of eye medicines and his back pack. Lonnie’s job at Eye Camp is to sit at a table with his laptop and enter each statistic. He told of a group that came in, 1 lady caught Lonnie’s attention as she had a different look about her, when it was her turn to tell her name, age, etc. she says, “Brother, I am a Christian”. It happened another time that morning, where Lonnie observed a man and wondered if he was probably a Christian also. And yes, when his turn with Lonnie arrived he said also that he is Christian… a minority in the land that are often in hiding. But Lonnie could see the freedom on their countenances🤍 The count was Really low today, only 102. The thought was possibly because of the extreme heat. Somebody told Lonnie it was supposed to be the hottest day of the summer! I sure hope it doesn’t get any hotter! 

At the house, hanging laundry on the line, I had especially taken note of the heat and oppressive feel of the air also 🥵

Wed June 3

 I tell you, these vacation days are hard to have breakfast over with by time Dipti shows up🫣 She has been arriving promptly at 9:00 versus her previous 10 or 10:30. I’m guessing it has to do with her own work at home, preparing for the new bride. The wedding date has been set for Aug. 4. 

Lonnie left right after breakfast to meet with Brothers Shanto and Liton to go check out a place for Fellowship Mtg(annual gathering with members from all of Bangladesh invited/hosted by the natives)

Today, Dipti made dim (egg) curry, Bangla fried chicken pcs, sautéed okra, and rice. Lonnie commented at lunch that this was the 1st Bangla meal without potatoes! Dipti has often asked me if I want potatoes in the curry or vegetables but I think she was in a hurry today. Her and her husband were going to their son’s fiancé’s home after she left. Fiancé had called them and says the dad is having a medical condition and the mother is also having tonsil problems and is only eating very soft foods.

Music class with Maddie and then Bangla class with both girls. We did a review and flashcards then laminated more flashcards.