Sat. May 16

 The girls and I, in our pjs, gathered in the living room at 6:00. We listened to the Year End program back home. The parts were performed well, we could easily understand the speaking parts and had fun thinking about each person. Lonnie joined us for the graduation. Enjoyed listening to Carlon’s graduation address.

Biscuits and gravy and boiled eggs. The power left us for the day when the coffee was only half brewed🤔

Gave Gentry his very 1st tiny hair trim! Just the little point that has grown down in the middle of his forehead. 

Round noon we headed into Khulna City for our weekly shopping

Stopped at Aarongs  https://maps.app.goo.gl/sLoz2bhKhdfFwgSh6?g_st=ic where I found a couple T-shirts for the Bud and Miss Christina and Maddie both found lil treasures😊

Mamboshttps://maps.app.goo.gl/sLoz2bhKhdfFwgSh6?g_st=ic for hamburger and fries and house made lemonades.

Grocery stores today were Shwapno, Safe N Save, and Day 7

Then the veggie market on the way home. Lichu and mangos are ripe in the markets now. But my friends still are having me try the unripe mangoes that are sweet but crunchy. I haven’t bought any yet like that, just keep trying them when they offer them to me. Good, but not good enough to buy..I told them they could have my family out in the van try them so they took their knife, peeled another one and cut pcs for those waiting.

Fri. May 15 1 year since moving down to Khulna

 At Chakrakhali, they had a Huge pile of rice straw in their yard and the S.S. shed was full of bags of their freshly harvested rice. They had us come inside for S.S. today. Dudjoy(18) was studying(for school exams) in one room. Taritro was sick with a fever in the bedroom. It was just 3 big boys today plus our crew, NeeTie(rickshaw van driver), and the man of the house (who loves Gentry and took care of him during S.S.). The story today was the creation story. The big boys love to try to beat Kobid with the interpreting. All listened with great interest. NeeTie commented after,  “the animals are greater than the people because God created them 1st!” So Lonnie shared how the Bible tells us that man was given dominion over the animals

I just took note of how extremely relaxed everybody was. Seemed to be zero peer pressure. Completely comfortable and at ease in their own “shells” and  a relaxed atmosphere in general 😌

The lady of the house brought small bowls of mango mash, flavored with green chili pepper. Each bowl had a mango pit in with the mash.. something most of us would have to learn to enjoy..

Home to lunch of ham, roasted veggies, and Chinese cabbage salad. For dessert, I’d made Cherry Berries on a cloud. Been wanting to make for a long time but wasn’t sure if it would work well here. It was a success☺️

4:00 service was quite slim but Liton had brought a visitor. Somebody that had known previous missionaries Brandon and Travis.. a nurse that has exams to take the next day..

We messaged a handful of people to see if we could come visit and it didnt work for anybody.. 1st time it’s happened to us in BD this way.

Miss Christina, the girls, and I played a round of Junior Pictionary and then Lonnie was gonna go for a walk so u opted to go with him taking the 2 littles on the stroller. Annslie wanted to go to Pim’s house but when we asked about him at the dhokan, we were told he was out in the rice field working. One of Lonnie’s acquaintances invited him to play Carrom there and I sat down on the bench. The dokander was quick to get Annslie a “chocolate” and proceeded to talk to Gentry. After a bit he said he had a little boy, Pele(named after a Brazilian player?). Come to find out he is only 10 days younger! I asked if we could go meet him and of course he was delighted to show me to his house! A very neat and tidy dirt yard and house. The dokander left the littles and I there with his wife and mother. His father was just outside the door washing freshly harvested produce. Soon an auntie and cousin showed up. The cousin was Tina who said she would have been friends with previous missionary girl Brandi. Tina’s little brother Piash comes to S.S. and is the little boy who noticed that Gentry has dimples just like he does🥰  Annslie made them think of Lauren another previous missionary girl… We were served “biscuits” , pictures were taken of the 2 little boys. We didn’t stay long and soon made our way back to the dhokan where Lonnie was playing. Pim got home from the field. Bought a couple single packets of shampoo so he could go bathe and was soon back, buying Annslie Coke and ice pop. Gentry was getting fussy, needing a bottle that I didn’t have along. So Pim walked us home as night had fallen and Lonnie wasn’t quite done with his game.

Thurs May 14

 3rd Sick Day for Tulshi(day guard)😏

While mixing up muffins for breakfast I hollered at the girls to set the table and make coffee. Annslie quickly piped up “I make the coffee!” And proceeded to trot right over. The girls protested that she was Not making the coffee! But, “Yep, I make the coffee.” Jaira let her help grind the beans.

After routine singing a song up in the classroom to start their school day, Lonnie and I shared hearts over cups of coffee in the living room, then he went out and worked in the yard… cut the grass, trimmed up trees, weeded,… 

This afternoon when Lonnie was out in the village, he went to one of his fellow carrom player friend's house. His wife picked some fruit, wax apples, and a bunch of fresh bananas. The friend brought him home on his motorcycle. This friend wanted Lonnie to check out his sick child and lo and behold, this is the same child that we met the other day!… 10 yr old handicapped girl.

Wed. May 13

couple babies at the gate.. 1 on the milk program, another just out of the hospital after spending onek din(many days) with pneumonia, etc. needing help with hospital bills. 

And the beggar girl, quietly asking for a dress for her 2 yr old sister.. “mama, poshak, please?”

Got half of a bodice cut out 😅

 Gentry took a couple bangs..just those baby bangs that seem to be inevitable.. Fell off the couch onto the ceramic tile floor this morning. Then later, Annslie was slinging his paci on a string round and round and got him good right behind the ear. Later face planted from a sitting position, but these ceramic floor tiles are so unforgiving…And he always yells Loudly when he gets hurt so it makes it seem really bad!

Dipti cooked lunch.. fried chicken, okra, rice and dhal

I mixed up a batch of loaf bread

Maddie’s been experimenting with her green thumb.. researching all the flowers and plants on the property, planting new little flower and plant sprouts, broken cactus pad, watermelon seeds, etc…. Watering, reporting to us about it all! The rescued vinca sprout was checked on Again right before she went to bed, the bud is just about to open and she’s pretty sure it’s gonna be white!.. all the others on the establishment are purple. In the morning, we heard her go out before we were out of the bedroom. The report? “My flower bloomed, and it Is white!”🤗

Tues. May 12

 Tulshi is not feeling well again and wanted to go get it checked out so sick day for him. 

Lonnie went with Dipti’s husband (rickshaw van driver) to pick up meat from Batiaghata…pork and chickens. Then he takes the job of washing all the bone chips of the whacked chunks of pork and cutting the chickens up so there isn’t any bone chips.

After school when Miss Christina was getting started in the kitchen as it was her night to cook, I took Annslie and Gentry on the stroller. Found Lonnie at the repair dhokan next door where he likes to help out. He tells the story of one lady that just outright laughed when walking by she saw him working there! When asked what was so funny.. “bedeshi kaj(work)!?” And the next day when she came by with her young son again she came right in to inspect his work 😅 Anyway, this afternoon, Lonnie had just got washed up and joined me on my walk. Down the road a pc we met a lady carrying her mentally handicapped daughter around. 10 yrs old and can’t walk, her tongue does not stay in her mouth, and her eyes don’t focus. The mom, of course, asked for help from us. Wants treatment for her dau. She says one of her 3 other dau. died at 18 from a cancerous tumor on her eye. So much sadness, but the mom seemed to be of general cheerfulness.. bless her.

Fri. May 8

 The folks at the Chakrakhali S.S. said there would be no children coming. So, only 1 S.S. today here up the road.

Grilled drumsticks and thighs, baked potatoes, and Chinese cabbage salad lunch 

4:00 service

The littles were still napping so I stayed home till they woke. Caught a call from my sister in law in Tanzania. Then hustled the littles to church and got in on the last 1/2.

Shanto’s invited us to come down after church. It had been way too long with sick children n all. Shanto picked up some fried snack foods… pudi and fried eggplant and some butter cookies. Rhidoy and Pinky’s absence is keenly felt, but they plan to be back end of this month for their 1st visit back home, on their Eid vacation days.

Sun May 10 Mother’s Day 💐

 Lonnie offered to pick up dim n ruti but we had just got it this week already so he put some eggs on to boil. Maddie fried sausage patties. Jaira peeled the eggs. We had Kellogg’s cornflakes with honey, a product of India. A lot like Frosted Flakes back home.

A school day

We had been notified that the Police would be showing up today. Jon from Dhaka (who helps us with our legal work) found out that we have a new police over our district and his recommendation was that we serve them tea and good snacks when they come today. 

I made Mexico enchiladas (Down Home Southern Cookin’ book) for lunch. The watermelons have been Really good and we enjoyed one for lunch.

The police showed up round 2:30. They wanted to talk to Tulshi, but he had decided they weren’t coming today after all and was still gone on lunch break. Well, they declined staying for cha, saying they needed to talk to Tulshi. Lonnie had made up a professional looking paper with the police’s name on it and a big Thank You. Listing attributes that we are grateful for. A Bangla seal on the bottom and a Bangla flag in the background of the letter. Mr. Police took one look at it, giggled, then looked at it a couple more times when he was on his motorcycle😉 

Lonnie and I went for a little walk with the Bud exploring paths around us we hadn’t been down before. 

Maddie wanted to make a snacky supper. She summoned Miss Christina and Jaira for help and they got busy in the kitchen😘…Fried potato slices, choc chip cookies( and icecream ), veggies and ranch, and piña coladas.

The girls had made me a very pretty card and small (like 1 month) daily calendar that was a joint effort during school art time.🫶🏼

We played Dominos later.