Wed. Dec. 17

 Due to the bridge taken out to be replaced, Lonnie decided to try taking the van out the other direction, thru the village, out along the levee, and around. Parking it on the other side of the bridge repair project so we can still use it by taking a rickshaw van ride to the bridge.

 Lonnie, the littles, and I made a trip into Khulna City to pick up Jaira’s new salwar kameez from the tailor, ATM, and groceries. Despite the inconvenience of not having our van right outside our door, I really enjoyed the rickshaw van rides in the beautiful weather for some fresh air and sunshine 🌞 refreshing!

Home to lunch cooked by Dipti. She was still finishing up the last of the ruti(tortillas) when we got back. And the girls surprised us by having the table set and tea made.😊

Lonnie went with Shanto again for candy bag supplies.

I made another batch of Russian Tea Cakes. This time finally mastering the tiny size, just perfect for popping whole into your mouth, by using a 1/2 Tablespoon to measure out the dough for each ball. For the record, that makes 72 cookies using the recipe out of Christian Home cookbook

A recipe of Hard Candy, per Jaira’s request, Christian Home cookbook also.

Tues. Dec. 16

We continue to wake to Hindu wedding music, the girls practice Christmas program over it, we run to the gate to watch the rickshaw van with a Bangladesh band playing on the back go by, and go to bed to the beat of their drums.

Pork Day. We made 14 lbs of sausage…The amount of pork we were able to get a hold of over 2wks..

Miss Christina’s night to cook- poppyseed chicken and rice.

And I was able to get to some ironing that had been stacking up.

Lonnie went to the pharmacy dokan and to play carrom.

I mixed up Party Mix

The girls played outside by the light of the yard light like they often do. And their games are very loud with much hooting and hollering..!..

Mon. Dec. 15

 Finally finished Maddie’s Christmas program dress 🤗 ..while getting snatches of Christmas carols coming from the rooftop where the girls were practicing program 😌

At 4:00 this afternoon, Lonnie went with Shanto for the evening. Shanto wanted to do Christmas gifts for his and our S.S. children with Lonnie. Lonnie suggested doing “candy bags” like we put together back home for after our Christmas programs. Shanto had a few ideas of his own of what should go in this “candy bag” and how it should be put together so it’s turning out quite a bit different than Lonnie’s original thought of “candy bags” like we’re used to!.. 

I mixed up a batch of peppernuts and Jaira helped me roll, slice, and bake. 

Lonnie discovered that the bridge repair on our road is now in progress! They have built up a temporary road to go around but it is not something we will be able to take our van over😳 Lonnie has been planning to park the van on the other side during this process but didn’t find out when they were planning to dig the road out! 

Sun. Dec. 14 evening at Liton’s

 Made Russian tea cakes this afternoon, one of Lonnie’s favorite Christmas goody. 

We were invited to Liton’s at 5:00 for pita. He does not live far away, a10 min. gari drive right along the highway into Khulna City. I had never been to his place or met any of his family. But it was a good experience and an experience at that!! We parked the van along the road and walked thru an open area where boys were playing cricket. 🏏 Then stepped thru a shrub row into Liton’s family’s yard. Mama hens and their baby chicks running about the dirt yard. Lonnie commented that when he had been here in rainy season this yard was all under water and the mom was fishing from her front porch!?! And he had walked in on a little foot bridge. This afternoon, Liton’s mom was there on the front porch cooking at the gas burner. This house is made of bricks and has a dirt floor. 2 rooms with the 3rd room being the other end of the porch from the cooking area. Truly felt like we were stepping back in time! This house reminding me of cabins I’ve toured from early American days, but here in Bangladesh is living conditions of 2025! Truly hard to wrap one’s brain around the actuality of it😳! 42? Yr old Liton lives here with his parents, “little” brother, and sister and her 2 children (sister’s husband was at his home village  currently ..?..) Anyway, so Liton’s brother showed us his cages of parakeets, beautiful blues, greens, and yellows. One mama bird was sitting on eggs and when she got off for a minute we could see one had hatched, the tiniest featherless pink baby bird! 

They had us sit in Liton’s room on his bed that he shared with his brother and sister’s 11? yr old son. We could watch Liton’s mom cooking the pitas thru the barred window… very interesting. She would pour batter from a cup into her wok of hot oil, it would all sink to the bottom and then after a bit she would slowly start working it loose from the bottom. After a bit she’d turn it and when it was done, hold it against the side of the wok to drain some of the grease. Liton’s dad would come around and measure out the next cupful of batter for his wife occasionally.. I thought that was really sweet of him and found out later that he is a chef at a girl’s home locally! 

For the conditions that they live in, I was impressed with their level of cleanliness and tidiness. But at the same time was not a great surprise as Liton is usually very well groomed and dressed.

We sat on Liton’s hard bed as we were served. There was also slivered alu (potatoes) in a sweet white sauce served in small porcelain dishes with gold spoons. Liton soon arrived back from a dokan with a 2 liter bottle of water and a1liter Coke. Cha (hot tea) was served also. Lonnie had  played a bit of cricket while pitas were cooking so he was really warmed up especially since he’d worn a long sleeve shirt so he went outside to take his tea and we all joined him after a bit. It was a nice cool evening. We sat in the yard and visited with Liton, his dad and sister while Annslie and his 15 month old niece Annie cut capers around us. Then Liton’s mom joined us and Liton asked Lonnie to have a prayer. We sang a few songs and made our departure. Was special to see Liton’s family and where he lives.. he’s a barber who cuts Lonnie’s hair but I only see him on Fridays.

Sat. Dec. 13

A relaxed morning..

 A trip in to Khulna. 1st stop, Artisan, for some cool season clothes shopping… leggings for Jaira, a sweater for me.. 

Safe N Save for groceries and stopping at our favorite fruit and veggie market on the way home.

Leftovers for a late lunch

Fri. Dec. 12

 Miss Christina got us started with her yummy coffee cake and scrambled eggs breakfast.

The rest of the crew headed out for the morning of 2 S.S. 

Lunch was chicken breast in the crockpot, mashed potatoes and gravy, and crunchy cabbage salad. Jaira commented that it was the Best “Sun.” lunch I’d made here! Thankfully, she was easy to please today😅

Christina and the girls cleaned up the kitchen then visited on Miss Christina’s veranda.

4:00 service. I attended, but still battling this terrible head cold that I am taking my turn with this week. Shotti wasn’t there due to a headache and Rhidoy had fever 

Maddie was holding Gentry as we walked to church. But after we were all seated, Lewis’s wife tapped her on the shoulder and asked to take him and held him thru the service😌  

Shanto had a very good and thought provoking opening on respect to God,  also bringing out respect of children to their elders and how it’s up to the parents to teach and by example…

It is Hindu wedding season by all appearances.. there are 3 going on around us this week. This means days and nights of music and festivities. So we endeavor to sing our own Christian hymns with the beat of drums and Hindu music going on. The church house windows were closed to try to make it a bit quieter but couldn’t tell that it helped much😏 At one point I couldn’t even get Shanto’s prayer even tho his voice was quite a bit raised to try to talk over all the noise. I was surprised to hear Kobir being able to continue to translate!!?!

By the way, I’m very pleased to finally know Lewis’s wife’s name☺️ She would tell me when I would ask her, again, what her name is but I could never get it to stick beings it is not one that my English speaking brain is accustomed to. And I was getting embarrassed to keep asking her to tell me her name! And these folks, when I would ask them, “What is Lewis’s wife’s name they would say, “I don’t know. We just call her “Didi” which is kind of like auntie or directly translated as elder Christian sister. And something they would use regularly, what I am referred to here as. So, when Kobir replied the same, I asked him, “Do you know what my actual name is??” And he says, “No Sister, I don’t”🫣 and btw we have been in BD for 10 months, a good 5 mo. in Khulna, and spent Lots of time with Kobir! Anyways, Shamir finally came to my rescue and taught me Lewis’s wife’s name by trying to teach it to Maddie. Having her repeat each syllable after him several times Pu • r(rolled) • nee • ma.

After church, Liton spent some time with Lonnie in the lean to just outside our gate…. We took popcorn and hot tea out to them.

… I can’t remember if I’ve wrote about this or not but Lonnie has spent some quality😉hours designing and building a chimnea out of bricks in the front corner of this lean-to. (.. this lean-to has a bench in it and as the cool season came on our day guard, Tulshi closed in the sides by loosely weaving palm fronds in the bamboo framework. This bench is Very used and usually occupied by 1 or several. Anybody, it seems, that needs a place to rest or hang out or friends of our guards..) Anyway, now in the evenings, Tulshi lights a fire in the brick chimnea creating a warm spot for the old men that often gather. One in particular, is an old man that is completely bent over and walks with a cane. This chimnea has gotten a lot of attention from the villagers and the women have shown interest, stopping on their way past to check it out and ask what Lonnie cooks on there? Rice? Ruti? That’s all they know, is a cooking fire..

Tues. Dec. 9

 In the eve. 

Lonnie was in the village playing carrom with the boys. 

Christina made little poppyseed ham sandwiches for supper starting with making some 30 min buns.✨

 And I was able to get Maddie’s Christmas program dress cut out🤗

Mon. Dec. 8

 Lonnie needed printer ink so when Annslie woke from her afternoon nap and the girls decided they’d rather stay home, We took the littles into Khulna City with us stopping also at Artisans for more cold weather clothes for Gentry. I was very pleased with the long sleeved onesies, pants, and a couple sleepers I was able to find🤗

Back at the house the girls had instructions to clean the kitchen up and make molasses cookies, which they did with Miss Christina’s help😊

Sat. Dec. 6

 We went to check out another park https://maps.app.goo.gl/nRDk7S2QGdkUBhUy7?g_st=ipc Lots of slides, swings, a couple bridges over the “lake” 😂 And lots of walking trails… a residential area that is not developed yet. It was very trashy, but the day was beautifully balmy for enjoying fresh air and sunshine with just a bit of a breeze😌 There was somebody in a big yellow bear suit that was pantomiming with photographers ready to capture pictures with people there at the park.. my girls steered clear but Miss Christina accepted the yellow bear’s handshake😅

Into Khulna city for Dominos lunch and groceries.

Fri. Dec.5

 Miss Christina made us biscuits, sausage gravy, and boiled eggs for breakfast😊

Lonnie and the girls went to the 9:00 S.S. here at Chaigharia just up the road

Rice, beans, and a cabbage/cucumber/tomato vinaigrette for lunch 

4:00 church service Lonnie gave teaching on nonresistance. 

After church, we invited everybody to join us by Liton Brothers barber shop for chapati and fuska. 3 motorcycles and our minivan got everybody there. The whole line of dokans were full so we were directed to a new dokan on the far end that supposedly serves Chinese… some type of nachos was one of things on the menu🤔 but they let us order what we’d come for and just went down to the dokan that sold it and got it for us!😅

Thurs. Dec 4

 Worked on the laundry and packing up then made a quick trip to Jamuna Future Park Mall. Hit Mr D.I.Y., Artisan for winter clothes for Annslie and Gentry, and Wholesale Club. Back at the guesthouse we hung the last of bedding, packed the ice chest and van and headed to the dentist for Lonnie’s final appt! Waited 2 hrs for the crown to arrive. Finally hit the road for Khulna by 5:00!

We stopped for supper an hr from home at the Sampan Highway Inn Restaurant https://maps.app.goo.gl/mBHq7Fk3gM7nCddt7?g_st=ipc

Wed Dec 3

 Lonnie went for his final root canal appt. But no the crown did not fit!🤦🏼‍♀️ they would try again. Come back tomorrow

Brian’s picked the children and I up and took us to the clinic for lunch where Lonnie met us. Kaylee took Christina to the tailor to drop off fabric to get a 3 pc kameeze set sewn 🤗

Brians and Naton came for taco stack supper and spiced cha later

Tues Dec 2

 Got my follow up appt in

Kaylee fed the girls lunch yet and then they came back to the house when they were done

Did our Gulshan 2 UniMart run, where we like to buy our meat. Ran into a couple from Alabama!!😊 Lamar and Megan and their 2 children- 3yr old girl(Jemma?) and 6? month Baylor(boy). They were here for a year, went home on a 4 month furlough and had their baby boy then came back. They are Southern Baptists with the ICC program. They’ve spent their time in Dhaka so far, learning the language. And plan to move to Khulna!!?!! They are the 1st from their group to be stationed in Khulna so they plan to come down here in Jan looking for a place to live and hopefully move in March…So hopefully we’ll be seeing more of them! It’s just amazing to visit with people in English😅 nothing like speaking the same language🤭 and then from our South East part of the country too!! They’ve lived in different places in AL but most recently are from Huntsville.. and we could have easily visited a lot longer but I felt like we needed to be checking in on the girls in the play area and getting our shopping done.. 

A stop at North End on the way home for coffee beans.

A low key evening

Mon Dec 1

Gentry and my 6 wk follow up appts. Upon our arrival, we were informed that my Dr wasn’t in today, come back tomorrow. We did get Gentry’s hearing test done..which he passed 🤗

Took the girls to Herfys for lunch

Put Annslie down for a nap. Christina and the girls stayed with her while we took Gentry to get one of his immunizations

Back at the house we hit Brian’s up about going to the plant nursery that they’ve enjoyed and taken the teachers to. We all piled in their van and then the men dropped us ladies off. This place is actually a whole string of outdoor nurseries along the road. We went thru about 5 of them. Maddie and I found cactuses and Kaylee found lettuce plants and mums.

On to a dudh(milk)cha dokan that Brian’s have frequented. Brian and Lonnie joined the men around the carrom board and us ladies and children sat on the wooden benches street side and snacked on a few of their small bags of chip snacks while we waited for our tea.

Then to Neela Market. https://maps.app.goo.gl/UmPmUmH6AdWVuYnC7?g_st=ipc I wanted to stock up on more of the size large, extra thin tortillas (patla ruti) that they make there. They spin them on their fist/hand just like a pizza crust maker would but the end product is paper thin✨ then they throw them onto a hot overturned iron bowl to bake them. They grab them in the middle with their fingertips (like you would to tissue paper when putting in a gift bag) and stuff the wad into a small mauve colored paper bag.

And then to get supper just down the street. A couple flavors of chicken kabobs and 3 kinds of ruti (tortillas) Absolutely scrumptious!! Definitely on the list of places to return to.. 📝

Sun. Nov. 30

 Lonnie went in for his last dentist appt. Only to find out that he was just measuring for crown and an appt for Wed. was made. 

Since I was mostly just stuck at the house with Lonnie at his appt., Gentry napping, the girls playing outside. I decided to mix up a batch of bread. 

I finally came up with toasted cheese sandwiches and cucumber slices and dip for lunch with the limited amount of groceries on hand.

To Brian’s for supper and the evening

Sat. Nov. 29 Dhaka 🚙💨

 Left the house by 7:30 stopping for dim n ruti an hr down the rd in Gopalgonj where Doyle met us with a box of calendars that needed to go to Dhaka.

Lucky was cleaning when we got to the guesthouse. We unloaded the van and went to the airport Chef’s Table for tacos and ginger mint iced tea for lunch. Down to UniMart to look for a few items and then we dropped Miss Christina off at Brian’s where she would be staying while we’re in Dhaka. It sounds like it’s been tradition that the teacher stays with the Dhaka couple when the families from the outposts come into the city.

There is road construction going on behind Pink City with some big equipment. With the cooler feel of fall in the air and the equipment sounds, it was not hard to imagine it was harvesting going on and that was a combine I was hearing 💭 🚜🌾😌

Lonnie went out for tea with Brian.

I spent the evening laid up with a headache 

Thanksgiving vacation

 Fri. was worship day. After the 4:00 service Rhidoy, Pinky, and Antoor came in the gate and were hanging around and then Pinky says she has a Christmas gift for me! And hands me a bag. Inside, was a glass bottle that she had decorated seasonally. The bottle was an up cycled glass vinegar bottle from our house. Now wrapped in different shades of jute twine with a winter scene painted on the middle section of glass.. snow with evergreen trees and a couple jolly snowmen, a few pearl beads in the sky… not a scene like anything she has personally experienced!😉

👩‍🎨 One evening after using small paper plates, she asked if she could have the used ones. Later they were seen hanging on the wall of her room and they are now different colored emoji faces🤗 her creativity just Begs to be used and her imagination/inspiration seems to be endless✨