Wed. May 20 Gentry is 7 months old

What a lovable little feller 💙 I used to think one couldn’t get much sweeter than baby girls. And then this little guy came along and stole our hearts🥹

He is working hard on learning how to crawl! Maybe it will be this month? He pulls himself up on things occasionally and has added to his “da-da-da” vocabulary with “muh-muh-muh” and other blends at times. He has gotten better at eating without gagging so much. Felt like it was a little miracle when I found  containers of imported puffs just like what I would’ve bought back home. So handy for keeping a little person entertained/happy a little longer while we are eating. But he Loves to eat at meal times or if a crackly snack is pulled out…he yells for his share! I also was very pleased to find a few jars of baby food/fruits, for a  decent price, which are so nice to have when eating away from home!

He’s a happy baby, easy to make laugh, very ticklish! His little round face and dimpled smile

His hair is a light brown. It seems like his eyebrows and lashes are getting darker.?

He’s got a stout square chest

Tues May 19

 Lonnie cut up 2 chickens that Tulshi picked up for us. Maddie packaged the drumsticks, thighs, wings, breasts, and tenders. Our employees gladly take home the carcasses, neck, etc.

 This afternoon while Lonnie was out, the baby formula for the milk program was delivered.

I took the littles on a walk and met Lonnie at the bridge where he joined us. A couple boys on bikes, 12 and 13 yr olds, that often show up at our gate, joined us for a stretch. Chatted with Dipti’s sister and (stark naked🤦🏼‍♀️) 5 month grandson along the way. “Hi” to many other friends and acquaintances, like one can only do on an evening stroll in a 3rd world village with a high population density And being white American in a “black” country.

Miss Christina had cinnamon rolls, fresh out of the oven, and veggies and dip on the table when we got back😋

Mon May 18

 After school, the girls helped peel tomatoes and Jaira helped chop veggies for salsa. 

Lonnie had an interesting afternoon. When he was out and about, he helped get a cow and calf back to the barn. Like, carried the calf as it wasn’t following and the mama cow was new and not cooperating either Then they wanted him to wait, while they milked and sent home 4 liters with him 💭 looking forward to some more fresh cheese🤗

While he was out, the eye camp medicine was delivered and I had to count each kind while they waited out by the gate.

Sun. May 17 Gopalganj for church

 Cheesy sausage biscuits from the Simple Suppers Chat then off to Gopalgonj as Doyle’s are on furlough.

9:00 service.. I ended up with both the littles and Annslie was being an absolute pill. I handed Gentry off to the visitor lady sitting next to me so I could deal with my toddler. We left the terrible twos behind and entered the terrible threes , I guess.😏

Then we asked Khokon and Beauty if we could see their dhokan and where they live. So 1st we went to see Khokon’s ironing dhokan. Very small. Neat and tidy. right along a paved road. A pull up garage style door. 2 beautiful green parakeets in a cage..

 Then we drove down the road a piece and He had us park in a Baptist church compound. We walked to his house from there. Typical villagers. We wound our way thru narrow allies, stepping on bricks to cross muddy spots. And as is So common, they live right next door to Khokon’s parents and brothers, sharing the same path in and tiny yard. Stepping in to the crowded quarters is Sister Beauty’s sewing machine. She sews for her family and others. Their daughter’s “room”/bed is there also. Thru a small doorway is the middle part of the house. Small table under the window with Orpita’s(their dau.) school books, China cabinet, and Khokon’s bed. On the far side, another small doorway into the kitchen. And ladies back in America, 🗣️You All Have Very Nice, spacious kitchens!!! Our Sister Beauty here has a nice kitchen too, but from a different perspective.. she doesn’t have to go outside to get to it, she has a gas counter top burner(she doesn’t have to bend over a smoky mud oven), she has a fridge.  The room is the length of the small house, Very narrow!, and low ceilinged.   If we go back into the middle room past Khokon and Beauty’s bed is a door to a tiny walled in area. Their outhouse and she’s got some pepper plants growing back there too.

Beauty served us cold Coke, chanachud(which we all enjoy by now, unlike when we 1st got here and would just try it because it was too spicy for us), and biscuits (little boughten cookies). 

We did not stay long and Khokon led us back out the narrow allies back to the Baptist compound. There a white couple was just leaving but of course we had to stop and chat a bit!🤗 Did they say they were from Connecticut 🤔 but they have a son in Jackson,TN!! They were an older couple (maybe 60s-70s?) and have spent the last 22 years in Southeast Asia. China, Nepal, India, Malaysia,.. So fun to visit with white folks when we see them!🫶🏼

Brother Kobid caught a ride back to Khulna with us.

Back at the house, a quick lunch of ham sandwiches, watermelon, chips.

Then the girls went up to school to get a math and language lesson in.

One of these evenings we pulled out the word search book. A word search for each, we all started at the same time, seeing who could be done 1st.

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.

Sat May 9

Took fabric to tailor and gave measurements for dresses for Maddie and Jaira

Dominos pizza

Safe n Save Milon invited us to have lunch sometime

Saw the German family we met last week, looked like maybe they had guests with them?

Shwapno ran into Lamar and his son and met another white lady that hails from Iowa! 

All sudden, we see more white people in one day than we’ve seen the whole time we’ve been in Khulna!?!

Jaira came with me to shop at the veggie market, they brought hot tea And a Coke!

Thurs May 7

 Video called with my big sister and fam. for an hour while Dipti was washing dishes and floors. During which we had a Very t i n y baby at the gate wanting to get on our milk program. These people and their baby’s age can be very confusing at times!?! They kept telling us the baby was 7 months! And there was just no possible way for that to be!?! Finally Lonnie thought to ask what It’s birth date was and they said March - -. So we think the baby was maybe born at 5 or 7 months gestation and now it’s actually only 2 months. Which seemed much more believable! When I saw the lady at the gate with a pink blanket in her arms, I said, there can’t be much of a baby in there! Even for 2 months, it was extremely small. The mother is in the hospital..

Otherwise got lunch on, made cookies, took care of littles, and a load of laundry.

Wed. May 6

 Woke up to the word that my little sister is in the hosp. after getting run over by a pickup!! Not the kind of thing one Ever wants to hear and for sure not when you’re on the other side of the world!! The tires went over her legs. She was not able to move them, so she went by ambulance to the hosp. Xray shows that they are not broken!?! And on pain killer, she is able to move them, but too painful to bear weight on them.😏 We are thankful her life is spared🤍She did land on her arm so she has a broken left arm that needed a pin.   The story is: the children and her had loaded prunings from the yard in the back of the pickup. They had to go thru the pig pen to get to the burn pile so Trina was trying to keep the pigs from escaping while her oldest dau. drove thru the gate. The accelerator instead of the brake was used, knocking Trina down, even tho she made a leap to get out of the way… Mom went the next morning to be a helping hand around the place while Trina heals. 

Over here in Bangladesh life goes on, the girls go upstairs to school, Dipti arrives and makes fish curry for lunch, the Police show up at the gate.. they keep tabs on us and try to keep up with our legal status.. Lonnie spends time just down the road at a repair dokan again, helping when the opportunity arises..

Tonight on our walk, we find ourselves walking the same direction as one of Lonnie’s Muslim friends. He  tells Annslie to come to his house. He has told Lonnie  other days to come, as is common in this culture, but so far Lonnie has told him, Another day. Tonight we took him up on the invitation. We followed him down the path to his concrete house. Quite nice by village standards! His wife and daughter in law are there also. He quickly walks back to the dokan to pick up Sprite and cookies. Sets the coffee table in front of us and pours a pitcher of water. Switches the TV from Bangla drama to cartoons for Annslie even tho we told him we didn’t need the TV. But the prayer call was sounding, so he left us there with the ladies🤔 His wife actually did very good with throwing English into the conversation! And the daughter in law was so shy she was hanging out in the kitchen. We told her to come join us! She had married into the family only 5 months ago. And when we asked her age, we were a little taken aback. We know it’s common here but still, here she is 16 yrs old, living away from home with her husband’s family🤦🏼‍♀️ Lonnie asked her if she wanted to hold Gentry and she did not hesitate to take him up on the offer. She relaxed as predicted, children can be a real asset at times🫶🏼 We did not stay long and finished our walk home.

Tues. May 5

 Mangsho(meat) day. Tulshi went for pork and chicken and later to Chakrakhali for a Tilapia fish. So Lonnie washed pork, cut up 2 very large chickens and later filleted the fish. We had pulled the pork and fat we’ve been collecting in the freezer out to thaw and then Lonnie cut it all up for sausage. We made a bigger batch than we have in a long time! 27 lbs. That should keep us supplied a couple months. Which is a good thing as we are running out of the imported ingredients and don’t know when we’ll be able to get more..

Christina made us a delicious honey chicken over rice for supper

Lonnie and I have been taking walks with the littles in/on the stroller after supper which is also often after dark. Tonight there were So many smaller white moths? gathering around any light! I certainly didn’t need any cha tonight as I observed the tea stall where the moth was fished out of the cup of hot tea and the sugar spoon just went to the side of the moth that landed in the sugar container, etc.😝

Mon May 4

 Lonnie took the bus with Kobid again to Gopalgonj to do Doyle’s clinic day, check on the house, and touch base with Brothers Kokhon and Ripon.

Monthly School Board Mtg. 

May 25 is when their school work will be finished unless Fellowship Mtg materializes before then and pushes the end date out a few days.

Sat. May 2

We stuck around the house most of the day, waiting on the man from Dristidan(the eye hospital that we work with) to show up. So Lonnie could settle the bill for the patients sent there thru CSI. 

Then in to Khulna City for 6 mo clothes for the Bud, groceries, and hamburger and fries and fresh lemonades at Mambos https://maps.app.goo.gl/rrdKTn8NPMTptpRU7?g_st=ic

At Safe N Save where we stopped for groceries, as soon as I stepped in the door, I saw WHITE people at the checkout counter! In this land, it is a special experience to meet another white person especially here in Khulna. So, the family is from Germany, been here 5 years. Four ? yr old twins, boy and girl, and a 1 yr old boy. The children only know German and Bangla but the parents know English also. They run a home for under privileged boys is how I got it..but it is not currently operating according to full potential as they are under staffed. I got her phone number so we can go check their operation out sometime. The beggar children were being really aggressive! Kept touching our phones, pushing and shoving while we were standing by the van exchanging numbers. And then later, when I was trying to put the groceries in the back of our van, one of the boys crawled right in and wouldn’t get out till I took hold of his arm and helped him out! Then Lonnie quickly locked the doors  as he was trying to open it right back up! They have never been that aggressive before 🤔 

Hit the fruit and veggie market yet on the way home.

Fri. May 1 Worship Day

 Felt like it had been Quite a long time since I’d been able to participate much in a “Sunday”.

I just got sat down at the 1st Sunday School tho when I realized the Bud needed a diaper change😏 So I walked back to the house since I hadn’t brought supplies along for that. The twin girls (12 y.o.? Maybe) that are often in S.S., were walking with their dad and were Happy to take turns toting Gentry till they turned off on a different road. Was able to get back in time to listen to the story. 

On to Chakrakhali S.S. I sat outside of the little S.S. shed with the sleeping Bud. And about 1/2 way thru, the recycle man showed up. So that was entertaining to watch as he would dump out a gunny sack of plastics and go thru it, sorting everything. The man of the house would scrounge around the yard and add more things to the pile. The man was a cheerful jolly sort, visiting as he deftly worked. He says it’s a good job! He can make 2-3,000 Taka a day, self employed in the occupation. Versus only 500 Taka a day if he was doing it for somebody else. Bodie, the lady of the house, brought out chanachur for everybody yet before we left.

Home, to finish putting on lunch of our home brined ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, meeshti kumra(fixed like sautéed squash),…

4:00 church service. Sis. Shotti seemed happy to take care of Gentry during the service again as I tended to the task of 3 yr old. Once more a parade of Hindus with loud drumming starts their march outside the church house windows. Us ladies close the windows on our side to block out the distraction.

After church, everybody was invited in to our house. Last time Shanto was here, he said he wanted to learn how to make Thanda cha(cold tea). So I told him I could have a cold tea making demo this evening. Kobir and Liton were very interested also as their latest brainstorm is a cold tea dhokan. Kobir was super impressed with how clean everything was, so different from Bangali way. He wasn’t even noticing the cobwebs in the corners, the dust on the shelf, the smudges on the walls,.. everything is just so much cleaner than most local standards.. He was pretty sure if he had a dhokan with a high standard of cleanliness, it would be very high rated.   Shotti fed Gentry mashed potatoes and played kinetic sand with Annslie.

Shotti shared with us that Rhidoy and Pinky plan to come home for their 1st visit at the end of the month, since moving to Dhaka to work, in Jan. There were tears of happiness in her eyes. We have missed them so much also!!

This is the day also, that fellow missionary Doyle and Krystal Barkman family, left the country for their furlough..

Thurs Apr 30

 Update on Gentry, 1 wk since his follow up/6mo appt . He gained 2 lbs this week!?! 😅 making up for lost time I guess! His little chubs have returned and he seems to have fully recovered. Even his junky cough that’s been ever present the last 2+ mo. Is gone!! It’s So wonderful to have health restored. We are thankful🤍

This evening, was still not quite so hot, so we decided to take the opportunity to get back to the river. The evening was Beautiful!! The girls enjoyed playing in the sand again. We took a tub along for Gentry to sit in as I’m not quite ready for the stage of him getting covered in sand.

Stopped by Batiaghata Bazaar, on the way home, to pick up some street food for a little supper. Gentry was sleeping already so Lonnie opted to just go get the food and bring it back to us in the van. When he gave us the bags of fried food, the smell and occasion made me think of McDonald’s(or any fast food back home) just Quite a different setting! And the menu is quite a bit simpler/less items to choose from here😅

Wed Apr 29

When we got pork yesterday, they had put in quite a nice sized chunk! So we decided to try brining it and making our own ham.

In the evening, we took rickshaw van up to Bissho Rd for chatputi and fuska. The thunderstorms had brought in some cooler weather so I actually pulled Annslie and Gentry’s jackets out again for the open air ride!…The jackets have been put away since end of Jan or 1st of Feb… Caught easy bike for the way home, a little more protection for the littles in the cool night air. I still feel a little extra protective of the Bud after his months of battling respiratory illness.

Tues Apr 28 ⚡️⛈️⚡️🌩️⚡️

 An incredible thunderstorm came thru in the night! Exceptionally loud thunder and the thundering part lasted longer than what I was used to.

In Dhaka there were 14 deaths reported due to Lightning strikes!?!

Excerpt from local newspaper:

Locals said that Fuad(10), Rafi(15), and Mizan(20) were on the road next to their house during the storm. They were killed on the spot by lightning.

Manik(25) was seriously injured on his way home in a horse drawn carriage. He was rescued and taken to a hospital where doctors declared him dead.

Number Ali(65) died in a lightning strike while trying to see what was happening next to his house.

Local people said Laboni(35) died in a lightning strike while returning home after cutting grass for the cows

Ilias(37) died while going to the field to check the crops.

Local people said that Ali Sheikh(20) died after being seriously injured by lightning while working in the field

Abdul (50) died on the spot while working in the field.

According to local sources, Marjina(22) was working in the kitchen of her house. She was rescued on the spot when she was struck by lightning. On the other hand, Hasmat Ali(45) was injured in a lightning strike while working in the field and died.

Md. Suhrawardy(22) was returning home after picking up pot from a tea garden. He was struck by lightning on the way and died on the spot. He had married 8 days ago.

Locals said Samrat(26) was seriously injured and died in a lightning strike while returning from the field with paddy.

Police said, a farmer named Suman(35), died on the spot after being struck by lightning while trying to bring in magan.

Mon Apr 27

 Lonnie left before breakfast to catch the bus with Kobid to Gopalgonj. Doyle was having his Monday milk clinic day for mothers receiving formula for their babies. Lonnie will be taking care of Gopalgonj while Doyle’s are gone on furlough so he was just making sure he had everything straight. 

One of these days, we noticed blisters on the Bud’s fingertips and toes. We wondered if it had anything to do with what he took to get over the influenza.?. But did not do any research

Sun Apr 26 Year End School Program

 We froze extra containers of ice and got an igloo of cold water prepared, etc. as the power seems to be off more than on these days. Spent the morning in the kitchen preparing lunch for Doyle’s family for the last time till they get back from furlough. Beef roast, mashed potatoes and gravy, cucumber salad, green beans and carrots, and jello cake for dessert. 

We commented, that the power had been on ALL morning!! What. A. Blessing. 

After lunch, the children did another program practice yet and then presented it to us. They had memorized 7 songs and learned the skit “Stone Soup”… As long as I have friendship in my heart and a stone in my pocket..

They did pretty good, especially considering that they all sudden needed to give it a month earlier!

The teachers and children changed clothes then and went out and did a water relay. 

The power did go out a bit while the school was giving their program but stayed on the rest of the day!🫶🏼 and that seemed to be the turning point for the crazy amount of power outages we’d had for the last 2 weeks or so🤗

We pulled out leftovers and made piña coladas before they headed back to Gopalgonj.

Sat Apr 25

Made a dessert in preparation for tomorrow. We invited Doyle’s for lunch and the afternoon/year end program. In the eve we went into town for a few groceries

Fri. Apr 24

 Spent ALL morning getting all the bedding and towels washed. Once again, loaded to the hilt with groceries and Dhaka finds we made our way back to Khulna home. Back to very unsteady power and a hot house.

Thurs Apr 23 🏥

 Follow up and 6 mo appt for Gentry. Getting better, but he weighs the same as at his 4 mo appt!😣 once he started eating again,  he has gone from 6 oz in a 24 hr day to 9oz in a 24  hr day the last 2 days. His normal had been 24 oz… 

We had used Brian’s van to go to the appt while he took ours to see if he could find fuel so we could go home tomorrow! And miracles continue to happen.. Brian told us how it went.. he went to a gas station, A   l o n g  line. Police stood guard to keep any hanky panky from happening. Brian parked and stood there observing the scene for about 10 min. Then a police came over and asked what he needed and what he was doing in the country. Brian showed him pictures of the cleft lip and palette patients CSI has been helping. He told Brian to come to the pump and filled the van. Our prayer at the breakfast table was answered🤍

After lunch, we hit Apon, tried Jamuna Park Mall again, but this time it was closed due to a power/electrical supply issue. So on to airport Unimart in search of those imported tortilla chips we’d found there 2 months ago. No luck on that score😏 Supper at the Chef’s Table food court.