Alright, let's begin.
August first week -
1. Sarah and I headed to a city in the south. This city is on a plateau so the weather is always AMAZING. We went in August well into the hot season and the outside temperature was the temperature Sarah and I set our A/Cs on. Also, this city has TACO BELL! You have no idea how exciting that was for me. My family used to let me go to any restaurant on my birthday and I would always choose Taco Bell. But the weather and Taco Bell aside, it was a really important trip for Sarah and I.
We went to meet with the Orality specialists for our company. We spent four days with them and began working on making our trainings into a completely oral training. We have focused each lesson into learning certain bible stories to teach a key component. They gave us so much help and we have taken it from there and so far we love it.
2. We traveled to the Sundorbons to do a followup visit for the 1st housing project and do a survey for the 2nd housing project. It was so muddy. Sarah and I went sliding through these villages with the EVERYONE following to try to witness the foreigners falling. Fortunately, we stayed upright. As we were leaving, some boys were walking around us and they asked my name. So, after a small training session, they finally got it right. Then they proceeded to yell my name and clap for about 5 minutes.
August second week -
This week was far less exciting. We had a few meetings with our supervisor, went to bangla class and bible study, had a model training zone, etc. Uneventful.
August third week -
The week started with Independence Day. Woohoo. I really expected it to be extravagant but it was nothing compared to religious festivals or our celebrations back home. We spent the day going to the Victoria Memorial park, taking a horse drawn carriage ride, and trying a few new foods. Overall, random but fun.
Then, we went to B country for a visit to our ladies. The month of August was Ramadan (the month of fasting for Muslims) so we did not do a training. It was a really fun visit. We went during the monsoon season. This year was one of the worsts. Flooding everywhere. So, we basically walked through mud for a few days. It was a blast. So much laughing and bonding with our national partners. The ladies really appreciated that we came to visit their homes.
August fourth week -
Such an exciting week for me. I traveled on my first overnight train to a neighboring state for a meeting of our national partners. The train ride was really enjoyable. I was able to sleep most of the way and on the one going home we watched a movie on my computer. I credit my ability to sleep to all of the family vacays as a kid. Moving vehicles put me to sleep. We stayed right on the Indian ocean. So I've been in all of the oceans except the Arctic, which I plan to never take part in. The ocean has a pretty wicked undertow so it was more like being attacked by waves than swimming but it was still enjoyable. I even got up one morning for the sunrise. Beautiful time with the Father. The meetings were good and I got a lot of work done on research we are doing for B country. I am reformatting spreadsheets that contain data that will help many to plan their work. It was a stressful week as far as work goes but the off time was really enjoyable.
September first week -
Another normal week. Nothing standout. I was sick at the beginning of the week. We had a few meetings. The one great thing was we got our VISAs.
September second week -
We had a ladies fellowship with other ladies in the city. A nice time of encouragement and prayer. We went to bangla class and bible study.
Then the end of the week we headed back to B country. We were expecting to teach three training zone but were only able to teach one because of flooding at one location and the arrival of a beautiful baby at the other. It was a really good time though because we were able to try out our new bible storying method for the first time and the ladies loved it! They really understood us and were able to learn the story. It was one of the first times that Sarah and I left the training with energy.
September third week -
Another down week. We did our normal things. Laundry, classes, bible study, church, etc. While preparing for our next trip to B country.
September fourth week -
First part was prep for our trip and the second part was our trip to B country.
We taught all three training zones. Two zones got the first zone while the first group moved on to the second story which is the story of Creation to JC. All of the zones seemed to go well. One group especially loved acting out and learning the story. It has been really interesting to try and see what methods work with each group of ladies. Also, we have really begun to form great relationships with the people who travel with us to each training in B country, i.e. our translator, driver, coordinator, etc. Lots of laughter as we try to communicate in Banglish.
September fifth week -
I got really sick after returning from that trip to B country. So this was the recovery week. Well, with a lovely little holiday called Durga Puja happening all around me. This was actually the beginning of the first week of October.
October first week -
Sarah left for two weeks to enjoy a wonderful vacation with her family in Kenya, while, I went to the south for a little retreat of my own. It was the first strictly vacation trip I've taken in a while so I was really ready for it. An organization paid for us to stay at this wonderful resort and all I had to do was pay for the plane ticket there. It was amazing. I got a huge room with a soft bed and wonderful A/C plus two pools and the BEACH! It was great. I slept and relaxed. I got a hand and foot massage. Bliss. I also got a wonderful surprise card shower from so many of you. It made my week. I was really surprised and happy as I read all of your notes.
October second week -
I traveled to B country to do three trainings by myself. I was a bit nervous to be traveling and teaching without Sarah, but I thank the Father for my translator and others who travel with me. They always make our time there so much fun. We were able to complete all of the sessions. The new storying method seems to be working well with the ladies. The C2C story is really long and difficult to learn but the ladies are definitely putting in the effort. I also enjoyed getting to use a lot of Bangla because with the exception of my translator no one was going to speak to me in English. I was even able to help some ladies with the story using my broken Bangla.
I also got a ginormous package from my parents. It had loads of stuff in it. Candy, dried fruits, mixes, cds. It was a blast. THANKS!
October third week -
Sarah came back bringing many wonderful gifts from her family from the States. I added more pages to my passport. I must admit I felt like such the world traveler doing that. With all of the goodies from the states and a lot of free time on my hands I cooked a lot of great meals, mexican night, stir fry with rice, and chili. Other than that nothing too exciting.
October fourth week -
Sarah and I traveled back to B country for another round of trainings. We have gotten to the point with two of our ladies groups where they know the C2C story and need to be going out and sharing it with their friends. In each group we had a time to lift up their friends to the Father. We are asking you also to lift them up as they go out to share. One of our groups has many women who have less knowledge coming into the class so currently we are still working on nailing down all of the details of the story with them. This past time one of our women leaders stepped up and really helped us out in a big way with explaining it to them.
Also, our church here in the city celebrated 6 years with a fun day. We had a service and then games and lunch afterwards. It was a great day with a lot of our friends here. Then some of our friends went to a coffee shop. It was a really relaxing day and I got to wear a new dress I bought.
November first week -
Well that leads us to this week. I spent Monday at one of the local markets. I needed to buy some material for a sari underskirt and blouse. I also bought some really cute shoes for a great price from a friends store. It was fun. I still hate bargaining but what to do?
I went to bangla class and bible study this week.
Also, throughout these past months if there has been down time I have been working on spreadsheets for all of B country. There is a spreadsheet for each division (like a county).
November second week -
I know it hasn't come yet but I'm going to THAILAND!!! There will be more blog posts to come I'm sure when I return from that trip.
Well, whew. There you go. That has been the whirlwind tour of the last few months of my life. A few great days mixed in with the mundane. I hope you enjoyed it and I will try to update more often so this massive list won't be necessary.
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