Sorry,
This may be my last post due to problems with the blog website. The entire website is in Bangla, which makes it hard for me to navigate beings that I am Bangla illiterate.
            

Gong show

I am convinced my life is becoming a gong show. Yesterday I opened a car door and knocked some poor guy off his bicycle. Then tonight I was in the kitchen filling up my water bottles when the screw tap on water filter got stuck so my bottle started overfilling and just at that moment the electricity went out leaving me banging around in a pitch dark kitchen looking for a pot to catch the water as it poured onto the floor. Or maybe this is just another day in Dhaka.  There always seems to be some odd thing happening. A few days back it had poured all night and the next morning as I walked to language school I saw sewage flowing up out of the sewage ditches and on to the road. It struck me as an odd situation to be in, making me question not only the water that I was shin deep in, but also if I had anti-bacterial soap back home. Although sometimes things here are a little unsanitary life has been enjoyable none the less. Every day I feel a little less overwhelmed and a little more comfortable. I am starting to make friends and find my way around. Yes life is good and God is generous with his blessings.  

  

First day in Dhaka

( This is a few days late because of Internet issues)

- First Day in Dhaka

                Yesterday I arrived in Dhaka, my home for the next few months. In flying over Dhaka it looks to be a concrete jungle in the midst of rain forest and muddy water.

                My room is in the transit flat Liebenzell guest house.  My room is simple with two beds, a desk, a ceiling fan, and a caged in porch the size of a dining room table.  The porch looks over a tree and across the street to a building that is in its finishing stages of construction. I have noticed a good number of construction projects.  From what it seems at least two buildings on every block are under construction and either being torn down or rebuilt.

 My bathroom has a toilet in the shower area ( multi-tasking maybe?). It also has a 5 gallon bucket of water, this way I can take a bucket bath and flush the toilet even when the water is off.  I don’t think that water and electricity are very consistent here. One indicator is that the electricity just was off for the last 5 minutes. I should probably buy some candles…

Besides settling my one suitcase of belongings into my room, I also went for a walk yesterday. My flat is two streets away from a main street. This main street is lined with shops that are both in buildings and set up on the side walk. Cars and rickshaws were bumper to bumper honking and ringing bells. What is worse than the traffic is the smell. The sewer runs right under the side walk – or I should really say that the side walk is made from the man-hole covers from the sewer. Occasionally one of the manhole covers is off, revealing the green odorous sludge.

I have arrived in Chang Mai

I have had a safe, enjoyable trip and around 10 am this morning  I arrived in Chang Mai, Thailand. I will be staying here for the next 5 days and attending a spiritual retreat hosted by the CRWRC. It is good to meet the CRWRC staff and put faces with the names I have been hearing.
Chang Mai is beautiful. This morning, I went for a walk. My feet carried me down the road for a while before I found a well trodden dirt path. The path soon turned to a steep cement trail surrounded by temperate rain forest. The trail turned to stairs and the stairs didn't stop. I was covered in sweat by the time I reached the top of the steep hill. (My goodness it is humid here.) At the top of this hill sat a white temple housing golden idols. Each idol had various food offerings in front of it a bottle of juice, packaged crackers, bananas.. . (I wonder how they keep pests from eating the offerings.) After briefly peering into the temple through barred windows I turned to head back down the hill. The view from the top of the stairs was breath taking. Rain forest as far as the eyes could see. The buildings of Chang Mai poked through the trees. What a beautiful country.
    A few minutes ago I met Nancy and Kohima, they said this is a good first impression of Asia... Im guessing Bangladesh is completely different than this peaceful corner of the world.    

3 days

Well Friends, Im packing my suit case because I only have three days left here in the states. 
I am excited for this new phase in life and can't wait to begin it.

Thank you to all of you who have supported me both spiritually and financially. It has been such a comfort to know that I am not the only one that God is leading on this mission.
Please pray for safe travel and that I make all my flights,
also please pray for courage, that I will not be intimidated or flustered when I don't understand what is going on around me
                          Thanks!