I'm back from the other side of the World!!!

I bet you all thought I dropped off the edge of the earth, didn't you?? Well, I have about thought that myself...if you've ever been to Bangladesh, it feels like the edge of the earth! (In actuality though, it's only the other side of the earth....13 hours difference!)

This last month has been an incredible blessing (most of which I spent on a mission trip to Bangladesh, as I've mentioned in my last couple posts!). But I've been incredibly busy, and most of the time, not even near electricity...let alone a computer with the modern convenience of Internet! (And when I did have Internet, it was slow as molasses....and just trying to communicate with my mom was all I could do, let alone update a blog. So this has been on the back burner....but let's see what I can do now about catching up!!)

Curtis, Janine and I, left for Bangladesh the 14th of September...it was a long and tiring trip - 14 hours across the Pacific Ocean to Hong Kong, hours of layover there, then another 4 hours to Dhaka Bangladesh where the hot balmy monsoon weather greeted us, along with Dr. Moskala's open arms! ;-) Dr. Moskala took us to his dental clinic, a sweet cool haven in the midst of the wild city, where we crashed and slept for hours. Well, at least Curtis and Janine did! I woke up at 8am the first morning, and was ready for the adventure, but it was mid-afternoon before my teammates opened their sleepy eyes! Dr. Moskala gave us time to rest and re-coop from the long journey though, so that was a blessing.

That first week was spent visiting Dr. Moskala's "Schools" in the slums. This is where he has rented a small shack, building, or bamboo lean-to and is seeking to give them some type of education, which they would never have otherwise. And his teachers are doing a marvelous job!! We got lots of awesome video coverage for CCBN, and also got to participate in the classes. I taught them basic health and hygiene principles along with stories and songs. The kids favorite was often "David and Goliath" which I shared, or "Noah and the Ark" which Janine shared with the aid of a felt board that I'd brought along. Most of our students were Muslim and Hindu children, and just bubbling over with life and enthusiasm for what we shared.

Walking the streets was the most heart-breaking of all though....you could hardly go anywhere without tripping over a crippled beggar or homeless mother and children sleeping on cardboard or the bare stone. Everyone is soooo skinny and kids were always begging us for food! Dr. Moskala is always giving away banana's to the hungry, so we began doing that too. One of the first nights there, Dr. Moskala took us to a nice restaurant to eat (the only food that would have been safe for our American stomachs). It cost about $10 American dollars....but when we did the math, we realized that with what we'd just spent on that meal, we could have fed over 350 hungry people a banana!!!!! So...we couldn't stomach the thought of eating out anymore, but instead ate bread and butter and banana's at our room, and focused on giving out MORE banana's. The filth, the stench, the disease and sickness, the poverty, the despair....and the beggars and homeless, too numerable to count, was heart-breaking....and we often came back from our street walks or school trips in tears!!

But God had a lesson He was teaching us....and as our heart's broke, they also grew....

The second week, Loma Linda University's Medical/Dental team joined us, and we headed about 4 hours into the jungle/countryside. This was an all night drive in a huge bus that spent the majority of the time, driving into on-coming traffic!!! Talk about scary!! I had chosen to sit near the front with Raja so I wouldn't get car-sick, and my throat ended up being in my mouth practically the WHOLE trip!!! We were within inches of hitting other cars, buses, rickshaws, and who knows what else, time after time after time!!!! But God protected....and again my heart grew....

This week was a very hectic adventure, for once we got camp set-up and got through the welcoming ceremony, we began seeing between 400-700 patients per day! They were at the gate just waiting to get into the school/compound where we had set-up camp. (Made me wonder about the fact that if we only knew what God had for us in his kingdom, we too would be beating down the gates of Heaven, begging to get in!!!) I was in charge of Registration and Education, and would have been horse within the first couple hours if I hadn't had a great team of assistants to help me teach and keep things organized! (Thanks - Lorinda, Carrie, Chris and others!) God blessed. We taught health education, hygiene, cleanliness, the eight natural laws, and told a variety of non-threatening Bible stories and parables. What fun! Towards the end, Carrie and I even sang them some special songs. (I bet they never heard that kind of music before!!!) At times between the heat, sweat, crowds, smells, and mud, I wondered how long I could hold up...but God was growing my heart.

For pictures of the first TWO WEEKS of Adventures in Bangladesh, click on this link!

The last week in Bangladesh, I was driven 8 hours North....to the Bangla Hope Orphanage!! I have to say, this was probably my favorite part of the whole trip! This is an Orphanage that Americans Dave and Beverly Waid started about 5 years ago, and they have done a marvelous job. Currently they have 69 children all under the age of 6 (with more on the way), and they are doing an awesome job at raising them and giving them an education. While I was there, they put me to work as well! Every day, I did staff worship for the core staff, a couple classes a day for the older little ones, evening worship for all the kids, and then evening worship for the care-giver women. (FIVE meetings to prepare for a day - let me tell you, I was hopping like a Kangaroo!) Plus I spent a lot of time just playing with the kids and reading them stories, and loving on them! You can hardly imagine the joy....And again and again I thought of how Jesus said, "For of such is the kingdom of heaven."

The drive up to the Orphanage was wild (as was most driving in Bangladesh), but unfortunately I inhaled too much smoke and fumes from other traffic around us during the 8 hour drive....so right from the beginning of my arrival at the Orphanage, I felt like I was getting a chest infection. Every day I woke up feeling worse, and by Wednesday, I was feeling sooo sick, I knew I couldn't go on (was worried I might be getting Bronchitis or Pneumonia). That morning I pleaded with God in tears to please HEAL ME so that I could continue to teach my classes and love the children. It wasn't immediate, but He gave me strength to get up...and by noon of that day, I suddenly realized that all my symptoms, pain, congestion and problems in my lungs, had gone away!! It was ALL GONE!!! He had healed me!!! I was ecstatic!! (I never suffered any more problems....and even traveling back to the USA, despite missing 2 nights of sleep....and even more with jet-leg after being back - it's taken me about 12 days to begin to sleep during the night like normal, yet I haven't gotten near to being sick!!! Tired, yes...feeling like my head is in a fog, yes....but no sickness, sore throats or chest congestion!!!) I just praise the Lord! What a great God we serve!!!

But back to Bangladesh.....I soooo enjoyed my time there at the Orphanage, and with new friends, and by the time my week at Bangla Hope was over, I was heart-broken with the thought of leaving all my little ones....for they had adopted me into their hearts. And I had adopted them!! When I left, we all cried....and I'm already dreaming about when I can go back, and what I can do to help these kids....and the many others like them, around the world!!

For pictures of my week at BANLGA HOPE click on this link!

God grew my heart in sooo many ways on this trip....And I'll be sharing some of those ways hopefully, in my upcoming posts!

For now, I just wanted to say, I'm back....and the trip went well!! And to all those that contributed to help make this happen, my deepest gratitude!!!

May God continue to be glorified...