Transition

We are back in Mymensingh again, though not for long. It looks like we may have a flat to live in and have been working on the arrangements. It is close to both the Guest House and Austin's parents and has a nice spacious feel to it. Now it's time to start thinking about packing up - again!

The Life of Riley

We have all been enjoying our 3 week stay in Dhaka, especially Riley. He has been so happy to be staying in an apartment that has a cat! That cat is the first thing on his mind when he wakes up and the last thing he thinks about before drifting off to sleep at night.

I love the little boy stage he is in and the funny things he comes up with. He and Austin were leaving a shopping mall recently and as they passed some mannequins he looked up at Austin and said,"Daddy, those aren't real; those are statues of Liberty."

Another day he was eating some chicken and looked at me and said, " I know why you should eat chicken, because it gives you good cavities."

I can hardly believe my baby is growing up and will be in school before I know it. It is a bittersweet stage of life and I am trying to savor each moment.

Threads of Life

Life has often been compared to a weaving in progress, of which we only see bits and pieces from the bottom and at times it seems ugly and mixed up and the colors all wrong. Every now and then, though, we get a glimpse of the top, of the pattern that is slowly emerging. Sometimes, if we are patient enough, we can run our hands over the texture. If we are still long enough, it may dawn on us that we can contribute to the pattern. We can make choices. But to do that we need to know who we are.

I just read some inspiring lines by Elizabeth O'Connor -

You cannot surrender to God a self you do not know. This was surely in the design of community, that we might find ourselves in the mirror of that community. As we share the common life, one unredeemed area after another comes to light. The joy of involvement is interwoven with the pain of it.

This rather sums up the journey of my soul the past few years, understanding a bit more of who I am and seeing that mirrored in community. I feel as if layers of my soul have been uncovered, opening myself to both pain and deeper joy. But I am speaking abstractly and it is time to tell you about yet another change coming into our lives. It looks as if we will soon not be the Millers in Mymensingh but the Millers in Dhaka instead. Our boys have all been accepted in a well known international school in Dhaka and we feel it is time for them to be able to interact with children of their own ages. We have all enjoyed our months in Mymensingh, as well as our years of home schooling and it has been a hard decision to make. We have all been able to visit the school and the boys have been jumping with excitement over the prospect. School begins in August and our goal is to be moved by then, so we are searching for a suitable apartment and trying not to be overwhelmed by all that needs to be done! Austin will still be in Mymensingh several days a week and plans to work from Dhaka the other days. I will be helping with the guest house and am looking forward to be more involved in hosting. In many ways it is a long time dream being fulfilled for me, though I must say I never expected it to be in Dhaka!

When we made the decision to move to Bangladesh, I felt as if I were putting my dreams on hold and the "weaving" looked very distorted. Now I feel as if I've been given a glimpse of a rather beautiful pattern, with some of my favorite colors woven in.

Time In Dhaka

We've been in Dhaka for over a week now and have been kept busy, which is why you've not heard from me in such a long time! We spent a week at Austin's parents' place. The boys and I had a Bangla class. Five mornings I took them to a friend's house for VBS, which they enjoyed immensely! It has been so good for them to have other children to interact with. The week has flown by! We have also been enjoying the conveniences of Dhaka - a library, bakery with yummy chocolate donuts and real coffee, large air conditioned grocery stores complete with shopping carts (though they would seem rather small to most of you), going to church two Friday mornings in a row, talking with other moms, having Grandparents around and lots of good eating options. Last night we decided to go to a nearby shopping mall and eat in the food court. We squeezed our way up the escalators with hundreds of other people. The boys had never seen so many people in one place that they could remember. Pruitt thought it was like being at the airport. It was a bit over whelming, though I think Austin enjoyed it pretty much. We decided to take the elevator down and barely got in. People kept coming and coming, squeezing tighter and tighter till the overload button buzzed, then a couple of people got off and one got back on and down we went. It was a relief to walk out and breath fresh air again. Outside there were people milling around and sitting on most of the steps (all in all there must have 40,000 people or more in and around the building). We had a hard time finding transportation to go home. We were trying to stay out of the way of moving vehicles and find one that would take us and not loose each other. This little beggar girl kept grabbing my arm and asking for money. I kept saying "maph koro" which is a polite way of asking to be excused from giving. Finally I yelled at her and instantly felt horrible, but she still wouldn't let me alone. We soon managed to get a CNG, a green little 3 wheeled taxi of sorts, and headed away from it all. I told Austin I was glad I did it once but it was enough to last me a life-time.


Despite the fact that I am an introvert and have spent the week pretty much surrounded by people, it has been a good week and I am looking forward to another one. Hopefully it will not be so long till you hear from me again.