'Tis the Season...

We have been having beautiful days here, temps in the upper 70s during the day, cool enough to sleep under a blanket at night. It's green out (well, at least under the layer of dust) and the flowers are entering their peak season. So it's hard to feel like it's nearly Christmas. The boys have been off of school for nearly a week now. We had a great big cookie baking day when some team members were in town, dipped some chocolates too - thanks to my big-hearted Mom who sent lots of goodies to us. That was a lot of fun and helped us feel a little more like it really is December. We helped throw a cookie/fuchka party for the office. I brought in the tiny little tree we keep on the verandah and the boys helped me string up lights and hang little elephants. I must say I don't miss the hectic schedules that most folks "back home" have at this time of year. On the other hand, I do miss those times of being with friends and family. As I sit in the light of the tree, sipping coffee in the early morning darkness, I find myself wrapped in bittersweet feelings - and I am learning to taste it all, the bitter and the sweet. But that is a whole other subject...

Merry Christmas everybody!

Recent Highlights

The past month has been full and overflowing. It would be impossible to put it all into words so I am just going to share a few highlights.

Steve and Rhoda Zook, friends from Ohio, came and spent 2 weeks with us. We thoroughly enjoyed taking them around both Dhaka and Mymensingh, to all our favorite places.


Last night was the Christmas production at school. Riley took part in the Donkey Dance - he pretty much stood on the stage with a big grin on his face, bumping into a fellow donkey from time to time.



Jensen was an astrologer for King Herod.


Pruitt was an innkeeper. They each thoroughly enjoyed their roles.


Other highlights - Korbani Eid which gave an opportunity t dress up and go visit friends, not to mention feasting!


Thanksgiving was extra special, thanks to friends from the home office who went a turkey and fresh cranberries over.


Lots of shopping trips with our friends.


We visited a number of projects with them. Here a batiked sari has just been dipped in indigo dye.


We went through a paper-making project called Banoful.


Jensen took a trip with his class to Mymensingh, to visit Sacred Mark and other projects.


There have been a couple suitcases full of goodies to unpack.


Pruitt had his hair dyed red.


And I finally got to see this little princess, the same one I went to see in the hospital about 6 months back (and posted a photo of). She is one precious little girl!

There is much more I could write about - exhilarating moments and deep sadness. Suffice it to say that the changes of the past months have been draining. It was a deep blessing to have friends here and now that they are gone, I'm sensing the need to create a quiet space in my life, a space to listen, to heal, to rest. So I am doing things that are uncomfortable for me - asking for help, admitting I can't do it all, taking some time off... waiting to see where the journey will take me.

Fall Festival and Farewell

This past weekend the school hosted a Fall Festival to raise money for a slum school. Students brought in gently used items to sell and a number of vendors were there as well, including Sacred Mark. Austin helped them to get set up in the morning as it was the first time they participated in such an event. They sold kanthas (quilted sari blankets) and handmade soap. It was quite a hit!


We also hosted a farewell for the Fishers, who are leaving soon. It's been really sad for us to have so many people leave.



I found some cute outfits for the girls that I couldn't resist getting for them so here they are modeling them. The boys keep asking, "Is this the last time we will see them?". They have had an enormous amount of fun together.


Looks like Riley found another superman to hang out with!

Sri Mongol

We had a fantastic weekend in Sri Mongol recently. We went with 4 other families from school and the kids practically lived outside for 3 days. They were given a newborn kitten from the "village", to take care of while they were there. They spent a lot of time feeding it and taking care of it.


Riley is such an animal lover and was overjoyed to have a little kitty to love.


We walked down to the river one day, through the tea garden and these rubber trees, so the kids could splash and get as muddy as they wanted to.


And they did! I just sat on a blanket with the other moms, exchanging stories and trying not to think about what all could be in the mud.


Why do boys feel the need to conquer steep banks?

It was so good to let the boys be boys, to get dirty, be loud, run around, be outdoors. They rode bikes for the first time in 2 years, thanks to other friends who took bikes along and shared. They rode scooter, tried to play tennis, spied on each other, roasted marshmallows at the bbq by the pool, went swimming and had very fun time!

I spent one day sick, in bed. My first thought was that it wasn't a good place to be sick but then I decided there couldn't be a better place to be sick. I didn't have to worry about the kids, I had a great book along and every time I looked up I saw green, green and more green - and even a monkey outside the window.

All too soon we packed up and headed back to our concrete jungle.

Faces of the Poor, Faces of Myself

Life has been intense lately and I feel as if I've been running from one thing to the next. The other afternoon I needed to go across town to the boys' school for parent teacher meetings. It was hot, I was tired and I had a hard time finding transportation. Finally after 20 minutes I found a little electric cart that would go. He wanted a lot but I was glad to be on my way. Little did I know that these carts are slow, very slow! But I decided to catch my breath and enjoy the scenery. It gave me time to think, as the cars, buses and cngs went whizzing past. As we waited at one of the intersections, the beggars began to surround the cart. At first it was some children, hoping for some money or mango bars that I usually carry with me. When I told them I didn't have any this time, they were happy to shake my hand instead. Then the adults came - a dignified elderly, bearded gentleman who always wears a long punjabi and a toopi on his head, prayer beads around his neck and paan stained lips. An old woman who always seems to be wearing a faded blue sari, has soft milky eyes, a lone whisker on her chin and a solemn face. A spirited young mother with a bright smile on her face and with a naked toddler on her hips. As each of them came up to me, the first thing they did was ask how I was doing. I was taken aback. These dear folks seemed to be genuinely interested in how I was doing. In fact, I think the dear old woman was the only one of them who asked me for anything at all. After chatting a bit they all wondered on to other vehicles and I was left alone with my thoughts.

I was struck by the thought that in these beggars I had seen the face of God. In the midst of an extremely stressful period of time, God had showed concern for me through the poor. In the sparkling eyes of the children I had seen the love the Almighty has for life itself. In the greetings of the adults I was greeted by the Divine. In being surrounded by this group of humanity I felt a solidarity, a connection.



Sometimes it is good for us to have the tables turned, to speak in a metaphor, so that we can see things in a new way. Later in the day I read an interesting article on poverty by Claudio Oliver. The link is Article--Why I stopped serving the poor. One thought that has stayed with me is that of seeing myself in the poor, my own miserableness, my own need for help and healing. It helps put things back in perspective, that I really am no better than they are. Sure, I have a different work ethic and I'm quite happy with my work ethic but that does not put me above them. In fact, thinking back to that moment of being surrounded, what stands out to me is the calmness that each one of them portrayed. The rest of us are so busy rushing around, trying to please everyone and earn enough so we can do even more things and please even more people. The poor live in the moment. They are not rushing, not striving - at least not the ones I see. I have seen some pretty happy beggars, some that are down right hilarious. Like the old lady who buys my father-in-law tea and grabbed flowers from a vendor and gave them to my mother-in-law when they were having their photo taken. I love those moments when they are caught off guard, just enjoying life. I see it the most in the children. The best example is a little girl who was smiling and talking to us until she all at once remembered she was expected to beg and look sad so she put on a sad face just like that and started talking in a whiny voice. It cracked me up and made me sad at the same time. So I won't say the poor don't have pressures or feel the need to please or perform. But still, they have a way of living in the moment and enjoying the little things in life that the rest of us could learn something from.


I met with a group of people to listen to some psychologists share one evening about depression and burn out. The struggle to deal with poverty was one topic that came up. One of the speakers made some comment about the guilt we feel when we do not give to the poor as actually being pride, in the sense that I have something that would make them happy if I gave it to them. Like being poor is a bad thing and they would be happier if they were like me and I have the power to fix this. Ahem.

Don't get me wrong, I'm totally against the injustice that nearly always comes to those who are poor. But when you really look at it, we are all poor and desperately needy.


In the words of Jesus, God blesses those who are poor and who realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

Birthday Time!

I can hardly believe I've been a mom for a whole decade now! Jensen had his 10th birthday yesterday. The day started bright and early with sports at one of the international schools. Jensen loves football (I'm afraid we've become a bit more English as the boys never call it soccer anymore) and it's been a great outlet for his enormous energy tank!


We had a party for him later at the club and invited his classmates and a few other friends. They had a high old time splashing and laughing together.


While I don't regret the years I have had Jensen at home, it has been a delight to watch him grow and thrive in an international classroom. His enthusiasm and leadership abilities can sometimes be a bit much for his brothers but it seems he has put it to good use at school. He pours hours into his homework, not because he has to but because he is having so much fun learning. His teacher tells me that when the other kids start groaning about things they need to do, he shows so much excitement that it helps them to get excited too. It's been a blessing to me to see him reaching out to the really shy kids as well as learning to work through conflict with those who have strong opinions. He's not perfect and he definitely doesn't have perfect parents and we still have our moments... but he is a great kid and I'm glad to be his mother. My prayer for him as he grows older is that he would be able to hear the words the Almighty is speaking to him and that he would speak those words back to the world through the way he lives his life.

A Relaxing Weekend After a Crazy Week

What a week it was! Riley was sick for a couple of days and by the time he was better, Pruitt was sick. I spent nearly 2 hours in traffic on Thursday, going to and from the school to pick him up. He spent the next 24 hours in bed. We all stayed at home Friday and chilled out. By afternoon he was up and about, not hungry, but with enough "umph" to push his younger brother around in their homemade ambulance. We watched Ice Age 3 in the evening, much to the boys' delight! Pruitt woke up Saturday morning, fever gone and feeling good, ready to eat a good breakfast and wanting very much to go to Saturday Sports. The American School has a sports program for kids to play various sports on Saturday mornings so we headed over there to register and pick up uniforms. We missed Pruitt and Riley's time slots but they were fine playing with their friends on the playground and Jensen enjoyed an hour of soccer with his age group. In the afternoon they went to a friend's birthday party and had a total riot, riding bumper cars and roller coasters, while Austin and I talked more about our options for the future over cups of cafe mochas. We all hit the sack, happy from a good weekend.



The feeling didn't last too long though. Soon I got up to check on the boys, after hearing a suspicious sound. My nose soon confirmed that someone was sick again. Poor Pruitt was violently ill. We helped him back to bed and he is feeling much better this morning, though still not back to normal. Was it something he ate yesterday? A recurrence of what he had the other days? Who knows.


He's been through a lot lately but I'm glad to see him starting to bounce back. A little bit ago, he put on 2 pairs of socks and tied a variety of ropes around his ankles and tried to convince me to let him tie himself to the window grille so that he could hang upside down. I just didn't think a concussion was something I wanted to deal with right now so I persuaded him to leave that for professionals. He has turned his attention to trying to pull a loose tooth and stringing beads into a necklace.

Needless to say, I'm tired. I was hoping for a quiet, "normal" week but it seems as if normal has become a bit too crazy for my liking. At least being a mom of 3 boys gives me lots of opportunities to laugh!

Plumeria Petals

Time has been flying by and September is here already. The boys are really enjoying school. We were able to go and meet all of the teachers and are again so grateful for this opportunity for our boys to learn in such a positive and fun environment.

Ramadan is here once again. I'm still waking up nearly every morning when the loudspeaker announces that it's time to get up and make breakfast (so they can eat before dawn). I've been hearing new voices on the streets during the day, shouting out their wares or begging. The amount of vegetable carts coming through seem to have tripled and as the month goes on I expect to hear more and more beggars. After living on this street for over a year I am able to recognize the voices of the hawkers and beggars that normally come through so when I hear a new voice it makes me wonder who they are, where they come from and what kind of story they have. Prices in general are going up and dairy products are starting to dwindle as most of the milk is being turned into ghee or curds for mishti ( a unique line of sweets that are quite popular here). The office hours have shortened a bit and traffic is even more overwhelming than usual, as even more people are out and about, doing Eid shopping, etc.

Otherwise, life goes on pretty much the same as always. The monsoon seems to be lingering a bit, bringing some relief to the heat. Austin has been putting in extra hours to get the Source ready for re-opening. The Source is the local store that sells handmade paper and various handicrafts made by MCC partners and was recently renovated.

Since the boys have been back in school I have had a bit more time to experiment in the kitchen. My current project is making homemade mozzarella cheese. Lets just say that I need a lot more practise! Despite the fact that the boys are gone most of the day, it feels like I am cooking more than ever for them. There is very little that they all like (to eat cold, that is) so I often pack three very different lunches. One loves chicken nuggets or deviled eggs, one occasionally eats peanut butter and jelly and the other one loves parota and baji (fried spicy veggies with fried flat bread) and wants it every day. The only thing they agree on currently is hot dogs wrapped in strips of dough and baked so if I don't hear the alarm (which has been happening a lot lately), that's what they get.

I know this had nothing to do with plumeria petals, but since the photo is plumerias, I gave it that title anyway. I count myself blessed to live in plumeria country. Come to think of it, I have a lot of blessings!

The End of Summer

This morning marked the end of summer for us, as the boys went back to school. Here they are in front of our apartment building, waiting for the bus to come. (In case you are interested, ours is the 2nd one up on the right, or 3rd if you count the parking garage as first floor.)


The 2 months of summer vacation have slipped away, leaving this mommy with a bittersweet feeling. When school let out last June, I was so exhausted that I didn't know how I was going to manage having them home every day for 2 months. But having some restful time away has done wonders for us all. We laughed, we played, we explored new places. So, while they got on the bus this morning full of enthusiasm, I was sorry to see them go. Not that I have any regrets. To see how far I've come in this time tells me that some good stuff happened this summer and it gives me a little bit of hope and inspiration for the future.

Final Days

The last few days were packed full of all kinds of fun stuff. Austin took the boys to Waterbom Park and they soaked it up while I went shopping. We repacked all our stuff (after even more shopping excursions). Between Carrefour, Makro and different malls, I was busy and happy. We even had time to chill out a bit before heading out.


We shared our yard with a rabbit the last 2 days and Riley totally fell in love with it. Whenever we would get food out, it would be right there, sniffing away and quietly waiting for us to share. He cried on the plane ride home, about having to leave the rabbit behind.


We played games on Austin's birthday, went for a walk to a nearby cafe but missed the road and ended up 2 kilometers away. So we took a taxi back and enjoyed every bite of our chocolate tarts and cheese crossaints. Then we went to a local buffet and had huge plates of rice and loads of veggies and chicken. All 5 of us loved the food on Bali, which made a great vacation even better.


There was a jacuzzi in the yard. The water was cold but that didn't stop Pruitt from jumping in again and again.

Oh, the sheer beauty of the place, both within the walls and without. I cherish the memories.

More...

Aah, my favorite time of day!


We went snorkeling one morning - without our camera. Besides, a photo would not do justice to the marvel of the coral reef and the electric colored fish. Anyway, in the boat on the way back, Pruitt made up a song about liking to swim with doggies. So when we got back, he and Riley sang it to us again and again.

Late afternoon was the best time for swimming, after the tide went out. Here they are with a new friend, the daughter of the owners of the place.


Jensen with one of his sculptures.


One afternoon we heard the sound of drums coming down the normally quiet side street. A whole village was in procession, taking their offerings to the temple.

Chilling Out

From the volcano, we headed to the beach. We found the perfect place at Lumbung Damuh and loved every minute of it! The bungalow was charming and large enough for us to all spread out and the ocean breeze was constantly blowing over us. The beach had black sand and lots of rocks but that didn't deter our boys at all from jumping in and trying new things.


They built together when they got tired of being in the water.



And, for once in his life, Riley could throw stones to his hearts content!


We had one glorious week here. While each place we visited was so amazing, this topped it all.