Sunday, September 9, 2012

Jesus in Disguise

     I took this picture with my ipod while crossing a bridge in Dhaka, Bangladesh. At the time my reaction to the beggar was turning my head the other direction. I couldn't help notice the scars and mutilations to his body. I never gave him any money or showed any sympathy. I just tried to discretely snap this picture as I walked past.

   When I think back on this experience I wonder, who was really underneath the scars and the mutilations? Whose heart was tucked beneath the sweat and dirt caked skin? Was it someone who had given me a home, parents, money, education, and healthy body? Was it someone who had ordained the beating of my heart? I think that I had been partying with His grace for so long, I was inebriated, I could no longer see the giver of that grace. "Everyone you meet is Jesus in disguise."-Mother Teresa

 

Monday, May 7, 2012

Vern

   Vern is originally from New York but has lived in Tennessee for sixteen of her twenty years. Tonight I was talking with her on the phone and I realized how thankful I am that girl left the north. The south is making its mark on Vern. I think it's safe to say that sweet southern water is seeping into her roots. As I was talking to her tonight she told me that she was transporting a load of guinea hens in the back seat of her Ford Taurus. Vern works for a vet and she  has seen several dogs come into the veternarian, their ears filled with a thick layer of those crusty blood sucking creatures.Vern informed me that Tennessee was to see the most tick infested summer it had seen in decades. Vern is not going to take a chance with those pests and she has got the best natural protection possible for her property, God's creatures.
   I love country people and I love Vern.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

BRENT


                         

   The first days of teaching in Bangladesh I was familiarizing myself with my first grade class. As days turned into weeks I began to pick up on the children's different indivualities. Some could be helpful, demanding, sweet, loud, and others lazy. Yet none of them were like Brent, his desk impeccably clean, but he cheated on assignments, rarely gave eye contact and seemed ashamed and lost. On the playground he would observe at a distance or start fights with the other children. Brent did not seem to have a friend and with good reason.
  Despite Brent's attitude my heart went out to him.  My greatest desire was for this little boy to be happy. I began going to his bedroom at night and telling him good night and I loved him. For weeks it seemed as though I was getting nowhere. Often he would ignore me, staring straight through me, meticulously making his bed, or hiding under his blanket. I considered quitting, maybe I was trying to hard, or possibly I was the reason he was acting like this. I wondered if I should let him be. But I could not let him be. I wanted this boy to know what it was like to feel loved and not to be afraid to love.
  One evening I walked back to by apartment, it was dark but the moon was bright and I could see Brent watching me from behind a rose bush. When I got to the bush I bent over picked him up, held him, and told him I loved him very very much.  He tried turning his head so that I could not see his face but he was a little late, for the first time I saw him smile.
   That night I lay in bed and thanked God. My prayers were beginning to pay off. I felt as though I had won a battle.  I had just broken through a major barrier but there were still many difficulties lying ahead. The times Brent demanded, broke, bad mouthed, or just simply hated were many. I wondered how on earth a six-year old boy could possess so much anger. All I knew to do was love him.
  The weeks prior to my leaving were filled with good memories of Brent. Often times I would look out my window and see him waiting for me to come play.  We would walk around the campus hand in hand. He loved jumping over the small bushes that lined the sidewalks. So many times I found myself running along side him swooping him up into the air so he would clear the scratchy bushes. Sometimes he would come to my apartment and want his hair done. One time he helped me with my laundry. In the beginning I remember watching Brent during worships, he did not sing he just sat there with his head hung. He was happier now and I would often see him singing and doing the motions to the music.  Each night I went to tell him good-night and give him a hug he would ask if he could kiss me good-night. Brent's kissing routine was one kiss on the forehead, then both my cheeks, nose, and chin. Sometimes he would sit on my lap outside his room as we would both watch the other kids play.
   I love Brent very much, pray for him, miss him a ton. I don't know how Brent is doing now but I pray that he continues to love and be loved. "But the greatest of these is love"- 1 Corinthians 13:13


Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Mr. Clean

   Ever since I was a wee little thing I always imagined the Ethiopian eunuch that Philip baptized to look just like Mr. Clean!
   Over a period of years Mr. Clean's products slowly disappeared out of our cabinets. Then one day mom came home with this box and low and behold Mr. Clean's face was on the front of it. But inside the box was something incredible, a magic eraser! Today I used the magic eraser to clean our kitchen floor and it worked like a charm. So if you ever are having a difficult time cleaning just give Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser a whirl.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

THEY DON'T LEAVE

   I just got back from a two month stay in Bangladesh. The majority of people in Bangladesh are Muslims. Atop their hospitality, Muslims are full of other respectable qualities that I wish my own religion/denomination could be known for. One of the most impressive characteristics I noticed is that this religion has an effect on its children. Many of these kids grow up very God fearing. From the encounters I have had with Muslims I have come to the conclusion that they are not ashamed of God and in fact they are very proud of the God they serve. I believe this is one of the reasons why Islam is the fastest growing religion. "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." - Proverbs 22:6

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Ahhh the good life...

   Crossing the bride from Souix City IA into Nebraska you go under the green government sign which reads Nebraska... the good life.
  Today I came into Lincoln and let me tell you it looked as though a tropical paradise compared to the frozen prairie that I now get to call home. I couldn't help but think of the sign that I used to so often pass beneath. Today felt so good, green grass, trees in bloom, warm rain and ginormous green wheat fields.  I miss this place.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Hours in the Sky

   In the past month and a half I have spent 56 hours in the sky. Flying gives me great anxiety, in fact I think it's one of my bigger fears. Unfortunately it seems as though there is no way for me to avoid it, tomorrow I have to catch a plane at 7 am.
  This is a picture I took with my ipod I flew right over the north pole! The airplane was 37,000 feet off the ground and it looked as though we were just a few hundred, the landscape was huge and vast. I prayed many times nothing would go awry.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Bootea Knife

   This is my new knife! I paid 150 taka(less than 2 USD). I love this knife it makes me feel powerful yet vulnerable, I know if I fell on it there may just end up being two of me. Anyhow when I was in Bangladesh these knives were always used to chop up food. They are quite fast once you get the hang of them. Making it more stable I place my foot on the tail of the knife then I slice away.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Luke + Rumi




   Luke and Rumi were two of my first grade students. Both of them had very good english so I got to know them a bit better than some of the other children. Whenever we sang songs during class Rumi could always be heard, she never ceased to call me Shara teacher and she was always quite insistant on making sure that I looked at every detail of her school work and gave it an A+. Often times I would pass by her and she would ask me, "Shara teacher how are you?" "I am doing good. How are you doing?" Rumi's response was  always, "I am fine".
   Luke was very demanding when I first arrived at the orphanage but as time progressed he became one of my favorites. Luke just wanted to be with me. Unlike many of the children he never demanded I give him stuff. Sometimes I would take Luke on walks and he would be nearly silent the whole time. I remember asking him how long he had been at the orphanage, he wasn't sure but he thought he came when he was three. I asked him why he came. He told me that his parents could not take care of him any more so it was better that he go to the orphanage. I will not forget how on the day that I left the orphanage Luke kept pulling on my shirt telling me that I was not leaving. I told him I had to go and his only response was "No". I told him to be good, "No". I told him I would miss him, "No". I told him I would come back, "No Shara teacher". I miss Luke very much and will not forget all my Luke memories. 




Monday, April 2, 2012

Monday, March 19, 2012

What I Ate

   The other day I was in the kitchen house spending some time with the cooks. Soon enough their lunch time rolled around and they were all eating so they offered me some of their rice and curry. The curry that  was served to me was bright yellow and full of potatoes and chunks of meat. I gnawed the meat off of the bones and chewed and chewed and chewed the meat until my throat allowed me to swallow it. I asked them what kind of meat it was. They told me that it was "oot". During their process of explaining I heard them say something about it being big with a hump. Then it hit me "I just ate camel." I hoped and expected the camel curry experience to sort of be a once in a lifetime ordeal but I have been offered the dish three times in a matter of days and I am a bit of a people pleaser so this has not been a once in a lifetime experience.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Thailand

  Folks I am terribly sorry its been awhile since the last post. Right now I am currently in Thailand at an internet cafe typing this. Danielle and I had to leave Bangladesh for a few days because her visa expired. We left Bangkok early this morning and are now traveling down the coast to Krabi. Got to go now.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

ame namke sarah

  Two weeks ago I was sitting at a sari shop in Hili. A woman came in looked at me and asked what my   was. "My name is Sarah" (ame namke Sarah), I said. I left the shop and she followed me to the tailors. The woman talked the whole way, I understood very little of what she said. When we arrived at the tailors she asked him for a piece of paper, he gave her a small piece, she asked me to write my name on it. I wrote Sarah. She left the shop with the piece of paper in her hand smiling.
  Today I saw her again. Her hands covered in henna wearing the same black shalwar kameez. I asked the shopkeepers who she was, they all told me she had gone mental. As I stood picking out the ribbon for my sari blouse she handed me a bag of potato chips. In her hands she held a package that was loosely wrapped in newspaper. She wanted to show me what was in the package and as she unwrapped it I saw a picture frame with the piece of paper that had my name on it upside down in the center of the wooden frame.  I laughed a little and told her it was very nice. Got to love that woman.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Discipline

  Today I was busy teaching the kids english, when Dulali, the kids Bangla teacher, called me over and told me to look in David's mouth.  David opened his mouth, it was full of yellow. It looked to me as if he had just eaten curry. Dulali told me he was eating his crayons. Immediatly Dulali got Popri(she is the principle and extremely feared by all the children). Popri looks malaysian to me, has has a very important regal strut, and carries a stick for spanking. When Popri came into the classroom she called David. All the student were quiet as they watched Popri force a yellow crayon into David's mouth. Ten minutes later David had eaten his yellow crayon.

  Bangladeshi's use humiliation for discipline. I am not sure how effective it is here. But I know it would sure be effective on me.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Week Two


   This a hindu girl that lives two villages away from the orphanage


    Right now I am sitting on the roof.  The sun just disappeared into the smoggy horizon. And I am now trying to recall the best parts of my week to share with you all. Teaching was fun as usual. This past monday I found a large book at the bottom of a dusty stack in the library it was filled with stories of Curious George. When I was younger I really enjoyed being read Curious George and I hoped the first graders here would as well. When it's reading time they ask where is George? The teachers really like it too. Multiple times I have been asked to share a stories for worships. Usually it's just minutes before they want me to share. So I rack my mind for a story with a moral and a good bible verse. So far the moral has always been children obey your parents. I wish I had more stories!
   Yesterday I took two boys to town, Luke and Bartholomew. I bought them Oreo's and mango drinks. The kids at Banglahope really have it so much better than all the other kids here in Bangladesh. As we walked through Hili I noticed small kids would trail behind us for a few minutes and then disappear behind the corrugated tin shacks and then reappear. I am sure they were hungry and I know they needed some more clothing. I wish I could supply everyone with a warm home, nice clothes, and food.
   One of the other missionaries decided he wanted some chicken to eat. We went into this large barn filled with vendors and cages full of chickens.  He chose a white live chicken and paid 320 taka for the bird. Which is about four dollars...I think. You know sometimes things just don't seem to clean here. The barn was swarming with flies there were bowls of blood. Blood dripped all over the barn floor, there was a nasty looking fresh rooster comb and beak and many other unidentifiable chicken parts.
  Today was Sabbath. We had a very american meal for lunch. Mashed potatoes, fruit salad, green beans, fried bread, apple pie and ice cream. This afternoon we went for a walk through several little villages. I feel like I am a disciple of Jesus, we go around talking and giving aid to the needy. It's always  an accomplished fulfilling feeling that wells up inside me when I know that we are helping.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

The first week

   I have been here almost a week and I am finally blogging. I am sorry I have not kept you all updated, I got internet yesterday.  My flight from LA to Dubai was very uneventful but I must say about three hours into the flight I looked down at the tv screen in front of me and I saw that we were over Towner ND. I was really excited, just knowing that my family was only a few miles away. We got to Dubai around 6 pm their time. Our layover was eight hours long so we got a taxi and went to the mall. What a beautiful place many of the men wore long white arab robes, I do not know what they are called. They drove nice cars, Range Rovers, Bentleys, Ferraris, Porches, the list goes on. The city was so clean, the air was clean,  and arab music played everywhere it felt as though I was in a movie. The most exciting part was seeing the Burj, they said it was the tallest building in the world. Dubai seemed like a dream.
  When we came into Dhaka I was amazed at the smog. I couldn't even see the ground until we where about five hundred feet above it. In the airport it looked as though someone had just burnt lunch the air was even smoggy inside. I was afraid to breath inside. I remember last year I was driving through Ventura CA and had my nose tucked inside my shirt, afraid to breath because of the nasty air But sadly Ventura's air has nothing on Dhaka's air. When we drove outside the airport the landscape was filled with people, they where everywhere. I have never seen so many people in my life. We drove to the orphanage that night. I am not sure how many miles it is but what I do know is that we left Dhaka at 5:30 pm and didn't arrive here until 1:00 am. It was a very long and terrifying drive. We drove between 120-140 kph on roads full of motorcyclist, cars, busses, rickshaws, and bicycles. I don't think I will complain about my dads driving for a long time.
   Despite the differences the people are so friendly and the food is very good. The children always want to be held or to have a hand to hold. I am teaching first grade english and math, I really enjoy that. I also am helping lead out in worships every other week. I am so thankful to be here safely. I need to go now and teach but I will try to keep ya'll updated more. Thank you all for the prayers.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Vaccines

   Today I got my vaccines for Bangladesh. I had three shots; Tetanus, Hepatitis A, and Typhoid.