Heading to Bangladesh.

We are in the process of getting ready to spend some time in Bangladesh.
My wife brought it up last week.
I told her we needed to agree and that I needed a confirmation.
Last Sabbath I asked for prayer and within minutes I got a confirmation.
The Holy Spirit prompted me to remember a vision I had when I was about 4;
I was flying at night above mountains,
In the distance I saw a glow and when we were above it I could see that the glow was coming from inside a mountain,
Inside the mountain there was a chamber filled with gems.

When I turned 50 I was about to interpret for a foreign pastor during a missionary service.
Before it was time to participate, the Holy Spirit told me that he would tell me the meaning of the vision.
He gave me a verse; where your treasure is, there your heart shall be.
I then told the congregation that as long as they supported overseas missions, they would be blessed.

Last year we had a retreat at a state park. Inside the cabin we shared we saw a video testimony of a young man that was called to the mission field.
I felt impacted by the testimony and I identified with the message.
I was in tears as I told them that we wanted to serve.

Now, we have just sent in our passport renewal paperwork, we should get them in a few months.
The most important step is that of securing a visa to Bangladesh as these are very hard to get.
We have a family member that obtained a five-year visa, a friend of his tried but only got one for a few months.
We are set up financially to pay our way and be there as volunteers.
We hope to be there for six months and return, we know that God can open doors according to his purpose, we pray that will follow through.

The state department has notified us that they are sending our old passports and that the new passports are being printed, ready to be sent.

We got our passports and are set up to apply on arrival.
Our purpose had been to spend time there volunteering at a school.
Unfortunately under a tourist visa we cannot work or volunteer.
A friend of mine told me that as he was growing up, his family would apply many times for visas.
He said that it felt like being in a marathon, I'm definitely feeling that.
I pray that God continue to help us on our way and that his purpose be fulfilled.

We just arrived in Virginia. We will be leaving for Bangladesh in a few days.

We had an uneventful trip to Dhaka.
We got there after midnight and didn't have problems getting our visas.
We got there with a Bengali celebration of a Buddist holiday that is close to our xmas.
People were crowded in the airport parking lot all night.
It took about 7 hours to get to Sitakunda.
The traffic was mostly trucks and busses, - very few cars.

We are close to one of the main highways, our road leads to our school and a lake and waterfall that people from all over Bangladesh come to visit.
The school is named Be Well.
It includes classrooms, dormitories and a farm where students pass half of their day working.
The place where we are staying is pretty decent, it costs about $100/mos, well above the reach of most Bengali's.
Be well also has as of late included an orphanage, one girl, four boys that are fed, housed and provided for.
Right in front of the building where we are staying is a building where our doctor serves the public.

Our days start before 7am where we go for breakfast before making a 1 mile walk to Be Well.
We usually make the trip in less than 20 minutes and with the students we have a short devotional and sermon before the students begin their classes for the day.
We have had opportunities to share with several of the students and we find them to be inspiring in their search for truth, meaning and following their calling in serving in the Lord's work.
One of them left his plans on becoming a doctor to serve as God would have him do. Another is doing the same, and he helps by playing the guitar and singing during devotionals. I've been giving him guitar lessons and sharing things with him.
I feel inspired because it reminds me of my early days in the church so many years ago.

We had breakfast at 7am and left for Be Well. Soon enough it was time to go do outreach in a neighboring community.
We walked toward the highway and got a ride in a CNG; a three-wheeled vehicle that sits 5, and made our way down the highway.
Before getting to our destination there was an accident. A pickup was speeding and rammed us from behind.
The front windshield shattered and we turned off the road.
All three of us in the back were impacted by the crash.
My wife hit her head, I hit my head and my back was impacted, and our leader was hit on the head.
My wife only got a bump on her head.
My nose was cut and I needed stitches on my head.
Jonathan, our leader got a concussion. He doesn't remember the crash.
We are just grateful that God protected us from something worse.

We are recovering from the crash, we are doing well.
We had an interesting conversation with a student and his mother.
He had told me that his mother is bi-polar and that she is weaving baskets around the clock, not getting much rest.
During Sabbath we talked with them, I mentioned how got into treatment for depression and years later, how I upgraded to bi-polar.
I talked about how I have always taken my medicine.
My wife talked about her condition.
I encouraged her to make use of every resource that God has given her, that there are natural remedies available.
Most importantly, I encouraged her to believe that God's purpose is to bless her and help her going forward.
The conversation went well and she was thankful.

After the accident we had last week, I wondered about why did God bring us here.
After the conversation we had yesterday we were convinced that because we are both mentally ill, we were able to break through her isolation and that God had in fact brought us to talk to her. We are both very grateful.

Time is running out, we have just over 24 hrs before we make our 7-hour trip to the airport in Dhaka.
We have been so blessed by our stay, we have met some very special people that are earnestly seeking truth, that are being prepared as workers carrying the health message, and others that will become ministers of the word. We made some contacts that we will maintain with several people that we met and shared with. Being that we hadn't taken a vacation in years, we really needed this time of rest. As of now, things are speeding up as we prepare to depart, rested and ready to go back to work this coming Sunday. God is good.