Finishing off.........

Hi everyone,

Its been another busy 2 weeks in Bangladesh and we can't believe we've been here for a month already!

It's two weeks so let me update you all a week at a time:
Week 1)
This was mainly taking up by Bible Camp. We had a great time with lots of study and praise and worship. Most of the church here managed to attend the 5 day event. We were all bussed out of town on the Sunday evening and were taken to conference centre about an hour out of Dhaka.

It was a nice place close to the first city of Bangladesh and, as always, nice to be out of the hustle and bustle of Dhaka city. We had a full five days of study, worship, eating and good fellowship with everyone. The church was joined by a some field workers from Australia including Ron Hicks who originally set up the church when he came here with the world bank 10 years ago. Unfortunately we had to leave a day early because we needed to be back at work on the Thursday.

On Friday Andy led the class at Banani and we said goodbye to Ken, a long term field worker from Canada who has had to leave his wife and 8 month year old baby and return to Canada for work. He'll be coming back in the New year to pick up his family and take them to Canada.

Week 2)
Last week we had a slow start with one day at the office and then a day off for the Hindu Holiday of Durga Pooja. This gave Nicola and I some time to sort a few jobs at the house including getting a cheap dinning table. On Monday night we had some people over from church for a meal (on our new table) and had chance to give some feedback on the products they had given us to take back to the UK. It was good to spend time with them and organise how we can take their ideas for their business further.

After they had left Andy packed his bag and headed up to Nilphamari on the overnight bus with his boss. He was due to stay for one day and catch the train home but due to the end of both the Muslim and Hindu holiday all the tickets were booked. So Andy was stranded up at the factory for another day!

This gave plenty of time to oversee the packaging of products ready to ship in our container and also plan for production over the next few weeks and months. The following day Andy and boss got the last two tickets on a squashed non-ac bus back to Dhaka. The seats were right at the back with no leg room for two big guys and we were bounced around for 7 hours all the way back to Dhaka! We even had to stop at a rest stop for 40 mins whilst they jacked up the bus and hit the wheel with a metal pole whilst we were all sitting on board!!

Meanwhile, back in Dhaka, Nicola was runnign here and there busy organising things for two short term Oasis workers who are staying at our home for the next month. Getting beds, sheets, extra cups and bowls, setting up internet and welcome packs, and schedules.... all bus busy stuff.

So by the time Andy got back on Thursday morning we were both feeling exhausted!! But, no rest for the wicked, we got up early friday morning to meet our new guests at the airport at 4.15am! They're in Bangladesh for 2 months and will be mainly working on Stop the Traffik and in the community school.

So far so good, both girls are lovely and seem to be enjoying life in this crazy town!! Hopefully this we'll manage to get some time in the office to get organised with all the work that's piling up for us both.

So one month in, and we're both loving every minute! We're still happy to have visitors so if anyone wants to come and share some of the experience then please let us know!

God Bless,
Andy and Nic

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Its Quality mate!!

Hi everyone, Hope you are all well...

We've been having a usual busy time of it, but enjoying every moment!

It's been two weeks since our last posting and quite a bit has happened. Firstly, we managed to secure a brand new flat in the an ideal location, close to where we used to live. We've also managed to move into the flat as well which is even more remarkable considering that its been coming to the end of Ramadam and Eid (which is a big celebration in the Muslim calendar) starts tomorrow.

This means everyone is busy preparing, buying presents etc (Kind of like Christmas back home is!). Also means the cost of everything goes up too!

But we're in and feel a little settled but in the need of some furniture so we can eat a meal at a table!

Nicola has been slowly catching up with the Stop the Traffik work by having a few meetings and solidly replying to emails.

The last working week we spent up in Nilphamari at our new Coffin factory. Andy volunteered to go up there to help with some quality checking as production comes to a close. Nicola also went up and we both basically ended up working 9hr days in the factory checking quality and making suitable alterations. Rest assured (no pun intended) that no serious work was needed just some touching up on the details!

Nicola returned back to work in Dhaka on Thurs leaving Andy up at the Factory until Fri morning. This meant a 13 hour working day at the factory for Andy on the Thurs!!

But spending time up there was really amazing as we got to know some of the workers better, building up some good relations and starting to understand how a secure job can make a world of difference to the lives of some of these people. One truly amazing story came out when one of the workers told of how she was abused at home by her husband but was so happy to be earning her own income and described work as a place of refuge for her in an otherwise despairing life.

The past weekend has been spent working on some Delph talks and Sunday school lessons as we leave for Bible Camp today (20th). We're heading an hour out of Dhaka with all the Bro's and Sis's for a 4 day residential.

We also managed to get to the Mirpur church last night where Andy spoke on Luke 11. It was great to see everyone again and to discover that they're growing together in size love and fellowship... most of the usual crowd were there and everyone was really pleased to see us.

We'll fill you in on details of the bible camp when we get back. Love to all!
Andy and Nic x

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We're Back

Greetings, once again, from Dhaka.

As you can tell we’ve arrived safely back in Bangladesh. We landed on Monday 31st August on a very crowded Emirates flight from Dubai; crammed full of Bangladeshi men returning from the United Emirates. The volume of people wouldn’t have been so bad if those people hadn’t been accompanied by bags and bags of duty free; so much so that they had to start piling it in the hold and when that was full people had to put it under their seats, on their knees and in the aisles!

After we arrived in Dhaka we went to a colleague’s house to freshen up and then went off to the Oasis Bangladesh annual staff conference in Savar, about 1.5 hours north of Dhaka.

The staff conference lasted 3 days and was great for catching up on what we’d missed and for getting to know our colleagues a bit better. It was also very inspirational and motivating.

Over the course of the conference we did some leadership training, thought about our aspirations and hopes and learnt what was going on in all the different Oasis Bangladesh projects.

Highlight
Riding on some rickety old waltzers at the amusement park with our Bangladeshi colleagues, who were laughing uncontrollably the whole time.
Memorable Quote:
“It is great to have your life used for something bigger than yourself”
Memorable Verse:
(When God called Moses and Moses felt overwhelmed by the task to which he was being called) “[The Lord said to Moses] What is that in your hand?”

After getting back late on Wednesday night we then moved into our friends’ vacant flat for a temporary stay whilst we look for a new place to live. So, on Thursday morning we commenced our search around the area where we used to live. Despite searching for over 6 hours there was very little to choose from. Eventually we’ve got it down to 2, which we’re now choosing between, so watch this space.

On Friday we went to the Bagha club to catch up on some emails and then to church for lunch and memorial service (sermon + communion). It was great to catch up with everyone again and to meet some new faces and it was wonderful to be so warmly welcomed.

It seems that a common question is what the weather’s like here, so to summarise: it’s still monsoon season but we’re coming to the end of it. When we arrived the ground seemed pretty water logged but nowhere near as bad as we were expecting. It’s rained on and off since we arrived, which has been lovely for cooling the air down (although the humidity very quickly kicks in when the sun comes out).

It’s also Ramadan here, so the majority of the population are fasting during the day and then they break their fast at around 7.20. That means they aren’t allowed to consume anything – not even water – during daylight hours. It’s amazing to see the peoples’ devotion to this religious practice, particularly when they have to work so hard in such difficult conditions.

So, almost a week in and it feels like we’ve never been away; the Bangla we spoke (limited as it is) has pretty much all come back; the roads are still as decrepit as ever and the people are still as lovely as ever. We have been amazed by how excited we were about coming back and how warmly welcomed we were by everyone here – our work colleagues and church community alike. It truly feels like God has blessed us in bringing us back and we are praying that this blessing may continue.

Just before we sign off - a huge thanks to all have supported us and continue to support us in coming back; whether it be financially, prayerfully or emotionally - it has made the transition, once again, very manageable.

Love Nic and Andy

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