Home of Love

Monday, March 31, 2008

NEW ONE

Our newest addition to the Home of Love came yesterday. His name is still undecided. He is all boy from what I can tell and wants to go everywhere at once. He is 9 months and crawling. This little guy had no idea what was happening when his Mom went to the bathroom and wept before she left. He had no clue that he was being given to us and that his Mother would no longer be a part of his life. His father had died last year from cancer. The mother had 4 children to parent and decided to give us the smallest one.
The baby has been crying incessantly, as you can well imagine your babies would do if they suddenly found themselves separated from you. He screams a lonesome cry. This afternoon as I carried him I sang my favorite comfort song: The Fathers Song by Matt Redman.

I have heard so many songs
Listened to a thousand tongues
But there is one
That sounds above them all

The Father's song
The Father's love
You sung it over me and for eternity
It's written on my heart

CHORUS:
Heaven's perfect melody
The Creator's symphony
You are singing over me
The Father's song
Heaven's perfect mystery
The king of love has sent for me
And now you're singing over me
The Father's song

The little guy was tired from all his crying and was rubbing his eyes but resisting the comfort of my shoulder. As I sang for the hundredth time, I saw his head bob back and forth as his eyes begged for sleep but he wouldn't allow them. I urged him to lay his head on my shoulder, but he wouldn't. Not that strange woman's shoulder! Finally, unable to make it any longer he laid his head on the outermost part of my shoulder blade, as far as possible from my neck and face and fell into a deep sleep. He is now sleeping soundly in bed.

Please pray for this little one that his adjustment would be quick and that no root of bitterness would spring up in him. May he accept our love, we pray.

posted by Thomas at 11:07 AM

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Hasi

Hasi has found her smile again. She had it when she came, that was why I named her Smiley in Bangla. That was of course before she realized that her uncle was going to leave her here all alone with us. After the relatives left, the smile had vanished and seemed to be lost. She existed in a world all alone with no one to speak her language and no familiar faces. It was not easy.
Now, almost 7 weeks later she has found her smile again. She flashes it easily and eagerly with no reserve at all. We find ourselves being hugged spontaneously by Hasi and when she hugs you, one feels really "hugged" as she is chunky and strong. Her fat little arms wrap around you and you feel really loved. Today when she enveloped me I felt so unworthy of her love. I have been so busy with my own family and have not been able to give her the affection and love she deserves but yet I was unabashedly hugged. God is good. As always written by Colleen and

posted by Thomas at 8:40 AM

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Independence Day

Today is Bangladesh's Independence Day. We are happy that this nation exists. On this day, 37 years ago Bangladesh broke away from Pakistan and formed their own nation. On Debora's cheek is the flag, green represents the verdant green rice fields and red the blood shed for this country.

posted by Thomas at 5:39 PM

Monday, March 24, 2008

Liton Update

Thanks to all those who prayed. Liton is much better but his deep cough is still bothering him.

posted by Thomas at 9:50 AM

Friday, March 21, 2008

Little Liton

When we took the picture Liton was still healthy.

I sprang into action when I heard that our little Liton was having trouble breathing. Liton remains our weakest and skinniest child. I went to listen to his breathing and to check his fever. Such a little one like Liton could be seriously ill in hours; his body doesn't have enough reserves to fight much off. We found some medicine the Korean doctors had left for bronchitis and gave it to him. I made Tang juice with extra vitamin powder. Our new nursery staff, Glorina looked worried. She asked if it was okay if she held him.
I can't tell you how much we are pleased with this new staff member. She is a huge blessing and seemed to love the babies from the first minutes although I can't understand how that is possible. God did a work in her heart. She is nurturer by nature and the perfect one to love our little Liton. Thank you God for sending her to us!
Anyways, I told Glorina that it would be best to hold him close like she had been doing. We laid our hands on him and prayed for him. Liton slept through the night and seems better. Would you put your hands together wherever you are and also pray? As our "Home of Love" extended family, we trust that when these needs occur we can trust you to also lift up our children here. You are the Aunts, Uncles, Sisters, Brothers and Grandparents of these 64 kids whether you have seen them in person or not, but through your love and interest in them.
Written by Colleen and

posted by Thomas at 1:43 PM

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

More Monkey stories

Alindra with money Pinkey.

Pinky is a character. I had to laugh so hard when Ruben had him on the back of his bike and Pinky wasn't so sure if he liked it or not. Ruben had to ride fast to make sure he didn't jump off. It was so funny to see the monkey hanging on, the wind blowing his fur around his face and Ruben riding so speedy. At the same time Ruben was trying to glance back and see what Pinky was doing! Quite the combination, finally Pinky did leap off though but then nearly got his leash wrapped up in Ruben's spokes!

posted by Thomas at 3:44 PM

Monday, March 17, 2008

More pictures from the drama/musical

Here are some more pictures from the drama Colleen took the youth to. The HOL kids and youth were amazed at all the nice costumes and all the hard work the WCA students had put into the very professional play.

Thanks to Deb Barnum for the pictures and to Nan Walter for the special invitation.

posted by Thomas at 10:04 AM

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Night at the Museum? No, at the Theatre

Colleen took 23 junior and high school kids along with our 83 year old English tutor to the theatre to see the musical comedy "the stories of Scheherazade" this week. We rented a mini bus to take everyone. It was great fun. The drama was done by William Carey Academy, the school our daughters attend.

posted by Thomas at 12:48 PM

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Cleaning

These are the carpets from our meeting room, today was the day when we cleaned the pillows and carpet.

posted by Thomas at 11:45 AM

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Medical care in Bangladesh

We have had more than enough incidents with doctors in the last 11 years with our extended family at the orphanage and our own family to write a short humorous book. It just keeps getting more interesting. Ruben, this year alone has had a bad fracture, dislocated elbow and typhoid fever and its only March. These incidents drive me to seek God at a high level. I seek Him seriously when the kids are ill as we have no good hospital to go to in this city of over 3 million. Recently when Ruben got his cast off, we had already had 6 different x-rays and finally this was to be the last. Thomas worried that I would be harmed from being in the x-ray room so many times without any protection. This x-ray was adventurous because at the same time the electricians were installing an air conditioner above the x-ray table. The walls were also being prepared for tiles and were rough like a bomb shelter. One electrician was on a ladder and the other was standing on the x-ray table. It was frustrating for the technician because the table kept moving when the guy moved. He would positioned Ruben's hand just right and run to the faded black thin sheet that covered the machine, only to have the electrician shift his weight and have the table raise 6 inches! Ruben was also irritated as his arm hurt to be suspended so high above his chair. I stared at the cobwebbed yellow anatomy poster and wished it was over. Nonetheless the technician ran back around stepping over the drill cables and other cords and repositioned the arm. Again the electrician moved, again repositioned, the technician was dripping with sweat and exasperation. Finally though it worked! The film was taken to the once upon a time dark room. The black paint had worn off and the black fabric that served as a door was severely faded. Unfortunately the chemicals didn't work. So again we went through the circus of trying to get an x-ray. This was getting comical. In between the x-ray circus, I sat with the secretary and talked. According to Asian culture, because we were acquaintances, it would be rude to have me wait alone, so she waited with me. At one point in our eternal chatting she asked me if I knew of any good men that I could arrange for her to marry. I thought for a moment and had to give a negative. She wanted to exchange tel. numbers and so I did for lack of an excuse and boredom. I now have "Lippy" in my cell phone. Yes, that is her name. Thomas had Ruben outside as the heat inside was stifling. The air was sweaty and non-clinic like. They enjoyed joking with a marching band that had just arrived in a series of rickshaws. There uniforms were stained, ragged and old but they were ready to march. They had their drums and trumpets ready for a nearby wedding I suppose. The sight of a marching band on rickshaws made me smile. Finally we were able to leave with x-ay in hand and go to the hospital where the Dr. was.
The cast was difficult to saw off as the plaster had been repaired when Ruben had broken his cast a few times. Yes, casts can be broken. The cast was a crumbly mess that scattered white dust around our house, letting us know where Ruben had been. Boy was I glad to have that finished with.
This week it was typhoid fever at our house. Ruben was very ill for 3 straight days and should have been hospitalized but since we didn't know of a place we could trust we doctored him here. At one point of desperation, when he was hallucinating because the fever was so high, I did send someone to the village to get a someone who could put in an I.V. I had no idea where "the someone" learned to do that but he had done it a few times in the orphanage. "The someone" was unfortunately visiting relatives and couldn't come. We continued to pray hourly. I spoke with a foreign Dr. over the phone and he gave me the name of the antibiotic I should use for typhoid. We all know typhoid symptoms! Ruben kept asking me to pray over him, I wasn't allowed to lay hands on him as his body hurt too bad to touch it. I began to wonder if he would doubt God since my prayers seemed to be not working, he never once though doubted and last night we took time to thank God for making him well. I love the faith of children, it's so uncomplicated. Written by Colleen and

posted by Thomas at 12:37 PM

Monday, March 10, 2008

New Staff

In January Mr. Abraham joined our "Home of Love" staff. He is working as our office supervisor.

posted by Thomas at 6:04 PM

Saturday, March 08, 2008

Gardens

I love gardening in Bangladesh. I have honed a technique I call "instant gardening". Thomas buys me 4-5 inch flower plants for a ridiculous low price and I plant them. Within hours I have a flower garden that needs a just bit of love and watering! Thomas and the boys are more serious and actually plant seeds and wait for weeks to see green miniscule leaves poking up. But the gardens do look beautiful and smell heavenly.

The HOL boys have raised a lot of red spinach, Chinese cabbage, pumpkin (the leaves are also eaten as spinach) and a host of other veggies. Thomas enjoys his garden a lot; some of the boys have taken note and have also started to find joy in hoeing, sowing, waiting and harvesting.

posted by Thomas at 5:12 PM

Thursday, March 06, 2008

Ruben is free

Ruben got his cast off finally. It had been a long stinky (!) 6 weeks! He is delighted to be able to ride his bike again. His mean parents did not allow him to ride his bike with a cast on even though it was possible, he had tried! Ruben does not have full range of motion but we hope that in time it will become just like before.

posted by Thomas at 4:23 PM

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Pinky the Monkey

As I type I hear giggles and laugher from the kids who are playing with Pinky. Pinky is a goofy animal who enjoys our playground. He has been known to go up the stairs and slide down all on his own. He loves to tease our dogs and swing from the trees. Pinky is a wild monkey caught in the jungle but he is still young and not yet ornery. He allows Ruben to lead him around on a rope. We hope that he will become a good pet and not hurt anyone.

Pinky actually belongs to the Boys' Hostel but with the boys being gone most of the day at school, Pinky is often over at the orphanage. Ruben couldn't be more excited, an avid fan of Curious George books, this is a little boys dream come true. The kids even had him ride the bicycle in the back. Pinky earns his keep by picking out lice from people's hair!

Pinky makes us all laugh and entertains us with his many tricks!

posted by Thomas at 5:23 PM

Monday, March 03, 2008

Mother Language Day

Recently, Bangladesh celebrated International Mother Language Day. Our family happened to be going to Dhaka by car that morning and was able to witness many early morning parades. School children by the dozens thronged the streets, barefoot with a single flower in their hands. The flower was taken to the different language monuments erected for this occasion. The children were barefoot in memory of those who fought for their language (and country) and lost their sandals running from the soldiers. On this day, everyone sings a song about my brother's blood shed. Everyone knows this song by heart; even my own children have learned this song from many years in Bangla class at school.

At Bora and Sun rising school, here on the property, there were many celebrations. Essays were written and judged, songs composed and sung, dramas prepared and performed all on the topic of Language Day. It was a wonderful way to remember those who had fought for this nation.
If you want to know more or have maybe never heard of Mother Language Day, please read below the excerpts I have taken from the Internet.
The world's nearly 6,000 languages will be celebrated on International Mother Language Day, an event aimed at promoting linguistic diversity and multilingual education.
Ensuring that these languages can continue in use alongside the major international languages of communication is a genuine challenge to countries worldwide.

International Mother Language Day, celebrated annually on February 21, aims to promote the recognition and practice of the world's mother tongues, particularly minority ones.

- UNESCO member states are helping to protect and revitalize our rich cultural diversity by promoting languages as a means of communication, interaction and understanding among different peoples. Today, about half of the 6,000 or so languages spoken in the world are under threat.
International Mother Language Day originated as the international recognition of Language Movement Day, which has been commemorated in Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) since 1952, when a number of Bangladeshi university students were killed by the East Pakistan police and army in Dhaka.
At a public meeting on 21 March 1948, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the Governor general of Pakistan, declared that Urdu will be the only language for both West and East Pakistan. The people of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), whose main language is Bengali, started to protest against this.
A student meeting on 21 February called for a province-wide strike. But the government invoked Section 144 on 20 February. The student community at a meeting on the morning of 21 February agreed to continue with their protest but not to break the law of Section 144. Even then the police opened fire and killed the students.

posted by Thomas at 5:14 PM

Sunday, March 02, 2008

Book Trip

Thomas and I just returned from a quick 40 hour trip to Calcutta to buy books for the library. We went to buy books in "Bangla" language as there are so few available here. The people in Calcutta speak the same language, "Bangla" as we do here. The Summer Institute of Linguistics, rates Bengali as the 4th most widely spoken language with about 189 million speaking it. Others give it the 6th place.
We were successful and were able to bring back many books. The children are excited to see the books, we have to label them and then they will be put in the library for general use. I was happy to buy some biographies as well as fiction books. I am always looking for Bengali/Indian role models for our children. We hope that the kids will one day find the joy of reading and will pass on this to their children.

posted by Thomas at 5:37 PM