Time flies!

I am sitting here preparing to return to America.  I have already completed the first leg of my trip from LAMB to Dhaka and soon will start my 23 hours of flying, the longest leg being 14 hrs from Dubai to NYC.  I just cannot believe that 6 months have passed so quickly.  I look back at my time and feel truly blessed, so my leaving is with mixed emotions.  I am very sad to leave an excellent job and what now feels like a second home, but am very excited to see my loved ones in America.  I’m also excited to return to some of the conveniences of America, although I am fully prepared for “reverse culture shock” which I have experienced before when returning from time spent overseas. 

My last month here (January) was probably the most challenging medically.  We had two cases within 4 days of each other of massive postpartum hemorrhage.  Both patients required life saving hysterectomy and massive blood transfusion (18 units for the first patient and 13 for the second).  Unfortunately, the first patient (let’s call her "Amy") did not survive, which was devastating to me and all involved. Please pray for Amy’s family.  They are grieving a major loss and her baby is going to face many challenges growing up without a mother.  The second patient, let’s call her “Mary”, went home 10 days after surgery and is very healthy.  Praise God! She is truly an example of the life-saving work we do here.  She is pictured below with Keya, the doctor who managed her care with me.   

Healthy "Mary" and baby

How we eat with our hands

Gynae team at my going away party

My last few days at LAMB were spent trying to enjoy all of the little things.  I went on a few walks, spent time with friends, and had a going away party at Keya’s house: she is an excellent cook as well as an amazing doctor!

Planting new rice

I do not know exactly the road that God has for my future, but I am sure I will return to Bangladesh.  I am already tentatively planning my next trip, which will be much shorter (5 weeks) for next winter/early spring. 

Please also pray for my health.  I have a cough/cold and am praying that it improves a bit before I depart.  

My Aiyas (I look like a giant)

Thank you all again so much for your prayers and financial support during my time here.  God has been so good and it is obvious that HE truly hand picked me to be here.  I couldn’t have asked for a better experience.

Angela

Happy New Year 2015!

Sari on Dec 23rd

I have just experienced one of the most memorable holiday seasons of my life.  Christmas in Bangladesh is very different than in America, but also very special. 

One difference I noticed is the Christmas music.  I was talking with my family back home and my Dad mentioned going to a school musical program where Christ was not mentioned once in the musical selections.  Here, all we do is sing about Jesus.  Honestly, I don’t think there were any musical selections that didn’t mention Christmas being about the birth of Christ.  I also watched "A Charlie Brown Christmas" on DVD, and he talks about the commercialism in America then his friend quotes Luke 2, which says what Christmas is all about:

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

That’s how I felt here this Christmas, away from all of the commercialism and making it all about our savior coming to earth as Immanuel. 

During our morning handover at work, we always read a short passage from the Bible and have a prayer before beginning to see patients.  On December 23^rd I chose the passage from Luke 2 to read together with my Muslim colleagues.  I usually say a few words (as the only Christian at the table) before praying.  When I was speaking about how special this passage was to me, I began to cry.  My colleagues have never seen me cry in 4+ months so they were truly amazed.  I think just speaking about this amazing event of God coming to earth so humbly and notifying shepherds, who were among the poor people of the time struck me as so beautiful at that moment.  That coupled with the fact that I’m basically ministering Christ’s love to the people of Bangladesh on a daily basis and building relationships with my colleagues who are of a different faith, struck me as so special it brought tears to my eyes.  I feel truly blessed to be here, at this time, doing what I’m doing. 

Christmas Eve service

Christmas cake!

My family on Christmas Eve

Christmas was filled with parties and visiting others.  Dec 23^rd was our doctor’s party.  Christmas eve was a candlelight church service followed by a party at our medical director’s house and a party at my house with the other foreigners who are single/without family.  These 2 parties happened simultaneously, so I made a 15min appearance at the medical director’s house then back to my house.  The party at my house was another potluck similar to thanksgiving (no turkey this time, but we had a ham!).  We ate and ate, sung Christmas carols, played games, exchanged gifts, and ate some more.  I was introduced to Christmas pudding and Christmas cake (English traditions) and we had a really wonderful time celebrating together like family.  It was cold outside (and inside since there’s no central heat here) but it felt warm that night in this house.  Christmas day we had church in a tent followed by lunch in the same tent (goat curry).  After lunch, I went with Louise to visit some of the houses of other Christian Bangladeshis, which is their tradition.  They serve pita (cakes/sweets) and tea.  After 3 houses, it was 6:00 at night and I had been basically wearing a sari for 3 days so I was done.  I went home and got into my sweats and called my family.  The video even worked for enough time so I could see them opening presents. 

The tent

Lunch in the tent with the Kim family

New Year’s Eve is a little different here since they have a different calendar in Bangladesh and celebrate a different New Year as well.  But there was a “picnic” at 9:30 at night with food and a bonfire with my doctor colleagues.  Unfortunately, I never made it to the party because I was called to assist with a cesarean hysterectomy at the hospital.  When I got done, it was still before midnight, but the party was over.  What about ringing in the New Year with a countdown?  I guess not this group of people!  I had a snack and went to bed, wishing my family Happy New Year via text message. 

Imty's puppies (I was missing my Panini on Christmas)

The last few days I have been sick and have spent a lot of time in bed resting and trying to heal, so please pray for my continued health.  Also, now that it is 2015, I’m starting to think about returning to America.  I’m not really ready for that, so pray that in the next 6 weeks I will be ready because it’s happening.  There are plenty of issues to deal with when I return, so I’m praying that God works them out and helps me not worry about them.

We were asked at our bible study Friday what our New Year’s resolutions are.  My friend Hannah said she decided on a verse for the year instead of a resolution.  I’m going to copy her with Matthew 6:25-27:

Christmas Day with Hannah

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

Again, thank you all for taking the time to read this, and for all of your prayers!

Angela

Christmastime in Bangladesh

So it somehow became December already… I’m not quite sure how that happened.  Time is going by so quickly these days.  My sister and I had a wonderful visit together.  We traveled around Dhaka (Bangladesh) then on to Kathmandu, Pokhara, Astam, Chitwan and back to Kathmandu (all in Nepal…all in 6 days).  Then it was back to Bangladesh and we took a day train to my home away from home so she could see my life here.  It was really special to have someone I love and who has known me since birth to experience what I am experiencing here.  Unfortunately, she was only able to stay a day and a half, but it was great! 

When she left, I had to prepare for Thanksgiving.  As one of four Americans in my community, I took on the responsibility of hosting Thanksgiving (also because the house I am living in belongs to an American who always hosts, except she is on home assignment in America now).   Since was traveling through Dhaka, I thought it might be possible to buy a turkey (not normally available in Bangladesh).  I asked around and found out the “German butcher” had turkeys imported from America for sale.  Before leaving for Nepal I wanted to call to reserve one.  I looked for a phone number online and on Facebook.  I was able to find an email address on Facebook, so my story is that I ordered a Thanksgiving turkey through Facebook!  When I arrived to pick it up I realized this was the most expensive (due to importing taxes, probably) and the biggest turkey I’ve ever taken on for Thanksgiving.  Also, those of you who know me well know I only cook once in a blue moon so I’ve only done maybe 3 turkeys in my life.  Anyway, needless to say, I was awake at 0530 Thanksgiving morning STRESSING about the turkey: Would it be thawed? Would it cook in time? Would I figure out the oven? Would it fit in a cooking dish?  Would I overcook it? The pressure was on: we had 25 expats coming and it was an expensive item so it had to work out!  Long story short, it worked out.  Everyone loved it, and the Americans especially expressed gratitude saying they never have a turkey.  Charlotte even told me, “You’re the type of person who just gets things done!”  What a nice compliment. 

Since Thanksgiving, I’ve been back to work after my 2-weeks off and busy again.  I had 2 roommates and they both left (one the day before and the other right after the meal on Thanksgiving) so I was on my own in the house for 9 days.  Rebecca came back yesterday but is leaving for good (gasp!) very soon.  It’s a little different being all alone in the house, especially at Christmastime, and has potential to put me into a bit of a funk.  I baked Christmas cookies Friday and Rebecca and I decorated the apartment yesterday so it’s really looking good!  Christmas Eve we have a special get together with the other expats and Christmas day there is a service and meal all together on the field that everyone dresses up for.  So, my time will be spent with my brothers and sisters in Christ and I feel it will be a Christmas to remember. 

As always, thanks for reading and thanks for your continued prayers.  Please pray that I will manage living alone and the holidays without feeling gloomy

Also please pray for my continued growing friendships with my Bangladeshi co-workers

Angela

THREE months?!!

Hindu temple

I can hardly believe it when I look at the calendar: I have been in Bangladesh almost THREE months!  It has flown by.  I think back to when I was praying about and planning my time here and everyone kept asking how long I would stay.  When I replied with “six months” most people felt that was a very long time.  “Why not three months?” they would ask.    I felt that three months would not be long enough and I was correct.  I can’t even imagine leaving or preparing to leave this week.  I feel I am finally in my groove and things are so good. 

Work is challenging as always.  Each day presents another interesting patient and I get to “flex my OB/GYN muscle” so to speak, helping to make tough decisions.  Eclampsia season is definitely in full swing now and I’m sad to report has just this week claimed the lives of two young mothers at our hospital.  Most of the cases recover without any long term sequelae but sometimes they come to us too far along in the process and the damage cannot be reversed.  This tragedy is, at least somewhat, offset by the many healthy new lives we help bring in to the world every day. 

Baby lambs

Spiritually, I am feeling amazing.  This community is like a long cool drink of water after a tough workout.  I feel so refreshed and encouraged here, which has a lot to do with why I am so happy.  It’s a little bit like the process of falling in love.  The last few days we had a conference with a guest speaker and he spoke about the first 2 and last 2 chapters of the Bible.  I love dreaming about and trying to picture the new heaven and the new earth.  It makes me so excited about the future!

I have been to the next town over to visit the “sights”.  Dinajpur has a Hindu temple (Kantanagar) that was built between 1704-1752.  It is covered in teracotta plaques depicting different scenes.  It was nice to travel by car about 1.5hrs each way

at my new house

house balcony view

to see more of the countryside and remember what it’s like to be in a car! I also moved from the guesthouse, which was more like a hotel, to one of the houses.  I am sharing the apartment (“flat”) with Rebecca and Sian.  Rebecca is the anesthetist from Wales and Sian is another short term OB/GYN from the UK.  They will both leave me soon: Sian later this month and Rebecca next month.  Then, I will be without roommates in this 3 bedroom apartment for the last 6 weeks of my time here, but it will be ok.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and for reading my notes. 

Please pray for my continued growth, both professionally and spiritually while I am here.  My sister is also coming to visit soon!  Please pray for safe travels.  We will be traveling in the country and visiting Nepal while she is here. 

Angela

Busy Doctor

Walk through rice field

The last few weeks have been very busy at work.  Since this is a referral hospital (most patients deliver at home or in safe delivery units), the cases we see are often complicated.  It seems an almost daily occurrence lately to have a patient show up bleeding to the point of shock (very low blood pressure, very pale, and barely conscious).  Usually this is a complication of delivering a baby or having a miscarriage.  It is so different from my practice in the US, where I hardly ever see a patient arriving with this scenario.  Eclampsia is also very common and almost a daily occurrence lately, although the other doctors tell me this is “eclampsia season”.  I am enjoying the fact that these cases are somewhat challenging so getting “bored” is not really a concern.  Also, we are doing well over 10 deliveries per day, which usually means at least 2 c-sections per shift.

another walk

funny road sign: "shops ahead

Recently I was feeling exhausted and realized I had just completed 3 on calls in 6 days.  My day off I went with some other foreigners to the next town over for an outing.  We spent the morning sightseeing and shopping, ate lunch at a restaurant, and then came back to the compound in the afternoon.  I had a very nice nap that afternoon.  Now I think I am finally caught up on sleep from that busy week, although each on call brings a new adventure and little sleep.  I attempt to spend the day after the on call catching up on sleep but often end up working part of the day since it is so busy. 

broken glass mosque

I also had a challenging surgical GYN case last week.  Thank God the general surgeon was still here to help me: an ovarian cyst was stuck to everything else in the pelvis.  The surgeon is leaving today for her home assignment in the Netherlands.  I’m praying that there will not be any major issues in upcoming surgical cases as she will not return until 3 days before I leave.

I have been living in the guesthouse for the 2 months I’ve been here and am preparing to move into one of the apartments (actually I’m going to stay in the room of the surgeon who is leaving).  That will be a nice new adventure and I’m looking forward to having more of a living area.  The anesthesiologist also lives in that apartment so it will be fun having a roommate, although she goes back to the UK in December.  The OB/GYN consultant that heads up the department here also left for Switzerland last week. Even though I’ve only been here a short time, I’ve built relationships with these people and it’s hard to see them go.  These home assignments are much needed for the long-term missionaries though, so I’m also happy for them.  Luckily, there are still many awesome people here for me to spend time with and get to know.  The last two weeks we have had movie night at someone’s house, so that’s been fun to get together, eat popcorn and bond with others. 

It’s finally starting to cool off here.  The last 2 days I did not use my air conditioning.  It gets to the mid-high 80’s daily but goes down to below 70 at night.  Humidity is still high, but it feels much better.  Maybe it will feel like fall soon.

from my boating adventure

Praise report: my visa got sorted out and my passport is back in my possession.  Thank you for those who were praying!  Also, my sister was able to get time off from work to come to Bangladesh to visit!  She is coming in November and I’m so excited.  We will travel to Nepal so I can get away for a short vacation. 

Prayer requests:

to find rest during my times not at work

for wisdom in how to handle complicated patients (especially without a surgical backup)

travel for me and my sister next month

continued health (I have a little sore throat the last few days)

Thank you all for taking time to read my updates J

Angela