The weekend (and church day)! I woke up with a headache today, but after pancakes (Bengali style, close to crepes) with real maple syrup, water, medicine and more sleep, it’s gone (yay!). After I woke up, I had some time and went to read the gospel of John. I took my 3rd grade Bible with me because it’s not as bulky as my study Bible. While I was reading it was interesting because I remembered the wording that was used in the NIV version, when we did the John bible study at Wesley this past semester. Overall I like the wording in the NIV better, but I found a verse that really stuck out to me:
John 1:12&13 But to all who receive Him, who believe in His name, he gave power to become children of God, who are born, not of blood or the will of flesh or the will of man, but of God.
I love this verse; I am really comforted by the fact that we are children of God, and this belief is pretty central to my faith and how I interact with others. It was fantastic to find a verse that supports what I’ve always know in my heart to be true.
When we receive Jesus as our savior, God gives us the power to become his children, to take His hand. I have a mental image of children, running around in the dark, some giggling, some cry, some sitting quietly, each one holding a candle. And when a little boy comes up to a little girl and holds his light to see the girl’s face, something catches the corner of both children’s’ eyes. The little girl moves her light as high as she can, on her tip toes, she sees the Father. She reaches out with her free hand to touch the Father and He gently takes hold of her hand. The little girl shines her light on the little boys free hand and sees that the Father is holding his hand as well. We all have light and can help each other grow closer to God by sharing it.
One of my favorite things to imagine is climbing into God’s lap and having him hold me, encircling me big, strong arms, keeping me, His child, safe in a warm embrace of unconditional love.
Nancy took me to the American Club today, which is a country-club type place for Americans. I got to go swimming, which was superb. The rest of it was nice, but it felt so pretend, like I had decided for those hours that I needed to fabricate a country club from back home and spend time there instead of in Dhaka. I guess that’s really the purpose; for missionaries, especially ones with children, it’s probably nice to get away from the intensity of Dhaka and just be suburban American for awhile. It was nice to not have to worry about clothes or keep alert all the time and is a nice safe place to hang out, but it was kind of dull compared to all the culture and environments of Dhaka.
I went to church with Nancy to the Dhaka International Christian Church. It wasn’t half full, but that was to be expected as school had finished and many families had taken off for the summer. The service was very similar to American ones I’ve been too; we have such a variety of Christian churches in America that this wasn’t anything surprising. Because most Bangladeshis are Muslim and a good portion Hindu, I couldn’t recognize much Bengali culture that had crept into the service.
Today I met Will, who is a grad student at U of M (go figure) and is doing some research on maternal healthcare. Kohima’s niece Tui got back today (she lives with Kohima and Nancy). She’s 23, 24 maybe and offered to show me around a little while she is home. Kris leaves in a day or two, and Nancy is off to the states tomorrow for a week. My mom is coming soon too! This is a very bustling house! I like it, it keeps the days interesting.
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