Bangladesh… Here I GO!!!!

Oh my words…today is January 23rd.  Which means that tomorrow is January 24th.  And in case you happened to miss the emboldened text on the picture above, that means that my tootsie is about to head to the other side of the world for a heart-changing adventure of a lifetime.

Ya’ll….I’ve written about it before HERE when I first accepted the invitation to join this phenomenal organization, Food for the Hungry, in another part of the globe.  And then I shared about how I had to get a mass amounts of shots and vaccinations (and the fear that Passport Health put into me about the dreaded traveler’s diarrhea) HERE.  Then again recently about how my 3-year-old changed my perspective and how the breaking of my heart for this people group has already begun, HERE.  But today I’m telling you that the time is now, and my first flight of 3 long ones will begin tomorrow morning.

OH MY WORDS!

So today I’m packing, and snuggling my babes, and loving on my man as I get ready to travel farther than I’ve ever gone to a land that will feel foreign to me.

I’ll learn how NOT to hug the free world there, because unlike in the deep South where I live, touching isn’t so much done.  I’ll wear my new TOMS shoes since they’re easy to get on and off when we enter homes, and make a flat spot on my butt since we’ll sit on the floor cross-legged everywhere we go.  And I’ll cramp my ankles as I remember to not let the soles of my feet face outward and offend someone.  I’ll set aside my fork and knife and learn to eat only with my right hand since the left one is considered unclean.  I’ll trade my Western clothing in favor of a Shalwar Kameez every time we’re in public.  I’ll spend time with the Lord, make new friends on my team, load up on books, and perfect my solitaire game during the 30ish hours of travel it’s going to take us to get there.  I’ll learn that personal space is all relative, because in a country with 1/2 the population of the US in a landmass smaller than Wisconsin, there really isn’t such a thing as “personal space.”  We’ll cover the faucet with a towel to remind us not to drink the water, and pray that the Lord covers our health while we’re there.  I’ll eat curry and naan and love every single second of the adventure of trying new things.

Perhaps though, the most exciting thing about all of these new ways and ideas though is that this lover of people, gets to do just that!  I’ll meet Ritu, our Sponsored Child with Food for the Hungry.  We’ll go into homes and connect real, flesh and blood people with this foreign land that’s wrought with poverty, and flooding, and overcrowding.

I’m excited to see firsthand how sponsoring a child with FH impacts the entire community, not just that child.  And I love that FH focuses from a missional basis in the parts of the world where children are the most vulnerable and at risk.  I’m certain that as a human being, but also as a parent, all of this is going to be really hard to take in and to process.  But process I will…and I’ll be doing it right here for you to all follow along.

So join me?  Pray for our team?  Follow us on Twitter with the hashtag #FHbloggers, and join our whole team for a Twitter party at 8pm EST on Jan 28th to ask questions and to win some amazing local handmade prizes every 15 minutes!

Will you all do me a favor too and leave me some comment love on here while I’m gone?  Just to connect to home, to hear the prayers of you my friends, and to connect with you from halfway around the world will do my heart such good!

Some specific things I’d love to ask you to pray for me while I’m gone:

• my husband and boys who will be at home without me, to have a peaceful and special time together
• the health of all of us (and particularly, I’m gonna ask that you pray that no one on our team gets travelers diarrhea)
• safe travel without hiccups or flight delays
• good times of connection and bonding within our team
• that we would show well the love of Christ to others
• that the Holy Spirit would do a transforming work in each of us to know God and love others more because of this time