Bangladesh 1: The Adventure Begins
Written February 6, 2021
Friends and family,
I would like to start off by thanking you all so much for your prayers and support. I’m sitting, in Bangladesh, and I am humbled thinking about how many of you guys have prayed for me, supported me, and reached out to me with words of advice and words of encouragement. Thank you.
With that being said, here is The short and sweet:
It has been quite a busy week, but I’ve managed to make it to Bangladesh with very few hiccups. This upcoming week and a half, I will be orienting to the hospital, orienting to the hospital compound that I am living at, and orienting to the time zone (did someone say nap time?)
In the last few days, God has shown His power, mercy, provision, and faithfulness to me in these few ways:
He has allowed me to get here safely and without issues.
He has created a beautiful environment that I get to live and work in, that is the gorgeous country of Bangladesh.
He has created a beautiful group of people that have been called to serve Him at this hospital that I have the privilege to serve along side with.
Please be praying…
…for the nurses, doctors and the entire Memorial Christian Hospital staff that I will be working with…
…that I can orient quickly and effectively to the hospital and to it’s specific policies and procedures…
…and for those who we will be ministering to.
And for those who have more time…
To be completely honest, February 1st seemed so far away at the time. I had known that I would be serving in Bangladesh since the end of October 2020, and I was preparing for it, but it still seemed like months away. Soon enough, the Holiday Season was upon us. It came and went, but I still had a few weeks and some time left…
…the next thing I knew, I had left my job, moved out of my apartment, and I was suddenly at the airport saying goodbye to my family, about to board a plane to the other side of the world. 13 1/2 hours on a plane went by relatively quick. I watched the sunset over Dallas when we took off, woke up to the sunrise right when we were flying over the countryside of France, and watched my second sunset in Doha, Qatar (connection city) right as we were landing. Time really does fly when you're having fun…or at least when you’re trying to sleep, staring out at the ever changing landscape, and binge watching movies.
After some Arabic food, window shopping, and some caffeine, it was 2 AM and time to board the plane for Dhaka, the capital and largest city in Bangladesh. Not going to lie, a bit nervous I was indeed. Not only was it becoming truly real that “oh I really am about to actually do this and go to Bangladesh,” but no one looked like me, no one talked like me, and the boarding process was already chaotic as it was. God moment: as I was getting randomly questioned by a security officer at the airport, a gentleman approached us and started talking to the security officer and basically shooed him away. Born in Bangladesh and raised in Los Angeles California, this businessman, fluent in Bengali, Arabic, and English, was going home to visit some of his family in Bangladesh, but in the meantime helped me with the obscure boarding process, translated everything for me, and made sure I got onto the plane without issue. Take off! And before I knew it, I was watching my second sunrise an airplane this week, this time over the countryside of India.
Once landed in Bangladesh, things went surprisingly smoothly. I made it through the health screening for COVID, made it through passport control, even all of my checked baggage showed up.
A few weeks before I left, some of the staff at the hospital asked me if I could carry some parts and equipment in my luggage out for the hospital. As these items arrived at my house in The States and as I was getting them ready to pack, I’m not going to lie: some of the parts specifically for a generator and an autoclave looked…quite suspicious. When I collected my checked bags and was waiting in line at baggage control, I was a bit nervous…again. When I finally got near the front of the line, and was preparing to put my bags through the scanner, a security officer asked where I was from. After telling him that I was from the United States and showed him my passport, he told me to cut the line, that I didn’t have to scan my bags, and that I could leave. “Are you sure? I mean, thanks…I gue..I mean bye bye” as I clumsily maneuvered over 100 pounds worth of luggage through a sea of humanity towards the exit.
Have you noticed that the two times I mentioned that I was nervous, God took care of me? I sure didn’t until typing this all out! Haha!
After exiting the airport, I found my driver and I spent the night at a guest house in Dhaka. The next morning, I caught a flight from Dhaka to Cox’s Bazar, a coastal beach city about 1 1/2 hours from the hospital.
My driver who took me from the airport in Cox’s Bazar to the hospital had such a neat story. He was telling me about how him and his immediate family are all believers, and that one of his kids is a nurse, another is a missionary teacher, and the other is an accountant and in business. It was neat getting to hear about Bangladesh, its people and its culture from a completely different point of view.
The time had come and I had finally made it into the hospital compound. The hospital compound consists of over 40 acres of beautiful lush scenery in the rolling hills of the Southeast area of the country. ‘The compound’ as it’s called, consists of the hospital itself, an outdoor canteen, multiple schools for the medical staff and MK’s, houses for the missionaries, guest houses, a basketball court, plenty of outdoor recreational area to walk or just relax in, and so much more. It is truly a gorgeous environment to be in. I am staying at a home with two housemates that are here for around six month. Both of them are doctors and we are all around the same age…so watch out for House 7 :)
And I guess that’s about it for now! It’s been a few days and a few spicy curry dishes later, but everything is going well so far and I am getting over jet lag pretty well. I start onboarding and orientation this week (starting the 7th) so please be praying for that. Thank you all again for your prayers and support. I look back at just this week and see God and His mercies and provisions everywhere.
More to follow — Ayden
