Hi everyone! 
   I will start up again soon.  First, I need to get used to living in America and at home.  I also need to get used to the fact that I don't have my team around.  We were all very close.
    The mission trip was amazing and I would love to go back to Bangladesh.  The people are very nice.  The culture is different.  The food is spicy, spice-ful, and really good.

   Dear readers,
There has been an unhappy update from the missionaries that talk to TMI.  We cannot use the backpack, shirt, or duffel TMI gives us because it says Teen Missions International.  Please do not write anything christian in any letters or on the envelope if you want to send any letters to the field.  Please write TMI Ashly on the letter envelope.
 Also, there has been a change in the clothes we have to wear.  The girls now have to wear the traditional "shirt."  The "shirt" is called a shalwar.  It is a very pretty, long "shirt."  It goes down to above the knees and there are two slits on the side that go up to the hips.  I found one at Christian Women Center and bought it a few hours before I found out that I have to wear it in Bangladesh.
  Thank you for reading!  Please don't let this news make you nervous for my team and I for we are in God's hands and I feel at peace after hearing this news.  I prayed I would go on an adventurous mission trip, and God is giving me one!

 

Thank You!

   I just wanted to blog quickly to say thank you to my best friend Drew who knows me so well!!  He's been wanting to throw me a good bye party for so long and he asked if my pool party could be the good bye party.  He decorated, with the help of his parents and mine, the whole deck 4th of July themed because he knew I would be missing the 4th of July celebrations here in the USA. Not only did he decorate, but he brought fireworks to celebrate!
   He also made a sign in Bengali that read, "Safe travels! Have a good time!"
   I love my friends and family and will miss them like crazy!

Stressed and Nervous

   Lately, I've been stressing about my upcoming mission trip.  I had dreams that I forgot EVERYTHING when I arrived at boot camp and couldn't leave.  I lost my appetite and sleep.  I wanted to share a journal entry I wrote last night.

   I am afraid, in fear, "of the unknown."  I am stressed about earthly things.  I am crying from lack of sleep and food and from being of afraid of leaving the ones I love dearly and who love me.

   Mum gave me an article about a mission trip.  The thing that caught my attention was this little ad underneath for Heritage Funeral Home.  It read, "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Matthew 11:28"

  I decided what to do to calm myself down.  I went to the back of my Bible and looked for verses on fear.  The one that caught my eye was Psalms 34:4, "I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears."  Also verse 8, "Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him."

  My Bible notes for verse 8 read, "When we take that first step of obedience in following God, we will discover that He is good and kind. ...As we trust Him daily, we experience how good He is."

   I hope this helps all of my blog readers who are nervous or in fear.

 

12 Days!!!

   I'm so nervous! Only twelve days until I leave with my mum and brother to go to Merit Island, Florida.  We will stay in a hotel for two nights then go to The Lord's Boot Camp.  

   Since there's twelve days left before I leave, I am going to do a "12 Weird Facts" about Bangladesh.

   1.  The President is chosen through election like the US but serves a term for five years.  Also like the US, the maximum terms a president can serve is two.

   2.  Like I have blogged before, Bangladesh is very populated.  Bangladesh is the eighth most populated country in this world!

   3.  95% of the population is farmers.

   4.  It is rude and unclean to use your left hand in Bangladesh.  Since it is not uncommon for people not to wash their hands after using the restroom,   people wipe using their least used hand; their left hand.

   5. Even though Bangladesh is highly populated with farmers, the main revenue comes from the export of garments.  My favorite dark green jacket was made in Bangladesh!

   6.  It is considered immature to smile a lot.  This might be the reason Bangladeshis don't smile a lot.(This could also be a myth.)

   7.  The lily is the national flower of Bangladesh.

   8.  Bangladesh is constantly flooded by the melting snow of the Himalayas and the monsoons from the Bay of Bengal.

   9.  The national animal is the Bengal tiger.  Its roar can be heard as far as 3 kilometers, which is 0.62 miles.

 10.  The 1998 flood of Bangladesh destroyed two-thirds of the country.

 11.  About 80 films are produced in Bangladesh(One of my favorite movies, Avengers Age of Ultron, was filmed in Bangladesh!)

 12.  Over 98% of the population speak the official language of Bengali.  Like many countries, English is spoken as a second language.

   I hope you enjoyed the twelve weird and interesting facts about Bangladesh!

ROAR!!

Spring Package

   I just got my spring packet from Teen Missions International!  There are the pictures of everyone(They left one person out!) that is going on the mission trip and their names with what tool they are assigned to get.  There is the monthly update for April which tells which teams are still open, how to sign up, a word from the director, Mr. Robert, finance tips, what to do with the money, what you will need to bring(Besides clothing), and transportation to the boot camp.  A little booklet also came in the mail called the "Individual Team Fact Sheet, Bangladesh Orphanage."  This tells the prater requests for Bangladesh, purpose of this trip, transportation to boot camp, team schedule, and mailing address.  It also tells how much the postage home will be from Bangladesh(About $1.00), what not to send, like care packages, passport and visa needs, special travel clothing, housing, weather, spending money, flight information, and interesting "tidbits."

   The housing will be in a building and we will need to bring an air mattress or a sleeping pad with a sleeping bag or a sheet and blanket.  I will not be bringing a air mattress for two main reasons, they pop easily and are loud.  The weather will be in the low 90's for the high and upper 70's for the low.  There are medical clinics in the areas where the team will travel. So now you shouldn't worry about us getting hurt and not having plenty of help!  Spending money has to be new and clean $20 bills.  There is flight dates and times but I can't put them in my public blog for a few reasons.  We will get to barter at local markets for cool souvenirs.  We will also get to spend the night at a hotel in Hong Kong(which will feel amazing after not having a real room in a month!) and shop for souvenirs at one of the world's "best Chinese night markets" and take a ride on the Star Ferry across the Hong Kong Harbor.

Rivers of Bangladesh

   There are over 300 hundred rivers in Bangladesh. Having so many rivers helps all the flooding, monsoons, and cyclones that take effect there.  It is averaged that at least two big floods happen in Bangladesh every year.  The flood season is July to September(The Bangladeshi months of Borsha, Ashar, and Shrabon to Sharad, Bhadro, and Ashshin).

   Kaptai Lake is one of the world's largest man-made lakes.  It is about 300 square miles, but can reach to 400 square miles in the flood season.  The river was made when the construction of the Karnaphuli hydroelectric(electricity made from energy made from falling water) plant took place during the late 1950s and early 1960s.  The largest man-made lake is lake Kariba.

Cyclones- "a large-scale, atmospheric wind-and-pressure system characterized by low pressure at its center and by circular wind motion, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere"

Monsoons-  "the seasonal wind of the Indian Ocean and southern Asia, blowing from the southwest in summer and from the northeast in winter.

"2. (in India and nearby lands) the season during which the southwest monsoon blows, commonly marked by heavy rains; rainy season."