My camera and checkbook have arrived! This means now that I can take better pictures and also join the American Club where one of my youth groups will take place. More and more I am getting adjusted to Dhaka and everything that makes the city what it is. As pictures come in, you will very soon understand how different things are here. There is a photographer here from Iowa City who I am hoping to spend some time with taking pictures. In light of my sister Michelle and her husband Nick as well as my other friends who love photography, I am considering taking up photography as a hobby.

Things are finally starting up with my job. Tomorrow, August 14th, is the first day of school for the expatriate kids. For me, this week will include a meeting on Tuesday night with the new church school teachers as well as an interview at an assembly at the Christian school here on Thursday and a meeting that night to plan the first youth group gathering. The new youth group at my church is called OIC which stands for One In Christ. Since all of the kids here have different backgrounds and nationalities, it is important for them to be united and to feel accepted. I am excited for the opportunity to work with these youth every week.
This last week has been an interesting one. Early this week I went to the first capital of Bangladesh. As we walked around the ruins it was interesting to see how the locals have decided to rebuild the older buildings. In various ruins were new bricks that were being put in place in order for new families to live there. We were led from this city to a nearby village. The most interesting part of this area is how Hinduism is the dominant religion. We saw various temples for Hindu gods and godesses.
As neat as our experience was in the ruin part of the city, things became rather interesting when we went to the old palace that has been converted to a museum. As the group that I was with walked around the building, we soon realized that the other people in the museum were watching our every move and were paying more attention to us rather than to the display cases. After we got out of the museum we were constantly asked where we were from, which was interesting in that the 4 of us represented 3 countries, the US, the UK and South Africa. Before we got back in our car, we took a few moments to sit outside of the museum while Richard, my pastor, filmed something for church. As we sat there a group of guys around my age came up and one by one asked to get their picture taken with me. After 5 poses with people I didn't know, I was glad when I found out it was time to leave. It was definetely a new experience.
The other new thing that I experienced this week was going to a different church. In Dhaka, our church DICC (Dhaka International Christian Church) partners with 2 other churches. I spent Friday morning last week at the local Assembly of God Church and this week I will be at the other church we partner with in Dhaka. It is neat to be in a community where there is unity amongst the different Christian organizations.
Anyways, the different pictures that have been spread throughout this post include a picture of the soccer field behind my apartment (those are goats eating the grass), the view from my office window, a picture of my assistant Alam, and a picture of me and my new haircut. Richard took me to a local barber where they not only cut my hair, but they also massaged my head! Until my next post, have a good one!