I am so thankful that God has allowed me to come here to Bangladesh

Dear friends and family,
  It is my turn to write a blog entry.  I think Tim mentioned that you will be hearing from each of us.
  First of all, thanks to the many of you who have been uplifting us in prayer.  God hears and answers those prayers and they mean the world to us. The many words of encouragement through email, Facebook, cards and letters are so appreciated also.  Thanks again!!
 Everyone is healthy and well. We have had our battles with colds, flu and allergies and Sarah has had a mild bout of typhoid but is feeling pretty good. We are thankful for the prayers from many of you for her.
  I am so thankful that God has allowed me to come here to Bangladesh. God is teaching me new things about his world and his people every day.  He is showing me ways that I can help and teaching me how to seek out opportunities to minister to people. It is not hard to find needs to meet here in Bangladesh nor is it difficult to see how I, as a mother, can specifically address them.  Choosing to make time for each one and prioritizing is a whole other thing. My first job is to care for the needs of Tim, Sarah and Lexi.
  I am homeschooling Sarah and Alexis. This is a switch for Lexi as she had been going to our excellent public school back home. She loved her school very much and is missing it.  She and I are getting into a pretty good routine that seems to be helping her to adjust well.  Sarah had been home schooled for a year and a half already before coming here so she was fairly used to the structure already.  She is getting into a good groove with her studies also.
 After school, we usually study Bangla. We have postponed our classes for a short season but they will soon resume.  After Bangla, Tim heads back to the office while we often enjoy visiting patients in the hospital and taking them little treats to cheer them up. We also enjoy the ministry of praying for specific needs of the people we come across there as well as those who live nearby or on the hospital campus.  It is difficult to develop deep relationships with these beautiful people without a strong understanding of their language and culture because it so vastly different from our own. We are working on learning those things but in the meantime we are doing what we can to start friendships that will hopefully last into eternity.
 Another ministry is to just fellowship with other missionaries.  It is an encouragement to both parties to just spend time together doing whatever whether it is hanging out or helping them with something. We especially like to meet and welcome new guests and missionaries that come for varying reasons to the Campus.  It's fun to meet new people but even more fun if this is their first time to Bangladesh.
 Well, that is an update from me. I'd love to hear how you all are doing. Please remember us in prayer as we have much language and culture learning to do.  Thank you so much for praying.  We are so blessed to know you and have you in our lives.  Please know that we love you and appreciate you.
Sincerely, Ruth (for the family)