There and back again (I'm reading LOTR right now)

All strapped in and ready for take-off! 

One third of Bangladesh is made up of water. In the words of my friend here, "Bangladesh is one big swamp." So how better to get to various remote towns and villages than by sea plane?! On Monday morning, we left fairly early to go to the airport. Our plane was piloted by a friendly American who works for Mission Aviation Fellowship. These guys are awesome! The flight takes off on land in Dhaka, but lands in rivers all around Bangladesh. The MAF guys call this plane the "ultimate amphibian." On the way to and from Khulna, our plane stopped at Barguna and Barisal (search them on Google maps if you want to see where these are). The flight (with its bus-like stops) was a ton of fun. It seated ten people, including the two pilots, and was actually not too bumpy of a ride. We were greeted at each stop by the stares of the boatsmen and people along the rivers (planes are rare and apparently quite the exciting spectacle). Once the plane reached the shore, children tied it down by putting a large metal screw into the mud. We then waited for a boat to pick up the one or two people getting on or off at each stop.

Our ground crew :)

Our pilot there and back

I got this pic from the MAF magazine in the
seat-back pocket, but this is our plane!

Our boat took us down the river in Khulna to a dock, where we took a rickshaw to the AG compound. The rest of my time in Khulna was within these walls. The compound has several buildings. One is a youth hostel, another is a school, another houses the girls in Akhi's Place and acts as a home for Touch Bangladesh. The girls at Akhi's Place were adorable and I enjoyed playing games with them, running around with them, and learning from them. I now know how to say yes, no, red, blue, okay, and good in Bangla. :) They also loved singing the songs they learned at church, complete with hand motions. Also, they all said thank you for the backpacks I brought from the States. So "Thank you" to all of you who gave me money to buy them (and a few books and crayons) for these girls! They're all ready to start school in a couple of weeks. 

The five girls from Akhi's Place all dressed up
for a picture with their new backpacks

When I wasn't playing with the girls (which was most of the time), I was just relaxing. We left this morning to head back to Dhaka. I very much enjoyed my time in Khulna. It's been wonderful to see a couple of AGWM projects (the school on Sunday and the AG mission in Khulna). Tomorrow I get to see one more! Thank you all for your prayers. :) I've definitely felt protected and I am learning a ton and experiencing so much!