Resurrection Sunday in Bangladesh

A Full Church

It is Resurrection Sunday here in Bangladesh.  Notice, I said “Resurrection” and not “Easter.”  The former term brings thoughts of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection while the latter brings to mind fuzzy bunnies, colored eggs and new clothes.  In a pre-dominantly Muslim country, we try to keep the Christian holidays as Biblical as possible.  It was very refreshing to me to celebrate Resurrection Sunday without all the American hype of holiday commercialism.  I went to church and actually remembered the message that was preached.  (Sis.Cylinda Nickel preached a message entitled, “When Empty is Full.”  Jesus emptied the tomb so that we could be filled with His Spirit.  When we empty ourselves, He fills us with Himself.)  I was not distracted by the fashion show of new clothes.  In fact, I don’t think there was one stitch of new clothing in the poor church building this morning.  It would have been useless since there were about 80 people packed into a tiny building that only holds 30 people in 100+ degree Fahrenheit weather with no air conditioning.  We were all drenched with sweat by the time it was over.

Afterwards, the ministry team had a nice time of fellowship at a restaurant (surprisingly, Dhaka has some good international restaurants).  Then, some of us went shopping while others went home to pack for their trip to Thailand.  I learned how to ride the bus during the shopping trip!   Whoo Hoo!  A few weeks back, Sis. Miller tried to teach me to ride the bus.  She told me, “Just look for the blue and white bus.”  When I spotted a blue and white bus, she told me, “No, not THAT blue and white bus.”  A few minutes later, I spotted another one and I got the same response.  So, needless to say, I did not learn to ride the bus that day with Sis. Miller.  Today, her daughter Katie taught me how to read the Bangla script on the front of the

Beautiful Liza riding the bus

bus.  I still don’t know what the script says, but I can now spot it on the correct blue and white bus.  Next, I need to learn the bus stops.  (Well, I don’t HAVE to learn the bus stops since people jump on and off moving buses all the time, but I am NOT that brave and fit.)  So far, I’ve been hopping on and off the bus whenever the leader of the pack says, “Let’s  Go!”  I definitely need to learn the bus stops.

The bus trip was apparently a God-arranged event.  On our way home, Fran and I ended up sitting together with a lady from Mirpur, the area where we live.  She was very interested in us and tried to communicate with us.  She knew Bangla and Hindi but very little English.  I tried to communicate with her in the little Hindi I had learned, but the only words that would come out of my mouth was Bangla.  I don’t know if this is a good sign or a bad one!

One thing was certain; God was drawing this lady to us and vice versa.  At one point, I felt to pray with her, but didn't know how she would receive it being a Hindu.  About that time the bus jostled and the two of us grabbed each other to keep from falling into the aisle.  We sat there for a few minutes with our arms around each other, enjoying the closeness.  I prayed for her under my breath asking God to bless her and order her steps.  We exchanged phone numbers.  She called us later in the day and made arrangements to visit us on Monday.  It will be good to see her again!

All in all, I say it has been a good Resurrection Sunday in Bangladesh!