Leaving Chittagong

Hi, friends and family!  Hope you are having a wonderful beginning to this Christmas season.  I'm listening to Christmas music as I write this, but I also have the fan on and am in short sleeves, so it doesn't quite feel like it should be Christmastime. But anyway, I'm looking forward to lots of new experiences here in Bangladesh this Advent season.
This is my last night in Chittagong since I've now finished my 2 weeks of intense Bangla language study.  So I wanted to take this opportunity to update my blog one more time while I still have a faster internet service.  I've had a really busy, but productive 2 weeks of study.  I feel like I have a lot of the basics of the language down.  I still can't put a sentence together and don't know the vocab, but I know the alphabet and can say the basic phrases.  When I go back to Malumghat, I will work with a tutor to continue studying.  And hopefully be able to communicate with my patients without always relying on a translator.
I'm really looking forward to going back to the hospital tomorrow.  I'll be jumping right back into the work there and start taking overnight call.  That's a little intimidating because it is for the whole hospital, so I would definitely appreciate your prayers for me.  Fortunately, I will have one of the other doctors on back up for the first couple of months. But I would still love your prayers for wisdom during the next couple of months.
Today in church, we studied 1 Cor 13, which is the classic chapter about love.  Verse 3 really struck me, because it says even if I give all I have to the poor, but do not love, then I gain nothing.  As I go back to the hospital, I can give my all to helping these people, but if I do not do it with love (our Father's love), then it is pointless.  Please pray that I will be a good reflection of that love to all the patients I meet this next week. 
Thanks again for all your prayers and support,
Christel

Here are some more pictures:

This is Dipa, she has been my language tutor while I have been in Chittagong.  This was taken from the roof of her apartment building.  The clothes we are wearing is very common.  It's a long tunic (camiz) with shalwar pants and an orna (scarf).  Also in the background you can see long pieces of fabric hanging off the balconies, those are saris.

This is my first mehendi (henna) experience!  It won't last long when I go back to the hospital and start scrubbing again, but it was fun for now.

This is the children's choir performing at on of the local churches.