Part Two: Take a Virtual Trip to Southern Bangladesh

Sometimes, unforgettable trips take longer to tell about.

Let’s take the rest of this short-term survey trip without ever having to get on an airplane yourself!

When two 25-millenial vloggers named Luke and Paul, one retired businessman named John, and I flew to Bangladesh (pre-pandemic), hired a car and started driving south on a survey, we had no idea the adventures that lie ahead.

In Part One, I took you on the backstory journey to survey on one side of the river. Some of you also joined me for a Facebook LIVE where I talked about five important lessons I learned about doing a survey-type trip.

In Part Two, let’s cross the river to survey the other side of southern Bangladesh–the beautiful, lush land of farming and fishing–a land that somehow survives some of the world’s worst typhoons and flooding each year.

Millions of Bengali’s live in this area with so few believers to share the good news of Jesus and the Kingdom of God with them.

I hope you’ll want to gather your family, your roommates, or your church small group and binge watch these ten, short TRAVEL VLOGS by Twinsauce.

Here’s the rest of the backstory behind our out-of-the box survey trip to Southern Bangladesh:

John made friends everywhere. This small business owner was watching Top Gun on his little TV in the villagy-city of Patuakhali.

After visiting Old Dhaka, three kingdom businesses, and the districts of Chandpur and Noakhali, we packed up for a ferry boat ride (we hoped!) across the big river.

To get across the river, we had two choices.

One, drive all the way around, about a twelve to twenty hour journey back up to Chandpur, around the top of the river, and back all the way south.

You might look it up on Google maps and say, wait! It says only six hours. Yup. But that’s not reality. The road conditions, the ferry boat crossing timings, the slow pace traveling through villages—it would take at least 20 hours.

Or, two, we could chance a one-time-a-day opportunity to get in a longgggggg line of buses, trucks and cars to ferry boat straight across and do it in six hours.

We took the chance.

Oh my.

Did we make it, or didn’t we? That is the question.

Go check out the If We Don’t Make This Ferry… (VLOG #6) for a peek into the everyday stress and reality of travel and transportation for locals living in Bangladesh. (You just might see us hanging out with the boat captain too).

Day Seven landed us in the agricultural district of Patuakhali.

We didn’t quite sense the instant welcome that we experienced in Noakhali. But it’s likely because westerners don’t often come there, and the modernity of Dhaka hasn’t reached an area that weathers extreme storms and flooding.

Local NGOs are doing admirable work here, helping the people help themselves!

Follow us around in Exploring Patuakhali (VLOG #7), and you’ll see we found a land owner, explored a possible place to live, and met a for-profit Japanese-based business helping farmers grow larger beans.

Who knew?

One thing we discovered, AGRICULTURE is king here. So are the many, many NGOs that dot the area. If someone with a background in farming and sustainable agriculture came to this area, there would be instant connection.

Barisol wasn’t exactly a jungle, but then we ended up in one the next day.

I watched the drone footage today again, way, way up high on Day Eight in Into the Jungles of Bangladesh (VLOG #8) and on Day Nine where we landed in a larger city, just outside of the district of Jalukhati.

Breathtaking! Before surveying these districts, I saw Bangladesh as a blank slate. Now, my imagination fills with color, warmth, and the views that Paul and Luke captured.

By the way, I appreciated three things about John, Luke, and Paul on a survey trip. They EXPERIENCED everything, willing to get out there, and just GO. They never complained. And they gushed about the good in everything and everyone.

Oh, that all of us who enter into other cultures could live out these three qualities!

That meant we discovered how people make thousands of bricks, an apartment tucked away in the small city, and a milk-distribution company—which led to an invite into the business owners upstairs flat in the middle of the jungle, drinking Lipton tea from Saudi.

It’s not everyday I get to drive through a jungle paradise…and then chat with an elephant.

You’ll see some BEAUTIFUL footage of this jewel of a place and BEAUTIFUL people that I hope you’ll fall in love with—like we did—in This Elephant Wants My Money (VLOG #9) (yes, I fed an elephant money…)

Two phrases for southern Bangladesh and Bengali’s today, and every day: A beautiful paradise and generously hospitable.

This is a lovely wrap-up, and you can use this for mobilizing others!

Paul wrapped up our vlog series with a fitting tribute and reflection to Bengali’s and the southern districts we surveyed in a lovely final Reflections on Bangladesh (VLOG #10). You could use this Reflection to mobilize others to perhaps see Bengalis how God sees them.

Listen, what does this all mean for YOU?

Pray for Bengalis!

Pray for people to move to southern Bangladesh with the good news of the Kingdom of God!

Show your friends these vlogs (or share these blogs) so more people can fall in love with a people that God loves so much.

Write me if you want to move there!

Which vlog was your favorite?

Watch the accompanying Facebook LIVE (or the REPLAY) where I give you a list of things to look for on a survey trip like this one (and what we discovered)! I’ll tell some back-story stories about the vlogs too.

Also, if you’re heading overseas anytime soon, you should know how to confidently, courageously, and effectively share Jesus cross-culturally? If not, I’d recommend enrolling in The Neighbors & Nations Course, which is a comprehensive training designed to get you into other cultures with authenticity and ease, inviting people into the Kingdom of God regularly.