Hello, all!

Before I begin on the subject of the bathrooms here, I wanted to tell you a couple of things that I found very interesting. First of all, we have learned that Danang is the "cradle of the Gospel" in Vietnam. The first missionaries anyone knows of here came in 1911--led by A.B. Simpson, founder (I think) of Christian & Missionary Alliance churches. We met someone whose great-great-grandfather was a convert of that effort. A Bible school was founded in a barn-like structure. Of course, none of the buildings survive today.

Secondly, Vietnam may be the home of the "edible toothpick"! I was given a toothpick yesterday and was told I could eat it--it is made of rice. It looks like a wood toothpick, except white in color and feels like a shard of glass. I wondered if they ever flavored them.

And now...for the moment you've been waiting for. I'm sure you have been anxiously awaiting information about the bathrooms here. Many Asian restrooms have what we lovingly refer to as "squatty potties"--porcelain toilet seats that sit down in the floor. Thankfully, our house (as well as most of the newer stores and restaurants) have western style toilets. The main difference is that there is no handle to flush, there are two metal "buttons" on top of the tank. Push either one and thar she blows. There is a covered holder for the toilet paper, but the holder has no spring on the inside, so it is a challenge to make it the right length to stay in the holder. The other concern is that because the holder is covered, it is a nice hiding spot for spiders. For this reason, I choose not to use the holder at all. I don't really like those kind of surprises! Ha!One of the most interesting aspects of the bathroom is the shower. Most houses have no bathtub, or maybe one bathtub if there are several bathrooms. The shower hangs on one wall. There is a faucet on the wall about 2 1/2 feet from the floor, then the shower is a spray nozzle that hangs higher up. It is removable from the wall, so you can hold it. Each bathroom has a small water heater that is attached to the ceiling. There is a breaker switch beside the light switch so you can turn off the water heater, I presume to conserve electricity. There is no shower stall, no curtain, no separation of the shower from the rest of the bathroom. There is a drain on the floor, usually right below the shower (or close to it), but sometimes on the opposite side of the bathroom. As you can imagine, the whole floor gets wet. Surprisingly, the things off the floor, like the towel rack, stay dry unless you really get wild with the spray. There is a mirror on the wall, with one glass shelf that hangs below it. There are no cabinets or counter space. The sink hangs on the wall. We found plastic shelves for $1 that we use to put shampoo, soap, etc. on. That about covers the bathroom.

My father's meeting with the large group went very well. I hope to be able to give details sometime of his work, but now is not the time. Just know that he is busy, busy, busy. I am continually challenged to surrender, to stay low, to choose to rest on the Lord. It sounds silly, I know, but every now and then, when faced with a challenge (like the electricity being off two days in a row for up to 10 hours each day), I have a tendency to think: "I've surrendered enough. I've been patient enough. I've relied on faith enough. I'm tired. I'm hot and I don't want to take it any more." Then I remember, this is exactly the times we have prayed for. We have prayed to have grace when we need it. I'm finding ample opportunities to need it. Gratefully, I am finding ample grace as well.Most often, we walk in abundant joy. God is good.