(From Dai Loc) Top, down: Decorating the tree; a new sweater; feasting; cheers!
Hello, all--
Before we are totally out of the "holiday season" I wanted to at least begin a report of some of our Christmas activities. In the midst of all the Brewer birthdays, we were able to directly participate in three celebrations here in Vietnam (our helpers in other countries took care of Christmas celebrations in their locations). We hosted two parties in Tien Phuoc (pronounced "tin fook"), a rural region about 3 hours from Danang where jobs are scarce and poverty is rampant. The "human services" director for that area invited 200 children and their families for two parties on the morning of Dec. 21. Since Christmas celebrations are new to this area, it was requested that only Vietnamese attend, so our family helped with the shopping, preparing gift baskets, and loading the van. Then we sent Duc, Linh and Bee to deliver the message and host the parties. Our neighbor, Mrs. Bo, also went to take it all in.
For most of two days, our kitchen looked like a warehouse. We prepared "baskets" in kitchen collanders with some items that these families rarely see: soy sauce, fish sauce, a good quality food seasoning, candy, a small cake, and a toy. We wrapped each basket in plastic for delivery. What a production line we had going! All the girls helped, with Jillian staying with it from start to finish. I couldn't help but smile to hear Elizabeth call out from her work station, "Soy! I need some soy here!" Linh and I handled the plastic wrapping. With more than 200 baskets prepared, we boxed and bagged them in groups of five to keep an easy count for delivery.
Thankfully, Tony found a van driver who agreed to come Saturday night and load the gifts. Because of the distance to Tien Phuoc, the group had to leave our house at 6 am Sunday morning! So we gathered at about 5:30 am in our living room for joyous sharing. The Vietnamese like the Santa suit, although most do not know the stories of St. Nicholas. Duc had purchased a suit last year and brought it along--so, Bee played the role. I told Duc about the man Nicholas, who was known for his love and care for poor children and those who earned their living on the sea--which people here can definitely relate to. Duc shared this information with the children, pointing out that Nicholas realized that each person is created with special gifts and abilities that they can use to be a blessing to this world. Small beginnings...but a beginning, nonetheless!
After the two morning parties at Tien Phuoc, the van returned to our house and we left again at 1pm for a party at the Dai Loc orphanage. In addition to the Vietnamese team and our family, a family from New Zealand (Jillian's friend) came with a teacher-friend, plus four new friends from our bank here (all Vietnamese). Yen opened our bank accounts and has shown much interest in doing something to help children. So, we were a group of 19 with about 60 gifts, travelling by 16-passenger van and two motorbikes. Thankfully, the Lord gave us a beautiful day (incidentally, the last sunny day we have seen).Our friends from New Zealand, Kerri and Russell, provided a small Christmas tree, and prepared craft materials for the children to make ornaments. What a joyous celebration! The meeting room at the orphanage stayed abuzz with chatter, laughter, squeals, and playful activity. The kids used every scrap of material--filling the tree, and decorating the walls and windows. Then we played games. Musical chairs was a big hit! What a noisy, happy time as the children scrambled for a chair. They loved it. Then the younger children (age 8 and under) played "Duck, Duck, Goose" while the older kids played another "rowdy" game. After the games, we gathered back in the meeting room, and I had the opportunity to talk about the Christmas tree and the ornaments on it--we had angels, stars, balls, snowflakes, and bells. These provided a way to talk about our Christmas celebration. Next, it was time for gifts. Two of the orphanage staff had come to Danang several days earlier to accompany Linh and me to the market to purchase warm jackets, sweaters, and a toy for the kids. So, each child had items "hand-picked" for them. You could tell by their excitement how much joy they received along with their present. We also presented the eleven staff members with a gift of warm houseshoes.
We ended our time with a feast. Bee had planned the menu. We had shopped together for the food, which Bee and our girls had delivered the day before by taxi (Dai Loc is only about 45 minutes from Danang). During the party, Bee and the staff were busy slicing, dicing and cooking. What a great meal: soup, pork, beef, shrimp, fish, sticky rice, soda...the kids ate and ate! Throughout the meal, each table would spontaneously count "Mot! Hai! Ba!" ("moat, high, baa"--"One! Two! Three!") and raise their glasses in a toast, followed by peals of deep, unhibited laughter.The spirit of the day was present in love, joy, and hope.
We returned home about 7:30 that night. What a glorious day!
Grace and peace!
