One to Remember

Top: Our Thanksgiving group, minus 2 (Joy is hiding, Duc is the photographer!).

Middle: Our round buffet table. Serving dishes were everywhere!

Bottom: Cakes here are very ornate. The leaves on the flowers are silk, but everything else is edible.

Hello, all--

Thanksgiving 2008 is coming to a close for us. In the US, yours is just beginning. I hope it is as memorable and evident of the Lord's goodness as our celebration here in Vietnam.When I awoke, I could tell the dark shadows of the room were not a product of the early hour. It would be another blustery, wet day. We were planning a traditional Thanksgiving lunch for 16 at 1:00 pm, so I was eager to get started. I had cooked two turkey breasts yesterday in the oven at our pastor's house. When I returned home, Tony surprised me with the purchase of a large toaster oven. So this morning, I was eager to get started. This new addition to the kitchen meant that I would not have to take the pan of stuffing and the broccoli casserole (plus the sliced turkey to warm) back to the pastor's house--a ten minute taxi ride away. Jillian and I were already planning all the things were going to bake now.

So, I hurried out to the kitchen--only to discover that the electricity was off. Ha! Believe it or not, I really did find it humorous. I also found it interesting to think that not so long ago, such a development would have ruined my day. Now, it amused me. I thought of an old song by Bill Gaither, "The World Didn't Give It To Me (And The World Can't Take It Away)".Bee arrived a little after 7. She was bemused by the oven--I don't think she had ever seen one up close. When she looked at the picture on the box with a chicken baking, she was a little more interested. Since there are no windows in the kitchen, we started to work with light from a chargeable electric light that we keep for power outages. I had prepared the broccoli casserole last night, but had to finish the dressing. Bee and Jillian peeled a gazillion potatoes and put them in cold water. Although we kept hoping the power would come on so we could break in the new oven, at 10:20 I was in a taxi with Elizabeth and Anna Mei, two large baking dishes, and a sack full of turkey.

I had a remarkable encounter at Pastor Bob's house. I'll try to be brief, but give enough explanation. The pastor and his wife rent an apartment in their home. Right now, their tenant is Erin, a gal here to teach English. The ministry she works with has teachers all over Asia, and they gather at Thanksgiving for a meal and then have a retreat. So, while I was at the pastor's house cooking, two of the English teachers came in with Erin. While I was finishing up, one of the girls, Ashley, was also in the kitchen preparing a dish for the meal all the teachers would share. We got to talking. Turns out she is from...Kentucky...Bath County...Salt Lick...about 15 minutes from our house in Mt. Sterling. And that's not all. One of her best friends is the daughter of a good friend of Tony's in Flemingsburg. We knew several of the same people. I felt the Holy Spirit nudge me, and I said, "Ashley, you may have woken up this morning wondering what in the world you were doing in Vietnam on Thanksgiving, half a world away from your family. I think God wants you to know that just because you are not in Kentucky, He has brought a piece of Kentucky here to you." I am continually amazed at the goodness and kindness of the Lord...had our power been on, I would have been happily cooking in my own kitchen and missed that conversation. And, mercy upon mercy, the pastor's house is at the end of a narrow alley and most of the time, you have to walk out to the street to catch a taxi. With two hot pans and a sack full of steaming turkey, I was concerned about the walk. Today, for some unknown reason to me (other than God's goodness), the taxi came right to the gate. There was not a drop falling from the sky, although within minutes of our arrival home, I heard a downpour. Anna Mei and I just grinned at each other.

The final preparations went smoothly, which is a bit surprising since Bee and I were both cooking with only the two stove top burners available. Somehow, she finished some Vietnamese dishes, and I fixed gravy, corn and mashed potatos without stepping on each other, or getting frustrated. With all the electrical hullaballou, the only item I did not prepare was dessert. Tony decided to pick up something at a local bakery. However, our guests also brought two beautiful cakes, so we had plenty of choices! Just as we sat down to eat, the power came back on! Ha!

It was a great time of fellowship. Later this afternoon, we took the girls to the movie at Big C for "High School Musical 3." Tonight, we initiated the oven on leftovers. It works great.

This year, I am thankful for life in Vietnam. Every day here is an adventure. There is no such thing as a ho-hum day. Every outing brings something to ponder, a new observation, a challenging experience, a humorous realization. Though most of my time is spent here at home, there is something new every day. I am thankful for God's grace, that sustains and keeps us. I am thankful for His forgivenness when I do not "rise to the challenge" I face. I am thankful for the love of family and friends.

Bless you and those you love on this Thanksgiving!

Rats

We encountered this group of "rain warriors" on their way to school yesterday in Tien Phuc.

Hello, all--

Just when I think I am accustomed to days of rain without a break, we spring a new leak. Quite literally. I awoke this morning to find that the slow, intermittant dripping on the 2nd/3rd floor landing has now developed into a steady drizzle of its own. So much so, that the little puddle gathering on one of the steps spilled over, ran down the underside of the stairs and proceeded to drip, drip, drip on the stairs at the first floor level. Water and floors are not a good mix in any setting. Because everything is marble tile and concrete, there has not been damage, but it is a treacherous walk between floors. In addition, I have discovered a couple other places that are penetrated when we have the combination driven by a typhoon to our south--wind and rain. The rain falls in crescendos, quieter, then louder; quieter, then louder with every gust.

In my American mindset, I asked Duc if Mr. Bo could do something about the leaks. He shrugged a little. "Perhaps," he said. But I could tell that the answer is that in Vietnam, the tenant is pretty much on his own for repairs. A lady in our church shared recently that there is a leak over the bed in her house. She and her husband have hired workers to repair it five times. It is still leaking. They plan to find a new place to rent. They have lived in Danang for about 10 years. So, I guess it is nothing unusual.

This is the kind of day that makes me happy to stay home. But today, we actually ventured out. It takes a lot to get me to brave the inevitable shower. But, tomorrow is Bee's birthday and I cannot let it pass without some fanfare. Bee does so much for us. Her family struggles and we help them out with extra money occasionally. They are trying to build a home that will be water-tight themselves, but it takes time. Any way, Linh took Jillian, Anna Mei, Elizabeth and me to buy a gift, then to Big C to purchase a cake. After much discussion, we decided to buy Bee some nice fabric that she can take to her seamstress (everyone here seems to have one) and have a traditional Vietnamese aoi-ai (pronounced "ow-ee-i") made. Many women wear them to church, and Linh said that at Christmas they are very popular. Some time ago, Bee told Linh that she had one, but it is very old. So this year, she will have a new one.

Fabric stores with resident tailors/seamstresses are everywhere here. Linh takes us to the Han Market. I love it there. It is an authentic Vietnamese market, with row after row of cubicle upon cubicle selling everything from food to housewears to towels, shoes, clothes, and most everything else. The smell is pungent and overwhelming. I have learned that it is the smell of a popular fruit here that has this distinct odor. The aisles at the market are very narrow. In a couple of places the people who work there have put wood sheets on blocks and made a low table. They gather around it on small plastic stools and eat fish, rice, and vegetables that I do not recognize.

My first shopping trip for the house in Danang was at the Han Market. It was where I first encountered the large spiders that are common here, and rats that scurry in the daylight. I saw only one or two rats on that first trip, and I have been to the Han Market several times and not seen any. Not today. You may wonder why we would continue to shop there. It is simple economics. Things are significantly less expensive. For example, the bedspread/sheet/pillow/dust ruffle set I would buy at Big C would be about one million dong. The same set at the Han Market is half as much. Linh has a friend who has a fabric booth; she offers us an even greater discount. So, while looking at fabric for Bee, I didn't think much about it when a rat scurried across the aisle and disappeared under the table of a tailoring business. But soon, I saw another, then another, then another. I told the girls later that I am not sure if I saw 12-15 rats or if I saw one rat 12-15 times. It was interesting to me that all those ladies sitting up there sewing didn't even give the rats a second glance. There they sit with their feet under a table all day, and seem completely unconcerned that a rat may run across their toes at any moment. I couldn't help but curl my toes under my feet in my sandals.

Rain and rats; rats and rain; it's raining rats and rats. Hmmm, I think the day has gotten to me. :)

Yesterday, one of the fellows from CBN asked me about the differences between living here and in the US. Most of the things that popped into my mind to say were negative: the rain, the heat, no hot water in the kitchen, no dryer, no shower separated from the entire bathroom..... In my own mind, the obvious next question arose. Then, don't you want to leave? The answer, surprising more to me than anyone else, is no. While the list of negatives has many more items on it, there is one positive on the other side that overcomes them all: I am experiencing a walk with the Lord here that is more precious than I have known in many years. My heart is full of joy and thankfulness. I am at peace, settled, content. I would not trade this place for anywhere.

May you live in the joy of the Lord today, knowing His Spirit leads you, confident in His love, blessed because you are His child.

Grace and peace!

Extremes

Top: This young man is the uncle of the two children. Their mother is dead and their father has left. Their grandparents care for them, but are struggling to provide food. Middle: This grandmother is caring for two granddaughters. She fell and broke her arm and will be unable to work for the next 6 weeks. Bottom: Nine people live in this grandmother's household. The mother of the two girls killed herself, overcome with grief when her husband died.

Hello, all--

What a day! Tony and I visited the Dai Loc orphanage today, plus four families in Tien Phuc--an area about 3 hours from Danang. We were hosting a group from CBN, here to gather information about orphans and talk with us about possibilites of sharing our work with their audience and contacts. We had to be ready to leave the house at 6:30 this morning, and returned home about 7:30 tonight. (Duc's wife, Linh, and Bee were here at home with the girls.) On the way home, I couldn't help but think of the day in terms of extremes.

First, it was extremely wet. Central Vietnam put on one of its best "rainy season" demonstrations with rain all day, mostly heavy, non-stop. Tony provided some heavy-duty rain ponchos, since the van could take us only a portion of the way to the houses we visited and we had to walk a good distance, probably as much as 3/4 mile at one location.

Which brings me to the second extreme: adventure! The walking was not your average stroll on a rainy day. We sogged and slopped up and down steep muddy inclines, waded through ankle-deep water that rushed over a small bridges and covered walkways. Tony and one other team member had to remove leeches that tried to hitch a ride to their feet and ankles. For one portion of the trip, we took motorbike taxis--too far to walk, but inaccessible by van. I felt like the ride was a cross between dirt-biking and demolition derby. We slid in the mud more than once and the drivers had some difficulty making the steep inclines while maintaining a safe speed. I might have been alarmed, except I really couldn't see much because the rain was hitting my face.

We visited families that have known extreme sadness, hardship and tragedy. Missing parents and spouses who have died or abandoned their families, survivors left struggling to feed too many mouths with too little food. Hunger. Houses with plastic walls, or open wooden slats covered with newspaper. One room for a family of nine that serves as living room, bedroom and dining room. Families torn apart by suicide, fatal accidents, or poverty that forces a young mother to seek work in Saigon, about 500 miles from her rural home.I would say we had an extreme sense of fellowship among the team. Different members of the Body, with specific callings and gifts, united in focus and purpose on this day. There was laughter and compassion and sharing and learning and caring together. We soaked and shivered together. All for one and one for all.

Moments were extremely touching. The smile of a child who sees their picture on a digital camera for the first time. The serious stare of a three-your-old, clinging to a small bowl of rice with one hand, and to grandmother's leg with the other. The universal pride of young parents in showing off their 5-month-old baby. The sigh of relief and gratitude as each family received a bag of rice, two large loaves of bread and some candy for the children--food for a few days. (Duc told us that some of these children have never had bread, so that in itself was a special treat for them.)

And now tonight, extreme thankfulness. Thankful for dry clothes and a hot cup of tea. Thankful for the little ones here to hold close and shower with kisses and words of love. Thankful for opportunities to see some of the needs around me and have a part in bringing help. Perhaps I can write more about the day some other time. Right now, I am...extremely tired.

May our Father of abundant, extravagant, lavish and inexhaustible grace show Himself to you in an extremely personal way.

Freedom and Fisticuffs

One of the ministry team members from Brazil, ready for a performance!

Hello, all--

It is Monday. We just finished lunch and I have a few minutes free before we start our afternoon class work. I wanted to write about yesterday.At church, we had special guests. A group with YWAM (Youth With A Mission) are travelling throughout Asia from their home country of Brazil. They began at the Summer Olympics in Beijing, then toured throughout China, now in Vietnam, then on to Cambodia, and Thailand before returning to South America. They presented pantomimed skits with a Gospel theme, danced to worship songs (In Portugese), and had an impressive exhibition of juggling. As you might imagine, it was quitely lively. The worship was...free...there was plenty of dancing, clapping, shouting, etc. Our pastor said it was the first time he could remembering worshiping God with "the juggle." :) After their presentation, the message was brought by a woman from Australia. She is a pastor there and was the first woman ordained in the Assemblies of God in Australia. She has been pastoring for 30 years. Her message was very encouraging as she exhorted us to hold on to our confidence in the Lord--despite circumstances, or other voices of discouragement. After church, we headed to Big C for lunch.

On the 2nd floor of the Big C center there is an enclosed play area. There is a ball pit, several colorful tunnels, slides and climbing areas. The girls had been playing for awhile, when a noticed a scuffle in the ball pit and I could see that Jillian and Anna Mei had someone cornered. At first, I thought they were just playing with someone until I saw Anna Mei point very emphatically and say, "You leave my sister alone!" I moved in quickly, calling their names, to divert their attention from their intended victim. It was a boy of 9 or 10 years old. Across the ball pit, I saw Faith, wiping away tears and watching wide-eyed. Apparently, the boy had either intentionally or unknowingly played "too rough" with Faith. Jillian said he pulled her backwards by the shirt, causing her to fall down a cushioned incline into the ball pit. Whatever happened, the boy was shocked that most of the other children in the play area were not just random kids, they were all part of the same clan--and the two oldest were ready to exact vengeance on behalf of their smallest member. Of course, the boy spoke no English, so I don't think he got the word "sister." But he clearly understood that the other little girls in the play area were off limits. After Jillian and Anna Mei sat out some penalty time when I gave them a lecture...I mean, instruction...I noticed the boy steered clear of all of them.

Just before we left Big C, Faith, Joy and Anna Mei announced they needed to visit the ladies' room before the ride home. Big C has four levels, but only two bathrooms. Neither the stores, nor the fastfood restaurant, or even the movie theater has its own bathroom. There are bathrooms on the first and fourth floors only. Since the firstfloor bathrooms are being rennovated right now (which they sorely need), the only usable bathrooms are on the fourth floor. Since a friend from church was with me (Tony had left to bring the motorbike home), she stayed with Elizabeth and Jillian at the play area while I took the other three girls upstairs. Each stall has walls from floor to ceiling and a full-length door with a knob. This little detail is important to the story, because no sooner had Faith entered her stall and shut the door than the outside doorknob fell off. Although she was doing her best, the inside knob would not catch the latch, so Faith was stuck.Usually, there is at least one attendant in the bathroom. Not yesterday. So, as Vietnamese ladies discovered our dilemma, the crowd in the ladies' room was growing with interested onlookers. Thankfully, Faith was not scared. She talked to me the whole time. Every time she would try the knob and fail, I would hear her sigh, "Oh dear!" Joy was getting a little anxious about it. She said, "Mommy, get my Faith out!" After several minutes, three attendants came, none with keys, and they looked as perplexed as anyone about what to do. I was ready to call Duc or Tony, when Faith jiggled the knob again and it released the latch. There was a collective gasp. The door opened slowly. Faith must have heard the crowd, because she stayed behind the door as it opened. I almost laughed out loud because I could see this multitude of Asian women peering curiously to see what size munchkin would emerge. A great sigh and giggle filled the room when Faith, stepped out...to an immediate embrace from Joy.

With Faith's release, we were able to make our way back to the 2nd floor, pick up the other girls, and then go down to hail a taxi. Even Faith and Joy tell the taxi drivers our address now: "Tran Hung Dao, va Kruc Hau" (loosely, "the corner of Tran Hung Dao and Kruc Hau"). The taxi drivers all get a big smile when the twins tell them the address.

So, now back to school. May you experience freedom in worship, and from every form of entrapment, in the name of Son who sets us free indeed!

Grace and peace!

Dance Class

Hello, all--

I just returned with Anna Mei from her dance class. The day is gray and drizzly--the relentless overnight pounding of rain has left everything drooping, drenched and tired-looking. I may have told you this--forgive repetitions. Anna Mei's dance class meets on Saturday and Sunday mornings from 7:30-9:00 am. There are about 16 girls in the class, ranging in age from about 4 to 10. It is a precious sight to see them gather--dark-headed, almond-eyed beauties with round faces and pudgy little hands.

Anna Mei is a celebrity--the only westerner in the class. The first day after class, Anna Mei proudly announced, "I have 15 new friends!" None speak English, other than one or two who can say "Hello. What is your name? How old are you?" By the fourth week, those questions weren't interesting to them any moreThe classroom is a large rectangular room with a wood floor and windows on three sides. One wall is mirrored, with a barre mounted low enough for the young students to use it. The windows are vertical rectangles that will spin all the way around, hung in the middle on some kind of dowel. When they are open, there is enough space on each side of the window to use as a door--which the students frequently do at their break time. Outside is a large tiled courtyard, under a roof. The wood floor is old--there is so much "give" to it that I think a class of adult students might crash through if they jumped on it. Near the mirrored wall there is one section, about 7 or 8 inches, where the wood is missing altogether. The girls are aware of it and I have yet to see anyone put their foot in it, although they dance all around it.

The teacher is a young woman who clearly loves the children, and who is obviously a very talented dancer. Her movements are fluid and so graceful--it appears that her arms are suspended on some wire or string with someone above manipulating the controls. In effortless motion, she looks almost fluid. Beautiful to watch.While our Vietnamese helpers call it "ballet", there are many elements that are traditional Vietnamese folk dance. I wish you could see it. They use their hands in the most graceful movements. The fingers curl down, one at a time, then the wrist bends under and turns outward, and the fingers uncurl in the reverse order. It looks like a flower closing in one direction, then opening up to the other side. I never tire of watching it. I can't help but think of these young flowers, faced one way, then closing to their old direction and opening up to a new one. I pray for these girls, that they will see a new life waiting for them.

In addition to being the only westerner, Anna Mei's God-given talent for dance has made her one of the star students. She is often called upon to demonstrate the steps and movements. The other girls seem to like her a lot, and a group of 5 or 6 is usually with her every minute of the break time. Of course, my little glow-worm enjoys every minute of it!

There are some other very talented young dancers in the class. One is a girl of about 10, who looks to me like she will be able to dance like the teacher one day. Another is a girl of about 4 years. She usually has her hair in two little buns on each side of her head. She is precious and looks to be very serious about dance. I just want to squeeze her. When a new session of classes begins, I think Joy wants to join. Faith might join in, mostly to be with Joy, since karate would suit her interests better.

Grace and beauty can be found all over the world-even in my world, which may seem drooping, heavy, and uninviting at times.

May His goodness be evident to you today!

(Note: In the top picture above, the 4-year-old dancer is in the center. What a cutie!)

Out of the mouths of babes

Hello, all--

Faith lost her first tooth today. She was so excited. She must have carried it around with her for three hours, grinning from ear to ear to show the full effect of the little gap on the bottom row of teeth.

Jillian and Anna Mei have both had me laughing out loud as well.Yesterday after school we walked next door to a little street cafe next to our house. An elderly Vietnamese woman runs it. Like most private businesses here, it is a little tin shack, open on one side. There are small plastic tables and chairs. She sells sodas, peanuts, snacks, etc. We have exchanged smiles and a few greetings as I have learned some Vietnamese. Jillian, Elizabeth and I went there after school to celebrate Jillian's completion of her first researched report (on George Washington Carver). Any way, I decided to try out some of my language skills on Doe, the proprietor. I asked her "Ban co khoe khong?" which means, "How are you." She smiled and disappeared behind her counter and came back out with a cigarette lighter. She must have thought I wanted to smoke. I thought Jillian would roll on the sidewalk. I was going to try again, but Jillian stopped me. "Mom," she said emphatically. "Don't say anything else. She might come out and give you a tattoo!"

Today, the girls had a science test. We are studying flying creatures, and this unit was on the migration of birds. One of the questions was, "What are some of the dangers that face migrating birds?" Anna Mei must have taken the plight of the poor little birds to heart, because her answer read, "Hunters! Airplanes! Storms!" (It made me want to add, "Lions and tigers and bears! Oh my!")

It has been a good day, even though the rain returned with a vengeance. Through some friends at church we have met a family from New Zealand who have two daughters, ages 11 and 9. Jillian and Lucia (the 9-year-old) have hit it off nicely. Olivia is the older daughter and Joy has taken a particular liking to her, probably because Olivia will carry her. Tonight the girls and I had dinner with Carrie (Lucia and Olivia's mother) and another couple at Carrie's house. Carrie's husband Russell had to work. Tony had to be with a group who was doing a program for the children at the Dai Loc orphanage. It was very pleasant. Jillian and Lucia went swimming out in the rain (no lightening, just rain)--Lucia's house has a pool. They loved it. Carrie is homeschooling, so we talked a lot about curriculum, classes and other mom stuff. Russell is in banking. They have been here a couple of years--long enough to accumulate an oven, microwave, coffee maker and clothes dryer. (sigh). She had actually baked brownies. The girls ate and ate (we had western food--ribs, potato salad, grilled vegetables, garlic bread). By the time we got home, they were so tired. As soon as Tony got home (shortly after we did) he and I carried Faith and Joy upstairs to bed. They were asleep in a couple of minutes.

God is good. These days of homeschooling, with the girls so young, are flying by so quickly. I don't want to take this time for granted, for I know it will pass all too quickly. Jillian got to talking about perfume today, and Elizabeth told me that when I was away for a few days ( before we came to Danang), when she missed me she would go into my room and smell my pillow. How sweet is that? When I think about the blessings in my life, the oven, microwave, coffee maker and clothes dryer don't seem nearly so important any more.May the events of this day remind you of the Lord's goodness in your life.

Grace and peace!

Worth a Thousand Words

Here are a few pictures from our daily life here. At the top, Faith and I are at the freezer. With meat cleaver in hand, I am preparing to chip away some ice cubes from the mass inside. In the middle--Bee uses two rolls of toilet paper in the kitchen on our paper towel holder. It makes me laugh every time I see it. Bottom: Anna Mei and Joy pose with yesterday's lunch--some kind of fish in a tomato sauce. Surprisingly, everyone but Elizabeth liked it!