Left: In DaLat!
Hello, all!
We are in beautiful DaLat, Vietnam, for a few days. A team is here and we will head for Cambodia in a few days. I'll write more about that when we get to Phhom Penh.
Ahhh, yes, the delightful Stink Mobile. We took a plane from Danang to Saigon, then rented a 14-passenger van for the 6 hour drive to DaLat. Unfortunately, we found that the van we had hired also had two other passengers--men who also were going to DaLat. Our group has 14 people. The van had a very peculiar odor, a combination of old cigarette smoke, sweat, and last night's fish. Interestingly, there were decals of Mary and Jesus, but Buddha was on the dash board. I guess the driver wanted to cover all the bases. And well he should have, because he drove like a maniac! But, I'm getting ahead of myself.
Because we could not all fit in the blessed SM (Stink Mobile), Tony hired a second, smaller van for those of our group with the weakest stomachs. That left Tony, me, the twins, Anna Mei, Elizabeth, Duc, Enoch and the luggage. We had no more than started when the driver pulled off the road and waited. Turns out he was also transporting three boxes to Da Lat. Thankfully, they fit under the twins feet. Then, we were off and running. The fellow sitting behind the twins and me promptly shed his shoes, propped up his bare feet and went to sleep. Slumber was a wise choice. DaLat is in the mountains of Vietnam, so we were winding up, up, up....at a very fast rate. Tony told the driver to slow down, which he did, for a few minutes. It wasn't just the speed that had everyone queasy. The driver passed other vans, cars, buses, motorbikes, and pedestrians around corners, on hills, in city streets. At one point, he put his arm out the window, then promptly pulled it back in because it was going to be hit by the on-coming bus that shared the road with us.
About 6 hours later, we arrived safely in DaLat. The other van was not far behind and they had a similar story about the driving style of their driver.
I had to laugh. It was another opportunity for surrender...another chance to put complete trust in my Father's hands. DaLat is charming. It is MUCH cooler than Danang, usually in the 60's. Since the hotel has no heat, the nights are a little cool, but we have nice comforters on the beds. What a joy to laugh about aggravations, frustrations, and mishaps.
Now, all we have to do is figure out another way off this mountain at the end of the week--the Stink Mobile is off the list as an option. (Hey, I said we are surrendered, not stupid!)
Bless you with His grace and peace today!
We are in beautiful DaLat, Vietnam, for a few days. A team is here and we will head for Cambodia in a few days. I'll write more about that when we get to Phhom Penh.
Ahhh, yes, the delightful Stink Mobile. We took a plane from Danang to Saigon, then rented a 14-passenger van for the 6 hour drive to DaLat. Unfortunately, we found that the van we had hired also had two other passengers--men who also were going to DaLat. Our group has 14 people. The van had a very peculiar odor, a combination of old cigarette smoke, sweat, and last night's fish. Interestingly, there were decals of Mary and Jesus, but Buddha was on the dash board. I guess the driver wanted to cover all the bases. And well he should have, because he drove like a maniac! But, I'm getting ahead of myself.
Because we could not all fit in the blessed SM (Stink Mobile), Tony hired a second, smaller van for those of our group with the weakest stomachs. That left Tony, me, the twins, Anna Mei, Elizabeth, Duc, Enoch and the luggage. We had no more than started when the driver pulled off the road and waited. Turns out he was also transporting three boxes to Da Lat. Thankfully, they fit under the twins feet. Then, we were off and running. The fellow sitting behind the twins and me promptly shed his shoes, propped up his bare feet and went to sleep. Slumber was a wise choice. DaLat is in the mountains of Vietnam, so we were winding up, up, up....at a very fast rate. Tony told the driver to slow down, which he did, for a few minutes. It wasn't just the speed that had everyone queasy. The driver passed other vans, cars, buses, motorbikes, and pedestrians around corners, on hills, in city streets. At one point, he put his arm out the window, then promptly pulled it back in because it was going to be hit by the on-coming bus that shared the road with us.
About 6 hours later, we arrived safely in DaLat. The other van was not far behind and they had a similar story about the driving style of their driver.
I had to laugh. It was another opportunity for surrender...another chance to put complete trust in my Father's hands. DaLat is charming. It is MUCH cooler than Danang, usually in the 60's. Since the hotel has no heat, the nights are a little cool, but we have nice comforters on the beds. What a joy to laugh about aggravations, frustrations, and mishaps.
Now, all we have to do is figure out another way off this mountain at the end of the week--the Stink Mobile is off the list as an option. (Hey, I said we are surrendered, not stupid!)
Bless you with His grace and peace today!
