Day 3

Today started bright and early with us heading back out to the church we were at on Sunday night.  We were supposed to put on a program for about 60 children.  That was about all we knew.  We came up with a loose plan that included a story and some games but really were not sure of what was expected of us.  We were winging it for sure!

This time, as we were driving out there, I remembered to take a picture of the graves amongst the rice fields.  I'm just intrigued by why they do this.

 

Not a great picture but you get the idea.  It was really hard to capture anything between the bouncing of the taxi on the pot hole filled dirt road and the trees along the side of the road blocking the good shots.

There are tons and tons of these little "shops" all over the place.  They are so overabundant that we cannot figure out how they all stay in business.  Even in the most remote areas along the most remote roads, you will find them.  Some of them sell the oddest things like stuffed animals or live fish in baggies or birds in bird cages or toy airplanes and tanks. 

We arrived a few minutes after we should have because the cab driver was not sure of where to go exactly but we did finally make it.  The children were mostly already there and they were singing as we arrived.  What a fun sound to arrive to!

We had to walk down a trail to get from the road to the church and we could hear the kids singing the whole way there.

Even though the houses are open to the outside, they always take their shoes off.  I loved seeing all the little shoes as we arrived!

This is how we were greeted.

What a beautiful sound!

After a great time with the kids, we headed back to the hotel where we met with the Awana missionaries for Vietnam.  We had a great time getting to know them, hearing about the last year of Awana in Vietnam and finding out what the next few days will look like.

We had a few free hours this afternoon so we headed out to explore a little more of Saigon.  Wouldn't you know, we ended up back at the Marketplace.  I'm counting my blessings that the smell was not nearly as bad as it was yesterday.

Tomorrow is our most scheduled day yet.  The meetings with all of the Awana churches in Vietnam are all day and then we are heading to an English class in the evening where we will be helping people practice their English.  Should be fun!

Day 2

Today was our only free day on this trip so we decided to do a little sightseeing.

First place on the agenda was the Viet Cong Tunnels about 1 1/2 hours outside of Saigon.  To me, this was the highlight of the day although it was sobering and evoked more emotions than I expected.

This is not the place to be if you are claustrophobic.  I cannot fathom living down in the bunkers.  I tried to lower myself down one of the shafts and I got myself stuck.  Yes, embarrassing.  I had to have two men grab me by the arms and lift me straight up.

Sure, I'm smiling here because I didn't realize I was stuck yet.

Seeing real life examples of B52 bomb craters and real life examples of traps that were used against the US Forces in Vietnam brought the war to life to me.

B52 Bomb Crater

This was a trap used against US Forces

One of the entrances to the tunnels.  Obviously, this has been modified for the tourists.

I made it about 2 feet into a tunnel before I backed out.  It was hot, dark, cramped and crowded down there.  I wasn't feeling quite as adventurous at that point after getting stuck earlier. 

After the tunnels, we made our way back to downtown Saigon to the marketplace.  It was booth, after booth, after booth of the same stuff.  It was fun to see but the smell near the food section was unbearable to me.  I have never come so close to throwing up due to a smell in my life.  It's not someplace I feel I need to go back to, that's for sure. 

The Marketplace

Rick & Sherry

After the marketplace, we drove past a few famous landmarks such as the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Reunification Palace, and the first (and only) Starbucks in Vietnam.

Notre Dame Cathedral

Reunification Palace

Sorry, I didn't take a picture of the Starbucks.

Tomorrow morning we head to a local church to do a somewhat impromptu kids program for about 60 kids.  We have to do it early to avoid the heat and the probable rain but that doesn't really matter to us.  We are so excited to get to work with the kids!

Day 1

We got our first real taste of the true Vietnam this evening.  What an experience!  This is one of those times where I wish I were an eloquent writer who could capture what we saw, did, heard and smelled and to convey it to everyone.  Unfortunately, I'm not gifted in that way but I'll do my best to stumble through.

We went to a small church about 40 minutes from our hotel where Rick was preaching tonight.  The ride there was unlike any ride I've ever taken in my life!  The vast majority of the Vietnamese cannot afford cars so everyone has a motorcycle in some form.  How do I even begin to describe the traffic?  There are lanes painted on the roads but no one pays attention to them.  It is just a mass of motorcycles darting in and out of each other in every conceivable direction.  Some of them carrying up to 5 people (2 adults, 3 kids) plus the "stuff" they need to transport. 

Traffic

I tried to capture the roll of carpet but I didn't snap fast enough

4 people on the motorcycle, toddler is standing

I could fill a page just listing the things we saw being carried by the motorcycles.  Things like cases (8 maybe?) of beer, rolls of carpet padding (we think that's what it was), bunches of live geese hanging by their feet and stuffed into baskets, toddlers standing up on the seat in between their parents and oh so much more.  It was truly the most nerve-wracking and dizzying ride of my life.  Words and pictures cannot possibly do it justice!

The church is located in the "suburbs" of Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon (I'm not sure which I'm supposed to call it.  They are one and the same place.).  Suburbs here are unlike suburbs in Chicago.  The roads were rough and wound through rice field after rice field.  The oddest part was the cemetary plots in the midst of many of the rice fields we passed.  I wish I would have thought to take a picture!

We really enjoyed experiencing and participating in the church service.  Even in a different language, it was a blessing to be there.  We've been asked to come back on Tuesday morning to put on a 2 hour kids program at this same church.  I cannot imagine how they can fit 60 kids in that small room.

This is the church we attended tonight

Left to right:  Sherry, Jeff, Kerry & Rick just outside the church

 Stay tuned for day 2...

We made it!

It took 27 hours from home to hotel in Ho Chi Minh City but we made it!  To continue my streak, neither flight left on time.  Fortunately, they both made up time in the air so our arrivals were not affected.  Seriously though, I have the worst luck with flight delays.

We had a 5 1/2 hour layover in Hong Kong so I dragged Rick & Sherry to find the Disney Store there.  We actually had enough time to take the train to Hong Kong Disneyland but I'm pretty much the only one who thought that sounded like fun so we stayed safely in the airport.

We also found the Starbucks.  Ice Tea!!

We got to bed after 2am but I was still able to get a solid 5 hours of sleep.  I'll take it!

It didn't work out for us to go to church with Rick this morning (not enough room in the car) but we will get to go to a different church tonight.  We've been asked to come back to the same church on Tuesday morning to run a 2 hour kids program for about 60 kids.  So exciting!! 

After a relaxing morning of settling in, we were privileged to have lunch with several pastors of churches here that The Compass Church has helped plant.  It was a brief time but I enjoyed hearing about their churches and learning about how things are different (and in some ways, the same) than at home.

That's about all the update I have in me for now.  Hopefully there is a nap in my future!

Getting Closer and Getting Nervous

This trip to Vietnam is getting close.  Quickly.  We leave on Friday around Noon.

I am frantically trying to get everything done at work and at home before I leave.  Hopefully this exhaustion pays off on the plane and I sleep much of the flight away.  Hey, I can wish, can't I?

The flight from here to Hong Kong is over 15 hours, then we have a 5 1/2 hour layover, then a couple hours to Ho Chi Minh City.  I'm going to be exhausted, aren't I?

I got my shots.  Ouchie. 

All of my travel documents are in order.

I need to start packing.

We should arrive at our hotel in the wee hours of Sunday morning.  Rick is scheduled to preach at two different churches on Sunday so we will have to be up bright and early and ready to go.  I already warned him that if I nod off during church, it's not reflective of his preaching.  :giggle:

We have internet at the hotel so I will do my best to blog from over there. 

I'm excited!  I'm nervous!  Please pray that I get everything done before I leave!

Vacation

If you know anything about me, or my family for that matter, you know that we love Disney.  Our vacations for the last (who knows how many) years have included at least a visit to a Disney Park.  Most of those years have been trips exclusively to Disney World. 

While I would live at Disney if possible, I thought I should try to expose my kids to a different vacation destination.  I've been trying for years to get them to agree to go somewhere else or do something different but I trained them well and they only want to keep going back to Disney.

This year I finally figured out a compromise that everyone agreed on.  We took a 4 night cruise (Royal Caribbean) out of Miami and then drove to Orlando for a few days after the cruise.  This presented us with the best of both worlds.

What an amazing and fun vacation we had!

The morning after Matthew's graduation, we flew to Fort Lauderdale and took a cab to Miami.  I'm so glad we flew in a day early as our flight was delayed 2 1/2 hours and we would have missed our cruise had we been sailing the day we flew in!

Everyone loved the cruise!  The ship we sailed on was the oldest in the Royal Caribbean fleet and there was not as much to do as there is on many of the "newer" ships but we didn't seem to lack for ways to spend our time.  We had 3 ports of call.  Nassau, Coco Cay (private island) and Key West.  I won't bore you with details of each day but here are a few pictures.

In Nassau, striking a pose :-)

They had a great time playing shuffleboard

Key West

Southernmost point in the Continental United States.  Bradley wore the most obnoxious Hawaiian shirt he could find :-)

Matthew on the climbing wall on the ship

Caitlyn's turn

Bradley's turn

The second half of the vacation was at Disney World.  Sadly, I stink at taking pictures at Disney.  It's quite unexplainable but I turn into a big kid and get sucked into the magic and forget to take pictures.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

We did get to spend some time with ROTErs which is always a highlight.  We celebrated Mark's 50th birthday a couple weeks early (since I will be in Vietnam over his real birthday).  That was a dinner full of laughs and fun.

We were told to sing Happy Birthday as loud as possible.  We did our best!  Photo courtesy of Joey.

We also had the chance to meet up with even more friends the next day at The Magic Kingdom.

Photo courtesy of Grace

The weather was hot and the parks were crowded but we still had the best time!  I came home exhausted but full of great memories!  I know family vacations that include all 5 of us are going to come to an end at some point so I really cherish these times.

Graduation Part 2

Saturday, June 1, Matthew graduated from Junior High.  We left early the next morning on vacation so I am just now getting to post this.

He did very well in Junior High.  Better than I thought he might.  Academically, I had no worries.  He is a smart kid and was in Honors classes which he enjoyed.  Socially, I was worried.  Our Junior High has some tough kids in it and Matthew is not a super social kid.  I was concerned he would be bullied or something like that.  He wasn't and I worried for nothing.  That makes me happy.

I did not do a great job of taking lots of pictures but here are a few.

Matthew & Caitlyn.  Bradley had to work and couldn't be there.

Proud parents!

The Graduate!

We really are so proud of him.  He's a high schooler now!  Congratulations Matthew, we love you!