Greetings from Vietnam! It’s funny to be sitting in a socialist republic and having every amenity of home except (gasp!) Facebook. For some reason, that just crosses the line in this country, but the word on the street is that people get around national security and have it anyhow. I will just wait until I head back to Thailand, and in the meantime, Buddy can post a link for this new blog. 🙂
It’s funny to be in mildly different Asian countries…there are so many things that cross over, but each holds a unique, distinct attribute…as we sat in the taxi from the airport to the hotel, both Melissa and I kept thinking something was “wrong”. What was “wrong” was that we were driving on the “right” side of the road…like Cambodia (and North America!)! What is unique to Vietnam is the ridiculous amounts of mopeds, seemingly triple what goes on in Thailand!
Just a sample of the traffic...the only law they seem to follow is that everyone wear helmets...all other laws remain unheeded!
Heading out to a park through the city...
Meeting up with our "rides"...nice intro to the city!
The morning after we arrived, we hopped on 8 different mopeds and assisted a local non-profit who is helping in various ways around the city. (We really have to be super vague about all this to protect various agencies, so the pictures you will see will only reflect our students…just trust me on the details of how they are wielding the Good News)…
DTS Students leading some games...
Our team is doing great…they are appropriately tired and working with energy and hope…they are in their 20’s, though, so they exhibit a natural resilience that takes me days to acquire. Pray for them as they transition from ministry in Cambodia to ministry here…it’s a new ball game, new rules, and they are trying to figure it out. I’m proud of how well they are doing, but I sense a need of encouragement from Heaven and not just air conditioning. 🙂
Thanks for praying for us – Melissa and I head back to Thailand tomorrow night, and I’m sure that we will be eager to see our families, but sad to leave this great team and great Vietnamese coffee…(this is one of those distinct areas…Vietnamese coffee outshines all other Asian countries this far!)
We love you guys..
Treating the team to some Indian Curry...half way through they said to me, "Can we get drinks?" On their little budget, they had been skipping drinks and drinking water in their room...so thank you to all who support us, so we can bless these guys...such resiliency! (Notice my TWO diet cokes on the table...hey, it's HOT here!!)