Christmas Blessings 2014

From our family to you and yours! "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:11

 

Fall Updates

We've been back for a good three months and have been slow at updating our blog. But here are some pics of what we've been up to...

Mini-retreat with our long-time teammates

Flooded courtyard on campus

Caleb visiting with old friends in Dalat

Treats for my birthday

Family Reunion

The Dao clan...

Caleb enjoys the annual gathering with his cousins!

Twenty Years of God's Goodness

Celebrating this month twenty years of God's faithfulness and goodness and mercy in our marriage as we continue to learn this humbling lesson of loving and serving one another for the glory of Christ. Spent our anniversary on the plane from Hong Kong to San Francisco.

 

Graduation

A little late, but here I am in Dalat back in June, with my ao dai!

Getting an ao dai made

"Ao dai" pronounced "ow yai" is the traditional Vietnamese long dress. Here with Andy as the interpreter I am getting one made for the graduation we will attend at the end of the month of some of Andy's former students.

 

Street vendor

Caleb captured this picture in front of the university. Note the container used to hold the lotus pods.

 

Amazing Grace!

Our old teammates and students from Haiphong came all the way down to visit us from the north for a wonderful weekend of fellowship. We also had the privilege of sharing with our University the American culture and more! Our teammates taught students the hula dance, and we were able to teach an all-time classic "Amazing Grace"...

 

Canteen

Our sister from Dalat visited us yesterday and we ate in the school canteen. Note Caleb wraps tissue (actually it is toilet paper that they use in those dispensers) around his straw to prevent flies from landing directly on it... But these fresh squeezed sugar cane juice cost only 20 cents a glass and is supremely thirst-quenching in this 35-degree C heat!

 

Sunday Mornings

Man ringing bell for service to start in 10 minutes

Caleb Turned Eleven!

Caleb turned eleven this month and some friends from Dalat came to celebrate with him. Thanking God for the past eleven years of goodness and mercy in his life!

All Creatures...

Visited a humble sanctuary this past Sunday in a small town half an hour away and snapped this during our visit.

...of Our God and King...

It is a temporary place until permission is given to build their own building...

 

Che (Vietnamese dessert)

I haven't baked or cooked any special treats yet since we moved. But we are thankful for the school canteen which is just across from our dorm building. It has a stall each for rice and noodle dishes, drinks, sandwiches, desserts, and snacks. Here is a bowl of blackeyed peas sticky rice dessert for 20 cents. It keeps me happy.

 

New kitchen

For the first time, we are provided with a real kitchen at the university. I am very grateful for the new kitchen sink and counter top the university has kindly built from scratch for us out in the balcony. I watched the men put up the bricks one by one. Notice the red strings that Andy tied on our ad hoc plastic dish rack so the plates can stand. We have done similar things in the past locations and it has worked well...

 

Tropical bugs?

We learned during our first week at the university here that having the lights on at night, especially outdoor, can be disastrous. Since our bathroom and kitchen are both outside the dorm room in the balcony, lights on in the evening had attracted these flying insects without our knowing it, until one night, perhaps during one of their peak breeding seasons, there were so many of them we couldn't even go outside to do dishes or wash up. We just climbed inside our mosquito nets and slept early, waking up in the morning only to find all the bugs dead everywhere. I swept some of them up in a pile as shown. Now we learn to do all the cooking before sun down and keep the lights off while I do dishes. We are told they are here all year round and are to learn to live with them even though they only live overnight...

 

New beginnings...

We begin the new year of 2014 and of the horse with new beginnings, thanksgiving, and joy...

Students helping with unloading

At Dong Thap Unversity!

And a belated greeting from our family to yours!