Happy to report that ALL members of the team arrived safely in Vietnam. Ben and I arrived late last night and had a relatively painless trip through customs, were picked up by Anna (Lou)at the airport and brought to the lovely AN AN Hotel. We pretty much crashed after that and then had a very leisurely morning as we waited for the rest of the team to arrive.
We went exploring the streets and shops near the hotel and found some great shops we may head back to (Ben was on the lookout for the best backpack deals already!). In addition we found a wonderful Pho vendor (That's Vietnamese noodle soup, FYI) and figured we had done well since most of the other patrons were Vietnamese and not tourists! The food was good to start with, but even better when we doctored it up with lime and the tiny HOT chilies we saw everyone else using, YUM.
We returned to the hotel after breakfast/lunch just in time to connect with Howard, Myrna, Heidi, Danny and Dan who had JUST arrived (talk about timing!). The group then had a bit of a meeting to make sure we were all on the same page and catch up a bit. Following that we split up into smaller groups to do our respective errands for the day.
I went with Heidi, Myrna and MiMi to visit the Grace House school. So off we went on a taxi ride through Ho Chi Minh City (that's a whole different story!). We were not expecting to see the children as we had been told they were going to be out when we could go, so it was a wonderful surprise when they were all there when we arrived! The ladies had brought photo albums to give to the kids of photos from their last visit two years ago. The kids went wild for them and LOVED seeing old photos of themselves, lots of giggling. We toured the new home they are now in, which is a very nice 3 story place with a roof-top patio area the kids can play in and also use to dry their laundry.
A really special inpromptu concert was on hand as well. Keyboard and guitar (most of the kids can play one or both) and singing. Apparently they are all big Hillsong fans and they sang "Awesome God" as well as one of their other songs (I have no idea the title). It actually took me a little while to realize they were all singing in English (once we hit the chorus I figured it out!) because of their accents, but it was so fun to see them all joyfully worshiping no matter the language. We spent some time chatting afterwards and I think they all understand and speak more English than they let on, but maybe they were just being a bit shy/nervous. All in all it was a wonderful visit and I'm so looking forward to seeing them all again on Thursday with the entire rest of the team for a big dinner and game night at KFC! Yep, that's right, apparently we are reserving a private room at the big Kentucky Fried Chicken here to eat, play, games, and hand out gifts.
They seemed to be as excited about it as we are. I think it will definitely be a fun and interesting outing.
Whew, that seems like a lot and there's much more I'm sure. Dinner out with the team was nice although everyone seems pretty tired now and ready to CRASH HARD. Tomorrow we are off to Phan Thiet (wherever that is) for rice delivery and other exciting adventures. It feels great to be here, the hot and sticky feeling is awesome (makes me KNOW I am in southeast asia), as well as the sights and smells of the city (both good and bad). There is no other smell quite like it...food, trash, sweat, pollution, spices, it's more than that but it is truly unique and hard to forget.
Well, I suppose that will do for now. It's difficult to sum up all the events, feelings, and sights in a quick sound-bite like this but I hope you have a little taste. The overall feelings for me are excitement, anticipation, love, and joy, and it's wonderful to feel all those things! Lots of love to everyone wherever you are and thanks for your care and support! More from Heidi tomorrow!
