#8

Another post from Yogi and Boo-Boo as they share the Good News in Vietnam:

"Hello! I hope that you are having a good week!

Although we miss the beautiful fall weather in the States, we have been thankful for a few sunny days this week during the rainy season. Some of you have just started receiving our newsletters this year, so I want to take some time to fill you in on the people who are mentioned often:

First there is Holly. I met her in Vinh more than three years ago. It was a really tough year there, but she became not just our language tutor, but also like family when she helped us out in many of our difficult and lonely times. She graduated from university, and is now married to a French man, has a one month old son, and is living in Hanoi.

Next, we met Anna when we lived in Da Nang. Although she is a practicing Buddh*st, she often came to ch*rch with us on Sundays and became a close friend.

Last year, we met David. He is a university student and my Vietnamese tutor. He is from a very poor family in the countryside, and we have had many fun experiences introducing him to western foods and customs.

Hannah is our friend who is a professor and comm*nist informant. We are glad we learned about her part in the gov*rnment long after we became friends. She was extremely resistant to anything pertaining to G*d when we met her last year. She has been reading a lot of Chr*stian fiction books that many of you sent with me, and she’s becoming more and more open to the G*spel message. After reading a Karen Kingsbury book last week, she sent me a text message saying that she learned so much about forgiveness through the book. Thank you for your pr*yers for all of our friends!! We appreciate all of you!

Last week, I invited David and several of our friends out for dinner. We decided to eat snails. Unfortunately, they were the tiny kind that I have trouble eating. One of David’s friends, after watching me struggle for a long time, told me to just pretend I was kissing my boyfriend, and the snails would be much easier to get out of their shells.

We also had another snail experience last night with "Boo-Boo"s class. The class is full of men who are gover*ment officials. They also happen to love soccer. Her class started at 7:00 pm, which just happened to be the starting time of a big soccer game between Vietnam and the team from the Philippines. They invited us to drink beer and watch the soccer game at a restaurant near the university. We agreed to go with them and drink Pepsi. Besides the snails, they also ordered chicken. When it came to the table, one of the men reached into the pile of chicken, pulled out the chicken lungs, and plopped them into my bowl. I was a little panicky, but then decided that I could swallow them whole with the help of my can of Pepsi. So, that is what I did. I just pretended that I was swallowing pills, and downed the lungs. I felt sick the rest of the night, but I really think it was more about my mind getting in the way than an actual physical problem.

We were thankful that finally, at 8:30, the two least inebriated men drove us back to the university. We had another outing on Monday that was very last minute. "Boo-Boo"’s class called while they were in class, and wanted me to come join them for chicken rice. It was 6:00 pm, I had to teach at 7:00, and I was still not showered or dressed. I tried to decline, but they wouldn’t hear it. So, I rushed and got ready in record time and went out to eat with "Boo-Boo" and her class. It was a fast paced, but fun, dinner.

Please pr*y for Hannah as she found out that she is pregnant and is now on bed rest after a scare and a hospital visit. Please also pr*y for me as I cover some of her classes. I just don’t feel comfortable teaching the young children by myself. Please lift up the other ESI Vietnam teachers as many of them are struggling with teaching and culture shock. This is typically the roughest time of year for first year teachers.

Thank you so much for your pr*yers and support! I hope you have a blessed week!

Love, "Yogi"