#11

More from Vietnam!

"Hello! Isn’t it hard to believe that Christmas is next week?! It rolled around so quickly this year. We are doing our best to make our room in Tam Ky feel like Christmas. We have a small tree with lights. We are on our second tree because the first one got eaten by rats, who also left other “presents” on our tree. We have some other decorations that my family sent last year. It helps make the season brighter!

Sometimes it’s hard living overseas at Christmas, especially in a small town that doesn’t really celebrate much. Even the students have to go to school on Christmas, unless it happens to fall on a Sunday. We’ve been struggling quite a bit lately with homesickness. We’ve been trying to come up with ways to make our Christmas here happy and bright. Today, I decided to bake Christmas cookies. It was a bit of a challenge with just a potato masher to cream the butter and sugar, but it really lifted my sp*rit.

I think of so many people right now who are dealing with far more difficult things than simply being apart from their family at Christmas. When I get emotional or feeling down, it helps remind me to pr*y for people who are going through really tough situations, like Nikki Sommersett’s family, who will spend their first Christmas without her. She is such an inspiration, and a reminder to keep the f*ith, even in difficult times.

I am truly blessed to be able to teach and serve in Vietnam, even during the holiday season. I went to visit Holly and her new baby in Hanoi last weekend. We had a really good time. He is such a sweet baby, and let me hold him and play with him. I was, however, thankful when I left Hanoi to not have to lug around a diaper bag and carrier anymore. Just as I was breathing a sigh of relief, I boarded the plane and got seated next to a crying baby. It’s nice to be back to quiet, calm MY CITY!

I had a “first” in Vietnam this week. I was at the ATM machine, when a university student came up and asked me, in Vietnamese, how to put her card into the machine. I was so happy to be asked for assistance, since in the past, I am always the one asking for help. I’ve never been quite so overjoyed to lend a helping hand.

Thanks for lifting up our friends! We also appreciate your pr*yers for us and for the other teachers, especially during the holidays! We appreciate the part that each of you play that enables us to serve here. Thanks so much! Merry Christmas!

Love, Yogi"