#21

More from Vietnam--

Hello! I hope that you are having a good week! We’ve still been doing quite a bit of work with the contracts for next year. We are still working with three of the universities, trying to tie up loose ends. Sometimes things in Vietnam move so slowly. I want to speed things up, sign the contracts, and focus on our friendships here. Hopefully this will happen soon! Please pr*y that we will have wisdom in deciding where we should teach, as well as which schools will be best for the new teachers next year.  Right now, "Boo-Boo" and I are leaning toward teaching at the Medical College in OUR CITY. Please pr*y for us as we continue talking to the administrator there.

The weekend was full of excitement! I drove my motorbike to David’s house in the countryside. Just the ride itself was beautiful.  I drove through miles of rice paddies dotted with women harvesting rice and water buffalo grazing. Beautiful mountains made a fantastic backdrop. When we arrived at David’s house, we had to drive over drying straw just to get near the house. Then, to get into the house, we had to walk through a maze of drying rice. 

As I’ve said before, some hygiene issues that bother Americans just don’t bother Vietnamese people. While we were sitting and drinking tea, the chickens were running through the house and through the rice, eating the rice along the way. They kept trying to shoo the chickens out of the house, but it was almost impossible. We then walked down the lane, stopping to visit neighbors along the way. The neighbors were so kind, and even gave me duck eggs and a fresh coconut. 

Some of the other neighbors were using a machine, which they pass from house to house, to take the rice off the stalk. I tried to watch unnoticed, but that, of course, never works. The workers kept watching me, the strange, tall American, instead of looking at what they were doing. I was afraid one of them would shred their hand instead of the rice. I definitely said my pr*yers for them as I watched. We also visited the neighbor ladies who were picking rice in the field. They let me try my hand at using the sickle to cut the rice. It was a fun experience, and we all did a lot of laughing. They make it look relatively easy. It is definitely hard work!! 

We then found David’s water buffalo out in the field and took some pictures. The buffalo started snorting, so David held his “leash” while I ran toward the house. When we got back to the house, we ate freshly roasted peanuts. They were amazing! They roast them over an open fire. I could have eaten the whole batch! While I was eating peanuts and playing with the kids, David got a coconut out of the tree, cut it open, and we drank fresh coconut milk. Although I was kind of nervous about visiting the countryside, after all of the crazy things that have happened there, the trip went really well. 

This coming weekend is the real adventure. David, his girlfriend, her roommate, and I are taking an eight hour train ride to visit her family in the north. They asked me if it was okay for me to share a bed with all of the women, and I said it was. Then they asked if it was okay that the bed is wooden and doesn’t have a mattress. What else could I possibly say but okay? I’m sure it will be an interesting weekend! Please remember me in your prayers. It’s going to be HOT! Today, one of the teachers told me the heat index is 112. Also, please pr*y for me that I will remember the Vietnamese words that I know, and be able to communicate well with her family. Thanks for your pr*yers and support!! I couldn’t be here without your help! Blessings to you!

Love,

"Yogi"