Welcome arrow Vietnam Trips Archives arrow July 2010 arrow 7-5-10; Bonding Friendships in Long Hai
7-5-10; Bonding Friendships in Long Hai Print

Welcome back! Hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July weekend. I'd be lying if said I didn't miss it. Fireworks are one of my favorite things and there is eating... Oh yea; and friends. I had the friends here but no hot dogs or burgers fireworks. I even tried to get my wife mad and see some fireworks but she stayed cool and smiled!

  I have not sent any emails since last Friday but our work has not stopped. All the teams are here now, Tom Pfleger left a couple days ago and Ali and Honey left Tuesday, leaving about 20 members of our team. I, too, gasp as I write this since I am wearing down and most of these members are fresh. Thank God it is God whom supplies the strength! Amen!

So the next couple days I am going to play "catch up" on a couple a neat programs

 

 

A dance Ali taught us
dance
After flying to Saigon and spending the night we boarded a bus and picked up 8 of the Grace House kids. The bus ran late so the kids had been waiting over 2 hours for us. We left for what I was promised was to be a 2 hour drive to Long Hai resort for 2 nights and 3 days. My friend Robert Barriger, a Pastor from Peru, always says never believe anyone when you ask, "How far is it now?" and their answer is, "A littler father and around the corner!" The trip took us 4 hours!

 

 

 

Bonding friendships
friends
I wrote something then reread a letter Honey had written for her family; it's better than mine.  After Honey's excerpt from her letter is a going-away note from her husband, Tom. What great friends they are. 

 

Honey Pfleger

"We arrived in Saigon on the 30th ready to meet the kids from Grace House and headed to Long Hai.    We spent 3 days at the beach and had a ball.   It was like a mini VBS, the kids planted a bean the first night and talked about what it takes to plant a seed, and how to nurture it so it will grow.  This led each child to draw a picture that would portray their dream(s) for the future.  They all took turns interpreting their drawings and sharing their dreams with us of what they wanted to be, pastors, nurses, movie editor, pilot, etc.  Robert encouraged them to continue to dream big and hold onto their dreams because all things are possible through our God! 

 

 

drawing dreams
dreams
Our team came equipped to make friendship bracelets, Ali taught everyone how to finger knit, and we made some "way cool" tie-dye shirts with the message of individuality and how God has created each one of us uniquely in the body of Christ.

 

 

 

honey helping a friend...
tie
We had lots of pool time playing marco polo and teaching some to swim.  We danced and sang and moved through our days as one family!  

 

On our bus ride home the children sang worship songs in Vietnamese that were so sweet to our ears.  Yes, we sing worship songs but the connectedness to the words and passion by which their song filled the bus brought me to tears.  I asked myself if I worship with my heart wide open like these children?  Again I learn something else about my walk with God.

 

teaching to make tie-dye shirts
ties
There is a different closeness I feel to God here in Vietnam. a deeper sense of my need to call out to Him.  It's hard to express but there is a vulnerability I feel here because everywhere you look your senses are bombarded with great need!  I find myself surrendered to the promises of the Bible and the truth that God is everything or God is nothing!

 

Tom playing Marco Polo
mar

 

Tom Pfleger

"I didn't plan on coming this year but found myself with an emergency visa dropping in to Da Nang to surprise my girls (Honey & Ali) to join in the fun.
Big surprise for Honey coz it was our anniversary.  What a precious gift to see the Hai Chau kids again, taking them Vietnamese bowling was interesting,
to say the least.  Laughter and high-5's all around.  The trick was stopping them from letting the ball go before the pin setting guard was up. 

 

Tom high fiving a bowling partner
tp
Visiting the houses we built last year and approving a new one is such a heavy experience.  One father shed tears of joy, which is rare for men in this culture
when we told him that we would build a house for his family.  Napalm mom, which I choose to call her, was burnt by napalm down her neck as a child.  She is
doing great! She has a new home, a bunch of piglets, life is good. 

The most joyful part of this trip for me was spending 3 days with the children of Grace House.  Watching Ali's friendships grow was truly amazing.  These kids have touched my heart and it was very hard to say goodbye.  As precious as these kids are in my eyes helps me to realize how precious we all are in
our heavenly Father's eyes.  God is good!"   

 

 
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