Heading back home

Well.....all good trips must come to an end!

We had an amazing time in Vietnam and are looking forward to returning and continuing our community development work here.

Our last day in Hanoi was eventful! We debriefed with the GVI staff. We ate some good food at Jaspas, Al Frescos and Cafe Moca. And then we went out for Karaoke. We can't begin to tell you how much fun we had. It was wild! Pictures will be up soon.

We are now in Taipei airport.....16 hours or so until Colorado! Can't wait to see everyone back home!

Our next trip to Vietnam is coming up in MARCH during our Spring Break. We'd love for you to come with us! If you'd like to go, make sure to get a hold of us soon! Write an email to mail {at} coolriverchurch.com and we'll get you all the info.

Last day in Bac Ha

Today was our last day in Bac Ha. We had a wonderful stay at the guest house and almost all of us slept through Kevin's snoring (except Brian).

This morning we had the privilege of riding on a horse cart to two different villages- Na Hoi and Ban Pho. Unfortunately, the horses were not able to pull us the whole way, but we still had a great time dropping off supplies to both schools. We were kindly greeted by both Headmasters, staff, and the kids. Both schools are in a beautiful setting.

We also delivered the blankets to the clinic at Ban Pho.

Afterward we had the most amazing lunch at Sa's home-stay. We actually had the best breakfast this morning as well. I am really going to miss this food.

After lunch and a few card games, we headed back to Bao Nhai (the school we were at this week) to drop off mosquito nets to the boarding house. The facts through out the week that we learned regarding this boarding house have been tugging on our hearts and we really did not want to wait until the next opportunity but to act now.

As we leave, I really feel each time I come here it is easier to come here and harder to leave. Again I find myself wanting to come back. Visiting the schools today reminded me that we are giving hope to schools and truly giving life through clean water and computer labs. It is wonderful to be recognized and remembered for bringing hope to a place. I know that we have made a HUGE difference here, and trust that giving life through and water and hope through computer labs will lead to an eternal difference.

A few more pics!

Now, isn't this the sweetest picture ever?!

Wash your hands or you'll spread germs everywhere!

Just finished morning exercises. Time for class!

ECO Homestay. This is our friend Sa's place. He built it a couple of years ago for the many tourist that are coming to the Bac Ha region. If you're coming up to North Vietnam, make sure to stay here for an authentic taste of Vietnam.

The feast at Sa's included this fine item. Yummy! Well...at least Tim enjoyed it!

At lunch each day we have some time to play cards. You have to watch Brian....he's a tricky one.

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Living off of the Fat of the Land

By Angela (with Bethany ghost writing).

Today we taught the second group of students. While fun and humid, the group wasn't as enthuisiastic as our first group. It may be because they were more knowledgeable and the training may have been review for them. Maybe we weren't as fun. Nonetheless, we were able to engage and they came around when we handed out candy.

After class was dismissed, we met with the student's teacher and discussed the conditions of the boarding house of Bao Nhai. Currently, there are 50 inhabitants - 9 girls and 41 boys. Each week, the kids get to go home every weekend, however, they have to bring rice and 10 dong (less then $1 U.S.) with them upon return to get through the week. The teachers pitch in to help out the kids as well. Our heart goes out to these kids as this allowance currently provides for rice and tofu. It is in our desire to help these kids out in the future.

The highlight of the evening was visiting Sa's guest house as he invited us over for a feast. And what a feast we had! While it was a meal, it was an experience in and of itself. We were able to enjoy seeing the land where the vegeatables are grown, the animals flourish and experience a place of a bygone era (according to American culture). We enjoyed the food of the land as we watched it go from crop to table and we were able to genuinely connect with our company which included our group as well as some other visitors.

We also met a multi-talented man. The extraordinarily diligent plumber who assisted with our water project at the school also assisted with creating our meal. We were very impressed with
his many talents and still are.

Currently, we are pausing to reflect on how hard working the people of Vietnam are. It's not just that they are hard working, they are also fruitful. We ponder and wonder how they are able to be more than the label we would like to assign to them so we can neatly fit them into a category. Tonight, we are impressed that the "plumber/chef" provided the most delicious meal we've had since being here in Vietnam. What is his name? That should be his title. Period. We'll ask tomorrow.

We have 2 more days in the country...so many possibilities.

P.S. We are technologically challenged this evening as our laptop friend (i.e., Kevin) is staying at Sa's. More pictures will follow when we are able.

Weekend Fun Before the Home Stretch

Greetings and salutations! We experienced a wonderfully foggy weekend. The locals decided to take out the fog machine and crank it out which made it spooky and mysterious. Here are some clear pictures that we were able to capture for your viewing pleasure.

We encountered this breathtaking view on our way up to Sapa...before the arrival of the fog.

Having some fun at Cat Cat. Tim (cradled by the team in the center) is a good sport. This was taken just seconds before we threw him into the waterfall.

From left to right: Thuy, Kevin, Tim, Brian and Tuan.

Introducing Thuy, one of our GVI translators. She became queen for a day at Cat Cat when she hazed a group of young H'mong girls into her tribe. They were, in a word, mesmerized! She left them with a wink, smile and some good olde fashioned pop rocks (but cautioned them not to combine them with a can of soda -- urban legend has it that this can be a fatal blow).

A room with a view. Here is a picture of the view from Angela's room that she was able to capture Sunday morning in Sapa before the fog returned. The view was absolutely stunning.

We embarked on a river ride on the Coc Ly River. We ended up back in Bao Nhai. It was a period of quiet time, reflection with some sporadic goofing off.

Sa's boy, Lamain. An absolute doll...

Make new friends, Keep the Old ones

Hello from Bac Ha where the humidity has become our friend. We heard through the grapevine that there is two feet of snow in Boulder and we are so glad to be here (although Kevin is praying for weekend snow here through daily devotions and reflections). We hope this news warms your hearts, toes and produces a good hair day.

Regrettably, we have not been able to blog as much as we would like but the Vietnamese people really dig us. We've spent the last two days relating to and enjoying our one-on-one time with the Vietnamese people.

After we met with the school and government officials about our work at Bao Nhai on Thursday, we decided to crash the dance class with the girls. It was rejuvenating and reminded us that we were missing Dancing with the Stars. We were dancing to "Physical" by Olivia Newton-John since it was just released in Vietnam.

Once we completed and won the dance-off, we were invited to attend another elementary school where a bathroom is being built. On our way out, the van was stuck in the gravel which provided an opportunity for the gentleman to capitalize on another opportunity to get some exercise.

We were invited to dinner by the teachers. We were afforded the opportunity to eat partake of three meats not typically consumed in the United States. These were goat, water buffalo, and pig stomach. While honored, some of us ate more than others.

During dinner, we were joking around because our hygiene lessons talk about not eating near pets and sharing food with pets, and then we found ourselves breaking our own rules (namely Brian and Kevin - see below).

This is the greatest picture ever that Bethany happened to capture of Kevin trying to keep the dog away from his pork stomach.

Today we taught 36 students two sessions of classes, each lasting two hours. It was a great time! Here we are talking about not sharing water bottles. We think that the staff, students and parents enjoyed the sessions although we didn't know what to expect since we are self-proclaimed hygiene experts. All of the students, including those not in this session, were very intrigued by us (and not because we're so good looking). We were able to engage the students but they also captured our hearts. They were willing to listen but Kevin was especially engaging, playing the goof ball (not captured below but you all know Kevin)...

During our afternoon session we played germ ball. The women and children loved the game. It was great to hear all the laughter. The energy was contagious.

Here's the whole group, including the moms with their kids. It was great to have the moms around to get the kids to line up for the picture.

Below is the water tank behind the school that Brian, Sa and the hired plumbers are installing. There are hoses attached to the tank that will go to different rooms in the school. This will ultimately be connected to two water filters bringing 32,000 gallons of clean, refreshing water to kids, teachers and all visitors to the Bhao Nhai School.

We are thankful for today.

P.S. (added by Bethany) And we are especially thankful for our Director, Angela! She pulled the lesson together and made it work.

P.P.S. (added by Kevin) I call her Master Angela.

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Fun in Bac Ha

We arrived in Bac Ha today (on a Vietnam map go north from Hanoi all the way to Lao Cai at the China border and then head west about 1 hour). It's a wonderful place up in the mountains.

We got in around 5 AM, freshened up, ate breakfast and then practiced our hygiene training with our translators. (SEE PICS BELOW)

We're headed down Bao Nhai now to:

* check out the school where we're teaching

* meet teachers, administrators and district officials

* do preliminary work on water purification systems

Tomorrow the teaching and installation begin. Can't wait to hang out with the students!

Note to Venture Vietnam Alumni: The Sao Mai Hotel in Bac Ha has finished a new wing that is beautiful. Air conditioning, nice showers, very nice balconies and WIFI! We're so excited.

Click for larger image: This is us pretend teaching the pretend kids about the 5 ways we can pass on germs. (Click on pic to see larger image)

This is us pretending we need to use the bathroom which is the number 2 way of passing on germs. I think we are very effectively and convincingly conveying the idea. (Click on pic to see larger image)

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