Baby it's cold inside...

Hi everyone! We hope you're having a nice weekend, we sure are! We're currently enjoying a slow Sunday afternoon, using wifi at our house for the first time in over 2 months :) Now we can stay in on these rainy days to work on our newsletter, emails, blogs, etc., rather than heading into the elements to use the internet at a coffee shop. We're drinking hot tea, listening to Christmas music, with the AC on (Pedro's idea...to make it more "Christmassy" in here). Needless to say, I am wearing my winter clothing, and he is in shorts.

Here's what we've been up to this week!

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Photo #11--Coffee with Students: Some student's from one of Pedro's classes showed us a beautiful coffee shop in town. Everything was made of wood, and it smelled wonderfully of wood also! There was a huge pond with big gold fish also. We had great conversations and laughs. It was a great evening together.

Photo #12--Small group snack: Every week we meet with a small group to learn, sing, share, and lift things up together. This group has Americans, Canadians, Vietnamese, French, and a Puerto Rican :) One of the girls brought this snack from her home town in Ha Noi. It's "baby" rice, which is green, young rice, and small bananas. We dipped the bananas into the baby rice and then ate it. It was good, and a fun activity!

Photo #13--Farkle: Last night we went to another game night with some friends. We played the dice game Farkle, which we've really come to enjoy! If you haven't played before, I really suggest you check it out here and play with some friends or family!

So last night, I set my cup of tea on the ground so it wouldn't get in the way of rolling the dice on the table. One person rolled the (6) dice, and one fell to the floor, and bounced into my cup of tea!! It was incredible. What was even more incredible, was that later in the game, the same guy rolled again, and AGAIN one die fell, and bounced into my cup!! BOTH times, inside my cup, the die "landed" on 3.

Photos #14, 15, 16, 17--Danang International Fellowship: This past February, our fellowship outgrew the front room of the house we'd been meeting in, so we were able to acquire a new space. For several weeks, many of the men (including Pedro) worked to build this beautiful meeting room for us to use for our Sunday services and other functions.

We set up the chairs ever Sunday morning, without knowing how many will attend that day. Sometimes there is standing room only. Sometimes we barely fill a third of the chairs.

This morning, I sang in an impromptu choir for a song at the end of the sermon. We got the group together last night, to sing the song "I Won't Go Back" by William McDowell, to tie into the sermon series that will continue for the next couple weeks.

It is a great song, and the congregation really seemed to enjoy singing along.

So that's been our week! We're thankful for all that the Father is allowing us to share and experience here. Please let us know what you've been up to in your neck of the woods!

Have a GREAT week!

<3

Falliday Fotos

Here are some photos of what we've been up to this week!!

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Photo #6--Our house: 2 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms (with no bath tubs though), a wonderful kitchen, and cozy living room. Video tour coming soon!Photo #7--Our neighbors: Two doors down live these wonderful ladies. The baby's name translated into English is Pumpkin...! The older daughter knows some English and likes to practice sometimes. The girls call me Chi, which means older sister :)
Photo #8--Babysitting: The other night we watched the kids of some of our friends from the International Fellowship. They are here working at Bread of Life, a Western bakery & restaurant that employs young, deaf Vietnamese. They've been here for a few months, and hadn't had a date night in awhile. We loved hanging out with their kids for the night!
Photo #9--Juicer: Last June, before we left Vietnam, we were blessed with many wedding gifts from our friends here. One of them was a juicer! I have been somewhat intimidated to use it, because of the lengthy process of cleaning it after. I finally got it out this week after a friend told me she uses hers everyday and loves it.

Photo #10--Juicing buddy: My friend Emily wanted to try it out too, so she came over and we juiced squash, pineapple, celery, apple, and some unknown (to us) leafy green vegetable. It was good! We saved a jar each for our husbands to try. Emily and I thought it tasted great, and Pedro seemed to like it too!

Holiday Season in Photos

I don't know about you but I love Fall, and the "warmth" and coziness that comes along with it. Fall looks quite different in Southeast Asia than it does in the Pacific Northwest, but with rainy days and an early setting sun, there are enough similarities for me.

The similarities include events and activities that go along with the rain and early setting sun: staying home, reading, watching movies, impromptu dance parties, game nights with friends, baking with neighbors and dinner parties. I love spending time with friends, and also cozy at home. There's a lot of bonding and friendship building that happens when people are inside together, avoiding the rain & cold (yes, it gets cold in Vietnam!).

For the remaining weeks of 2011, I'm going to try to document our holiday activities and outings with pictures. I want this season to last as long as possible, so here I am stating that as far as I am concerned, it is the holiday season.

(I've been making pumpkin bread and listening to Christmas music for the past month...)

Happy Thanksgiving! Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

Photo #1--Fall food: My first attempt at beef, carrot & potato stew. It turned out pretty yummy!

Photo #2--Happy husband: Pedro enjoyed the harvest-colored meal :)

Photo #3--Women's Day with Victory House: At Orphan Voice we house girls who have aged out of the orphanages, in order to give them a safe place to live, go to school, and learn life skills with a Believing house mother. For Women's Day (about equivalent to Valentine's Day in the US) we took them some flowers to honor them. They were excited to receive the small gift.

Photo #4--Women's Day with Pedro: Pedro took me out to dinner for Women's Day! (He also brought home for me a rose and a Snickers bar!!)

Photo #5--Com Nhieu (Rice in a clay pot): Women's Day meal. Very delicious!

More pictures and holiday stories coming soon! Have a wonderful time making your own memories this holiday season :)

Blessings on you and your family!