Greater Things Are Still To Be Done Here

Yesterday was our first day in our new church! We now have a bigger place for our expanding fellowship! What was more exciting than being in a new building was the spirit of the people. I was so moved during our time of worship, seeing people from so many different backgrounds, worshiping together. We have people of all different ages and nations and yet we have all been called here for one purpose and that is to bring His light to His people. I know anyone who enters that building will feel the anointing over it!

I have now been here for six months and the feeling of, "Am I making a difference?" has set in. One of the songs we sang yesterday renewed my spirit and gave me reassurance that what I am doing here does matter.

G0d Of This City lyrics

You’re the G0d of this City
You’re the King of these people
You’re the L0rd of this nation
You are

You’re the Light in this darkness
You’re the Hope to the hopeless
You’re the Peace to the restless
You are

There is no one like our G0d
There is no one like our G0d

Chorus
For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater thing have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City

There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d61LamkXfwk (This song is by Chris Tomlin but Kris Allen-a winner of American Idol-also sings it beautifully)

Even reading these now, I get the chills. This song is so powerful and why it is so powerful is because I know these lyrics are true for this country. He is working and He is gaining hold of this country!

After service we had lunch on our rooftop.

I love this little ones!

I love these ones too

Stephanie and Jillian

This is half of the group that got together to play games after church and naps

Some Happy and Not So Happy Good-Byes

February 12th was a sad day for Da Nang. We had to say good-bye to our good friend Melanie, whose three month term was up in Vietnam. She is from Australia and was here for her summer break but is now heading back to begin her next semester. Although we were sad to see her leave, we were definitely happy to have her here. In her last few days, the sun came out and we were able to go to the beach! We also had a dessert party for a final farewell. One positive about her leaving is that she will be home in June...meaning there is a possible chance for a trip to Australia at the end of the year!

Mel receiving her words of encouragement cards

Acting silly with Jillian

We are definitely going to miss this one

We had fun skim boarding and eating lunch at this cute restaurant

As for the guest we were more than delighted to see leave....The morning that Mel was leaving, a group was getting together to have breakfast. Lily and I were waiting around for our rides when I noticed a large black spot in the corner by the door. When I got closer, I realized it was not the mold I was hopping to see but the largest spider I have EVER seen! Just at that moment, our friend Stephanie came by and we decided on a plan. We moved the desk and our shoes away from the wall and planned to knock the spider off the wall and attack it with Raid when it hit the floor. After two failed attempts at hitting him and after the toilet paper we were trying to hit him with, landed right underneath him, we scrapped that plan. I then got an even better idea!...why not ask the unsuspecting guy who is sitting outside on his motorbike. Knowing inviting him in was probably way culturally inappropriate, I had to ask him twice with my puppy dog eyes. He was a little taken aback but eventually came inside and I immediately pointed to the wall. The poor soul gestured for something long, since it was in the top corner of the wall, and after a few tries, knocked him down. Instead of killing the spider he swept it outside and sat back on his bike like it was no big deal. I, on the other hand, had nightmares later that night and still scour the room every night before I sleep, to make sure there aren't any in my bed. Needless to say, we were not sad to see him go.

If you do not like spiders, do not scroll down for the pictures but because I do not know how this will post...I am sorry in advance if you do see them.

This first picture is for perspective. I was in our kitchen and this is not zoomed in at all but you can still see a black spot in the right hand corner of the wall.

I even squirm posting this picture....eeek!

The Tet holiday continues

During the year we only get one big opportunity to travel. Yes, we can go away for the weekend but the Tet holiday actually gives us time to enjoy our vacation. I could have gone to some place new like Cambodia, Thailand or up to Ha Noi, Vietnam's capital. However, I decided to go back to my old stomping grounds and was SO happy I did.

Day 1-I spent four hours at Highlands Coffee with two of my guy friends. I have been so fortunate to keep in touch with them this year but it was so nice actually getting to spend time with them. Unfortunately I have no current pictures because we were not allowed to take pictures in the coffee shop...I didn't quite understand that but here are some that help show why I love them so much. (Thien is in the first picture and Toan is in the second)


Day 1 (Night)-Because of the chaos in the downtown area, I watched the fireworks from Janell's apartment. I had a perfect view and was the perfect distance away so they were not too loud!




Day 2-Janell made us quiche, potatoes, and English muffins for breakfast. It was beyond delicious. After breakfast, I was able to meet up with three girls from our Vietnam team, Deidra, Ashley and Jenni. We took a trip down Nguyen Hue street which they line with flowers every Tet. This year was the year of the cat...in Vietnam. According to the rest of the Asian population, it was the year of the rabbit. But either way, we celebrated the year of the cat and Nguyen Hue was covered with cats statues amongst the flowers. It was definitely a site to see. I was just upset that no one informed us we had to dress up for pictures...literally, all of the woman and children were dressed to impress, posing up and down the street. After perusing the street, we went back to Janell's and were treated to homemade chili...it was very ngon (delicious).



Day3-Janell and I had a lazy day. I read while she worked on resumes. After trying to hunt down milk and eggs, which were almost impossible to find due to every store being closed for the holiday, we ate dinner and went back to her apartment and watched movies.

I slacked on taking pictures so this one is from last year but I think it represents her well...she loves to cook and she is darn good at it.

Day4-Because the sun was actually out in HCM, Janell and I went to the roof and read for a while. After soaking in the sun, I went to a house of my past students...I say students because I was able to teach three of them! We had fun playing cards, BINGO, and a horse racing game which is their version of Sorry. I was pretty proud of myself during the BINGO game though because they were only saying the numbers in Vietnamese and they would only let me call them in Vietnamese. After playing games for three hours, they asked if I could stay for dinner. I had been planning on leaving at 4:30 because of my flight but they insisted so I sat down and pr*yed they could cook as fast as they claimed. Sure enough, the bowl of soup was on the table within a matter of minutes. The kids and I ate while their mom and grandma checked in to see if everything was delicious. Because we were unsure of how quickly a taxi could take me back to Janell's, one of the girls took me on her motorbike. Every time we came to a light she would turn around and assure me we would make it on time. She flew back to Janell's and before I let her drive home I gave her a huge hug. It was at that point that I realized, I may never see them again. I have been so fortunate to have them as friends and I will never forget them. Anyway, at this point it was 6 PM so I flew up to Janell's, said a quick goodbye and headed to the airport.

(Alex, Jane and Henry who has always been taller than me, but who has grown up so much in this past year...I didn't even recognize him at first)

After talking to my parents about my trip, they asked why I had not gone somewhere new and all I could say was that I needed too to go. I had been missing people like crazy and it actually gave me the opportunity to have that one last time with everyone. Who knows if I will have time to go down there before I go back to the states so it was a nice goodbye.

Sorry to make this a long blog post but the day after I got back was my birthday! The night I got back from HCM, my friend gave me roses and mugs. Nicky gave me a card the next morning saying she would treat me to Indian! After an intimate church service (since everyone was still gone for the holiday), two episodes of American Idol and a much needed nap, Nicky, our friend Stephanie and I had a wonderful Indian dinner! Yesterday, a group of us went to the food court (the only place open) for a birthday lunch! Later that night we went bowling! I felt so blessed to have so many people come out for my birthday! Even though I probably bowled the two lowest scores of my life, I had a blast!

(I am sure you cannot see the scoreboard but it would say the persons name and for some reason it said "normal" by it. We had a few laughs about that one. After bowling we went to Pho and ate a delicious cookie Dawn made...I love her for thinking I was turning 24 however you need to add one more year for me)

chúc mừng năm mới

A new year in the states has already started but here in Vietnam, a new year is yet to begin. Tet is the Vietnamese version of Chinese New Year and trumps any New Year celebration we have back in the states. We drop a ball and celebrate one night...the Vietnamese prepare for weeks and celebrate for three days! We have not had our New Year celebration yet but our city has been completely transformed. Our river walk is lined with statues and flowers and on every street you will see yellow flowers or orange trees for sale. Aside from the new scenery, there is a new business all around the city...the people have multiplied and the streets are overflowing with motorbikes.


Because I was not here for Tet last year, I am taking it all in and I am not really minding the days off of work. Over the past few days, we have been taking full advantage of a break and everything the city has to offer. Saturday night kicked things off when Lily, our friend Mel and I went to listen to some live music at our favorite french bakery.



Sunday was filled with church which was almost eerie since NO ONE was there, an early movie followed and a photo shoot by the river.



Monday morning started early with a Skype date with the rents and then a pumpkin pancake breakfast. After taking our afternoon nap, a group of us went to an open air market that was FULL of flowers. I have never seen so many flowers and orange trees (in one place) in my life.





We had a blast taking pictures and talking to people on the street. I have been here for five months but it still amazes me how many people are so fascinated by us. After our time in the flowers we ate and came back and played cards. Reflecting on the weekend, we really didn't do a whole lot but it was fun all the same. Tomorrow the actual holiday starts and I am so excited to be a part of it!

This picture was taken on our New Years