V2-2010

Last Day in Hanoi

2010-11-18T00:04:00.000-08:00

Today is our last day in Hanoi, our plane leaves at 11:00 pm tonight. We are tired. The last few days have been super busy and fun. But all good things must come to an end!

Yesterday we spent time walking around Hanoi with Vietnamese friends. We ate traditional fish fry for lunch. We went to a store called Fanny and had the best ice cream ever, even better than in the states! We went to dinner and had our debriefing with GVI staff. We ended our night with other translators and GVI staff from previous Cool River trips. It was so fun to catch up, to tell them about our time up north, to hear about their lives, and to tell them about our lives. While on these trips, it amazes me how quick and deep friendships form. These Vietnamese people are such blessings to us!

This morning we headed of to an orphanage with a suitcase of diapers. We were able to spend about an hour with the 6 months to 2 years old (1o babies), just loving on them and playing with them before bath time. We were also able to visit the newborn room briefly as it was nap time (6 babies).

Here are some pictures:

There was another trip from GVI team from Australia working at the orphanage. They were building a recreational area outside (hard labor). It was great to share stories and to see the range of GVI projects.

As we end our time here we are so thankful for the various of places and activities we were able to participate in. We will miss the friendliness and community of the people, the food, and seeing amazing things happen everyday.

2010-11-15T23:35:00.000-08:00

The ceremony today was amazing! We are in awe and sensory overload. We arrived at 7:30am to a huge event. We exited the van and were welcomed into the ceremony with a procession of music and children waiving Vietnam flags. We were given front row seats at a table (everyone else just had chairs) and the sign at our table was translated to say "delegates." We felt unworthy, in shock, and amazed as we sat down and were poured tea. It was emotional to think that the tea we were drinking came from water filters we installed last year.

The ceremony began with around a half a dozen groups of children performing from the kindergarten, primary, secondary, and high schools. Here is a picture of the kindergarten performing the cutest dance ever, and a video of the high school performing a dance about meeting at the market and falling in love.

Above is a picture of half of the people at the ceremony. To the left of us, not shown in the picture were all the Headmasters of the schools in Bac Ha. To the right, seated after the students seen here were all the government officials.

Below is the actual certificate awarded to the school. In this picture the certificate is resting below the shrine of Ho Chi Minh. The certificate was marched into the ceremony.

Many officials both from the government and the school system gave speeches. Brian was able to give a speech to represent Cool River's work done and also GVI's dedication to Northern Vietnam. It was a huge privilege! He did a really good job!

After the ceremony we were able to go around and greet all of the headmasters, government officials, and teachers we knew from this trip and previous trips and congratulate them. I don't have any pictures, but we danced with the children and teachers to local music. We were able to dance with middle school students from our trip last year. We ended our time at Bao Nhai eating lunch with basically everyone who is anyone in the school system. We felt so privileged, amazed, and happy to be included in everything.

I have to tell you, Cool River and GVI, our church, our money, and our time, has truly changed a village! I hope we are able to communicate effectively the weight and importance of our trips here. We came here to work because we love the people and want to help, never expecting anything. The events that lead up to this award and ceremony are such a blessing! We were a part, but due to our interest in the school, the hard work of the school administration, and the government giving extra attention to the school, all of us working together has brought us to this day.

We are so thankful to be here and to have experienced today.

Our last day teaching at Bao Nhai Primary School B

2010-11-15T01:49:00.001-08:00

Water Fitler at Bao Nhai Primary School : We finished the water filter testing and everything is working 100%. The water filters are working to their full extent. The school now has extremely clean water to use for drinking and cooking. These filters will serve 125 students (43 of which live at the school's boarding house Monday-Friday), 22 teachers, and about 7 administration.

Here are pictures of the work done. See the previous post for details.

We will finish this post tomorrow, we have a lot to say regarding the school and conditions of the boarding house. For now, we are having dinner with some teachers and the Headmaster of Ta Chai (the 1st school , out of 2, that Cool River installed a computer lab). Busy, busy busy!

Headmaster's Lunch

2010-11-15T01:46:00.001-08:00

Today was a very special day for us. We ended our teaching time and water filter installation in Bao Nhai by inviting the Headmasters of Primary School A & B, the Secondary Headmaster, and Vice Headmaster. We wanted to invite these women to lunch to honor all of their work to make the students of Bao Nhai successful. These women at the school are very driven and true advocates for the students. Tomorrow is also Teacher’s Day, so the timing was just right to have this lunch. We also invited one of the government officials to join us for lunch. It was a great time to catch up with him and learn more about his life.

It was a great opportunity to talk with them about work, life, and to learn about each other’s lives. They wanted updates on all the people who had visited Bao Nhai in past trips. They also shared their excitement regarding our previous projects in the town. At the end we gave them a small gift and thanked them. We thanked them for trusting us with their students. We let them know we are always thinking of them and Bao Nhai. They let us know we are welcome all the time and they would love if we could come more often.

We feel so privileged to work with this group of women. We are so thankful for their friendship and for their gratitude of taking the gifts our trips have given them (water filtration, computer lab, bathrooms, retaining wall) and making the most out of them.

The ceremony tomorrow is for the Secondary School to receive an award for the school meeting the national standard. GVI with volunteers from Cool River Church have all helped the school meet these standards. Tomorrow the whole town, whole school, and many people from the government and other organizations will be at the ceremony. They have asked us to give a speech. We cannot believe this is going to happen. We are so excited!

They were even telling us how big of a deal the ceremony is for Bao Nhai. The town had a pre-ceremony festival last night, and it brought the town together in a wonderful way. Cool River: we have had a part of this amazing work! We cannot even describe how all we have done and the attention it has brought, and all of the resources that have been added from the government has created this community of hope, far beyond words. We feel so privileged to be a part of this work! We have been a part of bringing hope to this community!

More to come after the ceremony! We have to be at the school at 7:30am! It’s going to be an early day!

2010-11-14T04:45:00.000-08:00

Here is a video of our bike ride today. This video was taken on our bike ride today as we returned from the top of Bac Ha. We were not driving, we had hired drivers. It was a wonderful time weaving through the villages where we have done work over the past several years. It gave us an even better insight into how and where the minority families live in Bac Ha.

If it makes it up here it will be a miracle due to wifi problems! We also went to the Bac Ha market. We will post pictures soon! Today was a great day of rest for us. We really were able to sit and enjoy the beauty of the Homestay, go see a market and buy gifts for people, eat amazing food all day, and take the motorbikes to see how people live and to visit many different minority villages.

The next two days are jam packed and full of super important events. Pray for us to finish well, to be safe, and healthy. We are all really excited about the next few days, sad our time is going by fast, and enjoying each day to the fullest.

Catching up

2010-11-14T04:40:00.000-08:00

Please Note: The internet at the Homestay is not working so we walked into town to post this blog, we are committed to our followers. We have tons of pictures and some really great videos we want to post, but at this time we cannot. We hope to post pictures when we are in Lao Cai waiting at the train station on Tuesday afternoon.

Tomorrow is our second and last day of teaching at Bao Nhai Primary School B. Below is information about the school and our water install.

Bao Nhai Primary School B is set high in the mountains of the Lao Cai Provence in northern Vietnam. The school serves multiple minority group children from tribes such as the Hmong and Zoa people, as well as Vietnamese children. Rocky dirt roads lead to the school where some students walk as far as four miles to attend school. The primary school has a small handful of mentally handicapped students who are given the chance to master each grade before being moved up. The headmaster and staff are very dedicated and hard working often staying late to help minority students who may miss classes due to helping their families with farm work. A new water filter is now up and running (see Brian’s post) at the school bringing clean safe drinking water to over 125 students and 22 staff. The students are very attentive and quite while being taught but enjoy the games and silliness just as much as American children. While waiting for our lessons to begin the students sang several popular songs.

Installing the water filter at Bao Nhai primary B: The water filter installation went very smoothly. The entire system consists of a large cement cistern, one 400 liter water tank, a supply line from the cistern to the tank, and two water lines from the tank that connect to two Reverse Osmosis (R.O.) water filters. The cement cistern is filled by runoff from the mountainside near the school. However, this water is deadly. So, the water filters we chose remove nearly everything from the water, including viruses and arsenic (both of which occur naturally in the water here). Clean water in Vietnam is a huge problem. Most of the water is not drinkable so most people boil the water. However, this does not remove everything harmful (i.e. arsenic). Water-born illness is the second leading cause of death in Vietnam. We are beginning to address this problem with the R.O. filters.

A plumber that we hired installed the water tank ahead of time. It looked great! It was a professional installation! We were impressed. We placed the two water filters into two rooms the administration had chosen ahead of time and hooked them up. We didn’t have any power so we could not test the filters. Hopefully power will be restored on Monday and we can test the filters. This leads us to consider installing solar panels so the filters will work during a blackout. Once the filters were in place, Brian and a local farmer got to work on burying the supply line. One hour later and two gallons of sweat, the line was buried. It was clear that the local farmer spends all his days working with the dirt, so he completed 2 feet on ditch per minute verses Brian’s 1 foot per minute. Stay tuned, we will update you with the test results soon!

Guess who we saw?

2010-11-12T16:43:00.000-08:00

Tonight our team had dinner with the Colon family (Pastor of our church) in Sapa. It was truly a blessing to be able to have this time together. This trip has been a dream for Kevin and Amy to bring the girls to Vietnam. And I must say, the girls are amazing world travelers as they have explored Hanoi, Bac Ha, and Sapa. The girls were full of so much joy and smiles. It was amazing to hear their perspective of Vietnam and how much fun they have found in the simplest of things. And all of them have mastered the use of chopsticks! We are so excited to see how this trip will be used to bless the Colon family!

Pictures from Friday

2010-11-12T07:08:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of our outside classroom today (see previous post).

The students are very happy when we passed out the soap, toothbrush, and toothpaste.

Flexibility is key!!!

2010-11-12T01:16:00.000-08:00

Today one word rang loud and clear: FLEXIBILITY

Here are the various situations:

1. This morning our normal van was going to be late so we had to take a shuttle bus into Bao Nhai. The Health and Hygiene material is in the van, but will arrive on time. No problem!

2. Our shuttle bus could not make it past a rocky hill (the muffler and back of the bus was damaged trying). We need to walk to the school with all of our luggage since we are heading for Sapa afterward and a projector and screen. The school is at least a mile and a half of rocky road. We are already late. No problem!

3. A motorbike comes to pick us up as we walk, for sure, no problem!

4. We arrive at the school and learn that there is not a classroom for us to fit the 60 kids we are teaching in, so we will need to teach the class outside with the projector. No problem!

5. We set the projector and slide show up and start introductions with the students while we are still waiting for our suitcase of props, no problem!

6. As soon as our suitcase arrives the power goes out and we will not be able to use the slide show, no problem, we just grab out the printed out slides and go with it (boy are we glad we brought those for the just in case scenarios).

In all the last minute situations today we were able to work as a team comfortably to make it work. We felt peace and comfort and found joy in the detours. Today was never what we thought it would be, but it was better in many ways!

Day 2 in Bao Nhai- Visiting Middle School and teaching at Primary School.

2010-11-11T02:03:00.002-08:00

We started our day off by visiting our dear friends at Bao Nhai Secondary School. The administration there is amazing! And I must say the administration at the school is like a second family for us. It was great to sit around and sip tea and catch up over the last year and introduce our new teammates.

We were quite surprised our visit to the school . It was amazing to see how far the school had progressed in a year! The computer lab we put in was in wonderful condition and the lab is heavily used for math, english teaching, astronomy, Pascal, and MS Office. We then went into the schools new English lab. The lab had stations for 40 students, including headsets with microphones. We met the english teacher at the school. It was so nice to speak without a translator and directly hear about the school and her job. She was sharing her concern for the minority students needing to help at home so they cannot make it to school everyday. When they are there she works with them extra to help them stay caught up. She like all teachers at the school goes above and beyond.

We also saw a room that was being transformed into a physics and chemistry lab. The school has changed so much in a the past years from being a school with just wood desk and chairs to providing so much for their students. There is also much hype about the National Standard Award Ceremony on Tuesday. Bao Nhai is the place to send your middle schooler!

We were able to look a the water filters we installed last year. They had moved them into another room together and were using them to fill a big plastic trash can to distribute the water to the students in the the classrooms. We noticed they needed to replace the filters more often. We were so glad to see they are using them!

Next we went to the Primary School to prep for teaching, went to lunch, and were able end our lunch hours by going to go to the Primary A Headmaster's house for coffee. It was actually her house and a coffee shop. We sat in the back near a relaxing fountain and talked to her. She was a joy to be around. One thing she said that touched us was that we were all like brothers and sisters sitting around talking. I am just so amazed at the relationships that form so quickly here. She even delayed our training by 5 minutes so we could continue our time together. I later thanked her for the Vietnamese coffee she gave to us, it really helped in our second hour of training today!

Today was our second day of teaching Bao Nhai Primary School A. Both days we had 90 students in each class. Today went very smooth as far as the projector working, smooth flow of the curriculum, and attentive students. A highlight of today was when during introductions Brian said he liked music and the kids asked him if he could sing them a song, and he ended up signing "When You Wish Upon a Star" (copyright Disney...thanks Disney) to the group. The end of the day ended with our group handing out what felt like hundreds of stickers to kids. We were all surrounded! The kids are so eager to interact and learn.

Tomorrow we are off to start our 2 day teaching at Primary School B. Can't wait!

Halong Bay Pictures

2010-11-11T02:02:00.000-08:00

Here is a full view of Halong Bay from the roof of our boat.

Wednesday in Bac Ha

2010-11-10T06:01:00.000-08:00

Today has been another long but rewarding day for our team. We have officially begun our work in Bac Ha. We drove up to our hotel from the train, at breakfast, and had a quick practice at Health and Hygiene. We then drove down to lunch at our favorite restaurant in Bao Nhai. We showed up at the first out of two elementary schools we will be teaching Health and Hygiene. We met with the Headmaster, had introductions, and then quickly went to our room to set up. The school had a projector for us to use, but it was not in the room and there was not an extension cord to use. There was a bit of chaos figuring out whether or not we were going to have a projector, and moving our curriculum around a bit as 90 noisy 1-3rd graders sat and waited for us to begin. Our teaching session ended up being a "on the edge of your seat" fun adventure. We had props everywhere, excited kids both yelling out answers and raising their hands, and us trying to figure out what was next, who said what and how to involve all the kids.

The day was very tiring, but rewarding. We figure you have to start somewhere. And it will only get better. We were very excited to see the enthusiasm of the students. We were not sure if they were going to be shy. They for sure are not shy!

Vehicle count for Tuesday morning to Wednesday Morning

2010-11-10T02:14:00.000-08:00

2 boats
1 bus- off and on twice
2 taxis - one in which we were pulled over in
1 van
1 overnight train
1 van
Time not on these forms of transportation= less than 3 hours of a 24 hour period!
Time spent together as a team=priceless

In a hurry but here is a quick word!

2010-11-09T03:31:00.000-08:00

This is a super quick blog, more to come tomorrow. We have been in Hanoi traffic and have to hurry to catch the train.

Halong Bay was amazing. It was a time to adjust to and learn about the country and Vietnam culture and take time to prepare for our Health and Hygiene training. We explored the bay with over 300 islands on our tour boat where we slept. We visited a rather large cave in one of the islands, went kayaking at sunset, ate delicious fresh seafood (crab, squid, local fish) and fruit, sun bathed on the roof of the boat, and enjoyed the beauty of Vietnam. We also were able to meet fellow world trackers and hang out and enjoy our Vietnamese tour guides and cooks.

Words can only go so far, so we promise to post pictures as soon as we can.

Please pray for our time up north. We have had a few obstacles this afternoon and we even more feel our need to be up north and bring health to the schools.

Halong Bay

2010-11-07T16:41:00.000-08:00

We are headed up to Halong Bay early this morning for an overnight boat cruise. During this time we will continue to learn about the Vietnamese culture, practice our Health and Hygiene training material, and just have some fun. I doubt there is internet on the boat (you never know). We will update as much as we can. If you don't hear from us for a few days, expect a big post when we get up to Bac Ha on Wednesday.

Sunny Sunday in Hanoi

2010-11-07T06:06:00.001-08:00

Today was a great day in Hanoi. I'll give you a quick run down of our busy day and then the team can tell you their thoughts.

We started off the day with breakfast at the hotel. It is on the top floor and has a balcony with an amazing view. We enjoyed the birds eye view for awhile after breakfast. Afterward we walked around the area and took pictures.

Late morning we met up with our friend Tim (went up North with us on past trips) and our translator for this trip, Mihn. We took a tour around the French Quarter of Hanoi on an electric powered tourist cart. We saw so much it is hard to put it into words!

We followed that by eating lunch at Highlands Coffee overlooking crazy Vietnam traffic.

After lunch we headed over to the GVI Office for a Health and Hygiene meeting and prep time and then met with Sherman from GVI about Vietnamese culture. It was great to meet Thao, our GVI staff that will travel with us. Sherman also had really in depth great helpful information regarding the culture here and the differences between American and Vietnamese culture.

We ended our busy day with meeting with Vietnamese friends at a seafood restaurant eating wonderful Hanoi styled cuisine. All I can say is that it was probably the best meal I have had in Hanoi.

At the end of today, I (Angela) have to say this is the best day I have ever had in Hanoi. The weather was very comfortable, there was not a lot of traffic at the beginning of the day, and it was so wonderful to be with Vietnamese friends and not just feel like a tourist. I really feel comfortable here! Another blessing is that this is the first time I have not been jet lagged on a trip here!

Brian: Today was the most relaxing day I have had in Hanoi! What made it so relaxing was not the perfect weather, great food, or site-seeing (although all these were awesome). But rather it was friends. Both the friends that came with me and the friends in Hanoi. It was peaceful just being with our Vietnamese friends and spending time talking and enjoying the city, together. I have been so busy with life that it is such a welcome change to chill. I highly recommend spending chill time with friends, especially Vietnamese ones.

Christin: This morning I woke to the sounds of a busy city! Some sounds very familiar like cars and radios and some not so familiar like hundreds of scooters speeding through the streets. After a breakfast of Pho and a look over the foggy city skyline I enjoyed a chaotic and wonderful day meeting some new Vietnamese friends, touring Hanoi, and preparing ourselves for teaching up north. Today was a perfect way to start our work here! It was loud and busy, full of smells and sounds straight from a movie set. I feel like today Hanoi rolled out its red carpet for us Americans so…thanks Hanoi!!

We are in Hanoi!!!

2010-11-06T11:17:00.000-07:00

It took us 32 hours to arrive to Hanoi. On our way we enjoyed our stop in San Fransisco to enjoy some sourdough bread and then the yummy Korean food on the plane, know as Bibimbap. The team made a quick pit stop in Korea for Starbucks, and headed on the plane for Hanoi. We thought it was funny and also enjoyed the Christmas music and decorations at Starbucks and the Christmas music on the plane while boarding.

We arrived at 10:30pm at our hotel in Hanoi. We are all so curious about what the daylight will bring. Tomorrow will be a busy day as we connect with GVI staff, see the sites of Hanoi, and visit our Vietnamese friends.

Team Introductions

2010-10-31T11:59:00.001-07:00

Here's an introduction to some of our team members:

Christin Yorty: This is my first trip to Vietnam. I am a mother of three little boys. I am looking forward to meeting our friends in Vietnam and teaching/helping however I can. I hope that I can be a blessing and help to the staff and students in Vietnam.

Angela Weigner: This will be my fourth trip to Vietnam. I am married to Brian (see below) and work for the school district in Boulder. I am most looking forward to meeting up with our Vietnamese friends and the wonderful food. Ever time I am always surprised about how amazing Vietnam is, and how we go to help the people, but how I feel like I am given so much on so many levels.

Brian Weigner: This is my 6th trip to Vietnam. I am married to Angela and I am an Engineer. I am excited about relaxing with the people and getting to know our Vietnamese friends better. I really enjoy being able to use my knowledge to install water filters and to provide clean water and health to a school. Vietnam is amazing!

Venture Vietnam: November 5th-19th

2010-10-26T16:52:00.000-07:00

Hello to everyone out there! It's just a little over a week before we leave for Cool River Church's second trip of 2010 to Vietnam. We are very excited! Look here for post to come.

Final Thoughts

2010-07-07T20:08:00.000-07:00

We're at the Hanoi airport ready to leave. If I don't type fast I might miss my flight. But....wanted to make sure to get one last blog out.

Once again Vietnam has been an incredible experience and the lessons learned were huge.

Last night at dinner we reflected on what Vietnam did to us and what we would take back to the US. Here are some of the thoughts....

1. I will treat my family better. I will appreciate them more.

2. I will teach my kids about the world and about what really matters.

3. I'm humbled by this experience.

4. Work around the house will never be hard again

5. My life will not be as material

6. It reinforced that simplicity is important

7. Relationships really matter

8. I might move here

9. What we say is a 'need' in America is so out of whack.

That's just the beginning. I'm sure the lessons will keep pouring out as the days go on. We hope to share even more with you in the days to come.

Overall this trip served the people here in tangible ways but it also helped to recalibrate our lives. We are so thankful!

More Cool Pics

2010-07-05T18:24:00.000-07:00

Karen and Kimberley have hijacked the blog! Kevin is getting a massage. Jon and Bryan are killing the chicken for our lunch. Chris is in town at the market shopping! It has been a great trip. We are sad to be leaving this beautiful district and Sa's Home Stay. We are looking forward to being able to share our stories with you when we return in a few days. Here are more pictures from the last few days. Today we will go back to the school where we have worked all week and have a celebration with the school staff and local officials. Then we are on the train tonight and back to Hanoi to begin our trip home. See you soon!

No better way to see Vietnam!

Watch out little water buffalo!

Thai Giang Pho Village

Another village....Check out the rice!

Typical kitchen in Hmong village.

More beauty!

Kids!

More Rice!

We found a new water fall. The other one (past trip people will remember) has been turned into a water electicity plant.

Hmong dancing and playing! So cool.

Chris giving it a try!
The Market in Bac Ha.

Flower Hmong friends.....for only 20,000 dong.

Bryan...again making friends.

Karen showing off some of the latest Flower Hmong fashions!

Wanna buy a water buffalo?!

Teaching at the vocational school!

Karen with some of the teachers of the school.

Teaching excel and english.

Yen is the coolest translator and not a bad weeder either!

WATCH OUT!!!!!!!

One foggy morning at the rice fields. Nice pic Jon!

Mixing cement!

The wall.

Break time! Yummy watermelon!

The Wall

2010-07-05T02:55:00.000-07:00

We can't wait to tell you about our adventures on our day off (Sunday, July 4) but that'll have to wait for now. First, we want to tell you about some of our work.

We have been working at the Bao Nhai Secondary School. We helped to build a 6 foot retaining wall and drainage ditch to help the school with flooding problems. This was in conjunction with bathroom project that was completed before we arrived and a water purification project that we were able to finish as well while we were here.

However, the wall was where we spent the majority of our time.

We arrived each day to the school at 7:30 AM and met our new best friends (Bien, Dien, Tang, Thay and Duc) They directed us through the work. Mixing concrete by hand (we didn't get a mixer like the NorthWood team did...sissies!), hauling hundreds of rocks from 4 big piles to the wall, delivering buckets of cement to them, and doing it over and over and over again.

Each day we took a break for lunch for a couple of hours, ate and took naps or played cards. Then we went back to work for another 2 of 3 hours....2 or three HOT and SWEATY hours. It was definietly some of the hardest physical work any of us have done.

Today, though...was our last day. And we are thankful! Thankful the work is done and we can rest. Thankful that we won't have to drink 20 bottles of water to keep from dehydrating. Thankful that we don't have to carry another rock or another bucket or mix another batch. Thankful for an experience like no other working alongside some incredible people, laughing, singing, & joking. Thankful for the life we live. Thankful for our families. Thankful for our friends. Thankful for the jobs we have. Thankful for the place we live. Thankful for the food on our tables. Thankful for clean water to drink. And thankful for the all the lessons that we learned here about this country, about these people and about ourselves.

We thought we were coming to just build a wall. But, we hope you can tell.....it was much more than JUST a wall. That wall, that will stand for many more years that many of us will live, represents so much more. It represents relationship, friendship, good will, future, development, progress, restortation. It's helping to build bridges, build trust, build hope and build community. And it's helping to remind us that we are blessed beyond measure.

More stories and more pics coming soon! Stay tuned!

Say Cheese! More photos coming your way...

2010-07-02T17:01:00.001-07:00

Getting ready for some the best food in all of Bac Ha!

Laundry -- Vietnam style!

Bryan making friends.

This little girl came by the work site and started chipping in.....

But turns out she was only interested in making a home for her dolls.

Bryan testing out the new water filtration systems at the primary school.

The principal of the primary school with the new filters.

Here's some of the team with the construction crew (Bien, Tang, Duc, Thay, and Dien). Those guys work HARD!

NorthWood (another GVI partner) was working up the mountain. We stopped by before they arrived to leave them this message. You'll have to click on the pick to enlarge it and see what it says.

Even the vice-principal was getting into the action. Here she is tossing a very heavy rock to Chris.

Yen, our translator, poses with Karen. They've become quite the buds.

A little drum-break!

Gardening in the foreground. Rock handoffs in the background. Click on this one to see the everything that is going on.

I bet you didn't know that Kimberley had superhuman strength. She not only carried this rock weighing 1356 kilos. She carried another 100 rocks just like it and bigger!!!!!

The view from one of our drives. Amazing!

Kimberley and Yen. Cute, aren't they?!

Kevin and Sherman pretending to work.

Taking a break!

Bryan finishing out the wall.

Another view. Nice!

Water filter in the secondary school. A Cool River project.

Bathroom at the primary school. A Cool River project.

The bathroom at the secondary school. A Cool River project.

The computer lab at the secondary school Another Cool River project.

The curviest curve ball ever

2010-07-02T07:22:00.001-07:00

Today was an incredible day. Early morning breakfast, off to the school to work on a retaining wall, lunch, back to the retaining wall, and then off to our next assignment....teaching English at the vocational school.

But then.....

As usually happens in the land of Vietnam, we were thrown a curve ball. On our way to the vocational school, our guide received a call from the teacher.

Apparently, the English classes had finished and they had moved on to information/technology. So all of the sudden instead of teaching English we had an hour to prepare to teach a computer class.

No problem. The team strategized and mobilized. We were ready to teach everything we knew about computers.

Then we got to the school....

Apparently they weren't teaching about computers in general but more specifically they were entrenched in a month long training on Excel.

What!!!??!?!???!

From English to computers to excel.

15 minutes before class now. Panic is setting in. But we are here....the Americans.....and we've got to say something.

Deep breath. Kevin and Karen go in to stall for another 10 minutes while Chris, Kimberley, Jon and Bryan brainstorm and prepare a 1 hour curriculum to teach 30 students while their teachers and other staff from the school look on.

Yen, our translator, is sweating.....and she NEVER sweats.

So....15 minutes in Kevin and Karen run out of clever things to say and all the conversational English phrases they know.

In comes the team....stage left.

Chris Hanson begins. He talks about his financial planning business and how Excel is an essential tool. He teaches the students about budgets.

Jon Kopler continues. He talks about his work as a scientist, he teaches about plotting and again emphasises his uses of Exel.

Bryan Marshall is next. As a business owner of a technology and information systems business he explains the various uses of Excel for his company.

Then Kimberley Gibson is introduced as a student (which the whole class applauds -- and by the way, no one else got applause) who uses excel as well.

It was amazing. The curviest curve ball we've ever been thrown and we hit it out of the park.

We high-fived each other. We were very excited. They asked us to come back on Monday. OH NO!

We have nothing else to say about Excel. But we at least have two days to figure something out instead of 15 minutes.

Wish us luck!

The Beauty of Vietnam

2010-07-01T17:16:00.000-07:00

Vietnam is a place of great beauty. It's difficult to describe all that we see...from the terraces of rice to the lush moutains to the smiling faces. You really just have to experience it to know the fullness of Vietnam's beauty.

We are experiencing all of this but we are also experiencing something else equally beautiful -- Relationships.

The people here have shown us a hospitality that is rarely found. We have been treated like horored guest....like family.

Every meal is a unbelievable spread of food.

Our hosts honor us throughout the day with their words and their service and their kindness.

We are asked over and over to stay with them, to come over, to eat with them, to sit and talk.

They are so interested in our lives and have basically stopped theirs to be with us.

We're hoping to bring back some of this realtional beauty we've richly experienced.

Working Hard....

2010-07-01T05:28:00.000-07:00

Today was amazing! Almost as good as going to Disney World! Here are some pics to let you knwo what we're up to:

This is the school we're serving. Bao Nhai Secondary School in the Bac Ha district of the Lao Cai Province. We're also doing some work at the primary school.

We started off with a little weeding. We joined the teachers and staff in the rain making their garden look beautiful.

Then, we started on this project. A retaining wall that will help with flooding problems. This was HARD work.
We mixed concrete, moved rocks (big ones) and helped some of the 'professionals'.
Here's a little assembly line moving rocks to the wall. Did we mention the rocks were real....and heavy!?

Can you tell we were dead tired!

Each day we have been able to go out to eat with the staff and government officials from the district and the village. Pictured here are the principal of the Bao Nhai school and the Director of Education for the Bac Ha District and some other teachers and staff further back.

Finally -- after the hard work, we had another dinner with town officials. We didn't have any clean clothes but we managed to find these great shirts at only $5 each. We look good, don't we?!

More to come soon... Stay tuned!

Some Pics....Finally!

2010-06-29T22:38:00.001-07:00

Ok....here you go! Finally some pics for you to see!

Meet the team: (from left to right) Jon Kofler, Bryan Marshall, Kevin Colon, Sherman Chow, Kimberley Gibson, Yen, Chris Hanson (Karen Gibson taking the pic)

This is where we're sleeping. And by the way...that's a 25 year roof!

Yummy crepes for breakfast!

And then this beauty for lunch!

Could this guy be dinner?????

Bac Ha Arrival

2010-06-29T19:19:00.000-07:00

We just made it to Bac Ha after a 7 hour train ride and an hour and a half van ride.

We are staying at a guest house in Na Hoi. It's beautiful here.
We're eating off the land, enjoying the fresh air and getting ready for our work.
Our sleeping arrangements are in a large, upstairs room with several mats on the floor.
Our dining room table is outside on a patio.
Our bathrooms/showers are in another small cement building a few feet away.

This afternoon we go survey the work site and gather any remaining equipment.

Tonight we have a dinner scheduled with school and government officials who are welcoming us to to their village and district.

We're all very excited to be here and are already deep into the adventure.

More to come soon.....and hopefully some pics.....if this dial-up connection will allow it.

Welcome to Hanoi

2010-06-29T01:52:00.000-07:00

We have arrived safely and the team has had it's first authentic Vietnamese meal. Delicious!

We are using the day to settle in and get ready for the trip to the mountains.

Here's what we've learned so far.

1. Karen Gibson walks faster than any human being on the planet.
2. Jon Kofler can wear two hats at the same time.
3. Bryan Marshall packed more movies than underwear.
4. Kimberley Gibson can fight a thousand ants and win.
5. Chris Hanson shops better than any girl I know.
6. Kevin Colon can eat a double quarter pounder with cheese in under 45 seconds.
7. Vietnam is amazing.
8. The people of Vietnam are amazing.
9. The food of Vietnam is amazing.
10. The weather of Vietnam is not so cool. It's actually HOT, HOT, HOT......and humid!

We are boarding the train in a few hours. We'll update you as soon as we can.

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!

Leaving tomorrow

2010-06-26T08:50:00.000-07:00

Thanks to so many of you who are keeping up with us on this great trip we're taking.
We leave tomorrow night for an adventure like no other.

We get into Hanoi on the morning of 29th of June.
That night we board a train that will take us to the border of China, a town called Lao Cai.
From there a van will take us to Bac Ha where we will begin our work.

- Water Purification
- Building a retaining wall to help with flooding problems
- Finishing out a build on a new bathroom at a school (to this point, for 600 students were only out houses)
- We will take two evenings to to teach English to adults at the vocational school.
- After all of that we'll head back to Hanoi to spend a day with Orphans at a Water Park just to let them know they are loved and let them enjoy being kids.

It's going to be hard work, good work, fun work and rewarding work.
We hope that the people of Vietnam are blessed by our efforts and that we will also be changed by our experience.

We'll be back July 8!

Getting Close

2010-04-25T15:10:00.000-07:00

Venture Vietnam, June 27-July 8, 2010

Tickets are bought.

Team is ready.

It's time to go to Vietnam.

Start praying for Bryan, Jon, Chris, Karen, Kimberley and Kevin.