Well folks, can you believe it, March is here and Spring is just around the corner. Sometimes I look back and can't believe how fast "time flies." It's nice to connect with you, if only on a monthly basis. Being in a far away land, one does get homesick and there is nothing that can cure it like people from home.
Hang and I find ourselves very busy this time of the year. We look to our God-inspired goals, pull up our bootstraps, and get busy. Early February brought us some time off as the whole country is off of work for nearly 2 weeks due to the Lunar New Year celebration. hang and I spent lots of time with family: cooking, eating, and some travel. Vietnam offers some beautiful sites and the food is always good.
After the new year holiday, the kids and their families are very slow to come back to school and their jobs. It is so bad that some companies have worker shortages. In order to offset that, certain companies will offer a small bonus if they return to work within a specified period of time after the holiday. I am thankful that all my students are back.
Hang is itching to go back to the Highlands. If you've just tuned in and are wondering what "Highlands" is, it is a term that refers to a mountain chain in the central region of Vietnam. There, along with the rest of VN has quite a history, but it is here that a lot of the Vietnam war was fought. Many ethnic minorities live here. There is even a small town that forbids entry to American tourists because a resident ethnic minority group that fought with the Americans and South Vietnamese have families in the USA who are trying to fund another uprising. (Shhh, little known secret: I was there and left unscathed...shhhh!) Hang has great favor in the Highlands; not only with the people she ministers to, but also with the police. She was approached the last time with a very forward policeman who was very interested in becoming her husband! Anyway, as you may know, Hang and I fully sponsored the building of a water well in one community on her last trip. We would like to sponsor 2 more this year. Each well has the potential to reach many families that are in the vicinity of a one, since fresh clean water is hard to come by there. Most of the people bathe in ditches and in order to get water for cooking, many use the same water or travel on foot to a far away source. When Hang visits, she must bathe in a pond and take special precautions to drink their water. We would love to start a "better farming practices" in this Highland region and are currently looking for material.
Hang and I wish you all the very best. We love to hear the good things that are happening in your lives and we rejoice with you. Keep on doing what you love, love God, and he will take care of the rest.
Be blessed,
Chad and Hang Chism
International Harvest
www.intlharvest.org
Sunday, February 27, 2011
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