Pedro and Audrey

Celebrating Adalina

2012-11-09T12:50:00.000-06:00

In October we were blessed by our friend Hien with the gift of her photography skills. We always read her blog and have admired the beautiful photos she takes of her crafts, kids, projects and food she makes. So when we were thinking about maybe taking some maternity photos, she was the first person who came to mind. We were thrilled that she was willing and excited to take our photos! We had a great time early one October Saturday morning a few weeks ago parading around the quiet streets and parks in Plano, Texas.

Here are a few photos:

The following weekend, we were blessed once again with a lovely baby shower from our friends. We were overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support of our friends here. We felt honored, loved, and cared for by everyone who came. God has placed us here and we feel His love and presence through each beautiful friend He has blessed us with. We are thankful for LaShuandra & Minerva for organizing the baby shower and making it a fun, memorable and joyous day.

Click here to view these pictures larger

This week, our home group from church threw a double baby shower for us and another couple in the group who is also expecting a baby girl, a few weeks after us. It was such a fun time celebrating with our church family. Lots of laughter and joy! We've been a part of this home group since the Spring, and we've loved growing closer with them throughout the year. We've been reminded over and over again how God created us to be in community and to share life with others, and that we see Him more and more through the lives of others. What a blessing!

Liz, one of the lovely hostesses

Lily, the other mommy-to-be

So many awesome gifts!

Guessing baby food flavors

Wearing bibs of course, for the full experience

We're in the final stretch now, excited and waiting for Adalina's arrival! Hopefully we'll have her with us in time for Thanksgiving Day, but she'll come whenever she's ready :)
Thank you all for your support, gifts, help and encouragement through this time, we're thankful for each of you.

Getting ready!

2012-09-16T19:22:00.001-05:00

As mentioned in our last post, Audrey and I are expecting in November. What we didn't know then is that it's a girl! Her name will be Adalina Borges. We're still trying to figure out the middle name, but we're pretty set on the first and last. :)

These past couple of months have been great - so far Audrey has had a good, healthy pregnancy and we're praying for continued health, and a smooth delivery. During this time, we've been getting ready by getting some things for the baby. We feel very blessed by God, and are thankful for His provision. He's given us friends and family that have been very helpful and generous on our journey to become parents, and in giving us things that our daughter will need. From baby clothes to an infant car seat, we have what we need, and more!

Here are some pictures!

Pack-N-Play

Crib!

Baby swinging apparatus

Lots of baby clothes! Audrey often squeals at their cuteness

Aren't they cute?

Homemade Burp Cloths

Baby Blankets

Rocking chair for rocking baby (or daddy) to sleep

Stroller

Please keep Adalina in your prayers to our Father in heaven, that she may be of good health at birth (and after) and that our Lord Jesus may stir her affections for Him early in her life. God bless!

Summer's here already!

2012-06-02T13:18:00.003-05:00

Summer's here, and we can't wait to see what God will bring!

Audrey and I have been keeping a good balance between being busy and relaxing.

We're loving our new church, and we've been learning a lot during the current sermon series on the book of Galatians. We recently took the membership class, and just have to undergo a sort of interview before we officially become covenant members. Can't wait. We've also joined a home group, and it's been great. We meet every other week for Bible study/discussion/prayer, and occasionally we meet just to hang out. Last week we went on a picnic to a local park, and next week we're getting together for a game night, which should be fun.

Audrey's doing great in her pregnancy so far. She had the occasional craving during the first trimester, and didn't really eat a lot in general. Lately, though, things are changing. Our visits to Taco Bell are more frequent, and we'll eat seemingly random foods every once in a while. Yesterday we went to Krispy Kreme for National Donut Day and had a free donut, which was perfect because Audrey had been talking about donuts recently.

Speaking of donuts, I've been on the Jenny Craig program for about a month and a half now. So far I've lost about 15 pounds, and I have another 10 or so to reach my goal. I plan to be on the program for the rest of the month of June, and then I'll try to either lose the remaining pounds (if I haven't reached my goal) or stay at whatever weight I'm at. It's been good.

Some things we're looking forward to is that Audrey's parents will be visiting us in early July for a couple of days, during which time we're planning on going to San Antonio and Austin with them. Also, our one-year anniversary is at the end of July. We're thankful to God for a great first year, and we're praying for His grace and presence in our marriage for many more years to come.

Have a good summer!

Isn't my wife beautiful?

Setting Up

2012-03-21T11:10:00.002-05:00

Welcome to our apartment!

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Bedroom

Bathroom

Where the couch is supposed to go

Where the couch usually is

(we don't have a TV, so we watch movies on our computer)

Balcony

Living room

Kitchen table

(the missing chair is currently being used as the desk chair)

Kitchen

Entry way

(washer/dryer in those closet doors)

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Bye, thanks for stopping by!

Another New Home

2012-03-17T19:21:00.000-05:00

We have used the word "home" a lot lately, in reference to numerous different geographical locations: our house in Vietnam, the city of Danang, the hotel we stayed in for a week in Saigon, Puerto Rico, Washington State...and now, our apartment in Dallas. Our home is where we are together, where we are at the end of the day, where our toothbrushes are :) In Vietnamese, the phrase "nhà tôi" is used to refer to your spouse. It literally means "my house," or "my home." I really like that. Where Pedro is, that is my home, for now. As the Lord tells us who are Christians, this (earth) is not our home, "but our citizenship is in heaven" (Philippians 3:20, NIV).

So for now, for this season, our physical home is here in Dallas, Texas!

We've slowly been setting things up and settling in, so I will get another post up soon with photos of what things are looking like so far.

"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Joshua 24:15b

My experience as a teacher in Vietnam

2012-01-14T02:08:00.000-06:00

Teaching English in Vietnam has been very rewarding.

In the year and a half I've been in Vietnam, I've taught at two different schools. In 2010, I came here with English Services International (ESI), and taught at the Viet My English center. I had a great time. Of course, there are ups and downs to most everything, but in general, I had a great experience. Due to the way the contract was set up, I had a lot of free time. The organization I came with focused on giving their teachers an opportunity to get immersed in the culture and have time to build relationships, so contractually, teachers were to teach a maximum of 15 hours a week. This meant I had time to hang out with friends, and invest in new relationships that seemingly came at me from every direction (I taught a lot of students my age, so we'd go out and stuff).

My second school was UCSI Vietnam. I started teaching there in September 2011 after Audrey and I returned from the US. Being a new school, there were a lot of changes starting out, and it was a bit difficult at times. This time around, I didn't have as much free time, as contractually, I was to work 40 hours a week, which was a big change from the previous year (and now I'm married, so time became even more valuable). Things did balance out, since I was now actually receiving a salary instead of a stipend (I was basically a volunteer with ESI). UCSI focuses on quality education, so I had to step it up as far as my teaching went. This is not to say that VMG doesn't focus on education, but that environment is a bit more relaxed in that sense.

Even though the two schools I've taught at are different, the teaching experience itself is very similar. Teachers are valued and respected in Vietnam. Students are friendly, and want to get to know and spend time with their teachers. I've been able to get to know quite a few students, and in some way or another, God has allowed me to make a difference in their lives. Whether it's by teaching them English, good values (sometimes the lessons would involve talking about values, perspectives, etc), or even sharing His truth with them as friends (of course, it's not allowed in the classroom), I have been blessed by being in my position.

Right now, I only have one more week as an English teacher in this country. Next Sunday, Audrey and I will go to Saigon for one week, and when we return we'll have about a week and a half in Da Nang before we go back to the States "for good". I will return to the company I was working for before coming to Vietnam, working as a software engineer. It comes as a bittersweet thing, since I've really enjoyed my time in this country and I know that I will miss it, but I'm also looking forward to returning to the States and doing life there.

Even though I know it'll be sad to leave, I'm still thankful that I followed God's leading in coming here. The relationships I've made, the blessings I've received, the growth I've obtained, and the things I've seen are all things I know I'll treasure. And that would be my advice to you: if you feel God leading you to do something, no matter how difficult or costly it may seem, just go for it*. It'll be worth it.

These were the very first students I taught in VN. They became really good friends,

and I still hang out with them from time to time.

These are the highest level students I got to teach. They're so young, too!

I taught these students for a WHILE. Got to know them pretty well.

This is one of my latest groups. They were a fun class!

*of course, I would also suggest that you pr.y about it, consult the Bble, discuss it with Godly people, and in general make sure it's actually His leading and not just a desire of your heart or whatever

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

2011-12-30T23:01:00.007-06:00

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year friends!

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Photos #74, 75--Christmas (Eve Eve) Lunch: Bread of Life had a Christmas lunch on Dec 23rd, since Christmas was on Sunday, and they are closed on Sundays. We went and had a great meal! You can see in the background also, they had old Christmas movies playing :)

When we walked out of the restaurant after lunch, this is what we saw. Some friends had told us there was a fire nearby, and we'd seen the people looking down the street at something, so we finally saw it when we left. It was about 4 shops down from the restaurant. We haven't heard of anyone being harmed, but the fire was very bad.

Photos #76, 77--Superkids Christmas Gala: Superkids English Center is the school I first came to Vietnam to teach at, and I taught there for over a year. We're good friends with the owners and some teachers there, and they invited our "choir" from the international fellowship to sing during their Christmas program on Christmas Eve Eve.

Photo #78--Christmas Eve Service: On Christmas Eve we went to the Vietnamese chrch. We got to see many wonderful performances of songs and readings. We also sang a medley as the DIF Choir, but I'm still waiting to get photos of that from a friend. Here are some of the children who performed. Click here for the video, they are adorable.

Photos #79, 80--Christmas Night: On Christmas night we spent the night in Hoi An. We found a decent, inexpensive hotel online, and when we arrived, they upgraded us! Merry Christmas to us :) We ate Cao Lau on the river (literally, the table was about an inch from dropping into the water). Cao Lau is a food special to Hoi An. It was yummy, and such a great atmosphere.
A few weeks ago we had noticed a tiny chrch tucked into a wall in an alley in Hoi An. When we passed it on Christmas, it was all lit up, just glorious.
Photo #81--Baking: I taught our Korean friends how to make pumpkin bread. Sally here, wanted to do everything, and she poured and stirred very well. She has grown up so much recently!
Photo #82--Neighbor Girls: Bi Do (Pumpkin) and her older sister Tam, often come by to chat or play. This week the were inspecting the Christmas tree again, and wanting me to take photos of them/with them. Bi Do had her hood on like that all day long.

Photo #83--Happy New Year!: Pedro has been teaching English to the staff at a local resort, Sandy Beach. We went there for dinner this week using some birthday money I was instructed to use ONLY for a date with my husband :) It was lots of fun, and some of Pedro's students we were working so we got to see them in action. There were some fun decorations around the property also...

Happy New Year! May 2012 bring you more faith, love, peace and joy from our Heavenly Father.

Christmas Parties & Fun!

2011-12-21T01:06:00.009-06:00

This week, Pedro and I celebrated my birthday, helped out with three Christmas parties at 3 orphanages, one Christmas party at UCSI, and did some other fun Christmas traditions! :)

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Photo #60--Phu Ninh Party: On Thursday we went to the therapy center in Phu Ninh for the Christmas party there. Phu Ninh is the district I've been working with this past year. There are 60+ children with disabilities we serve there, so planning a Christmas party was a little different. We had to make it more like entertainment rather than activity, like we planned for the orphanages. It was great, and the kids had fun! Here's a group shot, after Santa delivered some gifts.

Photos #61, 62--Birthday Date: For my birthday on Thursday, Pedro took me to Hoi An for Mexican food!! :) Well, I ordered the Mexican option, and he got a burger. It was delicious! After dinner we went to our favorite dessert shop for chocolate mousse cake (Audrey) and passion fruit mousse cake (Pedro), American latte (Pedro), and mint tea (Audrey). It was a very special night, I am thankful for Pedro making me feel so special!

Photos #63, 64, 65--Promise House Party: On Saturday we had a party at the local orphanage. Pedro also helped us at this party last year, so the kids remembered him and were surprised he was my husband this year :) The kids had fun running around playing games, making tree ornaments, receiving gifts...and playing with the gift boxes!

Photos #66, 67, 68--UCSI Party: After the Promise House party, we went on over to Pedro's work Christmas party at UCSI. They organized a party for the students, staff, and other guests. There were performances by students and staff, and some Truth centered stories and Christmas songs presented. It was very nice! Pedro prepared some Coconut Kisses for the party, which he made from fresh coconut! One of our neighbors saw him cracking the coconut on our front porch and came over to assist.

Here's a photo from the skit Pedro did with some of his co-workers. If you want to see the video (which is quite funny) click here to watch.

Photos #69, 70--Visiting Santa: After the Promise House party, and the UCSI party, we decided to go see a movie. Oddly enough, we also went to a movie last year after the Promise House party, and ended up going alone because none of our friends wanted to go...! We were just friends still :) Last year, we took this picture at the movie theater with Santa.

So we took one again this year (showing our wedding rings for dramatic time-elapse effect)!

Photos #71, 72, 73--Dai Loc Party: Sunday after chrch, we went to an orphanage outside of Danang for the Christmas party there. We had the kids make ornaments for the Christmas tree, then we led them through some "Minute to Win It" games, which was great! After that we had dinner, told the Christmas story, and gave them gifts.

We hope you have a very joyful and merry Christmas! We are thankful for each of you and are prying you will experience a renewing of your faith this season, as you experience the Love, Peace, Hope and Joy of our Savior.

Celebrations!

2011-12-14T03:49:00.004-06:00

We had a week full of celebrations, and there's still more yet to come!

December is a great (and busy) month :)

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Photos #53, 54--Bridal Shower: Our Australian friend from chrch, Derrick, had a wedding this weekend! A couple days before the wedding, the women at chrch had a bridal shower for the bride, Hien. It was a lot of fun to bless her and welcome her to the international community. She got a lot of wonderful things to start building her new home!

Photos #55, 56--Rainy Wedding: Saturday was Derrick & Hien's special day. It was a beautiful ceremony, focused on the Lrd. They did a great job of integrating both cultures into the ceremony. Pedro's boss Charlie, is half Vietnamese and half Canadian. He performed the ceremony in both Vietnamese and English!
Photo #57--Seafood Dinner: This is Peter and his wife Sunny. They both have been Pedro's students this year, but currently just Sunny is studying in his class. We met them for dinner on the beach this week. We had a nice, spicy, seafood meal, and a great time talking and getting to know them better. They are very sweet, genuine people.
Photos #58, 59--Birthday Party: Last night we celebrated my birthday with some friends. I made some fudge, Pedro made Coconut Kisses (from a fresh coconut he cracked and grated!), one friend made a delicious, rich, dark chocolate cake (see picture), and some other friends brought varying delicious treats. We had tea & coffee, at desserts, and played Articulate! It was a wonderful, memorable evening and I am so thankful to have such great friends to celebrate with. AND an incredible husband to organize it all :)
We hope you're having a great week and finding much to celebrate!

Merry Christmas!

Monkey & Snakes

2011-12-07T20:07:00.008-06:00

Hi friends! We've been busy this week, but are enjoying everything that comes with Christmas time and the end of the year. Thanks for checking in on us, we love sharing with you!

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Photo #43--Monkeys: I was at the orphanage this week, and the kids were climbing all over the place (and me)! They love having their pictures taken and looking at them right away. It's cute to see them judge the photo, and then decide a better pose to try :)

Photos #44, 45, 46--Tree Building: This was my first time building a Christmas tree. It was funny putting each little branch in its place, but overall it was quick & easy! The tree looks quite real, and we don't have to worry about it getting moldy (like many indoor plants get here) or drying up.

Photos #47, 48--Our First Christmas: We received a beautiful tree ornament as a gift from a couple we love and look up to. It's a white dove, with "Love" written on it. On the back, they wrote "1st Christmas, 2011" :) It was the first ornament we hung on our tree.

Photos #49, 50--Date Fright: Ok, not really fright. We went to this awesome (looking) restaurant for date night. It was beautifully lit and very jungly. We sat down, and looked at the menu, and we noticed a big cage down below the area we were sitting. In it we saw a huge snake! We carried on looking at the menu, and finally decided what we wanted, and ordered. We realized we were the ONLY customers, so we figured we would get our food quickly. We had seen many people at the restaurant before, so we thought it was popular. Less than five minutes after ordering, the waitress came back and told us they didn't have any food, except one soup dish (which we didn't want because we have it often). No food?? No wonder we were the only ones!

Photos #51, 52--Sandy Beach Party: One of the English classes Pedro teaches is for a group of staff from a local resort called Sandy Beach. They invited him to their year-end staff appreciation party. It was a nice event, with a 7 course meal, awards, prizes and great performances put on by different individuals and groups of staff members. One of Pedro's students won "Employee of the Year"!!

We hope you're getting to enjoy time with family and are able to remember the importance of the Christmas season. :)

Lots of love!

Fun & Games

2011-11-29T03:09:00.006-06:00

Hey everyone! We hope you had a great Thanksgiving weekend. Here's a little of what we've been up to this week!

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Photo #32--Human Skeleton: Last year, I lived with a Korean family that goes to the international fellowship here. A few times a week, I would teach the two children English, science, math and Bble. The mom asked me to still teach some after I got married, but I haven't had a lot of free time. Recently we worked out our schedules so I can come to their house once a week for dinner and teaching, while Pedro is teaching late. The mom always sends dinner home with me for Pedro :)

This is John. Right now we're studying the body systems.

Photos #33, 34--Our first Thanksgiving!: Though Pedro & I also spent Thanksgiving together last year, this was our first Thanksgiving as a family :) We had a great time celebrating with our friends and family in Vietnam.

Photo #35--Turkey Pot Pie: The day after Thanksgiving we went to the Western restaurant, Bread of Life, for their Thanksgiving leftover special, Turkey Pot Pie. It was delicious!

Photo #36--Bananagrams!: Friday night Pedro got home from work and was telling me that he played Bananagrams with some students at work. He didn't know we had the game at home (we'd never played it together before), so I told him, and we played a game after dinner. It came down to 1 tile each at the end, and Pedro won.

Photo #37--Dentist: Saturday morning we went to the dentist for check-ups/cleanings. It's $5-$10 for a cleaning!! My sensitive little teeth had a few cavities (yuck), but I got them filled then & there, and we walked away paying a total of $40! A great investment if you ask me.

Photos #38, 39, 40--UCSI Picnic: On Saturday afternoon, UCSI (the English center where Pedro works) had a picnic to celebrate the end of the term. There were games, snacks and cake! We had a fun time seeing Pedro's students and the UCSI staff. Yummy cake too!

Photo #41--Amazing Art: One of Pedro's students is in university, studying interior design. We knew she was a good artist by the drawing assignments we've seen her post on Facebook. We were surprised and very touched this week when she presented us with this drawing she made for us. She is a sweet girl, and we are very blessed by this thoughtful gift.

Photo #42--Home for Christmas: Though we're not "home" where our families are for Christmas this year, we're making our home here feel Christmassy nonetheless. (Use your imagination with the TV in the photo...we had the movie Elf playing!)

Have a wonderful week! Please let us know how you're doing and what you've been up to!

theborgeses@gmail.com

Home is Where the Heart is

2011-11-22T01:13:00.007-06:00

Hello friends! We hope you're enjoying this Thanksgiving week! We're thankful this week for our meetings with friends & students, Christmas music, singing & nesting. :)

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Photos #23, 24, 25, 26, 27--Nesting: Since we received our wedding photos last week, I printed some off and found some nice frames (not an easy task), and started nesting a bit more!

We also found some nice scripture wall hangings, in Vietnamese and English:

This one in Vietnamese is Joshua 24:15b--"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

When I went to print some wedding photos, I forgot that photo measurements here are in centimeters not inches. So when I asked for 6x8, I got 6cm x 8cm...smaller than expected! So I made this with the "oops" photos.

Photo #28--Orange Juice: Pedro & I have both been sniffling and sneezing a little this week, so I bought a kilo of oranges to make orange juice. Prayer + Vitamin C = Healthy Borgeses!

Photo #29--Joining the Choir: If you followed our separate blogs in March of this year, you know that Pedro & I both participated in singing at the Vietnamese church for the 100 year celebration of the church in Vietnam. We sang one night with the Vietnamese church choir (in Vietnamese) and another night singing "Prince of Peace" in English with the International Fellowship. The VN church invited the international church to sing again at their Christmas Eve service. This Sunday we had our first choir practice. We've broken up to sing a 4 part harmony, and it sounds great! Here's Pedro singing with the bass section:

Photos #30 & 31--Happy Teacher's Day!: November 20th was Teacher's day, which is another greatly celebrated holiday in Vietnam. Like on Women's Day, the streets are lined with people selling flower arrangements. Pedro came home from teaching with a flower basket and homemade cake! The next day some of his students came over for dinner and brought a basket as well!

Bless you this week as you reflect on the many provisions and blessings you experience in your life. Give thanks to Him!!

Welcome to our home!

2011-11-15T03:14:00.002-06:00

We wanted to show you where we live, so we made a little video tour of our house. Enjoy!

Video tour

If the link above doesn't work, copy & paste the link below into your browser:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_BcgaKXESM

Unpredictable (but great) weather

2011-11-14T03:00:00.009-06:00

Happy Mid-November! We can't believe how quickly time is flying by...next week is Thanksgiving, and soon December will be here! We're thankful for each day and each week we enjoy here. Here's what's been happening in our lives lately:

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Photo #18--Jackets: It's finally cold enough that we're wearing jackets and drinking hot coffee!!

Photo #19--Pizza Wonderland: We had a spontaneous date night in Hoi An this week. Usually we plan date nights a few days in advance, but this was on a whim! On our last date night we went to a movie, and on the back of our ticket stub there was a 40% discount for pizza at one of our favorite restaurants, Al Fresco's! We enjoyed this yummy pizza on the patio of a beautiful, dry evening.

Photo #20--Quiche-erole: I made this for dinner...I'm not sure if it's a casserole or a quiche, but it tastes good! In an attempt to save money, I've been trying to utilize everything we have in in the fridge for meals. This is made of eggs, potato, flour, baking soda, green onion, cheese, salt & pepper. I'm having a lot of fun experimenting and making up my own recipes! :)

Photo #21--Neighborly Visits: Lately, out little neighbor Bi Do (Pumpkin) has been coming into our house on her own. She sees that our gate is open, and makes her way in. She's somewhere between 18 months-2 years old, but she can get into our house on her own, and even kicks off her little sandals before entering. The other day, Pedro was in the kitchen, and I was coming down the stairs when I saw Bi Do coming in through the curtain. I called out to her and she looked up with a smile. She walked straight for the kitchen, so I followed her in there and gave her a piece of chocolate chip cookie. She ate it, but made a face. I think she liked it though, because she accepted another bite before she left. Isn't she precious??

Photo #22--Laundry: After MANY days of hard rain, the sun has come out :) Everyone on our block (and I'm sure everywhere else) took advantage of the nice weather to do some laundry. The backs of most houses are up against the backs of other houses, so optimal sunshine for drying clothes is in the driveway, on the front gate, or sometimes even in the road! Whatever works :)

So there's a little piece of our life this week! We hope you're enjoying the many blessings of the Fall-iday season. Love to you and your families!

Baby it's cold inside...

2011-11-04T04:54:00.006-05:00

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!

Falliday Fotos

2011-10-28T23:20:00.003-05:00

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

2011-10-25T03:59:00.008-05:00

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!

why i love aluminum foil

2011-10-16T09:46:00.000-05:00

On weekends, Audrey and I usually play it by ear as far as plans go, but for the most part, we like to lay low and stay at home and relax. This is mostly because of our schedules during the week, which don't really allow us to spend a lot of time together to just hang out and relax. This past Saturday we stayed at home, except for about two hours to go to wrship practice at chrch for Sunday's service, and to go buy some groceries. We had talked about it, and decided that I'd be cooking Puerto Rican food, as Audrey loves it (and I was kinda craving it, too).

This is what the end result looks like
Anyway, as I was cooking the PR-style beef steak this time, I got burned really bad. The reason for this was because we don't really have a lid for our frying pan, so we use the only metal bowl that can actually cover the pan.

The culprit
If you've never gotten burned before, it hurts. It really hurts. The problem isn't so much the initial burn (although that's pretty bad on its own), but the burning pain you get just a couple of seconds after taking your fingers away from the cool running water, ice, or whatever you're using to soothe the pain. In my case, I let my fingers rest on the cold water jar, but once we finished dinner, I kept them in water, which seemed to help. After some minutes of pain (during dinner) I decided I'd google to see if there were any home remedies to help with my problem. It turns out, aluminum foil helps with burns. I don't know exactly, but it has something to do with making your skin sweat, which helps the burn (the sodium in your sweat is what helps, supposedly). I read many stories, and people would say that wrapping the burn in foil would still make it hurt badly for 5-10 minutes, but then the pain would go away. So, I decided to give it a try:

Best home remedy ever.
Sure enough, it worked. After about 20 minutes, the pain was gone. I was able to take the foil off, and enjoy the rest of my evening. Now, my fingers still look ugly (huge blisters showed up), but I'm pain-free and on the way to recovery.

Aluminum foil. Who would've thought.

Life so far

2011-10-01T06:30:00.000-05:00

So, it's been about two months since we returned to Vietnam, and one month since we started working. Audrey has been working at Orphan Voice, and I have been working at UCSI Vietnam. I'll start off by saying that our time so far has been very good. The Lrd has been good in keeping us rooted to Him: so far, we've been able to establish good habits as far as pr.ying and reading the Word goes, and we are extremely thankful for the great community we're a part of here in Da Nang. We have been able to spend time with old and new friends, and with my old and new students (some of which are friends now). Here are some pictures:

With my old students/friends (you may recognize them from my old blog)

With some of my new students eating some delicious pastries!

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Work has been good. It was a little stressful at first - adjusting to a different school with different culture/people, and also adjusting to my responsibilities. The way it works right now is that I teach on Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays, and do IT (computer) work on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I enjoy my work. I enjoy doing the IT stuff, and I enjoy talking and hanging out with my students. The only thing I'd say I don't enjoy as much is my schedule (I work until late on my teaching days), but I suppose it's part of the job. We try to make the most out of weekends. On Saturdays, we usually clean the house, take care of errands, try to spend time with friends and/or attend practice for service on Sundays (if we're serving). On Sundays, we take it slow. We go to chrch in the morning, and then we try to stay at home, relaxing and in general enjoying the day.

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Before closing this post, I just want to let you know that we'll be sending out a newsletter very soon. So, if you'd like to receive it, please let us know by sending an email to theborgeses [at] gmail.com.

Take care!
Pedro

Peanut Butter & Jelly

2011-09-04T22:30:00.018-05:00

Growing up, Pedro did not experience something most American children do... eating a peanut butter & jelly sandwich.

This summer when Pedro came to Washington, he tried his very first PB & J.

He said he was curious "what all the hype was about." When he was taking those first few bites, his face wasn't expressing exuberant joy or life-changing bliss, so I wasn't sure if he was too impressed. But the next day, he wanted another one for lunch...and the next day for breakfast-toasted....and the next day for breakfast AND lunch....!

Now here we are in Vietnam, getting used to how to shop and cook with the foods we have available to us here (we're really trying not to eat out, but cook at home to make the most of the money we have). There are more fresh foods, and less options of what we can keep in the cupboard or fridge for more than a few days before it spoils.

Peanut butter is available to buy here. At the supermarket,

there's creamy, chunky, with sugar or without. We'd been

buying the "creamy without sugar" kind, but then I found it

for sale at the market in a plastic bag: creamy with no sugar.

We've also found some cute, small (210 gram) jars of strawberry jam, which we cracked open after finishing the container of strawberry preserves from Vietnam.

I'm really not a fan of PB & J's, but I couldn't be a happier new wife than to make my husband something he LOVES and that is incredibly easy for me to prepare (and I can't do anything, that I can think of, to make it taste bad, hehe).

It's Peanut Butter-Jelly Time! Video

I've Always Loved You

2011-08-31T21:05:00.012-05:00

If you weren't able to join us on our wedding day, here is the link to a short video you can watch.

Thank you to our good friend Lance Baker for taking great video at our wedding and for creating this beautiful masterpiece :)

Youtube link: Wedding Trailer

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpHrc2BHP-g)

(Andrew Sankey Photography)

The song we chose for the video is "I've Always Loved You," by Third Day. It's a beautiful song written as G0d talking to us, His beloved. Here are the lyrics:

"I've Always Loved You"

I don't know how to explain it
But I know that words will hardly do
Miracles with signs and wonders
Aren't enough for me to prove to you

Don't you know I've always loved you
Even before there was time
Though you turn away
I'll tell you still
Don't you know I've always loved you
And I always will

Greater love has not a man
Than the one who gives his life to prove
That he would do anything
And that's what I'm going to do for you

We're grateful that our Father has always loved us, and that He always will, regardless of if we deserve it or not-because we don't. We give the Lrd all the glory and honor and praise for bringing us together in marriage, and we know that no matter how much we love each other, He will always love us more. We love Him and praise Him, and want to humbly live our lives serving him and sharing His Love and salvation with others.

"For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Romans 8:38-39

A lesson on English grammar

2011-08-25T03:21:00.000-05:00

Welcome to our blog!

This will be where Audrey and I will be posting updates on our life in Vietnam. We thought it'd be best to consolidate our blogs as opposed to having two different blogs for our family and friends to visit. It's also much easier for us to update one blog (offering more content in a single page) instead of two. We will also consolidate our picture websites into one (see links on the sidebar).

Now, you may be wondering (or not) about the name of our blog (or the link, anyway). Don't worry - we were confused, too. Personally, I wasn't sure of how spell the pluralized form of my last name in English. Audrey and I discussed it for a bit, but in the end we googled for the answer. It turns out that the same rule that applies for pluralizing the name "Jones" (Joneses) applies to the name "Borges" and therefore, -es is added to the name to pluralize it. It isn't Borges' or Borges's as we thought it could be. Apostrophes are only used for possessives in the English language. The reason it looks funny (it still kinda does to me) is that there are not that many proper names in the English language that end in -es, so we don't see them often. Other possibly odd-looking examples would be Alvarezes (Alvarez) and Foxes (Fox).

So there you have it. That's what we gathered after some research, but if you find other sources that say otherwise, please let us know. We definitely want to spell our last name correctly. :)