The Vietnam Blog

Joy Jones Arrives!

2012-01-31T12:59:56Z

After months of delays due to work permit procedures and placement problems, Joy Jones has FINALLY arrived in Vietnam! Praise the Lord!

Joy comes to us from Orange County, California, although Joy has had a wealth of experience both inside and outside the United States. She has previously lived and worked in Belize, Honduras, India, and Thailand. She has worked in a variety of fields, including business, international human rights, education, and more. We are blessed to have such a highly qualified member on our team!

Joy will be pioneering a brand new relationship at FPT University, where she will be teaching English to start, and developing new areas in which to partner in the future. FPT University is a private university in Hanoi that draws some of the best teachers and students in the region. This is LCMS WM VN’s first foray into working with a private university. We are thrilled to be stepping out in this way, and honored that Joy will lead that effort.

Please pray for Joy as she adjusts to life in Hanoi–the joys, of course, but also the challenges: the cold winter, the traffic, taking the bus, the food, frustrating Vietnamese landlords, and all the other things that make Hanoi the place that it is. Pray, too, for her first days at the university, getting to know the teachers, the curriculum, the system, and most importantly, the students! Pray that Joy will have a big impact at such a prestigious university!

UPDATE: Parking Area in Phuong Vy

2012-01-18T14:25:30Z

Remember the group from Naples that built a parking area in Phuong Vy commune? They did a fantastic job and made a HUGE impact at the school, but unfortunately there was not enough time to finish the parking area. The commune promised to finish the task, and indeed they did!

Recently we travelled to Phuong Vy and checked up on the parking area. The school reports that it gets used constantly, but unfortunately we came outside of school hours and so there were no bikes parked then. It was still fun to see how they had finished the walkway leading to the parking area (we had only cleared brush). We also got to see the finished concrete floor. Truthfully when the Naples group was building we doubted the strength of the concrete when we saw them mixing it with generous amounts of sand, but it seems to be holding up well.

Even more fun was to see some of the improvements they have made to their recreation area now that it is not used for parking! They had cleaned it up and added benches and a few toys, making the whole place seem a lot more inviting for 300 primary school kids to play!

Being there brought back many fond memories with the Naples group. As we were hearing about the use of the parking area from the school and commune leaders, they too reminisced about the wonderful and meaningful time they had with our friends from Naples. It is amazing what a difference their three short days in the villages made!

See the full gallery on Posterous

CISH in Phu Tho Videos

2012-01-08T15:57:13Z

Made by CISH:

Made by Celeste Cima:

Concordia International School Hanoi’s trip to Phu Tho to give 159 filled backpacks to eager children at Son Tinh primary school. Most of the pictures were taken by Celeste. Dad helped her put together the video.

Concordia International School Hanoi Gives Christmas Gifts in Phu Tho

2012-01-08T15:57:01Z

Concordia International School Hanoi and LCMS World Mission have partnered in their first (of many) service events. Concordia believes strongly in the power of service learning and they also want their kids to have an understanding of the life and culture that is all around them in Vietnam. What better way to kick off our partnership than with Christmas presents!

There are many people in the province of Phu Tho living in poverty. Many of these families are unable to provide their children with backpacks and school supplies. Also many children do not have their own toothbrush and poor oral hygiene is a serious problem in the villages. So Concordia International School did a walk-a-thon to raise money to stuff 159 backpacks with school supplies and toothbrushes. It was a fun day for everyone involved and the kids were able to raise the amount needed and more!

On December 12 the middle school kids from Concordia loaded the vans with 159 gifts for 159 students at an elementary school in Phu Tho. They wereprepared for a two day visit where they would learn about village life in Vietnam and have the opportunity to see the impact their fundraising had on these children.

The Concordia students were nervous at first as they were surrounded by more than a hundred kids that didn’t speak their language but were so excited to meet them. Language barriers can be quite intimidating, but then it came time to play games. As soon as we brought out a rope for tug-a-war, taught them how to do a three legged race, and brought out the soccer ball (or football as it’s called here) all barriers went down. The students learned how to connect and show their love without saying a single word.

As the kids handed out each of the backpacks, we saw the joy on the students faces as they carried around their new colorful backpacks (pink for the girlsand blue for the boys). The joy of giving was experienced by everyone involved this Christmas.

Click here to see photos from the trip.

Christmas Surprise

2012-01-04T04:34:07Z

At the end of the previous lesson, I shared with my students about Christmas; the reason we celebrate Christmas, some of my family’s traditions, pictures of my Christmas tree here in Hanoi as well as pictures of snow and what Christmas looks like at home in Iowa. After sharing, I taught them how to make 6-sided snowflakes which they had never done before. We had a fun session of folding and cutting and sharing our snowflakes. I then endeavored to teach them the Christmas carols ‘O Holy Night’ and ‘Jingle Bells’.

The next week (our last class of the semester) we had our review session and then one of the students came to the front and told me that the class had a surprise for me. In twos and threes, my students came and set a variety of wrapped Christmas presents, ornaments and cards in a pile on my desk, each saying “Merry Christmas, Ms. Sarah”. I was at a loss for words and very near tears; it was such a sweet gesture and very much a surprise.

Concordia Walk-A-Thon

2011-12-21T08:52:01Z

On November 17, students of Concordia International School Hanoi (CISH) descended upon Nghia Do park for a Walk-A-Thon to raise funds for Son Tinh primary school in Phu Tho province, Vietnam. The project is done in partnership with LCMS World Mission.

Students from CISH had been collecting pledges to sponsor them in their walk. When all was said and “walked” CISH students walked over 100 total miles and raised over 2300USD! This is wonderful news for the students at Son Tinh primary school. The money raised will be used to buy school supplies that will fill 159 backpacks (donated by LCMS World Mission).

On December 12-13, middle school students from CISH will travel to Son Tinh to deliver the filled backpacks to the rural students of Son Tinh and to interact with the kids there. They will also spend time learning about rural life in Vietnam, visiting homes and rice fields.

See pictures from the Walk-A-Thon here.

LCMS World Mission Honored with Award

2011-11-21T09:23:16Z

LCMS World Mission in Vietnam was one of a number of organizations to be recognized with “for its significant contributions poverty reductions and development in Vietnam in 2011.” The award was given by the president of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations. Present were leaders from other NGOs, as well as the director of the People’s Aid Coordinating Committee (PACCOM). J.P. Cima was pleased to accept the award on behalf of LCMS World Mission.

What a blessing to receive this award! LCMS World Mission has been pleased to work in Vietnam for 16 years now as an NGO, and we look forward to many more years of being a blessing to the people of Vietnam.

Nutrition Contests in Tuy Loc

2011-11-15T06:02:04Z

I recently traveled to the Tuy Loc commune in Phu Tho province to see the final Nutrition Contest. As part of the Caring for Kids project, we have been training the teachers at a number of schools in this area basic nutrition so that they could have nutrition class for all the students. Then all the schools competed in nutrition trivia and games. The top five students from the top three schools competed in this final contest.

More than a hundred students, parents, and neighbors came to watch. There was a quiz game where the students picked questions from a tree and the judges gave them scores based on the accuracy and preciseness of their answers. There was a relay race where they had run around cones and place pictures of food into the correct category. In between events the students prepared songs. There were dramas about nutrition, teaching the importance of cleaning fruit before eating it and not loading up on fatty snacks.

It was a fun chance for the kids to show all they have learned and compete for prizes for their school. It was also a great opportunity for family and community members to learn about basic nutrition through their kids. The teachers were also very pleased with how well it went and look forward to continued partnership with LCMS.

You can see pictures from the final contest here.

Faith Lutheran in Thai Nguyen

2011-11-08T05:17:36Z

After the group from Faith Lutheran Church (FLC) finished their time in Phu Tho, there was a one night respit in Hanoi before continuing on to Thai Nguyen city. There we visited Thai Nguyen University, a consortium of schools and universities that is fast becoming a hub for quality education in northern Vietnam. Michael Tan, an LCMS member and former volunteer teacher at Hung Vuong University, was hired to work there almost two years ago. He had been raving about the school, so we took the FLC group’s visit as an opportunity to check out the school to explore possibilities for further partnership.

What a wonderful time we had! The school hosted us brilliantly. We had time to meet much of the faculty of foreign languages and the leadership at the university as well. But most important for us was time with students. On the first day, some fourth year students took us on a tour of the school, including the student’s market and the dormitories. The group was astonished to hear about the student’s lives and the joys and challenges they face. At Thai Nguyen University many students come from ethnic minority groups. In fact, the next morning the students (with only one day’s preparation!) led us on a tour of the local ethnic minority museum. The students were OUTSTANDING tour guides, and once again the chances to interact and build relationships beyond the task at hand was wonderful.

That afternoon the students organized an event at the auditorium. Students sang and performed, and asked us to do the same. The highlight was when some of the FLC group were asked to sing songs in Vietnamese! The students were gracious in their applause, but we all knew that our western mouths butchered the beautiful tones of the Vietnamese language. We then led the audience in the song “He’s got the whole world in His hands”, along with hand motions to keep everyone up and moving. There was even open Q&A time, and we were excited to hear students ask about learning English, life overseas, our opinions on various issues, and more. What a joy! This was such a special chance for these students, who are not from big cities, to broaden their horizons and practice their English.

We ended our time in Thai Nguyen with a meal with the faculty and leadership of the university and a restaurant that served ethnic food. There was lots of food and rice wine–a perfect way to end such a good couple of days. We are now thinking more about ways that LCMS WM in Vietnam might be able to partner with the university in Thai Nguyen, perhaps even sending a long-term volunteer teacher of English.

Many thanks to FLC and to Thai Nguyen University!

See pictures here!

Faith Lutheran in Phu Tho

2011-11-07T03:49:43Z

A group of eight amazing people came from Faith Lutheran Church in Naples Florida to help with our projects in Phu Tho. The task for the week: building a parking structure at a primary school. Most of the kids ride their bikes to school, but with no where designated to park them, the bikes end up cluttering the play area. So we worked alongside the school staff and dedicated parents to level a dirt field and turn it into a concrete parking area and a small garden.

This was no easy task. There were no power tools or big fancy machines. We had to dig up weeds, level a path, move piles of dirt across the campus, mix and move the concrete by hand, and all the while we were surrounded by curios children who wanted to say “hello” to the westerners.

The children were not seen as an unwelcomed interruption, but instead an opportunity to show love. It was a reminder of why we were sweating out in the villages and a reminder of who we were there to serve.

By the end of our time in Phu Tho, everyone was sad to say goodbye. The parking structure was not yet finished, but many important relationships were built. We give thanks for a opportunity to serve the people of Vietnam.

See pictures here.