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OK, I am now here in Saigon. When I was in the Delhi airport on Friday night, a Chinese guy, probably in his mid 30’s, came up to me and struck up a conversation about the large carved elephants in the terminal. He asked if I would take a picture of him in front of the elephants, so I was glad to accommodate him. He was a very friendly guy and lives in Guangzhou, China, where I was headed for the connection to Saigon. He told me all about his family and business and that his daughter was born in Los Angeles. I asked where and he said Monterey Park. I told him that I lived in that city all through high school. When he said that his daughter was born at Garfield Hospital, I was further surprised, as that is where my younger brother was born! We had a good conversation about what we each do for a living. Small world! He took a pic of me by the elephants, which I have included. I was met at the airport on Saturday morning by a young woman named Trinh, who is her 5th year of studying architecture, and driven to the small tourist-type hotel in the middle of the city. There are hundreds like it throughout Saigon. It is hot and humid, but I love the tropical climate. After checking in and getting settled in the room, I got out and took a walk and found a small pizza place for lunch. An individual pizza and a diet coke cost me only 160,000 Vietnam currency. That’s right, one hundred sixty thousand! Seemed like a lot to pay for pizza. But, in US currency, $7.50. On the walk back, I saw a bakery. Who can resist a bakery?? So, like a swallow returning to Capistrano, I instinctively walked in and enjoyed a pastry and a delicious espresso. I think I dropped about 40k in that place! At 6 PM, I was picked up at the hotel by Pastor Sang. Staying at the same hotel is Pastor Mike from Texas who will be teaching next week as well. The 3 of us walked to a small local restaurant for a dinner of Pho. It was delicious, the real deal! Then, back to the hotel. I slept about 7 hours, waking up at 5:20 to the noise of what sounded like a high school band loudly playing next to the hotel. I thought a parade was going by! I found out later that it was a funeral service. They often go all night. Wow. We were picked up at 7:20 this morning and driven by motor scooter to Pastor Sang’s church. It was only 5 minutes away, but fun being on the back of the bike (see earlier post regarding Kathmandu!). It was a nice service and I was glad to go. I was invited to take a few minutes to introduce myself. I have included some shots of the church, and the pastor and his wife and son. We walked back to the hotel, accompanied by the young lady who translated for us. So, now in the room preparing for the next 4 days. Thanks for all the prayers. I’ll keep you posted.

Well, the past couple of days have afforded me some much-needed rest. I’m feeling great and ready to go. I’ll be at the next destination in about 15 hours from now.

For the next week, if my posts seem a bit less frequent and a bit vague, just bear with me. When I get to where I am going, I will let you know.

I would definitely appreciate all your prayers throughout the week.

 

Blessings.

OK, I am now back in Delhi until tomorrow night. Yesterday was another full day.

We finished the conference on Tuesday night. As usual, it was a really great time with the Nepalese pastors. I taught 2 full sessions, then taught about and participated in an ordination ceremony, where 2 of the pastors received their ordination. That concluded the conference and it was time to leave. I have included a couple of pics: the sign with the name of the conference site, Godavari Ashram. Back in the day, if someone had told me that I would be teaching in an ashram in Nepal, I definitely wouldn’t have imagined it would be to a group of pastors! Another pic is the group photo.

I had a great time teaching with and getting to know Pastor Jason Biel and his lovely wife Regina from Astoria, Oregon. They are a wonderful couple and I hope that I can work with him again in the future.

So, I was picked up at 8 AM on Wednesday by Dev from the orphanage. It was a good hour’s drive through the dusty, crowded, exhaust-filled streets of Kathmandu to the orphanage. I was again greeted warmly by the children. What a great joy that is! They are in their new home. A couple of years ago, they were renting a nearby home, but some land was donated to them by a supporter. They have since built the home through a lot of hard work, prayer and donations. It is by no means finished, but it is working for them. Soon the kids were off to school. After having lunch with Dev and Maya, his wife, it was time for the drive to the airport. By the way, Dev and Maya are deeply grateful for the donations I presented to them that many of you sent with me. I have included some pics of the visit.

The trip through the airport was a breeze this time. I noticed that the Turkish Airlines jet that had caused the shutdown of the busy airport for 5 days was off to the side of the runway. What was funny to me was that the “Turkish” has been painted over in white, so the plane now only says “Airlines”. Priorities. . .

All 5 of us, Saji, Pastor Cherian, Jason, Regina, and I, were on the same flight to Delhi. Coincidentally, Jason and Regina were booked at the same hotel as I. So, after checking in and working out, we met for dinner. They had a very early flight this morning (Thursday).

So, now I can take today to rest. I hadn’t realized how tired out I was until after dinner last night and finally relaxing a bit. I will have another very full week, teaching 3 one-hour classes each day. But I am looking forward to it, it is what I love to do.

I have also enjoyed Face Time with Debbie via our iPads, especially when the granddaughters have been with her.

Thanks for the prayers. And, I love to read your comments. For those of you who don’t know, if you click on “Read more” at the end of a new blog post, it allows you to submit a comment.

Blessings