Made It to Vietnam

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.