Vietnam Winter Mission Trip 2010: Give Thanks and count your blessings!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my family and friends, Thank you to those who spend a few minutes reading my journey and my hope is that a little bit of Vietnam touches each of you through this trip.
Many of you today will celebrate the day we in America give thanks for our blessings that we have, I know many of you know this, but our country is blessed more than you will ever know. Our day started out in a hospital feeding people who were in the hospital for various illness or injuries, you see when you are at a hospital back home they feed you when you are hungry, in some places if you have no family to bring you food, you don't eat. That simple. Shout out to the nuns whos ministry is to do this 6 times a week starting at 4am. Dedication. You will find that word to describe a lot of people here.

Yes all those are patients who need to eat! Thanksgiving meal today for them consisted of a rice type soup with a small baggie of sugar, a can of condensed milk and small gift, oh and some hot water for tea if they have any tea to make. We are blessed!

We left to a cemetary after the hospital to visit a site where literally thousands of babies are buried because they weren't wanted. John and Christine whos life has been dedicated to orphans took us here because this is where their passion began! This is a epidemic of sorts in Vietnam. Each tomb contains anywhere from 50-100 babies. It starts by saving one...The picture says it all.

We next were able to get back to the orphanage where we were going to have the opportunity to give out food and small gifts to the lame and disabled of the area. Emotions running high for our team.

I can't thank them enough because their lives touched our teams lives more than the bag of rice and noodles we provided for them touched theirs. Their smiles and hope were all the thanks I needed.

We are blessed!

You want to know what loving God is?

This Vietnamese sister started cutting hair of all the disabled children, God gives us all each different tools to use, she cuts hair. She wanted them to feel special and loved anyway she could. Dedication. I didn't get to take a pic of the young men clipping nails of the hands and feet of the disabled kids. They wanted to do something for them, anything. To make them feel loved.

After the feeding, we got to hang out with my new friends again, I think they got more adorable today then they were yesterday. I got more hugs, more love and more attention then yesterday. They are absolutely incredible...