This end is really the beginning

We made it home. Ah :D

And in impressive fashion - somehow we've lived Sept. 22 twice over, traveling 12 hours but really more like 30, some strange space-time continuum... Nothing makes too much sense right now, we're just glad to be rid of airplane food (but I'll give it to United, not all that bad), two inches of personal space, funky un-identifiable scents, and ridiculously high-maintenence travelers in our midst. The familiar faces that greeted us at the airport with big hugs, accompanied by crickets whirring in the warm Missouri air, never did the soul so good - nothing like a welcome home.

The thing is, we still have lots to share with more pictures and explanations of the food, culture, sights, and our adventures (I know Brandon just put up some more videos). In the next week, we'll get some up so please continue to pop in.

AND the most exciting thing of it all: this trip was preparation for a formal masquerade we will be holding on Nov. 22 at the Historic Firehouse on Commercial Street, featuring the kids' art and projects, as well as an array of other Vietnamese specialities. Proceeds will benefit Giving It Back to Kids.

If you're interested in helping, attending, or seeing how things progress as we prepare for this event and process this trip, keep up with us here (and don't hesitate to comment or email!).

This trip was not at all about us, but about the kids... what we can learn from them and the world we live in together; how we can be inspired by their courage to love, hug, learn, create, and interact with us: big, weird, goofy, awkward strangers that bombarded their worlds and butchered their language; how we can see them and then remember the significance of the simple things, recognizing little beautiful moments, grasping simplified living, and being softened by relationship we all crave...

All that to say, you're just as much a part of it if you'll let it in. Thank you for your support, reading, emails, prayers and encouragement! Join us, as this return home really is just the beginning of more ahead with and for these neat, precious kids.

More to come...