You are invited...

The website for Here & There has launched!  

Check it out and RSVP because you [yes, YOU, dear reader] are invited.

This masquerade benefit and art auction, taking place on November 22, gives you the chance to be involved in the work of GIBTK, find out more about the trip, experience Vietnamese culture, and purchase art and gifts created by the children of Vietnam and local artists inspired by the children’s work.

 

Back at Home: one week down

It's hard to believe we've been back for one whole week [two whole weeks for Charity and Frank, who rejoined normal life earlier than the rest of us].

We've had some time now to adjust back to our family and friends, jobs and schedules, hobbies and homes we left behind during the trip.  Things are starting to return to normal [with sleep schedules being the one glaring exception...].

It's easy, when thrust back into real life with its obligations and long to-do lists, to feel like the trip was a blur, and not quite know what to do with it all.  

Was I really in Vietnam? That all really happened?

Little things might serve as reminders:

that one motorcycle in traffic. it seems so lonely among all the cars...

the 2000 dong i didn't spend, wrinkly and out of place in my wallet...

the inside joke I almost make, pausing just in time to realize no one's around who would get it...

Little moments from the trip pop up, maybe for no reason at all.

On the other side of the world, an orphanage full of delightful kids are getting ready to have lunch and then take a nap, while Danang bustles by their open door.

A father who works long hours in rice fields, only to be paid in rice, is working extra time to save what he can so his daughter can have surgery it could take years to afford.

A single mother and young son are waiting for a new house, to replace the wooden structure they now call home, with a kitchen that's not much more than a fire-pit and a teapot. 

And here I am in Springfield.  

That's the thing with a trip like this.  The world opens up wide, and feels smaller at the same time.

There's a connection to the people we encountered, whose stories we were able to share for just a little while.

There are a few people in particular we saw almost every day. Yao, our driver, and our translators Tam, Hanh, and Huyen.  Without them we would never have been able to navigate the culture--or the traffic!--so well.

Yao displaying his silly side, a delightful surprise it took a few days to discover.  Other delightful Yao surprises:  his grasp of English, his preference for Vietnamese power ballads, his mad karaoke skills.  His heart for others. His love for his kids.

Erin, Katie, and me with Hanh.  She's a little hard to see because she's in long sleeves, sunglasses, and a hat.  You see, ladies, Vietnamese women prefer to stay as light-skinned as possible.  Socks beneath sandals, long silky gloves, sweaters on 80 degree days.  We, on the other hand, were glad to soak up the sun.  

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...

Good morning, Sandy Beach

It's 6:30 the morning of our last full day in Danang. We have a day of art and birthday fun ahead of us, with kids at Dai Loc, our biggest orphanage yet.

Tonight we hope to make one more trip to Bread of Life, to say goodbye to our new friends and their delicious American fare.

But before we start the day, as you are all ending your day at home, I thought I'd share just a little bit of what morning looks like here at Sandy Beach. Enjoy.

Tam Ky Infant orphanage & Quan Nam

Mural #3!!





This was a precious moment.  She had just got

done chewing her gum and was pulling it out and playing with

it.  She just kept looking at it with wonder and giggled for

the longest time:)