Subject: Good Morning
Today we traveled through rain and light snow to a mountain village where I saw many little kids that reminded me of Katie. Many of them needed the dirt cleaned out of the ear wax etc. Most of them had runny noses and problems that go with living in drafty houses and being outside much of their lives. The up side is the strong ties they have with each other and the adult world. There are no discipline problems. It snowed enough that the tops of the high hills (mountains here) were white. Some of the older women of the village said it was only the second or third time in their life that they had seen so much snow. As a result we only saw 160 children because they had canceled school and it was too wet and cold for parents to bring children down from the farms high up on the mountain sides.
It is a beautiful place. The terraces cascade down the mountain sides like huge green waterfalls. In some ways they were water falls today because they were filled to overflowing with the rain and snow water. It is hard to describe the contrasting beauty and hardship that somehow knits this country together. The people are beautiful in their struggle to pass this culture to the next generation. This can be seen in the priority they give to make education possible for their children. The school buildings are by far the best and largest buildings in the village. Some of the children walk as much as three hours one way to attend school and they are there every day! Some who are closer cook, take care of the family animals and other chores before and after school. The girls and adult women wear the colorful ethnic clothing of their area, which means they spend many hours creating the beautiful designs etc.
Our team is a wonderful mixture of people from Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Wisconsin, Colorado and one or two other states I can't think of right now. We all have a great time together. In fact as I type this page they are laughing and carrying on in the lobby behind me. We leave in about a half hour to head down the mountain to the train station right on the China boarder. We will ride all night on our return trip to Hanoi. We will just have time to check into a hotel and then jump on a bus to do a clinic at a leper colony. Again, this will be quite an experience for our young health providers.
We all laugh with Pastor Jeff who seems to be the target for all the ethnic women trying to sell their handicrafts. Jeff loves to talk with them and of course this means they are encouraged that he might buy. As most of you know, their handicrafts are beautiful and colorful. It is hard to say no, but in spite of the little group of ladies around him saying "you buy from me" or "you help me" etc. etc. Jeff has done very well to hold off. I know this sounds like a real pain, but really it is not. These people are gentle and in spite of their persistence it is not offensive.
The undercurrent of politics is always there and only binh knows that part. She did tell us on the way back from the village today that the principal of the school lost his job for allowing us to come and use the school as the place for the clinic (there was no other place). She said he knew it would happen but felt the welfare of the children was a higher priority. Think about that! His position as principle is not easy to attain and here he is willing to sacrifice it for the welfare of those 160 kids to came in the rain to let us Americans serve them. Binh said that she was nervous all day that the comrades would show up and order us to pack up and leave(it has happened before). The villagers begged binh to come back this summer or for sure next year. There is more to this story, but I will let binh tell it if she wants. With all the joy there is also the underbelly of sadness.
I am getting the message that it is almost time to leave for the trip down the mountain to the train station. I hope all is well with you.
Jim
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