WWJD Week of Hope 2011 Day #3

I am the vine; you are the branches” (John 15:5). Theme: I in you.

Today was a wonderful “break-through” day for the entire group. Everyone was singing beautifully in the morning and sharing during evening devotion. Examining Christ’s suffering and sacrifice for us, we agreed that His death on the cross was both a tragedy and a blessing. We have developed a personal relationship with Christ and sharing our story is how we can reach out to others.

Tudie’s crew has made amazing progress and worked on several things today: trimming trees, spreading mulch, organizing and cleaning a bedroom, and sorting tools in the garage. We were blessed to shared devotion time with the entire family today and Ffej was blessed to hold baby “Bubba” our entire lunch time. Many God Sightings today were shared. One in particular was a cross being found in a dirty, dusty toolbox that reminded Jeff (our resident) that God is still with him even though his wife had just lost her job the day before.

Lindy and Mark’s group were able to finish scraping paint and getting two sides of the house paint before an afternoon thunderstorm. The thunder and lightning was a reminder of God’s power and beauty. Their resident Ginny brought everyone pink lemonade and the group agreed this was definitely a God sighting. Marney, Autumn, and Channing enjoyed visiting with Ginny’s 8 year-old granddaughter who was visiting. Connor and Izaiah had fun spraying foam around Ginny's house to keep the wasps out. Connor found an old wasp nest shaped like a heart and has been carrying it around ever since. The group is looking forward to finishing-up painting on Thursday.

WWJD Week of Hope 2011 Day #2

“I am the vine; you are the branches” (John 15:5). Theme: Remain in me.

On day one we learned what it means to be “the branches” molded in the image of God and wonderfully made. Today we concentrated on what it means to “remain in Him” We talked about and practiced being still (Psalm 46:10). Waiting for God to answer our prayers is a faith process, which can sometimes be painful. However, we know God will not abandon us.

We only had a half day of work today. Lindy and Mark’s crew helped a resident named Ginny scrape paint and caulk. Trudie’s group was blessed to have Ffej’s help today to move some larger car parts and a motorcycle. The group also pulled more weeds – 5 feet tall! They sure grow them big in Colorado! Everyone’s favorite thing is to watch the baby while his dad helps us.

After showers, we made our way to Estes Park for some free time. We spent a few hours browsing all of the little shops along the street. Some of our favorites were the rock shop and the old-time candy store. We had dinner at a sculpture park in Loveland. The park was full of many interesting bronze sculptures and we all had a blast walking around and taking pictures. We ended our great day with devotion time and communion.

God Sightings were shared today and our main theme seems to be hearts – a reminder of God’s great love for us all.

WWJD Week of Hope 2011 Day #1

We had a great trip over to Colorado. On the ride, we played a lot of games, made duct tape art, and some of us managed to get a good nap. The weather during the trip was the best yet. We settled into our new church facility, Christ Community Church in Ft. Collins. The accommodations are excellent and we have lots of room to spread out as well as air conditioning! Our staff consists of Hailey, Kelsey, and our very own Ffej. Ffej is tremendous help in the kitchen and it doesn’t hurt to know the cook.

We have two work groups this year. The first group consists of Marney, Autumn, Channing, Izaiah, Connor, Lindy, and Mark. Their assignment this week is painting, weeding, and trimming trees. The second group consists of Evan, Karl, Josh, Anna, Emily, and Trudie.They are serving at a resident’s house named Jeff who is disabled to help move car parts, trim weeds, and watch his son Justin.

We were blessed with a special guest, Binh, the Vietnam mission team leader for Children of Peace International (COPI). She shared with us her challenges as she prepares for the next mission. She always brings the group such positive energy that feeds our group.

Our theme for this trip is “Connecting” and John 15:5 is our theme verse – “I am the vine, you are the branches…”. Our group is learning about how to connect with others as well our savior. We ended the night with devotions talking about how we are created with unique gifts and are special children of God.

Vietnam Mission Trip, 3/24/11, Pastor Jim

I keep thinking about yesterday and those three hundred deaf kids. Many of them were wearing the large hearing aids that hang down behind their ears like my dad wore. They were tied together by a cord that ran across the back side of their heads so they would not lose one of them while playing. However, most of them had total hearing loss. It was sad, but also comical to see them in an animated conversation with their little hands. They can really go fast, even the little ones.

As we were ready to say out good-bys some of them signed their feelings about our having been there to give them medical care. Their messages were touching to all of us. As we left many of them followed us us to street toward the waiting bus and gave us bid hugs and even a little kiss on our cheek. Very few had dry eyes boarding the bus. What a joyful reminder of what the Lord can do with the few fish and loaves we were able to give them yesterday! This was a powerful healing medication for both them and us.

Back this up with our clinic to the Youth Shelter today and you have the microcosm of the human struggle for survival and the victories that come when a community loves and serves one another. We treated two hundred and seven children today from about 8 years old up to about the 9th grade level. We were there from 8:30 am until 7:30 pm. It takes longer at the Youth Shelter because binh tries to get a short history from all the new arrivals. So many of them are there because they have been abandoned by their parents, sold into the sex trade by a guardian or even a parent or grand parent, kicked out for whatever reasons, etc. For example one of the 13 year old girls came to the shelter a year ago after being under the control of a pimp since she was 8 years old. The tragic stories go on and on.

Many of the kids have to have dental care. Some teeth are pulled, but many others are filled. Those who have arrived in the last two months may have some physical problems that need treatment, but for the most part the staff at the Youth Shelter take good care of the kids. This is like a night and day difference from what it was when COPI first started working with the shelter in 1993. At that time the staff carried sticks to beat the kids into submission and the living conditions were worse than bad. Now the kids go to school, are taught a trade and most important of all, they are given respect and love by the staff. For most of them this is the first time they ever experienced love or respect as a person. Pastor Jeff and I were walking around looking at the buildings etc. and got into a conversation with the shelter manager. She answered many of Jeff's questions, but she said something that brought a tear to my eye. She said, "I have worked here for 15 years, not for the small pay, but because I love these children." I don't know if she is a comrade or not, or even a Christian, but I do know she has the Spirit of Jesus working through her. "The wind blows through the trees and we know not from where it comes or goes... the same for the Spirit... The Lord always shows up in the most unexpected places.

In spite of the long day everyone worked well with each other and I did not hear any grumbling etc. The only thing I saw were some of the team members slipping out to the side of a building to shed some tears and recompose themselves before pitching right back into their ministry as best they could.

It has been a great team effort and a marvelous adventure into a new culture and the lives of it's people. We are not allowed to use a direct witness, but I have always believed that the love that sparkles through our eyes and the love that is communicated through our actions and touch carries the message of a loving Savior. There is a time and a season for all things... this is the time and season to open doors through our attitudes and humble gifts of love.

On the back of this years COPI t-shirt are these words: "If you don't stand up for children, you don't stand for much."

Jim

Vietnam Mission Trip, 3/23/11, Pastor Jim

The medical team is now in Saigon and staying at the Rex hotel. Over the years the Rex has been very generous to Children of Peace. It is a wonderful respite for a tired and weary group of folks, it also highlights the contrasts that exists in so much of our world. Editor's note (Barbara Munter).

Begin forwarded message:

We were up at five, showered, dressed and ready for leading devotions at 5:45. Jeff read about Jesus feeding the five thousand. His devotion was about how the people were tired, the disciples wanted to pack up and go home, not enough provisions, etc, etc. Somehow it all seems to fit at 5:45 in the morning facing another big clinic day!

Then we walked the marble halls, carpeted steps, spotless lobby, perfectly quiet elevators, and found ourselves transported to this huge breakfast layout that would have made a king salivate and for sure fed at least five thousand orphans! No we had not died and gone to heaven, we had just gone up five floors at the Rex Hotel!

Thirty minutes later we were on a large bus heading for the oldest school for the deaf in Vietnam. At that time of the day more mopeds than have ever been made formed rivers of humanity on their way to build all the stuff we buy at Wal-mart, Target, Sam’s Club, Costco, etc. How a huge bus can thread its way through this incredible traffic is a wonder to behold. It is truly a dance with its own Asian rhythm to the music of restrained honking of the horns, and hugging one another with an intimate one or two inches to spare between cars, mopeds, trucks and buses. After a while we hardly notice the death defying moves of late to work moped riders trying to call the office on their mobile phones.

An hour later we arrive at the refuge for the deaf children. It is hidden on a narrow street. There are several large two story low profile buildings with large rooms, dormitory, school, etc for over 300 deaf children from all backgrounds in Vietnam. The Nuns are the usual kind, pleasant and very efficient people we have grown to love and respect in this country. They, like the children, have lived through tough times with only their faith and wits to chart a course into the future. Binh's mother used to come to this place many years ago, bringing binh with her to help care for the children.

It was the best place we have had so far to set up the clinic. The process starts with registration at a table with a nun filling in the name, age, etc. of the child and pinning it on the child's shirt. Next binh talks with them to see if there are any special needs or problems and of course set a safe atmosphere for the kids. At the end of this table is a dentist who checks their teeth and marks the result on the chart pinned to the child's shirt. A small courtyard nearby serves as space for the hygiene team to teach the kids proper tooth brushing, washing of hands, and to receive a pill for worms, etc. From there they walk a few feet to have someone check their ears. Next all their vitals are checked by the nursing students including vision checks etc. The child then moves a few steps more to see a doctor who expands the examination and writes prescriptions for any medication the child may require. Next, the child's chart is checked by someone like myself to see if they need to go to the dentist or on to pharmacy for their meds and a toy.

This process was repeated three hundred and seven times today. Along the way bottled water, coffee, snacks, and lunch are provided for the teams by helpers like myself and several others. There is always a smile and time to put a child at ease and let them know they are important to us and loved. When all is finished it takes a half hour or so to pack up all the equipment, portable dental chairs, drills, sterilizers, meds, and a hundred other things into the many large storage bins. From there they are placed on a small truck in the correct order for the unpacking at the next clinic.

At the end of all this there are heartfelt goodbyes, expressions of gratitude by the children and ourselves for a marvelous day etc. Then we walk to the main road to board the bus for the ride back to the hotel in the evening rush hour traffic.

I can't say enough about the marvelous team we have and how well everyone works together and enjoys each other. The interpreters are also outstanding individuals and become an extension of ourselves in all communication. We are blessed is so many ways, and we pray that we are a blessing to all we serve.

It starts all over again in the morning for those who choose to come to our room at 5:45 for Pastor Jeff's devotions...

Jim

Vietnam Mission Trip, 3/16/11, P. Jim Munter

Subject: Good Morning

Dear all:

It rained steady all day. Not a hard rain, but just a steady rain. It was not much of a problem because we went to the leper colony (the one where Grandma Tiny lived before she passed on). It was sad not to see her waiting to see her friends come yet another time. This colony is such a blessing for all of us. It is a dramatic reminder that I do not have any problems that are worthy of complaint! Our medical providers (some of them students) did a great job with them. It is not an easy thing to scrape the dead skin from what is left of their feet or hands and put the anti-bacterial jell over their raw wounds and of course fresh dressings. For the lepers it is simply "the way it is".

But it is more than sad, it is disgusting to know that inexpensive medication exists that could stop further deterioration of what they have left. The official in charge of the colony is worse than mean, he simply does not care. No meds, no heat, poor food, little if any medical attention, etc. etc. These people are invisible. They do not exist. They are hidden in a small walled compound out of sight to rot away. Their families are also victims of this, because the children and grandchildren also live within the colony. The adults can only find work that no one else will do for little payment, even by Vietnam standards. The children are allowed to attend school, and even that would not be possible if COPI did not help them with tuition money. However, this year the first grandchild of a leper will enter college! This is a huge example to all the other kids who are looked down on in school and in the larger community. They are like the "boy named Sue" who become stronger because of their situation. If all of this were not difficult enough, the compound will be torn down next month to build a golf course and these people will be moved and hidden once again in a strange and unfamiliar place.

I know I am being blunt, but I know a man who was also blunt when he said "I was sick and you did not minister to me, I was naked and you did not cloth me." Then the dreaded words... "Depart from me into outer darkness." In some ways I feel more sorrow for the perpetrators than for the lepers.

Moving on to a lighter subject... We had a great dinner at a local fish restaurant tonight. We also understand that the weather will be better tomorrow when we travel to Hoi An, a small city toward the middle of Vietnam. Tomorrow morning we will have time to wander around Hanoi, then return to the Hotel by 1:30 to board a bus to the airport and fly to Da Nang. We will take a bus from there to Hoi An. Then a free day in Hoi An where we can order tailor made cloths if we choose! Apart from that it is a delightful town and we will have beautiful accommodations to rest up for the next series of clinics.

Jim

Vietnam Mission Trip, 3/16/11, Raina Zeeh

Subject: SNOW in Vietnam

Yesterday we woke up to snow coming down. It has been 11 years since it has snowed in Sapa. Wouldn't you know it would fall on our heads? We're so ready for some warmth! A lot of people have had to buy coats to try to stay warm. We did our clinic at a rural school yesterday. The principal thought we wouldn't come because of the snow. He said many kids would not come to school because of the snow but we were welcome if we wanted to come. Binh told them we'd see as many kids as would show up. We saw 160 kids. They were some of the dirtiest kids we've seen. They don't bathe much because it is too darn cold for them. We boiled some water to add to the water to wash their hands in hygiene. It was a very nice touch for them since it was so cold. Magel said one little boy, while getting one hand dried, slipped the other one back in the water to get it warm. It was some of the kid's first time to brush their teeth, ever! They had no idea what to do with a tooth brush. So there were a lot of good teaching experiences. Jeff did great teaching tooth brushing. He had some help from Tuyen to help translate. We traveled on the night train to Hanoi. We went to a leper colony today for a mini-clinic. We could not bring all of the medical and dental equipment because all the supplies and luggage travel by truck to our next destination. We will go by plane to Hoi An tomorrow so have to pack light. It is pouring down rain today and cold, but not snowing. I'll have to tell you more later. Dinner is right now so I have to go. Raina