Reunions

When we were first married we attended a one-man show that spoofed on the traditional family reunions that had occurred for a generation of our peers and our parents generation, and perhaps longer. Certain comic lines from the "Farley Family Reunion" are still embedded in my brain although that was over 30 years ago, both because they were hilarious, but also because they bore enough connections to the truth of our experiences that we could laugh at ourselves and our cousins.

We've been to many reunions since then, and participated in planning many, including one with my Hassell cousins just 7 months ago. We came away charged with renewed insight into who we are, what kind of people our ancestors were that got the family rolling, and strengthened bonds between us as cousins and relations. And we also laughed at ourselves, as the older we get the more like ourselves we become! We shared a few tears, treated gingerly the aging joints, or tender emotions that age and experience bring. But mostly we just enjoyed being together, alive for another season. That was part of the joy in this event honoring MB's parents in 2014.

        

When our extended family of church brothers and sisters gathers, we usually call it a "conference" instead of a reunion, but in reality it is the same. And God's purposes in calling us together for such is not all that different than what my Hassell cousins and I experienced, a greater sense of who we are, who we are connected to, and what we can become as we grow older and wiser. We share wisdom one with another, encourage those who are in crisis, stabilize the aged, pass the leadership batons, and just enjoy being with each other. This weekend, we gathered for such with the Ho Chi Minh city saints in person, and via streaming with the smaller group assembled in Hanoi. It was fun to see these old friends, discover new friends and hear of successes, struggles and an occasional sorrow.

       

I loved seeing some of the recently returned sister missionaries that we had worked with in Hanoi and elsewhere, and seeing how they are adjusting to their new lives. It was good also to catch up with some of the relocated Hanoi branch members who are attending school or working in HCM now, as seen here, sisters My and Khanh Linh.

                     

The room filled up nicely for the adult sesion on Saturday evening, although the technology made the experience somewhat frustrating to the saints in Hanoi. But that painful lesson brought the admonition to pony up and get more bandwidth and better equipment. "This isn't the last time we are going to do this" observed Elder Funk. 

For me, the most tender moments of the reunion/conference were the feelings evoked as several speakers spoke of the importance of strengthening the links to our forefathers who have gone ahead of us on life's path and made possible many of those things we enjoy here. In Vietnam, which has a very strong tradition of recording and preserving family events in the Family Book, and of celebrating days of remembrance for ancestors death dates, coming to understand the divine purpose in such traditions is important, and powerfully tender. Somehow it was almost as if those many generations of diligent record-keeping forebears were looking down upon this small gathering of young, mostly new church members with a high degree of expectations-- the hopes that their righteous lives would lead them to remember them most meaningfully in bringing their names to the House of the Lord in redemptive love.

The other particularly poignant moments were in the final gathering as we listened to the young single adults in the congregation ask questions that were in their hearts- "How do I find a worthy husband when the church is so small?" "What if I feel scared to marry, or don't want to marry at all?" "What if I feel I have found the right person and they seem uninterested in me?" It seems easy for one looking from the perspective of over 35 years of marriage to give blithe answers to "hang in there" "be patient" and so forth. But for so many who come out of homes without worthy, worthwhile models of husband-wife relationships, it will not be easy. It will require tremendous faith, courage and effort. They are pioneering in so many more ways than they know, but that trial will also be their blessing, and their heritage to pass on to their children and grandchildren if they will carry on. God didn't make a plan for them with the intent to have it fail. Such were the faithful words from their very mouths.

                     

It was also a wonderful weekend to just reconnect to loved ones such as this fine young lady, who sat by me all during the conference, proudly carrying her award from her first piano recital, and lovingly playing with my missionary tag, stroking my hand and occasionally sharing a secret thought softly.

                    

She'll one day be delighting others with her talents as well as her smile and friendliness.

We can scarecely dare post this without commenting on the major event of the week, the "Ngay Nha Giao Vietnam" or Vietnam Teacher's Day. I posted some of my thoughts about this tradition on my Facebook account, so I won't repeat them here in whole. But it struck me that this is a genuinely noble thought that should both inspire better teaching, as well as remind us of what it takes to be a great teacher. While like Mother's Day or Woman's Day, it might be seen from a crass perspective to be only a means to sell more cards and flowers (the Flower markets do do extremely well on this day as that is the preferred recognition) still, the concept that we all have benefited from particularly outstanding teachers should evoke gratitude first and foremost. But hopefully we all realize that whether we like it or not, we are also teachers for others, and in that respect, we must strive to become more like the Master Teacher, Jesus Christ. As we do so, our teaching becomes enduring and impactful for good.

      

This very generous and fragrant bouquet came from some of our wonderful students at the hospital. So fragrant in fact, that we wonder if Apple or Google can bankroll some means to imprint that part of the memory along with the digital pixels of the image, whether we would ever need to buy flowers again!

Another highlight of our stay in HCM has been the chance to get to know some of our fellow-servants, the Hymas's from Utah. Their apartment is a bit newer than ours, and located with a very pleasant view of the Saigon river, both by day and night. Getting to compare notes on their experiences has been good and an added benefit of the reunion. (I do remember a few wonderful sleepovers with cousins for such events growing up!) Their replacement here is not yet called, so I'll tease you doubly with the view.

                      

Even though they are six floors up and have double pane, tight fitting windows, there are still a few cocks that can be heard from this neighborhood below. It also has a church out of view whose bells were a pleasant sound this morning as well. The view to the opposite side would have featured a very large pagoda complex on the other side of the Hanoi highway here. Their apartment tower complex boasts a rather posh gym and stunning pool complex that further reinforces the view that "life is better in the south." Fortunately we didn't come looking for amenities! But if you are, we can find a job for you to do here!

                      

We find ourselves wakening each morning with the thought "I can't believe we're here!" which depending on your use of tones (and believe me we are learning a lot about how a different tone changes the meaning!) that reads as "what have we gotten ourselves into?" or "what joy we have in work God has given us!" This little reunion has bolstered the number of mornings when it will be the latter, and strengthened us a bit to push patiently through those days when the tones evoke more of the former. And we'll look forward to our next reunion with you, in person, in spirit, in virtuae, or however.