New and Old, Treasure and Rubble

One of the most fascinating things about this land is the frequent juxtaposition of contraditions and contrasts, the heritage of colonialism and the celebration of rebellious revolution, the largess of charity and the brutality of justice, the communalism of socialism and the individualism of market capitalism. One can scarcely drive the boulevards of Hanoi without catching these contrasts in the form of elegant colonial French architecture housing an icon of socialist communism, or an upscale retail district on which a street vendor sells their xoi from two baskets linked by a shoulder bamboo bar, or a meticulously restored old building from the French or earlier era, contrasted with the bulldozed townhouses to be replaced by a wider street and median.

We indulged ourselves to enjoy one of these contrasts when we walked by the Hanoi Opera House which stands at the head of Money and Fashion Streets, seen here at dusk with the glowing lighted orb of the earth resting squarely on the lotus flower of Vietnam.

                             

The concert was about as anomalous to traditional Vietnamese culture as one could imagine. We might well have been in one of the concert halls of the Netherlands, or Salzberg, or Boston. As you can se from the program printed on the tickets, none of these composers ever dreamed that their works would highlight the stage in a socialist Vietnamese capitol. In fact, I could almost see Leroy Anderson, who died in the mid 1970's thinking Hanoi was the last place onearth where Bugler's Holiday would delight an audience, and be played by an entirely native array of musicians!

        

Seeing the interior of the majestic, clasical hall fashioned after the ambiance of late 19th Century Paris was itself almost worth the price of admission. Both this one and the one in Saigon have been lovingly refurbished now that the economic hardships of the early post-war period are gone and forgotten.

        

The LDS missionaries have played a part in the resurgence of this facility (aside from our ticket price) as it was the first LDs couple, the Steadman's who facilitated the performance of Handel's Messiah here in 1993, it's first ever performance in Hanoi.

That brings me to consider the beginnings of the new Hanoi Vietnam Mission, which has garnered so much favorable attention since the announcement just about two weeks ago. I don't think that the lucky missionaries pictured here in 1974 had much of a sense of what lay ahead, either for them, or for the country. As some of the first elders who were asked to learn the language, without the structure and experience of an organized language training mission, but rather "in place" or "on the ground" as many missionaries had done for generations before us, we were still keenly aware of the toil and sacrifices that had made possible our presence, and cracked open the door for our work.

              

         

Even more so today I can sense that in reaching for this stretch milestone of opening an official mission, the work stands not on the detritus of prior failed attempts to scale the walls, or dig through the red tape, but again on the mountain of honored sacrifices which continue to sanctify this work of seeking the lost sheep of Israel. I don't think there is a missionary anywhere who struggled to learn Vietnamese, or who taught Vietnamese people living elsewhere in the grand Asian Diaspora, whether in their own tongue or a second or adopted one, nor is there a mother who watched a son or husband dutifully, or even grudgingly, shipped off to the jungles of SE Asia to fight a challenging and controversial war, or who dealt with the horrible play-backs of post-traumatic scars in the life of a son, brother, husband or father, nor is there a diplomat or family member who advocated and searched for the missing and lost, or even those who called an end to the differences to declare things as "normal" who has not paid some price. And we can only be grateful. 

But in another sense, I begin to appreciate how great the worth of a soul is in his eyes. If the sacrifices of such magnitude can be counted but a token, then indeed that worth is great, and hardly any sacrifice is too great such as to exceed the value to these new saints and their progenitors and posterity who will know the sweetness of redemption.

                       

We had zone conference this week, so Pres. and Sister Christensen were here to teach and inspire, lift and lead. They did that and much more. They have taught us so well through their examples what it means to be Christ-like leaders. And their focus on helping the missionaries become living epistles of Christ, walking, biking, breathing, talking exemplars of what he is and how he loves, is a billboard that proclaims so clearly the value and blessings of His gospel. Witnessing the changes in them as they work and teach is like watching a flower bloom before your eyes. 

One of the great impacts too was seeing one of our branch members who has been rather nervously completing her missionary application on-line. Since her English skills are limited, I have been thrust into the role of intermediary, and hence have sensed her desires, but also her doubts. She met again with us on Saturday evening for the family class, and her countenance after her interview with Pres. Christensen wsa totally transformed. She spoke in Sacrament meeting as well on Sunday, witnessing with the spirit the struggle she has come through to arrive now confidently at this point. As we talked, I could soon tell she was figuring in her mind what the soonest was that she could leave, and if that would still allow her to be set apart by the new mission president. Instead of May, she now looks eagerly to March.

                                 

We don't know where she will be assigned, but of course knowing that she REALLY, REALLY wants to learn English and use English in her mission, odds are that she will get a call to Temple Square or Georgia or someplace like that. But witnessing the growth of desire, and confidence, even to this point, has been wonderful.

Vietnam is a country of contrasts, and a culture that deals in paradoxes and enigmas at times. It is at once irreligious, yet also deeply spiritual, a culture that turns the hearts of children instinctively and strongly to their parents and grandparents, yet also one in which the rising generation does not understand or value the sacrifices of their forebears. It is a land where some children grow up barely speaking their native tongue in favor of English (and hence economic) skills, while others can barely read, a place where technology leap-frogs older means (with more cell-phones per capita than the US) while traditional methods in other arenas are honored and compete favorably for market (as in open-air vs. mega-superstore.) The new and the old stand side by side, sometimes in mutual respect and dignity, and sometimes without notice for either. The gospel of Jesus Christ has been here in some measure for nearly 300 years, and the apostolic keys to dedicate it to the preaching thereof turned the first portion of that lock 50 years ago this year, followed 20 years ago by the final amendment to that sacred blessing here in Hanoi. The milestone we soon pass with the launch of a mission will be celebrated and noted, even as we look forward to other mile-markers, the organization of stakes, and in time temples, but these are but markers, not the journey nor the road. We are glad to know who is the Way, and see our purpose clearly to bring people to find their Way.

Medical and Dental Care and a Milestone

Several experiences over the past few weeks allow me to pause and talk about medical and dental care here. First, there are some significant positives in a system where the under the table or relationship component of care supercedes the more formal expectations of insurance coverage. While this does seem to make the level of care one receives uneven, it also is one that affords choice and demands scrutiny to see that one is truly benefiting from the added expense. So our friend C's mother was noted to have an enlarging thyroid nodule. It appeared to be about 3 cm, and had been previously noted without being biopsied, so the enlargement was cause for concern and evaluation. The place where she got the ultrasound was a stand-alone storefront, without much of a referral network. (Point one for a fragmented system.) So I called one of our pathologist friends who was working at the K Hospital near her home and asked her to arrange for an FNA and referral. She did so very promptly, performing the FNA herself and providing me some of the slides for review. She then introduced them to the head of ENT surgery at the new K Hospital. Although her insurance was not acceptable at that hospital (good only at the provincial cancer hospital of the Hanoi City) he worked a way for her to be admitted under an urgency clause and performed the surgery last week (financial and professional incentives at work.) Her tumor was entirely a low grade papillary tumor, although it did extend slightly beyond the limits of the thyroid. After a five day stay or so she should return home and then get her radioactive iodine, although I have not heard whether they wish her to stay and do that while in the hospital this time.

When our daughter Elizabeth was visiting for Christmas, she stumbled and fell causing a rough laceration on her chin. The bystanders were very accomodating providing water to clean her up and some sponges to staunch the bleeding. Although they suggested we go to Viet Duc hospital, which was pretty close, we opted instead for the Family Medical Practice, which is somewhat of a general practice, urgicare center with various specialists focused on caring for the ex-pat community. They quickly ushered her in and assessed the situation, then cleaned her wounds and scrapes and stitched the laceration with a few stitches. Meanwhile KC worked on the insurance arrangements. That ended up requiring more time than the entire medical encounter (though I'm pretty sure the clerks are paid on the same scale as the doctor and nurse.) While there we saw people coming in for routine check-ups, vaccinations, and other purposes. I would grade the care as equivalent to any received at a similar clinic in the US, and the service as more timely.

One of our elders, got a little rambunctious on his preparation day last week and pulled his ileopsoas muscle. He soldiered on for a day or so, but by Wednesday afternoon was unable to urinate. The Noordas took him to VietPhap hospital, the higher quality French collaboration in town. A CT scan disclosed the cause of the problem, a sizable retroperitoneal and peri-cystic hematoma. The doctor suggested that while it might resolve on its own, surgical evacuation could hasten his recovery, and so they went ahead. (We learned this when Pres and Sis Christensen came to dinner late, just happening to be in town, and on an earlier flight than planned with enough time to minister to him- I'm sure just a "coincidence.") He had it done laparoscopically, and carried a drain for a couple of days, before coming home today.

      

I think he contacted all the people on his floor and several others in the process of recovery, and with a smile like his, he would be hard to resisit.

My encounter with the dental system came courtesy of a guava seed. The seed proved harder than the cusp of molar #2 at the juncture of an old filling. The gap didn't really bother me, but I thought it best to get it taken care of. We know two or three dentists here fairly well, so I opted for the one who works closest and happens to be my home teaching companion. He doesn't own the office, which has three chairs, though none of them were occupied in the morning hours when I went in initially, or the second time for placement of the restoration. He worked with a hygienist/assistant who was less adept at keeping the excess water from the drill aspirated from my mouth than I was accustomed to, so much of the time I felt I was really guarding the airway. The drilling was done without any anesthetic, and he avoided the pulp so I didn't feel any significant pain. Many dental offices have glass front windows to the street, perhaps so that when they do have a patient everyone knows that someone trusts them, but this office was more discreetly placed on the ground floor of an apartment building. I get stared at enough, so I was glad for some measure of privacy. His work was supervised by the senior dentists in the practice, who made knowing comments about where to drill more or how to structure the base for the restoration. I paid the bill after the first visit, which with my friend discount, came to just about $200, but probably would have been at least four times that in the US. Even then, much of the cost was for the US-derived materials for the cap, and the polymer-based, UV-activated adhesive they used (let's hear it for chemistry!) The only problem was that the temporary filling material came out with the first sandwich I ate so I had several days with my tongue feeling over the structure of the gap in my tooth and chewing very tenderly on one side of my mouth.

The Milestone that was announced officially last Thursday on the church's media site and in the on-line Deseret News has brought an outpouring of congratulations, supportive prayers and encouragement. And a few questions as well. The creation of a mission within Vietnam, separate from Cambodia, is a significant step, and reflects the groundwork done by so many people over the decades. My friend Ryan Bird pointed out that it will this year be 50 years since Pres. Hinckley as a young apostle dedicated South Vietnam for the preaching of the gospel from atop the Caravelle Hotel during a time of war. It's been 25 years since the first senior couples returned here as church representatives, and just a few years since branches began in HCM and later Hanoi, sparked ironically by members from Cambodia bringing the gospel back with them. I've heard from many of the previously unknown (to me) people who have loved and served in some capacity pertinent to this marvelous work and who like us, shed tears of gratitude to be part of His marvelous work and a wonder (VN edition.) In another sense, things may not change dramatically, even as we now look forward to the next milestones on this journey of salvation. But the keys of the priesthood will be here, and councils will convene, and that can lead to miracles, which we feel grateful to witness. 

The missionaries serving in the Vietnamese program gathered by Skype to listen to Pres Christensen answer their questions on Friday afternoon, eager to understand what it will mean for them. They are the true heros in the story, the ones who will faithfully live and teach in a way that cannot cause offense, and love in a way that cannot be resisted. They are his living epistles, the palpable manifestation of his love (which casts out fear) and his life or teachings (which shows the way to happiness.)

     

Elder Khanh, Sister Diem, and Sister Dao gather in front of the computer screen for the skype call regarding the mission changes.

Teaching

One of the highlights last week was a make-up class we did with P., who had had to miss one of our family class sessions; one that discussed how to recognize and deal with one's anger in interaction with family members.  She had expressed a desire to learn what she had missed, so she came after church, Lewis sent one of his counselors to branch council meeting in his stead, and we sat in a classroom and went over the lesson.

She is an honest-hearted learner who loves her family and the Spirit of the Lord was there as we taught and discussed.  She is not yet seeing or seeking her relationship with God, but she is seeking wise and loving relationships in her family.  And that of course is close to God.  And it continues to be sweet to see the changes in her sense of hope and hear her stories of how things are going as she applies the gospel principles and the practical applications that we have discussed and taught over the course of the class the past 8 weeks.