Rainy season

Vietnam is a tropical country, but the climate is somewhat varied over the lengthof the country. So the rainy season in the South is different from the rainy season in the north. Likewise, the weather in the central area differs somewhat from that elsewhere. 

As seems to be the trend elsewhere in the world, the hype about a storm from the media tends to err on the side of caution. We've had three tropical storms blow through Hanoi in our time so far, with varying degrees of damage, ranging from downed trees (mostly shallow-rooted legumes, which seem to easily recover from these insults) to advertising banners and "temporary" sales and service booths on the street turning into tangled messes. This evening, the aftermath of a storm was a mostly clear sky and evening colors from our balcony as the sun set. Such a display is a rare event where the horizon is usually quite obliterated by the tropical humidity and haze.

                                 

                                 

Of course tropical storms and a rainy season means that drainage systems in a river delta will be stressed. I like this image of a car generating a wake that is almost surf-able, along with the motorbikes  half-submerged (and sometimes still running!) We are learning to live with water in its various manifestations, from gaseous, to perspiration, to flooding. Some of our friends semi-enjoy the fun that accompanies flooded streets, when quite literally they can catch fish in the deluged gutters. 

Of course as with many issues, the matter of flooding can also mean that there are areas subjected to drought. That is a relative term of course, rather like the definition of diarrhea or constipation. In Vietnam's coastal areas, a "drought" is more likely associated with decreased rainfall in the upstream watershed, leading to intrusion of salt-water and crop failure, whereas in the highlands the drought is associated with decreased surface water, and frustrated animal and human users. The LDS Charities couples have been successfully working on building storage tanks with some of the local communities affected by seasonal fluctuations in water resources, hoping that these modern cisterns will help them tide life over through the drought of the dry season.

We welcomed a new elder from Arizona this past week.

                                 

Even though he had previously visited Vietnam with his family, he instantly found the humidity of a summer evening oppressive. The advent of heat exchangers and compressors that allow air conditioning and refrigeration have done a lot to make these climes more habitable though so once we were safely into the taxi he was home free. (Of course, those same inventions had an almost more powerful impact on the economy of Maine and other Northeastern areas which for a season thrived on their ability to harvest and export ice! The French somehow have managed to retain an almost similarly impossible trade in the export of water that is deemed more desirable than a local product. The "brand" enhances the meaning of th experience here, and for some, it must take them back to their memory of the Rhone or the Riviera. Would Poland Spring (reconstituted) ice from Maine similarly be able to evoke a frosty trip to check the ice-fishing traps on the Messagossawosamee?) Well, back to our new elder- he is a gem, bright and smart enough to raise the average IQ of the mission a dozen points, talented musically enough to make me think of missionary preforming groups to help bring the church out of obscurity, and humble enough that none of his companions will probably ever know most of that. 

He was sprung loose from a larger group still studying in the mission training center, owing to the fact that his parents and grandmother all spoke Vietnamese freely at home, and at least until he went off to school, he likewise communicated primarily in Vietnamese so his conversational ability was adequate. The challenge of retaining language and culture as a minority when living in another dominant language like English is not a small one. His case is the exception rather than the rule, but even then, his skills with understanding the written language (it is phonetic so the rules of pronunciation are not hard to get) and the specialized vocabulary of teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ will still be an uphill climb for the coming weeks. 

                                 

A new missionary meant that we needed to open a new apartment. In miraculous fashion, our two senior sisters in the office went out and found a nice apartment in this complex, in the area of town that we wanted to expand into that was available within the week, in the price range we could manage, in the two hours of time they had to look. (Can I mention that their prayers were very specifically answered?) The feel and design of the complex were highly reminiscent of the area our daughter Elizabeth lives in in Seoul, and perhaps not surprisingly, since the complex is named "Hyundai." I was particularly impressed when we were moving them in that the inhabitants included a very large number of families with children. The ground-level play-spaces were heavily used, and strollers packed the walk-ways, and the elevators. They have a message appropriate for their neighbors.

                                   

Architecture is a valued component of Vietnamese culture, even when it is the legacy of a period of colonialism, that for other reasons remains distasteful. This night-time view of the iconic Saigon Post Office in its fully restored splendor is evidence of that valuing of things of beauty, regardless of their social connotations. Much of the mid-20th century American architecture in the south has not gotten quite the same level of reverence, aside from the Independence or Reunification Palace. And now, as a massive building boom goes forward, both houses, apartments, and sky-scrapers can take on added meaning in the social fabric as they become landmark structures with style and distinction as this image displays the unique HCM skyline today.

       

Utility may still trump design in many areas, but the balance is shifting a bit, and the details are beginning to show the appreciation for their taste of what elegance means.

     

Relationships reduce risk

Our peregrinations this past week took us to visit some church members outside of Ho Chi Minh City up towards Tay Ninh. As we were searching for one of the homes of these fine people I noted a number of signs indicating what some of their neighbors did to contribute to the economy.

                                  

For our readers who need translation "Buying Dog or Cat, Alive or Dead, High Price, Down the alley, 20 meters" As we searched further for the residence of our members, I noted that the population of dogs in the neighborhood was not zero, but in fact, rather normal. The dogs were however, rather skeptical of strangers in the neighborhood (perhaps they had read the signs too.) Still it made me wonder what it was that kept them from their mongering neighbor. It could only be one thing, relationships. Their value in the relationship, as friend, guard, listener who didn't talk back, encouraging companion, and perhaps even floor cleaner, was greater than any economic incentive in a one time transaction.

The members who were the object of our search were not home, but reportedly had moved to Ho Chi Minh city for work, so we may yet find them there. But the search had given me something to think about. Why were there still dogs wandering loose around? Why had not some thief sold them off for his supper? The theme of betrayal is a common one, echoed in countless stories, and epitomized in the story of Judas, who sold out his relationship with his, and our Best Friend and Savior, for a sum far beneath his eternal worth. We don't talk too much about that choice, but I think in everyone's heart there are similar temptations to sell off something for less than its true value. 

I see it in the struggles of some missionaries who are not sure they really want to know and trust God to do what he says he will do, and so "sell" some of their eternal wealth in that relationship for a momentary pleasure or an easier path than what he invites them (and challenges them) to climb. It is painful to witness, yet not without hope. For the One who knew the ultimate betrayal also knows how to strengthen, be patient with, and ultimately lead to triumph those who falter at times in the choice between betrayal and ultimate loyalty. When we truly know Him, all these inner choices to sell out or preserve the relationship for its true worth become easier. But in the present, we hope, we exert faith, that this little puppy of a friend is much more than just a meal, more than just a means to a small sum.

                                

Our visit in Tay Ninh coincided with Mary Bliss' birthday, which our friend Nga turned into a delightful evening of celebration of this relationship. Her son and his cousins enjoyed it more for the spray confetti but the cake and flowers were a surprise and delight.

Part of our goals for our time in the south was to locate suitable space for the new senior couple who will return to a city where they have visited and lived before. We look forward to Greg and Debby Coffey coming next month, but our preliminary searches were not getting very many promising options. As we finally found a suitable place in the right location and at the right price, we were even more delighted when we recognized in the owner people of a character and quality that we hope can become good friends, not just for the Coffeys but for us as well.

                                

Their new apartment on the 8th floor will offer a good view to the western part of the city, and just enough balcony to grow their favorite greens, as well as being close enough to walk to the chapel in Da Kao.

Another highlight from this visit was making good on our determination to get translated and publish a useful text titled "Histologic Prepaprations: Common Problems and Their Solutions" initially published in English through the combined efforts of the College of American Pathologists and the National Society for Histotechnology. In my years looking at microscope slides of patient cases here, I have been regularly frustrated by the limitations of the quality of those slides, even though they have made great strides forward over the past decade. I have felt pained by the number of people given a wrong diagnosis or incomplete diagnosis, because a knowlegable pathologist could not make a diagnosis due to the quality of the slides, or the lack of a special stain. So I approached my colleagues at the CAP for permission to translate and publish the book here in Vietnamese. Even though I had given away several copies in English, I knew the people who needed access to it, were not skilled in English. So with enthusiasm, my many friends in the pathology community here helped to translate each chapter, edit them and then help me find skilled help to do the layout and prepare the final document, which can now be downloaded free of charge from the webpage of the HCM Society of Pathology. Professor Dr. Ngoc Ha, President of the Society, and her colleague Prof. Sao Trung, here announce the completion at the recent meeting of the Society.

                      

        

Prof. Sao Trung had many kind things to say about this effort, and even more kind comments about the church. He continues to promise that he will come to hear me preach at the Da Kao chapel next time we are both in town at the same time!

        

Some of othe other attendees at the meeting. This is the same classroom I have used for some of my lectures to the trainees on other visits. They always ask very interesting questions. And I think they get much more from the talks than they did when I was doing them via Skype. The relationships with these students has led to several of them attending our family class and asking questions about our other activities in Vietnam. The opportunity to share with them some of the principles of happy living, particularly when they are at a decisive moment in their lives, establishing families, choosing careers, adopting work habits and character, is a humbling role in a society that reveres teachers as does this one. We see the hopes in their eyes, and hope they will choose the life of loyalty to relationships that matter, to character, to service to others, and most especially to their families both now and in the future. 

      

Our time in the North or the South spent with these relationships with these young branch builders, however, is what preserves our lives. They are as Helaman described his striplings, exceedingly valiant for faith, even as they bump into their own weakness. They are not wealthy nor powerful in the worldly sense, but we see in them an eternal worth, a divine nature, a spiritual power beyond their own. And that powers us forward too, reminding us again that it is not things, nor money, nor property, nor position that matter, but the love of God and of his children. Our relationships with Him and with His Servants are what matter, are what protect us from being sold as a mess of pottage.