Ringing out the old and welcoming the new

The last week of December and the first week of January were full of comings and goings.  The week after Christmas we had a Skype training for new trainers on Tues (four of our six trainers are in Ho Chi Minh City this time around), a mission leadership council on Wednesday, set apart one Hanoi elder on Wednesday evening, picked up four new arriving elders at the airport late that night, put them to bed, welcomed a temporary Hanoi Elder on Thursday morning and then did orientation with all of them, and then Lewis met with them and their trainers before we sent them all off to their areas  in the late afternoon..

Orientation involves information about how to stay healthy,  what to do if you need medical attention,  finances information, cultural instruction, introduction to the language program (still in Beta here), photos for the transfer board, recording visa information, bicycle information and transactions, information about the English classes we do as community service and I'm sure something else that I can't remember, while L. does first interviews.  Elders and Sisters from the Hanoi districts and our fearless office couple, the Van Wagenens and I do various parts of the orientation and they are great at welcoming our new branch builders.  Lunch is at the bún cha eatery, one of a series of food stalls next to our office building that makes particularly good bún cha.

Here are photos of our new elders, their trainers, and some of the zone leaders who helped with orientation,



squished into the office building elevator after lunch,

and then more formally.

If you go along the back row from the left, Elders 2, 3 4 and 7 are new.
And in the front row (not counting L) they are numbers 2 and 3

On Sunday the Hanoi  Branch Relief Society presidency  took a New Year photo of the sisters in attendance that day.  They are good women.

We had a visitors from Russia and Korea with us that day who are also in the photo.  I was sorry that KC and Elizabeth had already returned home.  Their language skills would have come in very handy.

And on Wednesday we flew back in Ho Chi Minh City with a foray to the Delta planned for the next few days for Lewis to do interviews and check out the home that a member, a dedicated returned sister branch builder with whom we worked in Hanoi in 2015,  has offered as a gathering place for another small group of our far-flung saints who wish to listen to the virtual branch together each week.

This is the view out the window in the apartment where we are staying in HCMC.