Chuc Mung Nam Moi!! Happy New Year!! (Don't Breathe Unless You Need To)

We had great plans for p-day on Monday; all our missionaries were excited to hike up the 1000 steps to see the Thanh Giong Monument. We had even scheduled a 16-seater van to take all 8 of us plus a branch member up together. But when we woke up, the Air Quality Index said our air was at 203, dangerous to be outdoors, and even though the missionaries (mostly) still wanted to go, I didn't think the Mission Health Advisor would be a responsible person if she took young people hiking when the air was about the 4th worst in the world. We were in a quandary, and were discussing what it would take to cancel the van when we realized that Viet Phu Thanh Chuong (Thanh Chuong's Viet Palace) was about the same distance from home, hence we could still take the van, it wouldn't require hiking, and was still a supremely cool place that these missionaries hadn't seen before. Whew! Each of these places are ones we have been to multiple times before, and each is worth going to multiple times.

This is the place where the artist Thanh Chuong collected artifacts and pottery and Vietnamese cultural heritage from all over the country and brought them all to this outdoor museum where it would be protected and displayed. If you look back at previous blogs, you will see many more pictures--and some may even be the same ones--of this amazing area.

One other great thing about Monday? It was our 45th wedding anniversary. The best way to celebrate? Why, Dairy Queen, of course!

Tuesday we had our regular District Council meeting. It seems much fuller with 6 young missionaries who come with their lunches. We have training from Preach My Gospel, Missionary Standards, Adjusting to Missionary Life, and then discuss the Key Indicators, which include how many newly baptized members came to church, how many "friends" came, how many members participated in lessons, how many baptisms are scheduled, how many took place this past week. The focus is always on "what can we improve this coming week?" And then comes role playing, which is usually reserved for the young missionaries, who need to practice how to teach the principles and doctrines.

After the training meeting, they all like to stick around for another hour and do their language study in our apartment. We like that because we can participate if we want, ask questions when we want, and learn a little more...sometimes.

Tuesday evening is game night, and the purpose of that is to have an evening where investigators can come have fun with each other and with branch members (usually young single adults) in a place where they can easily feel the Spirit. The missionaries always begin the evening with a spiritual thought, and then the games begin--anything from Werewolf to Uno to Monopoly to dice games that Allen has discovered. Oh, and we mustn't forget table tennis!

(Happy Birthday, Kevin!!)

New Year's Eve in Vietnam was pretty fun this year. We took a Grab to Hoan Kiem Lake to see what festivities would be going on there. Allen had checked, and there were to be a light show and a concert, and so we wanted to see what else would take place. Early in the afternoon, the young women were once again vying for the best spots in their ao dais.

This is the one that gets my vote.

The workers had all the flowers looking beautiful for the holiday.

These photo op spots were all around the lake...

The concert venue was getting crowded by 4 pm, and the concert didn't begin until 7 pm. So we went walking to avoid the crowds.

We didn't do a good job of avoiding the crowds!

There were food vendors all over the streets, many of them selling the same things.

AND we found da da da... a pagoda... I'll bet you never would have guessed.

Just beautiful...

We had time to kill, so we just kept walking...

We passed lots of outdoor cooking spots; the kind we were warned against eating, so we don't eat there.

And we found St. Joseph's Cathedral again, all lit up since it was nighttime.

I loved this Christmas tree for my granddaughters...

Another of the photo ops, greatly in demand. We were pushed out of the way by one woman who felt that she had waited long enough for her turn. We usually took our pictures from a distance rather than wait for an opening; we got lucky with this one!

Once it was dark, we headed to the end of the lake where we had a view of the lit-up turtle castle and ate a snack. We didn't have to wait long!

Meanwhile, the crowds grew, and the concert got under way! We began to make our way back to the end of the lake where the roads would be open to cars again. We had heard enough of the Vietnamese singing (now the teenage singers were starting up), and we had watched the light show for an hour; it was time to go home.

As we left, the crowds were pouring in.

One last chance to buy a balloon...

And Allen managed to see the fireworks from our balcony.

Happy New Year's Eve!

On New Year's Day, we went to a Banh Mi place and had a Doner Kebab, one my favorite sandwiches in Hanoi. Then we picked up a few things from the market and headed for home. It was Thursday, and we would be going to English in the evening.

Friday, the air was finally more breathable, so Allen and I went for a walk after lunch. We had to stick around before lunch for some repairs to be made on our apartment; we'd been waiting since Nov. 19 and we didn't want to put them off any longer. So after lunch we headed out into places unknown...sort of...well, we know most of the streets that are within walking distance of our apartment in the direction of Hoan Kiem Lake. That's okay, we traversed them anyway. With our coats on, no less! It's been downright chilly lately--in the low 60s or high 50s!

These fish are all on the guy's scooter...

Fruit Loops Fish...

We were on flower street again...

Here's a place getting ready for Tet already...

Another pagoda...

And then in the evening it was Young Single Adults. We hung around long enough to make sure they had enough people that they didn't need us. When it's all Vietnamese young people, we only slow them down when we need interpretation for their games, etc. We went home to work on a Sunday School lesson for Sunday.

Saturday morning we made sure we were ready to teach the class for Sunday School, and then we headed to the church for our routine of meetings (Allen) and piano (me), and then English (both of us).

One different thing tonight is that the missionaries went out to a spicy noodle restaurant called Seoul after English and invited us to come along. The hottest level of spiciness was a 7; mine was a zero and was almost too spicy. Sad.

Sunday was a great day, and the Sunday School lesson went well. Our branch took pictures to commemorate the new year. Allen and I went with the Elders to teach a less active member who is very sweet and whose family needs the gospel in their lives. And here we are at the end of the day, ready to get some sleep and start another week tomorrow. Happy New Year!

Chuc Mung Nam Moi!!