Saigon Tonight

Hey y'all!

Still no pictures to post.  Too complicated I think--but I might give it a go tomorrow.  Tonight we're in Saigon for one night--in a pretty nice hotel with internet access so I can take a break and fill everybody in.

 

So much to tell!  I've been on the home team and laid brick and dug holes and hauled gravel and tied rebar--and met some amazing people.  The people on the Catalyst team are all wonderful--and we've really gotten to know the families of the people that we've built the houses for.  We've gotten to go way back little trails and paths and seen a side of life that is totally new to me.  I'll have pictures and stories to show when we return.

 

We visited the dump where some of the families live.  There are not words to describe the extreme poverty that we witnessed.  And in the midst of it all--people smiled at us and waved and went about their business--cooking breakfast, washing clothes, etc. 

 

Tri, Joshua, and Blake were on the school and distribution team.  They've visited many schools and organized and gave out the bikes, rice, etc.  Tri has had a great time taking on the local Vietnamese kids in soccer.  Joshua has been the expert at getting the bikes ready to be given away. 

 

Pete!  Don't forget about Pete!  At the first site all the kids learned to say "Hello Pete!" and they said it all the time!  He's the actual leader of the Home Team and has done a great job of guiding his crew and ending every day with cold Saigon beer!

 

Anyway--don't you all worry!  We're doing great and we'll come home soon with lots of stories.  I can't wait for you all to see the joy that the stickers, drawings, toys, and bicycles give these kids.  Oh yeah!  Yesterday I gave out a bunch of the pictures that kids from Drippin' and from NC drew for us to bring.  It's pretty cute to see a bunch of little Vietnamese girls holding pictures of the Alamo!

 

Love you all!

Aileen

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Distribution Team--Tri, Joshua, and Blake

Most of the trip Blake and the boys were on the Distribution team. They visited schools and distributed bicycles, rice, beans, and "fun bags" to children who are a part of the Catalyst Foundation scholarship program. They also handed out pictures that American kids drew and played games with the school kids at each school.

Blake was the king of the kids and organizing distributing rice and bikes and food. Joshua seems like he's always been here--and Tri is making friends (surprise :))! Joshua was in charge of getting the bikes ready to be distributed. Tri really enjoyed communicating with the Vietnamese kids. He also had a great time taking on the Vietnamese boys in soccer. He was impressed by their skills--they play barefoot! One point of pride was that he was the only American kid who scored during one of the games!

Above are some pictures of the distribution.

Dong Thap

This little boy was a neighbor boy who happily helped us to lay brick. He also enjoyed practicing the English he had learned at school--i.e. "Hello" "What is your name?" "How old are you?" What a sweetie!

The picture on the left is one of the houses that we worked on in Dong Thap. Dong Thap was very quaint and rural.

I'm out of order with this posting. I wrote this for the main Catalyst blog and then just sent it on to our blog. I'll add some pics.

The first thing people noticed about Dong Thap was that it was "not as
poor". The big adventure of Dong Thap has been the Tuk-tuks. These
are little motorcycle/trucks that the teams used to truck out to the
work sites. It was a ride through skinny roads and paths past rice
fields, duck farms, and Vietnamese country living. The home team
split into three and one group got to use their carpentry skills and
completely finish a house! The other group continued their finely
honed bricklaying and latrine-digging talents. The children at the
home sites enjoyed practicing their English on us and helping us with
the bricks.

One of the great treats when working on a house is looking up to see a
girl ride by on her brand new Catalyst bicycle. She's always sitting
up tall and proud! We all yell--"Catalyst bike!" so everyone working
will stop and take a look! As far as the distribution team goes--our
kids had a great time riding the tuk-tuks and have become a well oiled
machine when distributing bikes, rice, sugar, noodles, and beans.

The medical team continues to methodically labor away--they're studs!
Their big excitement was when a group of nearby homebuilders fell
through the roof of the home they were building. Caroline just about
had a heart attack when she heard--thought it was our group. But it
wasn't us--and the medical team triaged the guys, stitched them up and
sent them on their way. Mission accomplished!

The evening of Day 4 ended with an official dinner. Lots of courses--
curried rabbit, lotus seeds, lotus flower salad with beef, clam soup,
fresh mango and grapefruit. Bruce Whittaker was the toast of the
evening. He sat at the official table with the local government
officials where there was much toasting and congratulating and
celebrating. We had to carry him back to the bus--(just kidding :) ).

We're here!

We're here and everybody's doing great! The boys did just fine on the flight--and so did Blake and I! We're happy to see Pete and old friends from the last time I did this trip. Today we took a boat ride to the island of Phu Quoc and we've spent the day playing at the beach and the pool. Resting up and adjusting to Vietnam before all the work starts tomorrow.
So far...favorite funny Vietnam moment would be seeing the government officials who processed our passports and visas in the airport texting their friends between travellers! Other big change--everybody wears helmets on their scooters now--New law.
I'm really proud of both boys--they've been great travellers!
Don't know how to post pictures yet--just the "we're here" message.

When you can't speak the same language...

a nice picture will convey your message. We'll be bringing pictures from students from Rooster Springs Elementary, Dripping Springs Presbyterian, New Hope Presbyterian in Asheville, and our good friends the McMahons in NC. Thanks everyone!

Goody Bags!

Stickers, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, toys, cards, jacks, shampoo, toys, toys, and more toys! That's what all the good people of Dripping Springs have given us to bring to our new friends in Vietnam. We want to especially thank Mrs. Love's class, Mrs. Mahany's class, and the members of Dripping Springs Pres!

Here are Tri and Joshua putting together "goody bags" for kids that we'll meet at the schools, clinics, and camp.

Thanks for all the help friends and family!

Well it's almost time! We've worked hard to get ready and gotten lots of help from friends and family. First there was the Phun Pho Phundraiser! Above are some of Blake's yummy spring rolls. We had a great time with lots of new Dripping Springs friends and raised money for a good cause! It was actually your classic Hays family party with lots of kids running around like wild animals!

Next was the Dripping Spring High School's Student Council's Valentines Dance to benefit Catalyst Foundation! They also made cool t-shirts with art work from kids in Vietnam. Thank you Tigers! Y'all did a great job!

And the support has continued to pour in! Donations from friends and family in Texas and North Carolina. Our new church, Dripping Springs Presbyterian, took Catalyst Foundation on as an international mission cause to support. Thank you everyone!

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3 Weeks and Counting...

If you're reading this blog, then you know... we're going to Vietnam! Blake, Aileen, Tri, Joshua, and Pete (sweet, neat, perfect Pete) will be flying west March 20th. We're going with the Catalyst Foundation to help and play and sing and connect! They are my very, very favorite nonprofit--and I encourage everyone to give to them and give generously!



What everyone's looking forward to: Joshua: trying different foods. Tri: being back where I was first born. Blake: the plane ride. Aileen: friends, smells, sights, food, new friends, being in Vietnam with my boys. Pete...?



We're going to try our best to tell the story through this blog. We might even have a cool picture or two for your to view!