And so it was Christmas...

And so we were on vacation! As the first semester ended, the weather in Hanoi turned colder. So what do northern folks do...go to Florida! Or, in our case, go to DaNang and Quy Nhon.

Many of you know that DaNang is my favorite city in VN. Old memories, warm climate, great beaches, and good friends. We stayed one last time at Hoa's Place on China Beach. Hoa and his wife, Giao, have become close friends; they are great hosts. The "girls", six ladies from Da Nang, take us everywhere on their motorbikes and treat us like family. We traveled again to sites around town, including the huge caves of Marble Mountain.

  
         

     

Some Canadian friends joined us for a few days and then we all drove further south to the port city of Quy Nhon. More great beach and a wonderful hotel where the sound of the surf rocked us to sleep for 5 nights. 

                          

On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day we gathered together - 2 teams from Hanoi and 2 from Quy Nhon. Kids, gifts, turkey dinner and meringue pie, mmm! It was a joy to celebrate with folks who understand the true meaning of the holiday. We were all blessed.

      

We were back in Hanoi for New Year's...is it really 2011 already? 

A new year but the same purpose as we return to classes and sharing

the good news that came on Christmas so long ago.