The Big Sunday

Sunday, June 23, I had two big events. First the visit from Nam and his family. Here is a picture of Nam, his mother Binh, and father Vinh, along with Fr. Bill and Dinh in the back. Vinh is a fine artist who works for the Vietnamese television station. He designs the backdrops for the news announcers. Binh is an elementary school teacher.





Here Vinh is sketching a picture of Fr. Bill. He also did one of Dinh and one of me. I have decided I would part with mine for only $1,000,000 if you would like it. Prints will go for considerably cheaper.







Here is a picture of Vinh's picture of me. I must say that I look dashing. It was sad to say good-bye to Nam and Vinh and Binh, but I enjoyed my time with them.




The second part of the day was my visit to Tuy Trung parish, about 5 kilometers outside of Phat Diem. Tuy Trung means Middle Village. It is truly the countryside, with beautiful rice fields and wonderful people. I rode on the back of Vinh's (the pre-seminarian) motorbike. Here is a video of my ride. Take a look at how the road is actually only a sidewalk, and how you can always run into a water buffalo or two.

I know, pretty amazing eh? And then we got to the church. It is in the middle of rice paddies, so the tower stuck up out of nowhere. Inside, the church, only four years old, was packed with every age, from toddlers to the elderly. Fr. Hien said mass and everyone sang beautifully, and I mean everyone sang. It was magnificently loud. After mass, the altar boys of the chapel (it is a mission of a larger parish), met me for a picture.

Then the elders of the church invited me in for tea in their new reception room. After some wonderful conversation, we took a picture. Here is a view of us under the statue of Mary. The background is the setting sun.

And finally, the bell tower. It was a magnificent sight that said goodbye. It is easy to see that God is blessing this place and these people.