Saturday morning, Fr. Hien and I visited the convent of the Sisters of the Lovers of Holy Cross. These are the sisters who work so hard and so many amazing things. Their convent is only one block from the cathedral.
Since it is Saturday, the sisters hold English classes for any children who would like to come. Here is a classroom of 6-8 year olds. They are so excited about learning English, and like children, they have no problem learning it.
This is the outside of the new chapel for the convent. It is enormous. The old chapel was just too small, so they built one that would accommodate all 300 of the sisters. The design is simple, with large surfaces and pastel colors, giving it a homey and relaxing feel for a building this size.
Underneath the chapel was another English class, this time of older students. They were so much fun. They asked me questions and made me laugh so many times.
Yeah, that's me just being stupid. All in a day's work.
It was just before lunch, and the sisters take time then to sit quietly and pray. These are only some of the sisters and the others are still teaching or working. You can see how beautiful the chapel is.
Fr. Hien and I walked quietly out of the chapel. The main part of the chapel is on the second floor and a portico goes completely around it for shade. Here you can see Fr. Hien and you can also see the rice drying on the cement sidewalk from the harvest. The sisters have their own rice fields.
This is a view along the portico of the chapel looking from the back to the front. Notice the beautiful greenery (they are actually beautiful little blue flowers) and the rice drying.
This view is looking down from the side of the back of the chapel. This large stone sculpture of natural stone is between the twin stairways up to the chapel.
Fr. Hien looking cool in front of one of the topiary...along with more drying rice.
Here is a picture of the dining room which can seat up to 300 sisters for a meal.
The answer is yes, the sisters grow their own pigs...and they eat them, too. I was afraid that they would stink, but there was no smell at all. They did want to come close to me, but I remembered that scene in
The Wizard of Oz, so I kept my distance.
The sisters take care of 300 young children every day except Sunday. The children are all between the ages of 2 and 5, those who have not started school yet. Because the families are so poor, the sisters do this free of charge (30 of them) and feed them breakfast and lunch. The children are dropped off in the morning and picked up at dinner time. This is Tien. He is very cute, but cannot play with the others. He does not relate to any person and must constantly be watched. If he were in the United States, he would be well-taken care of. Here, the sisters give them all the love and tender care they can.
The children had just finished their lunch and were taking a nap. It was very hot so they slept directly on the tile floor. Notice how they lie in neat rows. There was not crying or complaining. My favorite is the girl in the white shorts giving me the peace sign. How could anyone not want the best for them?
Just a picture of their little shoes all lined up like they were.
This is the children's play area. It has cute rides and part of it is covered to protect them from the harsh sun. The only problem is that there is no cushioning to make their falls softer.
When we got back to the dining hall to leave, the sisters had just sat down for lunch. How cool are they? I gave Mother Superior a copy of the book from 2009 and promised to return for dinner. The older sisters sit up front and the younger sisters in the back. They are the quiet heroes of the faith in Vietnam, and we should keep them in our prayers.
Since it is Saturday, the sisters hold English classes for any children who would like to come. Here is a classroom of 6-8 year olds. They are so excited about learning English, and like children, they have no problem learning it.
This is the outside of the new chapel for the convent. It is enormous. The old chapel was just too small, so they built one that would accommodate all 300 of the sisters. The design is simple, with large surfaces and pastel colors, giving it a homey and relaxing feel for a building this size.
Underneath the chapel was another English class, this time of older students. They were so much fun. They asked me questions and made me laugh so many times.
Yeah, that's me just being stupid. All in a day's work.
It was just before lunch, and the sisters take time then to sit quietly and pray. These are only some of the sisters and the others are still teaching or working. You can see how beautiful the chapel is.
Fr. Hien and I walked quietly out of the chapel. The main part of the chapel is on the second floor and a portico goes completely around it for shade. Here you can see Fr. Hien and you can also see the rice drying on the cement sidewalk from the harvest. The sisters have their own rice fields.
This is a view along the portico of the chapel looking from the back to the front. Notice the beautiful greenery (they are actually beautiful little blue flowers) and the rice drying.
This view is looking down from the side of the back of the chapel. This large stone sculpture of natural stone is between the twin stairways up to the chapel.
Fr. Hien looking cool in front of one of the topiary...along with more drying rice.
Here is a picture of the dining room which can seat up to 300 sisters for a meal.
The answer is yes, the sisters grow their own pigs...and they eat them, too. I was afraid that they would stink, but there was no smell at all. They did want to come close to me, but I remembered that scene in The Wizard of Oz, so I kept my distance.
The sisters take care of 300 young children every day except Sunday. The children are all between the ages of 2 and 5, those who have not started school yet. Because the families are so poor, the sisters do this free of charge (30 of them) and feed them breakfast and lunch. The children are dropped off in the morning and picked up at dinner time. This is Tien. He is very cute, but cannot play with the others. He does not relate to any person and must constantly be watched. If he were in the United States, he would be well-taken care of. Here, the sisters give them all the love and tender care they can.
The children had just finished their lunch and were taking a nap. It was very hot so they slept directly on the tile floor. Notice how they lie in neat rows. There was not crying or complaining. My favorite is the girl in the white shorts giving me the peace sign. How could anyone not want the best for them?
Just a picture of their little shoes all lined up like they were.
This is the children's play area. It has cute rides and part of it is covered to protect them from the harsh sun. The only problem is that there is no cushioning to make their falls softer.
