Visiting the Convent

This afternoon we visited the convent of the Sisters of the Lovers of the Holy Cross. They began in Vietnam and are now all over the world and even in San Jose, CA. They have 300 sisters living here and we got a chance to see everything. At left is the sewing shop where vestments for priests, deacons, and altar servers are hand made along with giant banners for church celebrations.

This sister is checking the alignment of the seams and ironing it to make sure everything is as it should be.

There are special machines for making the eucharistic hosts that you can see on the left. After they are baked, the machines punch perfect round discs. The leftover bread we got to sample...not bad.

Two years ago, the sisters completed a large chapel big enough to hold everyone. It is of simple design but very elegant, with light flooding in but windows to let in the breeze. It is on the second floor to allow for airflow.

The boys decided to take time out for meditation and prayer.

Below the new chapel is a large meeting room that is used as a classroom and for banquets. In the summer, many sisters take classes in teaching, theology, and the latest in how to manage people.

Tuan worked with one of the sisters showing how to make the straw mats for sleeping. He did his best to keep up, but sister was definitely the pro at this.

Outside of the children's classrooms there are toys to play  on. And here you can see one of the biggest children, Quyen, enjoying the ride.

Here is one of the classrooms for five year olds. The sisters take care of many little ones who are too young to go to school. You can see that there are many in this small classroom, but they were well behaved.

In another classroom, the children sang for us. We all clapped along and I have to say that the Serra guys were loving every second of it.

When we left the last classroom, this young girl waved and touched our hearts.

This is the almost-finished new water tower with a state-of-the-art water filtration system. Teacher Kyle and Teacher Peggy decided to pose like this. I have no idea why.

Before leaving, sister made sure we each got a rice paper fan with a picture of the convent's chapel on it. So if you get one of these as a present, you know it was not bought at a tourist but actually came from the  convent itself..

We decided to do a group photo of the team: the Serra students, Phat Diem students, and teachers. This is the steps of the new chapel.

We made one last stop at the old chapel. This chapel was built on the site of the original chapel. That first chapel was bombed in 1968 by American planes. The five sisters in the chapel who were praying were killed instantly. All of the surrounding buildings of the sisters were also demolished. This elderly sister was in a convent a few miles away. For the next few months, the thirty sisters who lived close traveled to the site and back home again each day, burying the dead, removing the rubble, and eventually rebuilding. In Vietnam, as everywhere, sisters can do anything.