Today was a farewell lunch for Fr.Luong. He is leaving for a few years to study spirituality in Rome. I rode with Fr. An and here is Mr. Dao following us. We parked the motorbikes about a mile from the seminary and then waited for Fr. Hien to pick us up at the side of the main road (and the two cases of beer). He drove the rest of the way.
Here is Fr.Luong saying goodbye to all of us. It's a bittersweet day for me. He was in my first English class seven years ago, he was tremendous to all of our students from Serra two years ago, and now I will not see him for a while. He is much loved by everyone in the diocese.
The table at the bottom is older priests and myself. Serving us is Fr. Luong's father. He was a proud dad and you could see that he loves his son very much. The table in the back is for the young priests. It's sort of like Thanksgiving.
At the left is the seminarians' table, and in the back you can see the sisters. Fr. Luong sat with the seminarians. He is a "baby priest" and is very close to their age. They have been his friends for many years.
The sisters from the bishop's house came to celebrate with us. It's not a party without the sisters who make everything fun.
When we got ready to leave, Fr. Hien didn't see the logs under the rice clippings and he dented the car. We were close to the canal, so being guys, everyone came out to supervise.
While that was going on, I walked along the canal. It was a lazy day and not much was stirring.
Here's the progress so far. Not much as you can see. But everyone is helping.
This is the view between two of the houses. Such beauty, but such poverty.
And here is a bit of the fun.
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