This morning I took my annual trip to spend time with Tuan's family and with some of the neediest of Van Hai parish. Here again I visited Ba. She just got back from a month in the hospital in Hanoi. She is getting very tired, but still has tremendous charisma.
Chao is, of course, the best. He lights up the room. We had a great talk, not just about the weather, but some personal things too.
Here are his sisters and his father. We all laughed a lot and really enjoyed just hanging out. Seeing Chao and and his family always makes me feel good.
Then we went to see one of the elders of the parish. Thu is now 100 and has difficulty hearing, but not in speaking. He made me promise I would pray for him because he was going to pray for me. That's a good deal. Oh, and this is his granddaughter who likes to speak English.
Next we went to see Ngoc. Since he was a child, he has a condition where his muscles contract and finds it difficult to move. In spite of this, he is always smiling. In fact, his parish priest calls him Mr. Smile. This is his mother and his niece. He is a great guy.
Next we visited Dong. As a teenager he lost one leg, then another had to be removed when he was in his 30s. He is a great talker who likes to joke and, like everyone I know, smiles all the time. This is is mother and father.
We went back to Tuan's house and had a wonderful lunch. Tuan thought I might like some cheese, and some of his nieces and nephews tried it. A whole new experience.
Not only cheese, but a cheese sandwich. About half of the kids liked it, the other half just smelled it then gave it away.
This is Tuan's youngest nephew. He slept during lunch, but was wide awake for the talking afterwards. He's all of six months old.
Picture of the some of the boys and then more of the family. The third picture is Tuan with two of his brothers and his mother.
Finally, the whole family. It's become a yearly thing that we all want to continue. It's always good to come back to some home cooking and good friends.
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