After the marshmallow roasting, the plastic chairs in the courtyard were all arranged so that people could sit and see the educational awards. Nothing resonates with these kids more than seeing their peers succeed. We want them to picture themselves in the group of college kids. First up- the reading of Barb's letter to the kids. Thao read it and the kids and adults listened attentively. At the end of the letter, Barb reminded them to brush their teeth every day. The kids lau

Phuong, one of our former BBW college students, came to see us at the BBQ. He is now graduated, married, and has a 15 day old baby. He works on a dragon fruit farm. His wife is able to stay home with their new baby for now. After the shopping and the playing- my previous two posts about this very same day- we went back to the hotel for showers and to get dressed up a little for the BBQ. Our schedule is pretty intense these first few days, we go from morning to night. THIS nig

One of the most meaningful ways we spend time with the kids is in simple play. Coloring together, kicking the ball around, playing with the toys we bring. Most of things I brought this year were donated by my customers and friends in my neighborhood. They dropped off things while I was still hiking, things like art and craft supplies, Legos, and the big hit this year- matchbox cars and little Thomas train sets that stick together with magnets. My neighborhood has a philanthro

Our annual trip is always full of surprises because life is filled with spontaneity, but we have a pretty ritualistic approach to our time here. We only have a week, so to get the most out of our time, We have a stucture. We have changed up activities from time to time, but the general schedule stays the same. With all of the change in the kids lives this year, we are sticking to our tried and true activities and hope the routine is comforting. So- today is BBQ day. Tonight i

Betsy, Bon Bon, Hang, Zoe, Giselle, and Thao- off to see the kids! The ride to Phan Thiet is further but takes less time and is all on highway. So it was much quieter. That was nice. We got to our hotel and checked in. It is very nice and has off season rates that are really inexpensive, but it is a beautiful place on the ocean. We will bring the kids here to swim for our field trip this year. Each year we break the ice on the first visit to the orphanage with what we call ou

Thao has been our in country facilitator and translator since 2009. To say she has mad organization skills would be a huge understatement. We have mused many times that she is the glue that holds this cool little organization together. Not only does she take care of all of the official government paperwork- and there is a lot of that- to get us here so we can do our jobs. She arranges all of our in country travel and accommodations, she schedules our field trips with the kids

We had a great day today! Phap, Phung, Hang, and her boyfriend Dong all came to see us. We walked around the city a little, which is only possible for me because of the boot I have for my foot. Traveling with a fracture stinks! Gisela and Zoe love walking with the kids. They all hold hands and it is so much fun. These are friendships that are so special. It always amazes me how close our young people are and how well they seem to know each other, even with such a huge languag

We finally have arrived at site visit time! Our team is small this year- Betsy Jett, our pres., her daughter Gisela, me, and my daughter Zoe. Zoe is here for the second year and is very proud that she saved up her own money for her ticket, with the help of the Bank of Grandma's generous interest rates. We consider our annual visit to be the core of our program in many ways. It is a time to assess how the kids are doing, whether the tutoring is effective, see for ourselves the