Today we traveled to the orphanage to see the kids for the last time. It was wonderful but very sad. The kids had written things out in English like "We miss you!" and "I dreamed of you last night!" It was so sweet. I got to hold this little boy named Foung, who is 3 years old. ADORABLE. We said our goodbyes and headed out for lunch and a debrief with the GVI staff.
We've made some great relationships here and we will definitely be coming back. The kids welcomed us as family and we feel a strong connection there. A10 will be back next summer.
We are having a dinner at a Canadian run restaurant tonight which means ribs, pizza and hamburgers (yay!) Then we are heading to the airport to begin the 28 hours of traveling to come home.
It's always bittersweet. We are so sad to leave our new friends here, but we're also very excited to see our loved ones back home.
Thanks for following our adventures here. We have a few fantastic photographers on this team so we'll post some great stuff over the next few days when we return home. Look for us all on facebook.
Peace and hen gop lai! (see you later!)
Chris Barras
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
Saying goodbye to Do Son Beach and the kids
Yesterday, we parted ways with our new friends, the kids from the ss3 orphanage. There were tears. It was tough to part company. We will see many of them again on Wednesday morning for our final goodbye, but some of them we won't. It was an emotional goodbye.
We have a fun day happening now. We took a 4 hour car/ferry trip to Cat Ba Island and arrived at our hotel just after sunset. I'm not a good enough writer to explain how gorgeous it was. We put some Hillsongs on in the van ride and all sang as we watched the sun go down, from the rocky cliffs. See the photos later. Awesome stuff.
This morning we took a guided tour to monkey island. The boat ride there was outstanding. The island itself was a tropical beauty. We went for a little hike until we found the monkeys. Let's just say the wild monkeys and our experience with them was somewhere between absolutely hilarious and terrifying. They are aggressive little suckers. You had to hold tight to your bag!
We have a photo of Marci that really tells it all. She has been such a trooper on this trip.
We are heading back to the hotel and swinging by Halong Bay. Honestly this is some of the most amazing land Dad ever put on earth! Everyone has been pretty blown away.
The health of the team is good. Emily seems better each day. Gwenyth has a bit of a cough, but nothing health wise has hit the team that we wouldn't see if we were at home.
We will go to the orphanage tomorrow one last time to say our goodbyes. That will be hard. We want to build long term relationships with these kids. Several people have already said how much they want to come back and see these kids grow up.
Thank you so much for all of you that have supported us on this trip. We feel very loved.
I hope to post once more tomorrow before we get back on the plane to fly home. We miss you all!
LBR,
Chris Barras
We have a fun day happening now. We took a 4 hour car/ferry trip to Cat Ba Island and arrived at our hotel just after sunset. I'm not a good enough writer to explain how gorgeous it was. We put some Hillsongs on in the van ride and all sang as we watched the sun go down, from the rocky cliffs. See the photos later. Awesome stuff.
This morning we took a guided tour to monkey island. The boat ride there was outstanding. The island itself was a tropical beauty. We went for a little hike until we found the monkeys. Let's just say the wild monkeys and our experience with them was somewhere between absolutely hilarious and terrifying. They are aggressive little suckers. You had to hold tight to your bag!
We have a photo of Marci that really tells it all. She has been such a trooper on this trip.
We are heading back to the hotel and swinging by Halong Bay. Honestly this is some of the most amazing land Dad ever put on earth! Everyone has been pretty blown away.
The health of the team is good. Emily seems better each day. Gwenyth has a bit of a cough, but nothing health wise has hit the team that we wouldn't see if we were at home.
We will go to the orphanage tomorrow one last time to say our goodbyes. That will be hard. We want to build long term relationships with these kids. Several people have already said how much they want to come back and see these kids grow up.
Thank you so much for all of you that have supported us on this trip. We feel very loved.
I hope to post once more tomorrow before we get back on the plane to fly home. We miss you all!
LBR,
Chris Barras
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
First Full Day in Hanoi
Hello everyone!
Greetings from the heart of Hanoi near Hoan Kiem lake. The team is doing very well. This morning we headed out to the orphanage to meet the kids for the first time. We did some icebreaker stuff with them. They wanted to play with everyone's cameras. The local media was there doing a story on us being there so Sherman from GVI and I both got interviewed for the news. Ill try to get a copy of it. I tried to explain what Love Beyond Reason was and why we came to Vietnam to work with the kids. The translation of it is Love without limits. I like that too. We might get tee shirts made up that say that.
Please be thinking of Emily today. She is not feeling well. It doesn't seem to be a stomach bug. More of an sinus infection type thing. A few people went out and got her some medicine.
Tomorrow we head out to the beach. Everyone is pumped for that. The kids are adorable. It's going to be a great experience. I've been practicing my Vietnamese songs! We are headed out for dinner tonight at Highway 4 restaurant in Hoan Kiem district. *google it) The owner is a great lady we met here last year.
The team is doing well and is enjoying learning a new culture and language. We miss you all. Hopefully we'll be able to report to you tomorrow night from Do Sun beach.
LBR,
Chris Barras
Greetings from the heart of Hanoi near Hoan Kiem lake. The team is doing very well. This morning we headed out to the orphanage to meet the kids for the first time. We did some icebreaker stuff with them. They wanted to play with everyone's cameras. The local media was there doing a story on us being there so Sherman from GVI and I both got interviewed for the news. Ill try to get a copy of it. I tried to explain what Love Beyond Reason was and why we came to Vietnam to work with the kids. The translation of it is Love without limits. I like that too. We might get tee shirts made up that say that.
Please be thinking of Emily today. She is not feeling well. It doesn't seem to be a stomach bug. More of an sinus infection type thing. A few people went out and got her some medicine.
Tomorrow we head out to the beach. Everyone is pumped for that. The kids are adorable. It's going to be a great experience. I've been practicing my Vietnamese songs! We are headed out for dinner tonight at Highway 4 restaurant in Hoan Kiem district. *google it) The owner is a great lady we met here last year.
The team is doing well and is enjoying learning a new culture and language. We miss you all. Hopefully we'll be able to report to you tomorrow night from Do Sun beach.
LBR,
Chris Barras
Monday, July 25, 2011
Vietnam-bound!
Dear Family and Friends,
The final pre-trip team meeting has taken place. Our first group dinner, Vietnamese (albeit made in the States) food included, was a great bonding success! We are running our last few errands and making our final packing preparations today. Tomorrow morning we will meet at a neighbor church at 7 am to bus up to Dulles Airport. We fly out at 1:25 pm for Seoul, South Korea! We arrive in Seoul at 4:35 pm their time.
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/
We'll spend a few hours in the Seoul airport, which is apparently similar in size and quality to Tysons II in Washington, D.C.. We'll report back on that of course. We are scheduled to fly out of Seoul at 7:30 pm their time. All systems go, we will land in Hanoi, Vietnam at 10:05 pm, Hanoi time. Contact your traveler for a full itinerary.
We appreciate your prayers and financial support leading up to this trip. We are departing the U.S. with open ears and willing hearts. We are ready and excited to do God's work and love on some children!
We will check in again soon. Keep praying and following our blog! Thank YOU for loving us through this adventure!
Yours,
Vietnam Orphanage Team 2011
The final pre-trip team meeting has taken place. Our first group dinner, Vietnamese (albeit made in the States) food included, was a great bonding success! We are running our last few errands and making our final packing preparations today. Tomorrow morning we will meet at a neighbor church at 7 am to bus up to Dulles Airport. We fly out at 1:25 pm for Seoul, South Korea! We arrive in Seoul at 4:35 pm their time.
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/
We'll spend a few hours in the Seoul airport, which is apparently similar in size and quality to Tysons II in Washington, D.C.. We'll report back on that of course. We are scheduled to fly out of Seoul at 7:30 pm their time. All systems go, we will land in Hanoi, Vietnam at 10:05 pm, Hanoi time. Contact your traveler for a full itinerary.
We appreciate your prayers and financial support leading up to this trip. We are departing the U.S. with open ears and willing hearts. We are ready and excited to do God's work and love on some children!
We will check in again soon. Keep praying and following our blog! Thank YOU for loving us through this adventure!
Yours,
Vietnam Orphanage Team 2011
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