Wow. I see that it's been quite some time since I've come back to update this blog. Hopefully that doesn't mean that I haven't kept up with those of you who might check in on it! I try to keep up with updates and emails as I can and this blog is really more of a secondary concern. That being said, I thought I'd update you all on a little piece of culture that we've been learning more and more about almost daily - luck.

From what we've learned from friends, teachers and our visits to temples and other places of worship, Andrew and I have found that a desire for good luck tints a lot of what the Vietnamese do. They have an insatiable drive to try anything and everything that they can to try and get as much currency into their "luck bank" as they can. Whether they worship Buddha, their ancestors, a wrong image of Jesus, the gods of longevity, prosperity and land, or any combination therein, nationals here believe that these various deities can offer them a leg-up over any situation in life. Offerings of food, cigarettes, cut-out paper shapes of cars, motorbikes and houses, and the burning of incense can all lead the deities or spirits to look on their worshipers more favorably and give that extra boost you may need to win the lottery or make more sales. The prayer request most often made by those we've asked? Luck.

Signs of this abound. Bus drivers tape thick bunches of burning incense to their bumpers. Women selling fruit from tiny carts will make room for a tiny altar complete with incense cup and offering plate. The vast majority of businesses of all kinds have altars whose offerings are freshened daily in order to keep deities and spirits pleased - what kind of ancestral spirit would even consider blessing a house who is offering two-day old fruit?

But, just as you can earn luck, you can also lose it by means of various faux pas. When burying deceased relatives, great care must be taken to ensure that no tree roots can grow through the coffin, thereby invoking the ire of the deceased. Mirrors should be placed at the doorway of a house to scare away evil spirits who can bring bad luck. When children are playing, one child must never jump over the head of another or bad luck will come to that child's family. I still haven't figured out the reasoning behind the last one yet. Because of all of these potential negative "luck points," most Vietnamese live in perpetual fear. They are constantly on watch for anything that could impact their potential for good luck.

As Christians, we know that there is no such thing as "luck." We know that everything happens for a reason and there are no coincidences. Our enemy has managed to fool those who don't know JC into believing that the various blessings poured onto them come through luck or good works. They give credit where none is due and so spend their lives constantly worrying about luck. They are distracted and this is exactly what the enemy desires and it's one of his greatest weapons here.

Ask that the people would be unblinded and that they would seek after the true bestower of blessings above all else.

Thanksgiving 2010 has come and gone! (in Southeast Asia.) Let's not mince words and just admit that the most iconic part of this particular holiday is the fantastic meal that accompanies the giving of thanks for our many undeserved blessings. Sadly, this part of Vietnam doesn't have much in the way of Western food and most of the people here have probably never seen turkey in their lives except for maybe in picture books. Having realized this, Andrew and I decided we would make this a Thanksgiving to remember. While most of you will be chowing down on turkey, mashed potatoes, casseroles, and cranberry sauce, we enjoyed a few dishes you may not be quite accustomed to. What follows are photos of our... interesting... lunch, as well as our more conventional dinner. Enjoy!

About three days ago my partner Andrew and I finally left Ho Chi Minh City and all I can say is that that place was a blast! We spent about 6 weeks there studying the Vietnamese language in preparation for working in the city of Can Tho. Though we spent most of our time in District 1, something of a downtown/city center kind of thing, we never even got to know it too well because HCMC IS STINKIN' HUUUUUUGE! The city has about 24 districts and well over six million residents. My hometown of El Paso is sitting comfortably at a population of slightly fewer than one million (22nd largest city in America! Woo!) and has mostly a suburban feel to it while Vietnam's *largest* (corrected thanks to Liz!) city on the other hand is pretty dense and urbanized.

Oh yeah, and it's in Asia.

What that means for me practically is that almost every person owns there own motorbike with cars being out of most peoples' income range. Millions of bikes fill the streets everyday and make traffic into a congested and convoluted mess. And if you have a need for order with your transportation needs, then this is probably not the place for you. Seeing vehicles driving on the wrong side of the road and on sidewalks is not only common, it's pretty much how many people get around.

The evening rush hour is often a huge mess of many hundreds of motorbikes trying to navigate a precious few roads. You can sometimes be stuck pushing your bike with only your feet for over an hour.

Recently I've been struck by just how much beauty God has been placing around me. Perhaps this is something that, as selfish individuals, we often choose to overlook, but it is there nonetheless.

For example, have you ever sat down to just stare at a patch of grass? It's amazing! So many individual stalks and roots, the cells going through photosynthesis whose byproduct chlorophyll colors each individual stalk a brilliant green! Even the smell is amazing! And it all just sits there, not asking anything, but being a blessing from our Father in heaven. In the rush of life it's easy to just ignore it as a blur of color as we continue on our way to accomplish the day's goals. And thus, we miss an awesome picture of God's beauty and majesty that is right in front of us and grass is just the beginning!

The people that God has placed in our lives are constant reminders of God's majesty and beauty. It was specifically during my job training that I realized that all the people there, though very different, each displayed different attributes of the One who created them. Some were were especially caring, others discerning, still others bold or gracious, just to name a few.These traits and the people they are embodied in are absolutely amazing. Only a God of awesome perfection could see fit to leave such a beautiful mark on a finite vessel of earth.We are each made beautifully and perfectly by He who gives only good gifts.