CHÚC MỪNG NĂM MỚI!

That means Happy New year in Vietnamese. Vietnam is celebrating the Lunar new year or theater of Spring. They call the holiday, Tet. It is an official government holiday and almost everything shuts down for 3 days up to 2 weeks. The shops are not open, the little restaurants are not serving food but surprisingly this afternoon the streets were busy. A lot of motorcycles with families on them going to their extended family to celebrate. People are boiling giant pots with Chung cake in them. It takes hours and hours for it to be cooked. Families or church Branches  gather and talk and keep the fire going sometimes through the night. Chung cake is a small amount of pork surrounded by mung beans then rice that becomes glutinous from the process. They are wrapped in banana leaves and boiled. There is a street dedicated to decorations in Hanoi and during Tet it is so fun to walk down. There are so many people and so many decorations out. 

We enjoyed a yummy lunch today with the parents and grandma of our mission secretary, Hau. (And his wife Minh) They are not members but they fed us and 6 missionaries. They also passed out lucky money when we arrived. This is a fun tradition. They passed out red envelopes to guests and children with money in them. You also give red envelopes as a tip to people who help you or work for you like security guards, hair dresser, etc. I enjoyed asking Hau’s grandma about her life. Her early memories of Tet were simple. Her mother died when she was 8 years old. There were 5 children her father was trying to take care of and they were poor. At Tet they killed one chicken. They had chicken to eat one time a year at Tet. She helped to kill it and get it ready to eat. She is grateful that now she can go to the store and buy checked whenever she wants. She lived in Hanoi during the French War and the American war. She was serving in the military and that is where she met her husband (who passed away in 2022). I asked her how did she and her family stay safe during the war. She said they went underground a lot. The government would warn them. She raised 3 good sons and is proud of her family. She became a nurse and she loved helping with labor and delivery. She misses her husband and I was able to promise her she will see him again someday. She gave me a beautiful rhinestone covered purse as a gift and Hau’s mom gave me a pretty purse too covered with artificial blueish black pearls. They are so loving and kind to Americans and especially to Americans who take the time to get to know them. She thanked me for asking her interesting questions. 

One of my favorite things is seeing the streets lined with people selling beautiful bonsai looking trees ready to bloom with pink or yellow blossoms, There are small to large potted Kumquat trees to take home or you can buy a handful of branched for a vase or a giant bent branch to display in your home. People begin shopping and looking for a couple of weeks before the holiday. The streets of Hanoi are decorated with vendors and their beautiful plants for sale. 

This year our Tet branch came from our driver and his home town. They are farmers and he brought us one of their branches. It kind of qualifies for a Charlie Brown reel but it makes me more happy because he did it out of kindness for us. I love it. 

We have 5 missionaries going home this week and 3 arriving at the end of the week. It is always hard to say goodbye but we are so proud of them and the hard work they did in Vietnam. We truly get to work with some of the most elect young people on earth. I love missionaries they are amazing! 

Finding miracles from our AP’s: Elders and sisters! Here is an amazing way to find during the next few days that we just tried. Go to any ngõ/hẻm near your church and say "chúc mừng năm mới!" to everyone you see on the street and on their porch! Most will want to come out to meet and talk with you, and sometimes even invite you inside! We had 3 families invite us in where we were able to explain our work and invite them to english activity and church! 

Finding Miracle from the south: God is pouring out his blessings on tân sơn nhất today As we were about to go up the elevator of our apartment to end the day, a man told us to wait. He then proceeded to tell us that he wanted his two kids to join the church. I'm not sure how he knows about our church, but the Lord has been preparing His children in tân sơn nhất

One more Miracle from the AP’s: ALWAYS TALK TO THE TAXI DRIVER! It's great roleplay practice, but also sometimes they want to come unto Christ. Elder Moore and I were on our way back from an appointment in a taxi. We got onto the topic of Church. We felt the Spirit lead us to teach a certain principle of the Gospel in ways we've never thought of before, it's an incredible feeling! It clicked for him and something changed. He started asking if he could join the church and when we could meet with him. He asked if he could come and see the church when he dropped us off, we showed him the chapel and sang a song with him. He was changing before our very eyes. He asked about tithing. When it came to a close we pulled out our wallet to pay him for the ride but he said that we didn't need to pay, and that he knew the Lord would provide for him like we promise he does for full tithe payers. We have a lesson online tomorrow night! GOD IS WORKING AMONG US!

It is also a Tet tradition to wish people good wishes when you meet them or leave. So I wish you a Happy and Healthy New year. I hope you are able to set and reach goals and live a life centered on Christ. I wish for you to have joy and success. 

Love, 

Sister Hughes