Here at last.....

We have finally made it! Only 33 hours leaving West Hartford we landed in Vietnam and what a surprise it was. The airport has been redone, much less chaos than 8 years ago. We were met by the Catalyst staff and brought to our hotel. So much has changed, the area is really being built up and people seem to be a bit better off in Saigon than before, based on standards here, not at home. We checked into the hotel and headed out to go shopping at the Ben Than market, a large outdoor market that is like a maze but you can buy anything...after 20 minutes, the kids were just shot so back to the hotel we went.

The kids have been amazing the entire time, no complaining or whining, just great travelers all around. We took a quick swim and headed back to get ready for dinner. At 5:00om the kids sat anxiously in the lobby waiting for the infamous Anh Tuyet who help care for all of them as babies and help us parents navigate the system. We have stayed in touch via E-mail and heard of her wedding in December. Anh Tuyet finally arrived and it was wonderful to see her again. She could not believe how grown up her "babies" have gotten. Sadly, the kids were so tired at this point all three literally fell asleep with their heads on the table. I tried to pick up Jesse, she opened her eyes, looked at me, reached out for Anh Tuyet, wrapped her arms around Anh Tuyet's neck and just snuggled in and slept. Anh Tuyet was in heaven.

We had to get up and be ready at 5:00am for our flight to Kien Giang. After a middle of the night phone call to all of our rooms reminding us about the flight, it was hard to get back to sleep. We all got ready and raced to our rooms to find all the clocks were wrong and it was only 4:00am.

Anyway, we got to Kien Giang, had breakfast and the sorting of supplies began. It is hot beyond belief and working in this heat is oppressive however the needs of the people are so great you just keep going. We stopped for lunch and work began after lunch. The medical team did 82 exams in 2.5 hours, the food distribution team began sorting and packing rice and beans for tomorrows distribution, and the building team worked two site that they are putting houses on with poles right into the river to hold one side up.

I have so much more to say but am exhausted and we must be on the bus at 6:15am for breakfast and at work sites by 7:00. We see 300 patients tomorrow.

Will post pictures tomorrow which words just can't describe. To tired to edit and spell check so hope this is okay - will go over and fix tomorrow.