Cooking, Culture and Conference...

April 9, 2017

Mr. Giang’s Fish

We are doing a project to provide new restrooms and clean water in some schools in Thai Bihn, about 3 hours South East of Hanoi. Mr. Giang, from the Thai Bihn Red Cross, has been visiting us several times in the last month, as we plan and discuss the projects there. Every time he comes, he brings gifts... always fresh chicken and fish, as well as other fresh produce, like bananas, apples and cashew nuts. The large fish he brings are called lung fish (2 ½ to 3 lbs), and are caught in the river. The chicken are "athletic" chickens with the head and feet still attached. They are "athletic" because they run around a lot, have very little fat on them, and have become quite tough. Fortunately, I have a pressure cooker that takes care of the toughness of the meat, and the result is delicious broth for soup and cooking. The other day Hieu, our translator, cooked the fish, Mr. Giang had given to us, in such a delicious Vietnamese way. He marinated the fish with a mixture of ginger, turmeric, galangal root, garlic, lemon grass, scallions, pineapple and dill. We marinated the fish for about 6 hours, and then baked it for about an hour. It tasted as good as it looks. We ate the fish with fresh herbs in spring rolls that we dipped in fish sauce. A green mango salad and fresh tropical fruit for desert, completed our meal. Yum! We are fellowshipping Phuong’s family, so we shared our meal with them. It has been fun expanding my horizons, learning new things with new people in Vietnam.

The Blessing of General Conference

We have been more involved with the missionaries in our branch. Last week we had a visit with the man who was helping Nhi, the young girl who was our house guest a few weeks ago. The missionaries have been teaching him and he has become quite receptive. In our last meeting, the Spirit was, undeniably present, and this man was feeling it very strong, but was not quite sure what to do with it. I bore my testimony that what he was feeling is the Spirit. We invited him to come and listen to General Conference with us on Sunday. He came and brought four other investigators with him!!! Conference was in Vietnamese (Gerald and I listened with headphones in English). It was wonderful to see that the chapel was filled! What an answer to our prayer it was, when a lot of the talks were about the Holy Ghost and how to recognize and use it in your life. Our investigator was very touched by his experience, listening to General Conference.  I love Conference! I love having answers to prayers, and I love being involved with the missionary work here in Vietnam.

5 live crabs

Lunch with my sweetheart