Tuyen Quang Homestay

December 2017

In December we took a long drive to a commune in the Northern mountains of Vietnam for the purpose of distributing wheelchairs. Our partner organization, The Women’s Union, had us stay in a “home stay”, a sort of bed and breakfast, with the Tay Muong Ethnic people. The home stay was in a lodge that was on stilts in the mountain jungle.

The rooms were closed off by curtains – about 10 sections. The windows were open shuttered and allowed the cool, damp air to circulate. The section that we occupied, during our stay, was in the corner. We ate our dinner on the floor on a mat of leaves - pork belly, rice, chicken feet soup, spring rolls (nem), cooked Morning Glory greens with fruit (guava, pomelo, and watermelon) for dessert… It was delicious!!!!

After the dinner, the Tay people put on a delightful program of singing and dancing. 

The local Communist Party was there and joined in our fun evening. They asked us to dance with them. They have a special bamboo stick dance, similar to stick dances in other countries, which consists of long poles that are clapped in rhythm on the floor -- your dance step must match the rhythm so that you dance through the sticks, while keeping the rhythm, without tripping. It was fun. I don’t think they have many foreigners visit there so they made sure that we knew we were welcome. We certainly enjoyed our evening and the experience made us appreciate this sweet, humble people even more.

Going to sleep was a little difficult… every time we started to go asleep, there was a dog barking, a pig squealing, or strange sounds from the mountain jungle. However, the unique experience was well worth the poor night’s sleep. We woke up early enough in the morning to see them butcher a chicken for breakfast soup.

The rice noodle chicken soup (Pho Ga) was cooked on an open fire and served with lots of greens from their garden. After breakfast the people gave us a tour of their garden, animal pens and all that goes with their way of life, which was fascinating. We made some new best friends. They wanted us to stay longer and we wish we could have. 

We had the opportunity to bring wheelchairs to people that really need them. One man, 83 years old, had a stroke several months ago and now he can’t walk. The wheelchair gives him hope. He has had to stay in bed a lot and the wheelchair has helped him get up and around again. When we were at his humble home, his great granddaughter was having her first birthday and they were all surprised and delighted when we sang our traditional American birthday song to her.

We had a ceremony at the Communist Party Commune Office and gave out five more wheelchairs to people that really needed them. One of them was for a 5-year-old boy who had some brain injuries at birth and has not developed physically and mentally; his mother carries him around all the time. She is so happy to be able to have a wheelchair that will help her  better care for her young son.

We make sure that the people, we give our resources and assistance to, know that the money for the projects is all donated by families from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We tell them that our Church members care about the people of Vietnam and that they want them to have a better life. It is a humbling experience for us to manage the precious donated humanitarian funds of the Church. We feel very privileged to be on this mission in Northern Vietnam. We learn so much about the people and the culture and have had many unique experiences.

“… in as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”         --Matthew 25:40 

The Savior wants us to be aware of those around us that are suffering. I challenge you to do something that will help lighten the load of someone else. It can be as simple as donating to the humanartian fund on a tithing slip at the bishop’s office or donating online: 

LDS Humanitarian Aid Fund

I promise you that your acts of kindness will not go unnoticed and will be very appreciated. We love the Savior and are grateful for this mission to be able to serve him in this capacity.

Warmly, 

Elder and Sister Thomason