Not really believing that I haven’t posted anything for 6 months!!! So before I start a new chapter “Back at the Crossroads” Again I should fill in the gap.
After the Tet holiday in Ha Noi we rented a 23 passenger bus with a driver and headed into the mountains NW of the capital city. We visited Sa Pa and some of the surrounding villages. The people were amazingly friendly and very resourceful, some of the villages are quite a distance from the nearest road capable of handling a 4 
wheel vehicle. Everything is 
hauled in and out on the back – the back of a person, the back of a water buffalo or the back of a motorbike. All the materials used in the building in this picture were transported 4 kms (2 1/2 miles) on the back of something. 
On the day we were there, hundreds of children gathered in traditional dress inside the building.
We were treated to a great display of dancing and singing as we exchanged our traditions and cultures.
Outside the building were many more people, parents and other villagers, observing all that was going on. We had a lot of great experiences among these mountain people. There are so many stories we would love to tell but this page is not long enough. If you didn’t hear the stories while we were home, let us know so we can share with you next time we are back.
The town of Sa Pa is at 1500m above sea level and it is nestled under Phan Xi Păng mountain the highest point in Viet Nam, at 3143 metres. It is the south eastern end of the Himalayas, and while it is in the tropics, at these elevations snow is not very unusual, while we were there it was just rain and cold, around 4C.
Our outre
ach team was able to 
purchase some items which we left with community leaders to distribute to those in need. 240kgs of dried fish; 3 grocery carts of dried milk products, & diapers; 8 bunk beds for a drug rehab house; and hundreds of pairs of socks and gloves were among the practical items that we were able to give.
After Viet Nam we headed back to Kona with our team for a few days of debrief, staying at Uncle Billy’s. We said ‘goodbye’ to the many new friends who had shared the journey with us then flew into Vancouver. We stayed a few days there visiting with our son, Bryan and his family before arriving back in Okotoks March 1st to very warm and dry spring.
We contacted YWAM Turner Valley and Andy spent many days throughout the spring and summer working in support of their training programs (School of Biblical Studies and Discipleship Training School) by assisting with maintenance and construction at the base.
Renovating a bathroom; a stairwell; exterior painting; removing a 20cm (8″) thick concrete pathway; building a large deck using tree trunks for the posts and beam were some of the bigger projects.
Glenda was really blessed to be able to spend many days helping our daughters at Vicky’s Place Dayhome and with the many children in Joanna’s house.
During the first week of August we were able to participate in an Ellel School of Restoring the Healing Ministry at their retreat centre in Didsbury, Alberta. This was an intense week of training with many topics covered, it was excellent but in many ways just an introduction to healing ministry. We are sure that the future will bring opportunities to go deeper.
We both celebrated 60 years on this planet this year and were amazingly blessed to be able to gather together the whole family for a photo, oh and a party.
We are now back in Hawaii, at University of the Nations, Kona where we are staffing the next YWAM Crossroads DTS for 6 months, after that… ????
Until next time, be blessed and be a blessing. A&G
Super Bowl Sunday in the USA. In British Columbia it is the Family Day weekend. In Norway it is 
friends and this morning we shared blessings with our landlords at their traditional Vietnamese New Year’s breakfast. 
This week has really been all about visiting. Along with friends in private homes, we were also able to visit a home for handicapped people east of Hanoi. We met the Director of the centre a man of peace who really cares for the 360 people and 95 staff that are under his care. In Vietnamese tradition we shared tea and then were able to visit many of the people in their homes. As you can see from these few photos there was much love and joy shared.
This week we are heading to 
Hanoi Revisited. It is an exciting place. It is a very busy, bustling with people city; there are motorbikes, taxis and buses, honking their horns everywhere, flashing lights, Karaoke clubs. Life is far removed from the quiet, solitude of the eastern slopes of the majestic Rocky Mountains and the open skies of the prairie that we enjoy at home. The city of Calgary, by comparison, is sparsely populated and quiet. And Okotoks is just sleepy. Yet somehow, we have fitted back in very quickly. To be honest, we were a bit shocked by how easily we fit back in after ten months away. We were only here for 2 months last year and yet we feel unusually connected. Truthfully, the Tay Ho district we live in is quiet and peaceful. Our rented apartments are near the beautiful Westlake again, as seen in this panoramic view taken near our home.
We are fast approaching the Tết Holiday in Vietnam (Chinese New Year). Following the lunar calendar, this year the first day of the Vietnamese New Year is Feb 8. The celebrations will begin before that and last for days after; many stores and businesses will close up for the week as people travel. Schools and Universities close on January 29th, as many people travel home from Hanoi to the countryside and their ancestral homes. Last year our team left before the new year celebrations began but this year we will be here for the whole time.
forTết and as building supplies are left on the side of the street over night (piles of bricks and sand, wooden scaffold) I am amazed that the fruit and bricks have not been scattered, or splattered on one of the nice Audis, Bentleys or Rolls Royces. Somehow, there still appears to be a healthy respect for other people’s property here. Crime is not unknown, but it is rare. We haven’t seen any policemen with guns, rarely hear any sirens and when we do they are from an ambulance. We have heard that there is corruption though, getting things done costs money. Last week, our taxi was selected out of many vehicles running a red light and the driver had to pay the policeman a 1,000,000 VNDong (~U$50) cash fine. The traffic cop s are smartly dressed the one on the right here paused happily posed for my camera. Check this 
Taking time out to write a blog has been challenging. The team been going pretty steady for the 4 weeks since we hit the ground in Hanoi. As the team leaders we are finding that “Rank does not confer privilege or give power. It imposes responsibility.” said Peter F. Drucker. It is also means more work which we are enjoying. We have a phenomenal team of folks from US, Canada, Switzerland, and Norway who are working very hard, who have proven themselves to be crazily flexible. Change is the norm here. Some are simple like, the bus isn’t available today, so there are two taxis waiting out front.” We walk around the front and the bus pulls up. Others stretch the whole team, after hours of preparation, events get cancelled at the last minute or no-one shows up or three times as many as expected show up. Everyone is so good at going with the flow and ministering from their strengths empowered by H.S.
Andy and Glenda Read 
