Hi everyone, this is Carly and Abby. We had an awesome day here yesterday, but were too tired to blog last night. We'll be traveling to Chau Doc (where the first school is located) today, and we will write about yesterday once we are there. Here are some pictures from yesterday. We love getting all your messages, please continue to write!... read more

We're getting ready to make our way back to Vietnam... tomorrow! A lot of great work has been happening since our last trip. Abby and Carly have continued to do speaking engagements and fund raisers to raise money to help build this second school. The folks at Our Lady of Peace have chipped in once again to help with school supplies. And friends and family, who never fail us, have donated to our cause as well. We hope to take all of you on this trip with us. Thanks for all of your support ... we look forward to connecting with you along the way.... read more

We traveled from Chau Doc to a village by the name of Hoa Lac, where our school is located. A 7 mile drive took two hours! To say "the road was bumpy" is an understatement. You can ask my cousin Helen who got carsick twice! We began to hand out candy, suckers, balloons and other goodies to the kids along the road through our windows. At one point, the narrow dirt road traveled through a small rice business... one of our buses was too big to fit through all the bags of rice. Everyone had to get out of the bus and rearrange the 225 pound bags of rice so it could fit through. Because the rest of our vans were at a dead stop during the rice rearranging, we were able to get out ... read more

golf cart/speed boat/bus/bus/plane/bus/canal boat/ferry/bus/ferry/bus................we're finally here!!!!!! We arrived in Chau Doc at 8 pm after a long hard day on the road. Along the way we ventured into the Mekong Delta. (See attached pics) As if the final six hour bus ride wasn't uncomfortable enough, the poor living conditions we saw out the window made us all even more uncomfortable. I've heard stories and seen pictures of the living conditions in third world countries but seeing it up close is overwhelming. On the other hand, it really gave us all some perspective on what we value in life. When I saw people bathing in the river, I realized my twenty minute shower might be a bit excessive. And when I saw a multi-generational family crowded into a small open-air hut, it sure made me feel guilty ... read more

Today was a hard day for several reasons... some of the reasons will be the fodder for many a laugh a month or year from now -- "and just how long do you think we sat in that bus trying to get to the orphanage?" "How far did we go out of our way to get to a place we didn't want to go??" and "Why didn't the cab driver just shake his head 'no' when we communicated (in the best way we could) "could you take us to Pizza Hut?" and then there's the very real stuff... the stuff that left us all unsettled and feeling helpless. Giving a child a stuffed animal or sucker doesn't change the conditions he or she is living in -- doesn't give them a hug at bedtime -- doesn't ... read more