Hi Everyone!! Just wanted to let you know about facebook.com. I've found alot of friends on it. Anyone can sign up and you can visit my profile when you do!! Let me know if you sign up and I'l add you as a friend. My new blog will be on there.

Wheaton

I am now in Wheaton, Illinois. I bought a car last Monday and drove out here. I can't believe I'm here. It's been such a whirlwind of activity since I've been home.

I arrived here Sunday about 2pm. It took me about ten hours with stops and I got turned around and missed my one exit and had to go back. I got checked in and unpacked. My roommate is Jessica and she's from Florida. She's really nice and is a grad student majoring in Clinical Psychology. Our apartment is also really nice. I have to say I'm impressed with it for being college housing. We have a big bedroom and a nice sized living room and kitchen and bathroom. Also a huge hallway closet where we can store our empty suitcases and boxes.

We went to Ultra Foods and got groceries and also Target and picked up an Iron and some hangers.

Classes start tomorrow. My class isn't until 6:30pm. I have to register my car in the morning.

I'm still looking for employment. I have one shift at the Stupe here on Sundays from 11am-4pm but that's all right now.

I interviewed with World Relief. She said she would make her final decision later this week.
I'm eligibile for Federal Work Study so their are alot of opportunities for that. I need to go check into them today and tomorrow.

I bought my books yesterday!! Expensive!! That's all I can say about that!!

Day with my students

Wedding

My Tuesday/ Thursday class in Hanoi.


They got me these beautiful seashells!! I also got these home in one piece.

My students

One of my classes in Hanoi.

More Pictures

This is a day with our students. They took us here for tea.

This was at pottery village. I bought a complete tea set for five dollars and managed to
get it home all in one piece!!!

Home At Last

I arrived home last Saturday morning. It was a long trip home. Our plane was delayed from Hanoi so we missed our flight to LA. We were suppose to leave Hanoi at 4pm. We didn't leave until 9pm and arrived in Tawain about 2am. We got our lugguage and went through customs and the airline took us to a hotel where we got about four hours of sleep. We had to check out of the hotel early. They put us up at a really nice hotel in Taipei, Tawain. We left Tawain about 4pm and arrived in LA the same day at about 2pm. My flight to Pittsburgh didn't leave until 10:45pm so I had a long wait in the airport. My flight finally arrived in Pittsburgh Sat. at 6am. I was exhausted. The time changes were confusing, I wasn't sure what day or time it was while flying. I am home at last and starting to feel more like myself. I have been very tired.

I have decided to go back to Wheaton. I will be leaving this week. Pray for me as details are still being finalized.

Thanks for all your prayers and support!!

Halong Bay

We arrived safely in Hanoi Monday night about 8:30pm. Please pray for us we had some mishaps since we've been here. Francis left a backpack in a taxi which had her plane tickets in. They have been reissued but it would be nice if she got her backpack back before we leave tomorrow. Also Eleisa fell on the steps of Sandy's house (Field director) and hurt her tailbone. She's feeling much better today but it is still sore when she moves. Pray for her on the long plane ride home.

We still went to Halong Bay without Eleisa who stayed at Sandy's. We left early Tuesday morning and just got back. It was beautiful. We stayed on a boat and took a tour of the bay and the natural wonders of the rock/cave formations. It was beautiful and relaxing. Yes, I took pictures. It's hard to believe it's time to leave tomorrow. We will go to a hotel tonight and then come back to Sandy's in the morning and then leave for the airport about 2:30pm and start the long journey back home. It will be about a 21 hour trip. Pray for us as we travel. It's sad to leave but it'll be nice to be home as well. C-ya soon!!

Steven flew to Ho Chi Minh city yesterday to spend some time with his family here before he returns to the US. It was hard to say goodbye. We all cried. We all went to the airport with him and sat with him until he had to leave. Our group is dwindling, they are now only five of us left.
We are leaving Vinh tomorrow on the noon train. Please pray for us as we travel back to Hanoi. We will stay in Hanoi for Monday night and then are planning on going to HaLong Bay Tuesday morning and staying there Tuesday night and return to Hanoi on Wednesday. We fly out of Hanoi on Thursday and I will be home on Friday morning. Lord willing.
The weather has been very rainy last night and all day today. Last night was a little scary, we went to the beach and had dinner with Ms. Yen and Mr. Quy, the administrators of the school here and it really started raining with lots of thunder and lightning. We were sitting under a metal roof but the rain was blowing in sideways. They then put the roof down so it formed a wall which kept most of the rain out. Then the electricity went out. It was pitch black. They started the generator and we had lights again. I had my little flashlight in my purse so that came in handy. After the rain slowed down we then came back home. It was another adventure.
The summer has gone by so fast. It's hard to believe it's time to come home already. Pray as I have to make alot of decisions once I return home.

Tonight is our last night co-teaching. Thanh is leaving us tonight and Steven is flying out tomorrow. There will only be five of us left.
Today we went to a wedding. It was beautiful!! We had lots of good food and took some pictures. I wore my beautiful Vietnamese dress. (Beautiful but very hot!!)
Then we went to Karaoke with the Vietnamese teachers here from ASEM School where we are co-teaching. It was alot of fun. Tomorrow we are going to the beach and then Sunday we will be packing and getting ready to head out to Hanoi.

Marsha arrived safely in Hanoi.
We went to the orphanage yesterday. It was alot of fun but sad as well as we had to say goodbye to the kids. They are so sweet and loving. We passed out some toys and played a few games and sang some songs together.
We are leaving Vinh on Monday by train. We'll stay in Hanoi for a few days before we head home. It's been a great experience. Thank you so much for all your prayers and support. Pray for us as we complete the last week of our adventure here in Vietnam.

First week in Vinh

We made it through our first week at Vinh. One more week left. It's different than Hanoi not a whole lot to do or variety either. No American food here. (I can get french fries at the one resturant :)
We are co-teaching with the Vietnamese so we don't have as much lesson planning to do. The students are at a low level of English and would have a hard time understanding us if we just spoke to them in English. Our classes are in the evening 5:45pm-9:45pm. We are just helping mainly with pronunciation.
The eight of us went and sang Karaoke last night after class. It was alot of fun.
Tuesday afternoon we spent some time at the orphanage. It was fun. The kids are great and well taken care of. They really wanted to practice their English. They'd ask the same questions over and over but it was nice that they were willing to talk to us. We sang songs and played some games with them. The orphanage is set up like a compound with eleven different houses, each house has a "parent" who looks after the children. There are about 11 children per house. So that is their family.
Saturday was really nice. The school administrators took us to the beach. It was beautiful!! I didn't swim. I walked along the shore and found some nice seashells. Then we ate very fresh seafood. One minute it was alive and kickin and the next we were eating it. There were women walking around with basins of water and live shrimp, crab, squid etc.. The administrators ordered squid, shrimp and crab. So the women cooked it for us and then we ate it. The shrimp was really good (though I had never had it with the heads on.) I had to learn how to eat them and the crab. I had never eaten them that way before. Then we went to Karaoke with them that evening. It was alot of fun and a really good day.
There have been more opportunities here for sharing with others. I haven't had the chance but those who have been here for the whole month have had some really good opportunities. They like it when we sing, so we've sung some good songs for them.
There is no church here so we've had devotions as a team. Steven bought a guitar in Hanoi so we've sung alot. Yesterday I did laundry and just relaxed. We watched movies on the computer.
Marsha is leaving tomorrow for Hanoi. Pray for her as she travels by herself.

Vinh

We are in Vinh. We arrived about 1:45am by train. It was a rough trip. The train was pretty crowded. Thankfully they helped us get our luggage on and off. At first there was no one there to greet us at the train station so we got a little worried but a guy from the school came at about 2:00am. We packed up our luggage into his SUV and he took us to our hotel. The hotel is okay. (Not as nice as hotel in Hanoi.) The city is much quieter and cleaner than Hanoi. It is a nice change. The school is only about a 3 min. walk from where we are staying. So that's nice too.
We will have orientation tomorrow morning so we will find out more details but there is talk of team teaching for the next two weeks which would make it a lot easier since we will only be here for two weeks.

Steven with his students.

Women at the museum--making of the Vietnamese hats.

A different type of house. Also at the Vietnamese Museum of Ethnology.
Those stairs are high and narrow!! I was almost afraid I couldn't get down.

The long house. We went inside and had tea and waited for the water
puppet show to start. This was at the Museum of Ethnology.

Fun with students

Wednesday night we took a bunch of students next door to the hotel for dinner. It was nice. They brought us flowers. I got beautiful sunflowers. We all wore our traditional Vietnamese outfits to teach in and for dinner. Everyone was staring at us. It was rather amusing. They liked that we wore them. I'm not sure if they ever saw foreigners wear them before.

Thursday my class asked me to go to lunch with them. We went to a nice resturant not too far from the school. Then they wanted to go sing karaoke so I went with them for a little bit but I had to be back at the school because I had a 1:30pm class. It was alot of fun. I got to ride on the back of a motorbike!! It wasn't quite as scary as I thought it would be. Then my 1:30pm class got me a gift. It was two beautiful seashells with an intricate jungle designs in them. They are delicate!! I hope I can get them home in one piece!

We check out of our hotel tomorrow morning. We leave by train tomorrow night for Vinh. Pray for us!! I think it will be difficult for us to adjust. We have been so spoiled here in Hanoi. The hotel rooms here are beautiful. They do our laundry for us and provide us daily with bottles of water. They call taxi's for us when we needed to go to school and the school pays for them as well as our meals here at the hotel in the dining room. We just had to sign for them. Vinh will be quite different. Students have also told us that it is hotter there too. It also doesn't get too many foreigners so we will be more closely monitored and stared at as well. Marsha has had some interesting experiences with being stared at. When we went to the one place, a girl came up and stood beside her while her friend took their picture. It's been funny. She's like a celebrity.
Pray as we head into new experiences.

Sick

I got sick yesterday. It was a struggle to teach. I am feeling much better today although I haven't eaten much. Not sure what caused it. Please pray for all of us as we will be joining the Vinh team on Saturday. The e-mail I received from the Vinh team sounded like they were struggling as well with sickness, homesickness, teaching and losing voice from teaching so much. That too I'm experiencing. My throat does hurt today as well. Three hours is a long time to teach.
It is a joy to spend time with our students. They are wonderful.

Day with our students

Yesterday was a fun day. We spent the whole day with our students and they took us around Hanoi. We first went to the Silk Village where they make beautiful robes and scarfs and ties and shirts. I saw some beautiful robes. We also got to see the machines they use to make them with. It was interesting. They then took us out to eat and fed us alot of food. Whatever it was, it was really good!! I think I had fried squid and some type of beef and spring rolls and of course, rice-white and fried.

Then we had a nice change of scenery and went outside the city of Hanoi to the countryside and visited the pottery village. It was nice. There were lots of different tea sets and dishes. The ride out there was a little rough. The roads are very narrow and scary when two cars had to pass. We left there in a hurry because a storm was coming and the wind kicked up a lot of dust. I think the taxi driver was afraid we would get stuck out there. Vietnam is a very poor country and it is hard seeing the houses some people live in even in the city of Hanoi.

We then came back to Hanoi and went to a nice little coffee shop that overlooked the one lake. It was beautiful. We had tea and then had some ice cream and then they brought us back to the hotel. It was a really nice day to spend with the students and get to know them a little bit more.

I also picked up my Vietnamese outfit. It fits perfectly and is beautiful!!

Pray for opportunities to share and for another full week of teaching.

We just found out about the next two weeks after we are done teaching here in Hanoi. We will be leaving the night of July 21st for a train ride to Vinh where the other Vietnam Team is and then return to Hanoi all together on Aug. 7th for a bit of a debriefing before we head out Aug. 9th (Marsha, however, will come back to Hanoi on Aug. 1st so she can fly out on the 3rd). Her visa was not extended. Please pray for safety traveling to Vinh and back to Hanoi and then of course, home and continued strength and wisdom in teaching.

Hello!! All is well. We just finished our first week of teaching. Three hours is rough. The first two hours are fine. The third hour I have a hard time and keep running out of material. I just wing it, they don't know the difference. Next week is the same schedule as this week. Then after that I'm not sure where we will be teaching. The students at this school have summer break, starting July 21st. They are suppose to be arranging places for us to teach after that. So, I guess we'll find out when the time comes.

I had lasagne last night for dinner. (It wasn't really lasagne, it was more ground meat with melted cheese and one lasagne noodle, but it tasted okay.) We went to a pizza place called Pepperonis. We've had rice almost everyday except for last night and the night before, we went to place called PAPA JOES, it has "American" food. (Close, but not quite American..) I had a sandwich with chicken/bacon/tomato and french fries. it was pretty good. Something other than rice anyway..

I got a traditional Vietnamese outfit made, we are going to pick them up this afternoon. Hopefully it'll fit.

We attended the Hanoi International Fellowship yesterday for church. I was surprised. It was held in a hotel ballroom. It was just like a church back home with a good praise band and familiar worship songs. The fellowship is for foreign passport holders only. Vietnamese nationals are not allowed to attend or will get into trouble. There is a Vietnamese church in Hanoi that they can attend. There were many different nationalities including Australian, Korean, Japanese, and American.

Inside a temple at the First National University in
Vietnam. Now mainly just a tourist site. Some Vietnamese
still come and offer prayers and sacrifices.

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Security here is very tight.
They X-ray your bags. No camera's, water or large bags
allowed inside. Skirts and shorts have to be to the knee and
tops must have sleeves. This is to show respect for Ho Chi
Minh whose body is on display inside. Mausoleum is only
open in the morning and closed longer at certain times for
them to continually prepare his body.

Picture taken at our field director's house
in Vietnam. Our last day together as a team.
Vinh team left by train that night.

Around Hanoi

Yesterday was a full day. The school arranged a tour for us around the city of Hanoi. We went to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, the first National University and a few other Historical sites. It was a full day. Today we are going to the international church and tomorrow we start teaching.

Yesterday we checked into our hotel which will be home for the next two weeks. It is beautiful!! The rooms are really nice. We each have our own room. I have a nice view of the lake. All meals are paid for by our school and they will provide us with taxi's from here to school each day we teach. I start teaching on Monday 7:30am-10:50am--Yes, three hours a day. Tuesday-Thursday I teach from 1:30pm-4:50pm and Friday's we all have off. We are teaching at the VietNam National University--high school age kids. Today we met with the administrators of the school and then went exploring. We went to the Old part of Vietnam. I got my Vietnamese hat and a beautiful fan. Please pray for us as we are all nervous about teaching on Monday.

Welcome to Vietnam!

The Vietnam Team at the LA airport.

Chopsticks!

Our first attempt at Vietnamese food in LA.

Beach

The beach again.

LA Beach

Huntington State Beach

We're Here!!

We are in Vietnam!! It's exactly like the movies that I watched. It is a beautiful country. We left Tuesday night from LA at 1:15am and after a 13 hour flight we landed in Taipei, Taiwain for a two hour layover and then flew into Hanoi. The flight didn't seem that long because I slept most of the way. They fed us twice on the first plane and once on the second plane and then they took us out for lunch once we got to Hanoi. We met our field director, she is very nice and has helped us out alot. We checked into a hotel and spent last night there. Today we are at Sandy's house until 4:30pm and then we are splitting up. The Vinh team is leaving and the Hanoi team is going to be set up in our permanent hotel. Monday we start teaching. Today we went to the Ho Chi Minh Mausolem which was closed but it was nice to just walk around. We had fresh cocunut milk right off the street and sugarcane juice and lots of different fruit--rambuttan and other stuff. So far, so good, stomach wise. I'll upload more pictures as soon as I can.

A Wonderful Day!

Yesterday the team had worship here at WCIU in the morning and then we went to the Vietnamese Alliance Church in Orange County, California. It is Steven's home church. The pastor had us come up front and prayed for us. There was a guest speaker from Southern Vietnam. The whole service was in Vietnamese so I didn't understand any of it. They did put a translator in the middle of our group but I was unable to really hear her. It was just awesome to be there. It was the first of the month so we had communion with them as well.

A couple from the church took us all out to eat at a Vietnamese resturant. It is Vietnamese custom that whoever invites pays for everyone. They ordered for all of us, we had rare steak noodle soup and spring rolls. It was difficult at first trying to eat the noodles in the soup with chopsticks but I was starting to get the hang of it. The spring rolls were good with shrimp and a little pork in them. We had what was like tapioca pudding for dessert.

Then we went to Tanh's church which is a smaller church and didn't start until 2pm. We got there for the end of the service. The pastor also had us all come up front and prayed for all of us. they also had communion. Then they had fellowship time which consisted of eating a type of bun that had meat and egg in the center. It was good. and also a drink type, a different type of tapioca dessert. I think they called it "ja" and there are all different kinds.

Then we went to the beach--Huntington State Beach. It was beautiful. I'll download some pictures as soon as I can.

Then we stopped at Target for some last minute shopping and came back to WCIU where we had pizza. It was truly a wonderful day and introduction into the Vietnamese culture.

More Vietnamese.

A Vietnamese lesson.

William Carey International University

A picture of our dorm with the beautiful mountains in
the backdrop.

Leaders

Teach Overseas Leaders--Heath, Becky, Rick, Mary.
Heath had just returned from a year in Vietnam and shared some of his experiences with us.
Becky is the summer coordinator.
Rick was the Vietnam Field Director but left the organization this week.
Mary also just returned from Vietnam and took over our training when Rick left.

Hanoi Team

Hanoi Team
In Front--Aimee (me), Anna
In Back--Marsha, Steven

Vinh Team

Vietnam Vinh Team with the only guy--Andrea, Thanh,
Frances,Elesia with Steven.

Vietnam Team

Welcome to LA!!

I am here in Southern California. I arrived yesterday after what felt like a very long four hour flight. Our in flight movie was the "Farmer Astronaut." It was pretty good. The flight was smooth and everything was fine until we exited the airplane and headed for the baggage claim. Then they put the airport in lockdown they weren't letting anyone leave the terminals because they were looking for someone. An hour later, they finally reopened the doors so we could go down and claim our baggage. Welcome to LA!! I then got my shuttle to Pasadena. Yesterday was a long day!! I slept really well last night. My roomate is Eleisa from Phoenix, Arizona. She is going to Vinh, Vietnam along with three others--Frances, Thanh, Andrea. There are four of us that are going to Hanoi--Me, Marsha, Anna and Steven. California is definately different--flat, brown, lots of palm trees and stucco houses.

I had to buy a toothbrush here, I packed my case but I didn't put my toothbrush in it. What can I say it was an early morning!!

It's been a full day of training, training and training. Lots of training all week long.

Please pray, details are still being worked out for the Hanoi program. I'll fill you in on the overseas specifics as soon as I can.

Leaving for California

I will be leaving tomorrow morning for California and the week and a half of training. Please pray for traveling safety. I still need 720 dollars to pay to Teach Overseas. If you could please make a special donation online. I would greatly appreciate it. I have received e-mails from some of those I will be traveling with. Their names are Anna, Marsha, Frances, Andrea and Eleisa. Please pray for all of us in the days ahead.

Overseas Itinerary

I received my overseas flight information. I will be leaving for Vietnam July 3rd and arriving in Hanoi on July 4th.
I will be leaving Vietnam to come home on Aug. 9 and arriving home on Aug. 10.
Pray as the time gets closer!! I still need $600 to cover the cost of my trip.

Classes are done!

It is hard to believe the two weeks here at Wheaton have gone by so quickly and tomorrow I will be back home. I have learned alot and did two microteachings in the practicum class which was a little intimadating since they were both videotaped but I survived. Practice before the real teaching in Vietnam in four weeks! I met another person who is going with teachoverseas.org this summer. He is going to China but we will be at the training in California together so it will nice to already know somebody.

Please pray for this summer...

For my team that we would work well together.
Safety and good health.
For my students that they would learn despite my shortcomings.
Opportunities for sharing.

Wheaton classes

I just completed my first week of class here at Wheaton college. It was a class in ESL/EFL testing. I now feel better prepared to give a test if I need to in Vietnam. Monday I start my Practicum class which will help prepare me for teaching and the classroom. I'll be back in PA this Saturday the 26th.

Praise God!

Just wanted to say Thank you again for your prayers and financial support. I've meet my first two financial deadlines with your help. Praise the Lord!! The director of the Vietnam progam prayed with me when I commited to going overseas and he prayed that the Lord will bring in the support quickly if this was His will for me. I know now that this is where He definately wants me this summer. Thank you for your part in that. Amazing! For those of you that know of my experience with Trans World Radio, the last time I had a really difficult time raising support. So this time I was gun shy--afraid to even try raising support again. I think that's why I've waited so long to attempt going overseas again.

I am now at Wheaton College where I will be for the next two weeks, taking two summer classes for my Master's program.

Prayer Requests:

Please pray for me that I would get focused and learn what I need to learn at Wheaton.
Pray for safety and protection and good weather as I have a lot of walking to do.
Pray that my final financial deadline for my trip this summer would be met.

2007 Vietnam Prayer Letter

Make An Online Donation


“TeachOverseas.org, also known as Educational Services International (ESI), has over twenty years of experience sending Christians to teach English in ten different countries. Educational Services International (ESI) demonstrates biblical service through meeting educational needs by providing caring and effective Christian teachers.”


Dear Friends and Family-


I have started my Master’s program at Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL in Intercultural Studies and Teaching English as A Second Language. I have been given the opportunity to go to Vietnam this summer to teach English. This will enable me to gain overseas teaching experience and also apply the skills that I’m learning at Wheaton.

I have committed to going to Vietnam to teach English this summer. (June 25-Aug. 10) I will spend one week in Pasadena, California for intensive training at the William Carey International University (WCIU). Then will spend the remaining weeks in Vietnam. In order to do this, I again need your help and support. While prayer support is most important, I also will need your financial help. The support needed for a summer program is $6000 including international airfare. Since I’ve waited until the last minute to accept this opportunity, I need you to respond to this letter as soon as possible.

If the Lord has blessed you, and you can give financially I would greatly appreciate it. Prayer support is also greatly appreciated if you are unable to contribute financially at this time. I ask that you would consider what the Lord would have you do and respond accordingly.
Thank you so much for your prayer support and financial support over the years.


God Bless,


Aimee M. Firtz

Make An Online Donation
Click on teacher/staff member and enter my name.
Thank you!!