Greetings from Saigon! The flight was uneventful which is a good thing, a very good thing. It has been 6 months since my last visit, Im not sure if that is why the heat is getting to me or it is really hot. Tam says it is nice here but has been much hotter in Danang!!! Yikes
There are several teams joining us this summer. The first is our good friends Tom, Honey and Ali Pfleger. Kristina and I came a few days before the Pfleger family. I think this was a good idea, lets me get caught up on jet lag first, lol.
Here is a short note from Kristina wrote when we landed;
"After being amongst the clouds and the sunlight for hours, our plane finally landed in Ho Chi Minh City. I walked into the open air just outside of the airport with my heart at my feet, and my brain nearly melted. The oh-so-wonderful heat hit me like a brick and I felt my clothes stick to my skin.
This place grows to be more foreign to me, with each visit that I take. But I intend to sew the empty gaps closed and build a firm relationship with not only the people here, but with myself as well.
It sounds weird, to explain the distance that stands between me and this country, like I've never stepped foot in this soil, but I only speak with honesty. The trips taken before, consisted of short-term relationships and small talk, assisted by the attitude that "I'll be home soon, and I'll come back next year." But this year will be different. I made a pact with myself, to leave pieces of my heart here, and leave them forever.
I don't want to be a "visitor" or even a "friend" to this country. Because I know that it's more important than that. I want to be a citizen and a full time worker in this community.
I will spend this trip giving and hopefully receiving a deeper routed love in everything and everyone. I will open my heart up and let God mold it. I have not found my permanent ground in this world yet, but I don't think anyone has a permanent ground.
We are constantly moving. In our relationships and our lives. And the only thing that is guaranteed is change.
Don't get too comfortable in the now. Don't stay too long in one spot. Familiarize your self with foreign. It's your new best friend now. "
-Kristina Kalatschan
I must say my little baby girl has an amazing insight into life. Stay tuned to hear how this trip changes us and all the others coming. I know the teams and especially the teens coming this summer will be an awesome blessing to those we come into contact with but I have this inkling that we as "guests" are going to experience the greatest changes in our hearts and hopefully our minds and attitudes...
Stay tuned for some remarkable stories. ...
Robert Kalatschan
Giving It Back To Kids
