Letter from Vietnam… Uncle Bob

I hope you are all doing okay down there in UC, the Vietnamese word for Australia.

It is nearly the end of October so I thought I had better write you a quick note before we get to November's All Souls and All Saints Days (and Halloween).

Some rather lovely things have happened here this month for the MSC community: a retreat with Krish about Now that (we had a terrific gathering lunch with our parents from bowel lock, on the way), a celebration with the MSC Sisters Gen it from Rome, the outstanding celebration for Chevalier Day with many A MSC including a Commitment Ceremony followed by a fund lunch with good representation of OLSH in MSC Sisters, the donation by a generous benefactor of a new alter for the main chapel plus a crowd of new pre-junior (individual kneelers for the uninitiated), the approval by the Oz provincial and counsel of all the recommendations from the Viet community discernment in July, and, best of all, the gradual increase in the number of prospective candidates appearing on the scene.

For myself, things have hummed along. No more trips with the drivers from hell but did have a concern when the Vinh fast Electric Taxi lost power for five minutes in the middle of a busy intersection. A bit of a worry! The big drama for me this month was these are problems. My first EV is expired on the 17th, so the Bursar and I did a rush to Bangkok to get a new TVs are as you have to leave the country as it turned out there was no way the Visa would be ready in time for an important meeting back here… Thankfully, 10 arrive arrange for an agent to organise a Visa on arrival for me so I could get back into Saigon. The second EV's arrival five days later… Lesson, when you visit Vietnam make sure you order your EV is well in advance.

So I am back in the saddle with plenty to do, helping to write the terms of reference for all the new committees now approved. Individual work with seven of the students, English classes with other aspirants, weekend retreats each month for the six candidates for final (my hearing must be failing, quiet as depiction of God in his younger days was as a camera watching him)… I thought he made a model of God as a camel… It caused some hilarity for much of the day! As I mentioned before, these days most Vietnamese in the city are used to foreigners so you hardly get a second look except from the topless and, interestingly, some older teens wanting to practice English. A recent local bus trip had me being quizzed then photographed with a couple of 18-year-old boy owes, much to the bemusement of the driver and conductor and passengers. And then the next day a walk in the park had me in year 12 girls birthday group. It must be the and hat! (Large straw one from the Oz Cancer Council).

Enough… Don't forget the prayer! Take care of yourself. God bless. See you in December…

                                                              Uncle Bob.