Love from a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith~

Love from a pure heart and a good conscience
and a sincere faith.

Thank goodness, I'm finally getting over my jet lag! It's been almost two weeks since we left Ho Chi Minh.  I've been tired a lot and even take naps some days. One morning I woke up at 330am. By noon I felt like I already had a full day.  I never accomplished so much in one day!

The first few days seemed surreal with the jet lag and going through withdrawals from the children.  I thought a lot about the little ones at Go Vap.  They stole a piece of my heart . <3

I can't wait to go again someday.  I went hiking with Liza today and she told me that she might go again in September.  Such good news!

While in Vietnam we stayed at a wonderful guesthouse, Hotel Xuan Mai.  The staff speaks English and they took such good care of us.  I can't say enough about Nang our Vietnam mom.  She works at the reception desk and every morning she arranged our transportation for us. We paid $23 for a single room and $27 for double room.  That's with breakfast included.  The guesthouse is clean, hot water and airconditioning.  They also have wireless internet. I highly recommend them if you decide to visit Ho Chi Minh.
xuan_mai_hotel@yahoo.com
These are some of their reviews

Kim Nguyen Browne is the founder of Vietnam Volunteer Network.  Kim helped to put us together with Go Vap. Without Kim we would not have had this amazing experience. Thank you so much Kim! xoxo
http://www.vietnamvolunteernetwork.com/
VVN also has a facebook page filled with information and lot's of photos.

This is my most precious photo! Thank you so so much Beth for capturing sweet Nhut giving me a kiss!

Crossing the street was a challenge that we tackled after a couple of days in HCMC.

Beth with little Oanh. She suffers from Hydrocephalus (water accumulating in the brain) as many of the children in the terminal ward do. Hopefully it is not too late to correct her. For many of the children in the terminal ward it was not caught early enough. Their heads get so big and heavy that they cannot move and get bed sores. They still have a strong will to live despite their pain.

My one regret is that I did not photograph any of them. At the time I felt that I was exploiting them if I took their picture and showed it to my friends and family. But I should have because it is the reality of so many of the children in the terminal ward. By posting only these photos that I have taken I feel that I'm only showing a small part of what the terminal ward is about. There are so many other children there that truly suffer everyday. We spent as much time as we could just being there to show what love is and to give them a little comfort.

The nurses at Go Vap are spectacular and really do a wonderful job. They keep the children and ward clean. During our time there they made us feel welcome and let us do only what we felt comfortable doing.

Liza and nurse Thanh with Nurse Thanh's fave baby boy that she showers with kisses.