Praying for the Young Man in Vietnam

It was such a great blessing to hear what God has done through last year's camp in Vietnam. I met a young man last year who surrendered his life to serve God full-time.  He was the top translator of one of the pastors we met last year and was sent out after he made a decision to go and start his own work. When we went back to HCMC for the second year of summer youth camp last week, we were sad to not see the young man in the camp but, at the same time, were excited to hear that the reason was because he has already started a ministry outside the city.

We were informed that he is living in a small apartment that contains nothing much but only things necessary for daily living - no chairs, no tables or even a refrigerator. I am praying that our church in Makati can send some money for him to buy some other things he needs that can also help him focus in his work there - just a little bit of funds to help him buy racks and stands and other things like a bed or cooking and eating utensils. We are glad that he went where many of us could not go.

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Mekong Delta River Tour | A Comparison of TNK Tours and Sinh Tours

During my last visit to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, I had another opportunity to try the Mekong Delta River Boat Trip. It was a slightly different tour from what my family went to when we visited Vietnam in march of 2012 for a couple of reasons - it was from a different tour company, so it was cheaper (like half the price) and the destinations/offering were a bit different, too.

Both trips went to the bee farm, fruit village, coconut village, had free lunch that came with it, showcased a performance of traditional Vietnamese music played using instruments like native instruments maschine at musicians friend and the mini-boat ride. The previous trip included a stop at a temple where there was the laughing Buddha statue but did not have the horse carriage ride like the one we had in the latest tour.

The previous tour was from TNK travels along De Tham and cost us $25 per person while the other one was from  Sinh Tours (formerly known as Sinh Cafe) and cost only aroung $10-$11.

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How Much is a Local SIM in Vietnam (MobiFone)

During our trip to Vietnam I purchased a local sim card, MobiFone and was satisfied with its capabilities. Cellular phone signal in Vietnam is not difficult to find and it makes communication among our missions team easier and a lot cheaper. Instead of using our lines for texting and calling with the roaming charges, we were able to do them more liberally using the Vietnamese local sim. The MobiFone sim cost 150,000 VND (around PHP 300) and is preloaded with 50,000 VND (PHP 100) worth of load. It is very much available in convenience stores. With it, I was able to enjoy my music phone and at the same time use its call and text capabilities using other music as ring tone.

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Missing My New Friends from Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

It has been three days since I got back from Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam and I already miss the city and all the missionaries and new friends I have met there. Some of them, I have already added as friends in Facebook but some of them I can only remember through pictures which I haven’t uploaded yet. As early as now, I will be preparing for another trip next year for our second summer youth camp there. 

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Staying at Thien Xuan Hotel in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

We arrived here at Ho Chi Minh at around 12:40am earlier today and proceeded to Thien Xuan Hotel which is located along Le Thanh Ton at the Quan 1 of the city. We didn't encounter any problems checking in especially because we booked in advance via Agoda although we were charged an additional day because our arrival time was still covered by the previous day. We didn't bother to argue because we were all really sleepy that time and just wanted to rest.

But despite the additional charge, what I personally appreciate about Thien Xuan Hotel are their service and strategic location. The hotel staff were nice and easy to talk to despite the language difference. They were also very quick in meeting our needs when we arrived.

Their location is another plus because it is very near tourist destinations that are often visited during a Ho Chi Minh city tour. Some of the tourist spots visited by tourists with yoyos and phones are the War Remnants Museum, the Reunification Palace and the Ben Tanh market which is literally just a stone's throw away from the hotel.

The standard room that we booked cost $42 a night but we got it at a few bucks cheaper via Agoda and that is inclusive of a breakfast buffet, a bath room with a bath tub, free wifi and cable tv. I highly recommend Thien Xuan Hotel for those who plan to travel to Ho Chi Minh (Saigon), Vietnam.

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