Internationalmatt's Blog

This blog is about my international friends and their inspiring stories

Sunday Fun- Daniel and His Birthday Cake

Yesterday in class we celebrated Daniel’s birthday with some cake. He is 22 but for fun I wrote on the board Happy 30th Birthday Daniel. I appreciate his sense of humor in class, so it seemed fitting to have some fun. We have interesting conversations each week in my van as we drive to class and back to his dorm at the University. He is studying here far from his family, so it is great to help him celebrate his birthday.

I took some fun pictures of Daniel enjoying his birthday cake with friends in class. For instance the picture below shows him preparing to eat two pieces of cake. He must really like cake :)

with 2 pieces of cake

In this next picture he doesn’t seem to be sharing his cake, but rather showing off with his friends.

with his friend Rex and Pat

I didn’t notice two of our friends getting a piece of cake. Maybe he didn’t share with them.

He did share some with Yoshio though.

Ok so this was just one last bit of fun. Truth be told- he did share cake with everyone. Everyone had fun. After class he was a big help translating for an American mother in church who adopted a girl from China. He studies hard and is doing quite well. I know he puts in numerous hours with his studies and he lives far from family, so I am glad to help him have a little fun. Happy Birthday Daniel :)

October 24, 2011 Posted by | Chinese friends, Experiences of international friends, International Friendships, international students, Internationals | Leave a Comment

Chuc Mung Ngay Phu Nu Vietnam- Happy Woman’s Day in Vietnam

October 20 is Woman’s Day in Vietnam, so today I would like to say Happy Woman’s Day to the women I know who are from Vietnam. I have had numerous Vietnamese women as my students and have enjoyed helping them with English. I have also enjoyed the opportunities I have had to meet their families and spend time with them. The times I have been invited to their homes to eat some Pho, the times they have given me some egg rolls, and seeing how their children thrive in school because of their moms encouraging them are some of the fond memories I have.

my friend Duyen and her husband- I had some Pho that night :)

As students women from Vietnam tend to be diligent and motivated to improve. As mothers they give their all to their children. As homemakers they devote themselves to their families. As cooks they make the best egg rolls :)

Chin in her new kitchen

I have also learned from some of the Vietnamese women who are my friends. I used to meet my friend Thu Huong at the library to study. We would sit in the ELL room and sometimes use the computer. She patiently showed me how to use Power Point and other things.

So out of gratefulness for my many friendships and what they have meant to me I would like to say Chuc Mung Ngay Phu Nu to the women from Vietnam who are my friends. I would also like to REMIND the men from Vietnam to buy your mother, wife, girlfriend, or sister flowers today. :)   Don’t forget!! lol

October 20, 2011 Posted by | Cutural Celebrations, Experiences of international friends, International Friendships, Internationals, Vietnamese friends, women's issues | Leave a Comment

Ministerio Manantial de Vida and Spring of Life Deaf Churches Have a New Home

Last Sunday my friends at Ministerio Manatial de Vida Church and Spring of Life Deaf Church had their first worship service in their new place which is at 3336 N. 14th in Lincoln. It is across from Belmont Elementary School just a few blocks north of Adams Street. It happened so quickly for them that I barely had time to keep up with how things were going. I have previously written about both of these congregations and the unique ministry they have in Lincoln.

Pastor Rogelio with one of the children

I have been impressed with how Pastor Rogelio and his wife Chayo invest themselves in the children of the church to foster confidence and skill building in the church. They encourage the children to participate in the worship service. It is common on a Sunday morning to see a child or teenager get up in front of the congregation to recite bible verses they have memorized or to sing a song. Each time it is an illustration of their passion to encourage growth in all people in their church.

Their heart for seeing others grow is a big reason why there are two churches meeting at the same location. Pastor Rogelio and his family immigrated to the United States so that their three hearing impaired sons could go to school here. Two of their sons Jonathan and David are the pastors of Spring of Life Deaf Church. They minister to a congregation of hearing impaired people who are mostly American. Pastor Rogelio and Chayo’s daughter Jezharela leads worship in the Hispanic congregation Ministerio Manantial de Vida. Their other son Moises is also actively involved in ministry.

Their new site was owned a Slavic Baptist Church which is a congregation of immigrants from Ukraine and Belrus. First Slavic Baptist bought another church building and put their old location up for sale. It was wonderful to hear about how the pastor of First Slavic Baptist worked with Pastor Rogelio and the sale went through quickly. Members of the congregation worked hard, especially Pastor Rogelio and his family, to get the church ready. They painted, remodeled a garage, cleaned etc to get the building ready. A God thing was when a man came to the church a few months ago and began coming with his family. He came to know God through coming to the Ministerial Manatial de Vida. He works construction and gave a lot of his time to work on the building.

Erik on the left helps with the Power Point and our "WORKER" on the right

I am excited for my friends in both congregations. It is an excellent location because it is close to 3 neighborhoods with large Hispanic populations. It is also close the Superior Street and Cornhusker Highway, so it is very accessible for everyone. It is also not too far from UNL, so if a University Student wants to practice their Spanish,it is a great place to do so.

I am also excited about their vision for future ministry in both congregations. It is awesome to see how God is helping them in their work. I still marvel at how a family came here form Mexico several years ago and is now ministering to not only Hispanic people, but also to Americans who most churches neglect, which are the Hearing Impaired.

left to right David, Jonathan and Moises sons of Pastor Rogelio and Chayo

Spring of Life Deaf Church will be meeting at 9:00am on Sundays and Ministerio Manatial de Vida will be meeting at 11:30am. Ministerio does have equipment to listen to English translation if you want to come but do not speak Spanish. They will welcome all.

October 19, 2011 Posted by | Experiences of international friends, Hispanic friends, International Friendships, Internationals, Sign Culture | Leave a Comment

1 Weekend + 4 Celebrations + 3 Different Cultures = A Lot of Fun

What a great weekend!! Had the opportunity to celebrate 3 birthdays and join in on a 1st worship service in a new building. It began on Saturday morning when my young friends from Vietnam and I shared some birthday cake with Nancy who helps with my Saturday morning group.

On Saturday evening I went to a birthday party for a 3 year old boy Chris. His family is from Syria. I had fun taking pictures and making people laugh in the process. Chris’s grandmother was there and three of her friends. I got them to wear the party hats and took pictures for them. There was plenty of good food and laughter. The best for me was seeing some old friends I have not seen for a while.

Sunday morning we said Happy birthday to our friend Lien in my Sunday morning class. We had lunch at Mongolian Grill after  class. Lien has come a long way from new to America to now waiting for her Nursing Program to begin.

After lunch I joined my friends at Ministerial Manatial de Vida for their 1st worship service in their new building. It was awesome to join with them and see the excitement they feel about having a place of their own. I will write more about that tomorrow. It was a great way to cap off a weekend of celebration with my international friends.

The diversity of cultures here in Lincoln is rich. Sharing celebrations such as a birthday or a milestone such as a church getting a building of their own makes me realize how we have many things in common. If we take the time to actually get to know those who are different than we are, we can have a pleasant surprise and have some meaningful friendships. Fortunately after a weekend of celebrations I have a morning off to relax a little before getting back to my busy schedule :)

October 17, 2011 Posted by | Cross Cultural, Cultural Ambassdors, Experiences of international friends, Hispanic friends, International Friendships, international students, Internationals, Middle East friends, Vietnamese friends | Leave a Comment

Weekend Fun- My Sunday Class Celebrates the 80th Birthdays of Pat and Rex

In my Sunday Class we have a husband and wife who volunteer their time to help internationals living in Lincoln. They have hosted my Sunday group for lunches at their house, given rides, helped with special activities like Thanksgiving dinner at church and lunar New Year lunch at church, and participated in class by sharing their faith and life experience. Pat and Rex have been members of my home church for many years. They have been married over 50 years and this month they both celebrate quite a milestone. They are both celebrating their 80th birthdays this month.

Pat and Rex with their birthday lollipops at Valentino's Restaurant

We used our class time to express our appreciation for them. They received several birthday cards and each person expressed what Pat and Rex mean to them. I heard the words Grandmother and Grandfather shared repeatedly. Each international friend also took turns giving them both a hug. After class we went to Valentino’s Restaurant for lunch. At Valentino’s if you tell the it is someone’s birthday, the staff will come to the table with lollipops and sing Happy Birthday, so being the type of person who likes to have fun, I told the staff we were celebrating two 80th birthdays.

Pat and Rex show that it does not matter how old we are if we want to make a difference in someone’s life. We can touch lives at any age. Internationals tend to have more respect for Senior Citizens than our youth obsessed culture does. The love my young friends have for Pat and Rex is genuine. They were thrilled to celebrate the 80th birthdays of their adopted American Grandparents.

My Sunday Class with Pat and Rex

October 13, 2011 Posted by | America to other cultures, Cultural Ambassdors, Experiences of international friends, International Friendships, international students, Internationals | Leave a Comment

From ESL Student to College Graduate and Mother of 3- My Friend Thu Huong

In the Spring of 2003 I  met a young woman from Vietnam named Thu Huong. We were waiting outside to be let in for an evening class and when she walked up I greeted her in Vietnamese. She was surprised and asked if I was from Vietnam. Always enjoying a fun joke I told her “Yes I am”. We went inside and I thought that was the end of the story. She went into her class and asked a few other young women from Vietnam who I am. They told her “he is a teacher and he helps people”. The following evening class I was hanging out by a pool table and she came up to me and said “I hear you help people. Will you help me?” At that moment I felt as if God were knocking at my heart to “help this one”. That began my friendship with Thu Huong.

me with Thu Huong at her graduation from Southeast Community College

She is my first friend from Vietnam and through our friendship I learned a lot about Vietnamese culture. We would meet at a library to study and she also came to my weekend groups at my church for a few years. She was the first in her family to go to college thus fulfilling a promise she made to her father. She had come her from Vietnam a young woman in her early 20s which was a short time after her father passed away. She came here to be with her mother and sister and sister’s family.

Before we began meeting for lessons, I went to her sister’s house to meet her sister and basically be interviewed by her older sister :) I must have passed because we began to meet. She began her studies at Southeast Community College in Office Accounting. Along the way she met a nice young man which caused a brief break from her studies. They moved to Florida to begin a new life, but came back for about a year which allowed Thu Huong to take the final classes to graduate. Thu Huong went from being a young immigrant who needed help with English to being married and a graduate from Southeast Community College. She now has three children and a happy life with her family.

Thu Huong’s life story reminds me of what the Angel Gabriel said to Mary when he told her she would have the baby Jesus. He said “for nothing is impossible for God”. Thu Huong came to America not knowing how it would work out and now she has a good life because she went step by step trusting God. She is my first con gai and a big reason my work continues with young people from Vietnam.

Thu Huong withher husband and 1st child

October 12, 2011 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

Inspired to Write Again by a 5 year old Vietnamese Girl

I have not written the past few weeks due to the wind kind of being knocked out of my sails due to the death of my friend Trang. I ignored writing in my blog mostly because I did not feel like it and had writers block. This afternoon I had a phone call from a friend from Vietnam who is now living in Florida. My friend Thu Huong lived in Lincoln for about 4 years. I helped her with her English and with preparing for college. It was wonderful to hear from her today. We reminisced about fun times and studying together. It was uplifting to realize that she is so happy now. She is married and now has three young children. One of my fondest memories is going to her graduation ceremony from Southeast Community College.

me with my friend Thu Huong

While we were talking, she put her 5 year old girl Angelina on the phone. I used to meet Thu Huong at the library to study with her and she would bring Angelina with her. At that time Angelina was a toddler. She liked to “talk” with me and play games. Angelina is now 5 years old and goes to a Catholic Elementary School. Angelina recited the Pledge of Allegiance for me and also sang some songs she has learned. I especially enjoyed her song thanking God for many things.

me with Angelina when she was 18 months old

Thu Huong and I talked about me possibly visiting her and her family in Florida. That would be a great trip. A chance to see one of my first friends from Vietnam and how she and her family are doing now.

After we finished our phone conversation, I felt the writers block lift and felt like writing again. It is only a hobby for me and a small way to share with others about the richness and diversity of cultures we have in Lincoln and about the world God has blessed me so greatly to experience and explore. Thank you for the call Thu Huong and thank you Angelina for your song :)

October 10, 2011 Posted by | children, International Friendships, international students, Internationals, Vietnamese friends | 2 Comments

   

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