lois hardt - houston, texas

                                       “Aunty” Lois Hardt and Aurora Orangutan

Greetings from Houston, Texas!
     As this is my first COPI mission trip, I’m a bit in the dark as to what to expect during our time together, but I am anxious to get started on this mission to help children and others in Vietnam receive medical care.  (Layers, right?)
    My credentials?  Hard work and long hours I’m used to from my public school teaching days in Houston, where I taught French; and disgustingly messy work I can stomach, having put in hundreds of 
hours cleaning monkey houses and a cow barn at the Houston Zoo.  The fact that my husband of 44 years and I reared three children shows that I’m flexible and determined to see things through.  I’m prepared for whatever comes my way, I hope.
     I see that there are among us other retired teachers; more Texans, although I grew up in Massachusetts; and even someone who lived in Minnesota. I lived near Minneapolis for 18 years. Funny how it takes a trip halfway around the world for us to get acquainted.
     I’m eager to get to know you all and to spend two weeks supporting binh’s dream, and I’m especially pleased to be able to spend this time with my cousin Lynn DeHart. 
     (Does anyone knit, crochet, or draw?)

lynn dehart - duxbury, ma

                                       Lynn DeHart (L) Lois Hardt (R)

Hi,

     I'm Lynn DeHart. My husband and I have three children and a foster daughter who have blessed us with ten grandchildren! I've retired from two careers: as a first grade teacher and as an activity coordinator at an assisted living residence.  But I have not retired from being active in COPI.

     My husband, Don, and I went on two amazing mission trips together. I also spent four months in Hanoi and Saigon with my 15 month old Vietnamese grandson, Xander, as we waited for the his American visa to be approved. I have found the people of Vietnam to be both welcoming and kind hearted. 

     On this mission trip I'm traveling with my double cousin, Loie Hardt. Our mothers were two sisters who married two brothers ... our fathers. As you might expect, we are very close and since Loie lives in Texas and I live in Mass., I am especially looking forward to spending this time with her!

     When asked, I try to explain what it's like to go on one of these mission trips by saying, "At the end of the day, I find myself exhausted, but also incredibly satisfied and grateful that I have been able to serve in this way.

     Besides that, it's fun!

PS  In the picture, I'm on the left and Loie is on the right.

cleone larson - salt lake city, utah

Cleone Larson

Hello COPI team, I am Cleone Larson:  Believer, daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, retired teacher, and friend.  This is my fourth trip to Viet Nam.  Two trips were to meet my wonderful grandchildren and one a mission trip.  My talents for the mission are whatever needs to be done.  I proudly held the flashlight for the dentists on my other mission.  I am looking forward to this mission and rooming again with my favorite friend, Jeanne Liken.

I am retired from teaching, but volunteer to get my teaching "fix" at Grace Lutheran School where one of my grandchildren attends.  I also play in the bell choir at Good Shepherd Lutheran and the clarinet in the mini orchestra.  I am the proud mother of two beautiful girls and the grandmother of four outstanding grandchildren.  My youngest daughter is Raina Zeeh, one of the leaders of the team and because of her I have known binh for many years.  I have been married to my soul mate, Larry, for almost 48 years.

May God bless our mission as we serve His people in Viet Nam.

tuan dam - europe

                                                            tuan dam

Chào đội tình nguyện / Hello Volunteering Team,

My name is Anh-Tuan Dam ̣(call me Tuan) and I currently live in Europe across different countries. I am 30 years old and I work as a business utilities consultant under my own company. I was born originally in Canada so I have never been to Vietnam before. Rather than just give my money to the tourist industry, I was inspired by the COPI documentary to go on a volunteering mission as part of a way to discover my origins, and as a way to invest in something meaningful. 

I have since been teaching myself to read and write in Vietnamese, and hope I can help the team however I can (I'm sure my brute strength will be relied upon). I lack medical skills, but I am quite flexible in other areas, and am excited to meet the challenges that may arise. I am also a team player so I'm looking forward to taking care of everyone :D.

magel walo - caldwell, idaho

     magel walo

Many years ago in the small Southern Minnesota farming community of Eyota, Magel Hamm was born, the eldest of 5 children.  After college and 7 years of teaching it was time to settle down and change the last name to Walo and so it has remained for 48 years.  Two sons have given me 7 grandchildren that are a real joy!.  Children are a heavy passion of mine and it is one of the major reasons that I am involved with COPI and have been since 1999.  Eight trips to Vietnam have given me many hours of memories.  I keep a photo album for each trip.  They are within easy reach so my family can look at where I have been and the work we do.  Porcelain painting and cooking are my two other hobbies travel and photo albums.  I look forward to working with all of you and know that God has sent each one on this to make it a whole body of workers.

jeanne liken - st george, ut

                                                                                      jeanne liken

Chào! I'm Jeanne Liken. This is my second adventure with binh and Raina to Viet Nam and I'm looking forward to meeting you all. My nursing career started when I was a kid reading books that had nurses as protagonist-heroines. I was a candy-striper at 16, a medic in the Air Force at 20 and graduated from nursing school in 1980. As an RN I've worked in med/surg, OB/GYN, ortho, neuro, case management and QA. Currently I volunteer at Dixie Regional Hospital in the Specialty Recovery Unit where we recover patients from invasive cardiac and imaging procedures. I guess I just can't stay away from hospitals! I've been married to Jim for 25 years. He is an occupational therapist retired from a rehab company he owned with a couple of partners. We live in the beautiful red rock country of St. George, UT. As binh says, to serve is a privilege, and I'm excited to again serve the kids with you all and my best-friend-in-the-world, Cleone. 

dr elizabeth lawrance - santa barbara, ca

                                       Dr. Elizabeth Lawrance

Hello to all team members COPI

I am excited and grateful to be included as a team member on the up coming mission to Vietnam 3/2013.

My name is Dr Elizabeth Lawrance I go by Liza to friends and family.

I am a female trauma surgeon. In addition, I have a masters in public health and tropical medicine. I trained in New Orleans at Tulane. I am a California native who recently moved back home to California after working  and training in Louisiana and Texas for over 15 years.

I have been overseas on medical missions in the past. 1991 to Hangzhou China.  In 1999, I  went  Korle Bu hospital in Accra, Ghana, to complete my masters work in Public health tropical medicine. I have a dual MD/ MPH degree.

I am a army reservist who has been deployed to Iraq twice and Afghanistan twice. 

I am familiar with the medical struggles and challenges particular to women and children of a developing countries.

Last year, I watched your work on television via a documentary on a public network.

 I was fascinated with the mission and hoped to join one day....so here I am, finally taking the time off from a busy schedule to be a part of something that I  have always believed important and necessary.....supporting women and children in developing nations.

Thank you for allowing me to participate. I look forward to meeting all of you.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Lawrance

mark sonnier - coppell, texas

                                     mark sonnier

Hello to everyone! My name is Mark Sonnier. I am 50 years old and work as a software consultant.  I discovered COPI through my mother, Audrey Franklin, who is becoming somewhat of a veteran on these trips.  This is my first mission and I am extremely excited (and a little nervous) about participating.  Whereas I lack specific medical skills, I will make up for this with my enthusiasm, joy and dedication to the mission.  I am looking forward to meeting everyone on the team and feel blessed to be able to participate.

introduction from binh

Welcome to COPI Mission March 2013 Blog.  It is only less than one month before our departure date.  We know that you are making plans for your loved ones at home, collecting needed items for our patients, reading everything about Vietnam, getting anxious to see old friends and meeting new ones... 

After 17 years of hosting mission trips, I am still getting excited for the day to meet and "re-meet" all of you in Hanoi.  By now, you probably understand that we will be busy caring for over 1,000 patients at seven clinics from North to South Vietnam.  Our team is made of 1/2 non-Vietnamese and 1/2 Vietnamese team members.  Most of us do not speak Vietnamese well and some of our friends speak English well.  You will find that language is not going to be a barrier; instead understanding and compassion will allow us learning from one another tradition and culture.  Regardless of our different backgrounds, in the end each of us will be richer for gaining new friends.

In oder to "break the ice", please send us your introduction and one of your favorite photographs of you to post here.  Your blog will help your team mates to recognize you in Taipei, Seattle or San Francisco.  For example, Gene Morris and Magel Walo will leave the USA from Seattle airport together.  

In a way, Tuan Dam had already introduced himself to  the team a few emails ago.  Thank you Tuan.  I look forward reading more about you on your blog.  To view March 2012 mission team, please go to this blog page:

          http://gettingtoknowyou-march2012mission.blogspot.com

We hope to hear from all of you soon.
Peace to our journey
Raina and binh (aka co binh)