pastor christine nelson - team march 2014

Hello Team!

I'm Christine Nelson, this will be my second trip with COPI.  I loved the trip four years ago and I am "homesick" for the beautiful children, the scrumptious food and the extraordinary country and people of Vietnam.  This trip my daughter Shellie and grandkids Evan and Makena will join me, I can't tell you how proud and happy I am, they are amazing.  I look forward to serving with each one of you and hold this team and your families in prayer.

And... I was born in 1947, you do the math!  My husband Bob and I have been married 30 years and have a 27 year old son, Aaron.  Bob is step father extraordinaire to Shellie and Victoria, my two daughters.  Victoria and her husband Bob have two newly adopted children, Luke who is 17 months and Gabriella, 9 months.  I am a full-time pastor at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Sandy, Utah.

I thank God for this opportunity to get to know you and love on binh and the precious children we will be serving, Blessings, Christine

Makena, Evan and Shellie Hoyt - team march 2014

Hello Team,

I am Shellie Hoyt and will be traveling with my two children Evan and Makena and my amazing mother Pastor Christine Nelson.  I have been married 27 years to a wonderful man named Larry.  I am a store manager at Jcpenney's for the past 8 years.  I have beeen in the retail industry for 31 years.  I have always wanted to go on a mission trip and I am so excited and a bit nervous.  Evan is 18 and graduated from High School.  He is crazy about all sports and has played Soccer, Basketball, Baseball all through school.  He is an avid skier and enjoys any sport.  Evan has a huge fan base with our neighbor kids.  Every night the kids ring the doorbell and ask if Evan can come out and play, most of them are age 7 to 10.....Evan usually obliges them and they play catch or toss the football, kids love Evan!  Evan also works at Jcpenney and has been there about  a year and a half.  Makena is 16 and a Sophmore in High School.  She is a basketball player and is on a girls Recreational team.  She is an excellent student and very responsible.  She watches a dog after school who is blind and all he wants to do is play fetch....sometime it takes him a while to find the ball!  Makena has a witty sense of humor and lots of friends.  She is an avid photographer and is excited to capture the beauty of Vietnam.  We are so excited to have the opportunity to serve and know that this adventure will be the trip of a lifetime......can't wait to be on the plane!

Makena & Shellie

Evan (the one in black)

nancy schiff-slater - team march 2014

Nancy is on the Left

My name is Nancy Schiff-Slater.  I live in Hallowell, Maine with my husband, Scott, and when college breaks permit, with our daughter, Emily, who graduates from art school this Spring. I work as a legal services attorney representing people who are living at or below the poverty level.  I love yoga, running and meditation, and also love going to the movies and spending time with friends and family.  I've had the good fortune of traveling to Honduras, India and Ethiopia on various medical missions doing a variety of tasks from helping out in the operating room, assisting in medical clinics, working in orphanages and assessing for and giving out eye glasses. I'm thrilled to be going to Vietnam as part of COPI'S March medical team and stand ready willing and able to help out in whatever way I can.

dr. scott schiff-slater - team march 2014

Hello, my name is Scott Schiff Slater. 

I am a 56 year old family practitioner in Maine, and  I will be coming on the mission with by wife Nancy.   

Nancy and I live in an old New England river town in central Maine with a population of about 2500 people.   I work in a small two physician private family practice, about 4 blocks from our house, which was built in about 1800.  I can walk to work almost as easily as driving to work (though embarrassingly I often drive!).  We have been on a number of other volunteer medical trips together.    I did one medical trip to Honduras as medical student many years ago, and had always planned  to make volunteer work an increasing part of my life.    In 2004 I worked in New Orleans as a volunteer physician after Hurricane Katrina, and since that time we have worked four more times in Honduras, then in India, Ethiopia, and Mexico.    It is my goal to spend more time on these activities as I age.  

We have a talented wonderful 22-year-old daughter, who has traveled to Honduras and Mexico with us, and is now preparing to graduate college.   Until a year or 2 ago we also had a wonderful dog, and I believe plans are developing for a future dog after we return from Vietnam.  

I am obsessed with the outdoors, and a little bit with exercise, and I spend whatever free time I have, hiking in the mountains, bicycling, skiing, snowshoeing, etc.     I enjoy my work as a physician, as well as my role in the local community.  Family is important to me, and I spend a fair amount of time driving back and forth to Boston, visiting my elderly mother, taking her out to the grocery store, etc.    In recent years I have become interested in Buddhist philosophy and have read many of the books by Thich Nhat Hanh, a well known Vietnamese monk.      Vietnam has interested me for many reasons, only partly because of the war.    

I am thrilled to be going with COPI to Vietnam, meeting everyone on our team, and being able to take care of, and learn about, the people of Vietnam.    One of the reasons I became interested in this group in particular, in COPI, was the arrangement where about half of the people on our team will be actually from Vietnam.   In volunteer medical organizations, and medical mission trips, this seems unique. 

I look forward to meeting you all.

raina zeeh - your fearless co-leader mission march 2014

From L to R: Curtis, Thane, Raina and Nina in front

I am Raina Zeeh, your fearless co-leader. I first went on a mission trip with binh in 1994. On that trip I fell in love with the Vietnamese people and country. With binh's help my husband of 21 years and I adopted our two children, Thane age 15 and Nina age 12 from Tam Binh Orphanage (also called Good Shepherd Home) in Saigon. Since 2006 Curtis or I have served as mission team leaders for the Spring mission trip. I work as a nurse at an endoscopy center and volunteer in many aspects with COPI throughout the year. 

I am very excited to lead another mission team with binh. We will all work hard, have our fair share of fun and hopefully gain 30 more friendships from both sides of the world. I look forward to working beside each of you.

chelsea may - team march 2014

Hi, my name is Chelsea, I'm from Salt Lake City, UT and have been a nurse for 8 years. I first learned about COPI when I was in nursing school, but did not go on the mission trip. My nursing school buddy went and told me what an amazing experience it was. I've always regretted not going. Coincidentally, I started working with Raina a few years ago and found out that she helps organize the trip. I felt like I got a second chance to go and couldn't pass it up. Traveling is a passion of mine and I'm really excited to see the beautiful country of Vietnam and help others while doing it. I am also excited to share this experience with my best friend Nicole, who I've known since middle school. Can't wait to meet everyone!