binh rybacki aka co binh

Greetings from Loveland,

I am binh rybacki, Founder and Executive Director for Children of Peace International (COPI).

It is my honor to welcome you to Vietnam as members of our medical mission team March 2016.  We will serve at seven clinics in four provinces: Phu Tho, Quang Nam, Binh Duong and my beloved city, Saigon aka Ho Chi Minh City.  Joining this team with us will be our 19 Vietnamese team members, some are veterans and some are first-timers.

Your leadership team are Co Cuc (our advisor in Saigon), Raina Zeeh (Utah) and Mike Kirchner (MA). Our primary function is to serve you, our team members well, so you could, inturn serve our patients well. 

My husband, Jack and I started COPI in 1993 with the intention to care for orphans and street children in Vietnam.  Since then, COPI has expanded our scope of services to building schools in poor communities, awarding scholarships to indigenous children, medical and dental cares for poor communities (just as in this mission), provide scholarships to nurses for acute cares training, prevent human trafficking and provide shelters and training to remake the victims lives.

Jack and I live in Loveland, Colorado (the town which stamped your Valentine cards).  Our youngest son, Spencer lives and works in Chicago.  Our oldest son Preston and his wife Shannon are living and working in Vietnam since 2005.  You will meet them at the end of your journey.

On behalf of our patients and our children in Vietnam, we thank you.

Peace to our journey

mike kirchner team march 2016

Hello Team!  My name is Mike Kirchner and this will be my seventh trip to Vietnam.  Like Bob, my first two trips were courtesy of the US Air Force between 1968 and 1970!  I then returned 40 years later with the spring COPI mission team in 2010 and have been back several times since.  I have been a member of the COPI Board since 2013.  On December 31, 2014 I retired from Harvard University, having served as the Director of Safety and Security at the Harvard Art Museums.  

I am also a retired Chief of Police from the small town of West Stockbridge, MA, where my wife Sherry and I continue to live.  We also have a home in Southport, NC and hope to soon relocate from the cold, ice and snow of the New England Winters.  

I was in Vietnam just a month ago on the annual COPI Li Xi tour and am looking forward to seeing old friends and making new ones on this spring mission trip.  I am going in a couple days early and will meet you in Hanoi, with the Vietnam team.  The attached photo is me and my grandson, Josiah as we prepare to head off to the Gettysburg Battlefield last fall.  We have two grown daughters and four grandchildren, and on our small farm here in western MA we have two cats, a horse, and a mule!  

donna & brick thompson team march 2016

donna

 Hello!  I am so excited for our trip.  I graduated from nursing school (University of Kentucky:  March Madness anyone?) in 1976 and became a Family Nurse Practitioner in 1985.  My nursing career has been primarily in ICU and ER.  I worked in Critical Care until I obtained my FNP.  In 1985, I began teaching Critical Care and working part-time as an FNP.   Nursing is the best profession in the world and I love it!  I began traveling with COPI in 2002.  I’ve been very fortunate to go on a mission trip once or twice a year until 2011.  I developed a Study Abroad program for nursing students in 2005 and brought students to Viet Nam with me until 2011.  There were not enough students in 2012 and 2013 for my employer to offer the Study Abroad.  I retired from the college in December and now co binh is in trouble!  There’s nothing to stop me (except finances) from tagging along whenever i get the chance!

I was born in Kentucky and moved to Utah after college.  I am incredibly fortunate to have married the most wonderful man in the world!  Brick is the love of my life and my best friend.  We were not able to have children of our own, but God blessed us with COPI’s children to love.  I love animals almost as much as children!  Right now we have two cats named Tucker and Romeow.  In addition to traveling and camping; I love to quilt, knit and crochet.  

This is going to be a great adventure and I can’t wait!    

brick thompson

Hi everybody.  My name is “Brickell”, but I go by BRICK.  I was born in Oregon, but grew up in Montana.  My family moved to Utah when my Dad became the Director of the Utah State Health Department.  He was a pediatrician and my Mom was a nurse. Medical things were second nature in our house.  I have always loved airplanes and had more credits for aeronautics in college than the business degree I received from Westminister College.  I love anything mechanical; cars, trains, planes, etc.  My brother is a builder and we are both retired now.  It’s given us a chance to work on building and mechanical projects over the past year and I have thoroughly enjoyed it.  I also love the outdoors.  Camping and traveling are two of my favorite past-times. I also love to read.

I became involved with COPI when Donna decided to go on her first mission trip.  I went with her the next year and we have been making it an annual event since.  I wasn’t sure there was much I could do without a medical background, but quickly learned there is plenty of work for everybody.  I especially love watching the kids and grandmas at the clinics.  I have learned you don’t really need any special training to speak “love”.  Can’t wait to meet everybody next week.  Safe travels! 

the goldsteins team march 2016

Hello! We are the Goldstein family  - currently in month 7 of a 10 month family gap year.  I am Gail - mom, dermatologist, and chief keeper of the passports.  I've been planning this family sabbatical for a long time, and we are thrilled to be a part of COPI.  Andrew - dad, gynecologist, and chief bag schlepper, has been busy this year with our various volunteer projects, including cervical cancer screening in the Amazon, primary care in Ecuador and Peru, and work in the hill tribes of Thailand.  Our three daughters were initially dragged along on this adventure, but are now hooked to the thrill of travel and volunteerism.

Julia, age 9.7598, is currently Gail's best homeschool student, and Gail hopes she is Julia's favorite 4th grade teacher (this year).  Mimi, 15, is a rising sophomore at Mcdonogh School is Baltimore, and enjoys playing with kids and  working on the perfect photo for her Instagram (or Finsta, or VSCO).  She has worked as a scribe in clinics in Ecuador with Timmy Global, as well as working as a medical assistant in Coya, Peru, and a pharmacy assistant in Thailand.   Lena, 16, is fluent in Spanish (like her sisters) and continues to manage our family blog (www.GoldsteinsGoGlobal.com) while doing online school, auditioning for opera programs, and keeping her daily journal.  

We are excited to be doing this as a family, and we can't wait to join the group! The kids are looking forward to some new people to talk to...not that they are sick of us or anything.

David and Garrett DeHart team march 2016

Hello Team!
My name is Garrett DeHart. I like to play soccer, football, and basketball. I am 8 years old. I am in 2nd grade. I have 2 brothers and they both went to VietNam. I am looking forward to finding friends in VietNam.
See you soon! Garrett DeHart 

Greetings!
I am David DeHart from Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin where I work as a Family Medicine physician. This year will be an exciting trip for my son, Garrett, and I. I have been on previous COPI missions and look forward to seeing the country again, while sharing the experience with Garrett. My first trip to Vietnam was in 2003, and I have enjoyed all the opportunities I have had to return since then.
I am married to my wife, Julie, and we have 2 other sons, Spencer 12 and Xander 9. We are active in our community youth soccer program, Sunday school and church youth events. We enjoy hiking and camping in the state parks and national monuments along the Mississippi River where we live. Julie and Xander were born in Vietnam and after this trip, all three of our boys will have had the privilege of serving on a COPI medical trip while learning about their heritage.
Garret and I are looking forward to meeting you all while serving the wonderful people of Vietnam. 

erica tran team march 2016

Hello!  My name is Erica Tran.  I recently graduated from University of Colorado at Boulder in December 2015 and received a Bachelors in Integrative Physiology.  I am working as a physical therapy aide and currently in the process of transitioning into PT graduate schools.  I love the health field because it is a way to enhance the human experience, medically challenging, and personally rewarding.  

I have been in Colorado my whole life and I absolutely love the people and the outdoors.  Some activities I enjoy include hiking, snowboarding, rock climbing, road biking, photography, piano and acoustic guitar, etc.  This is my first time participating in a COPI trip along with visiting Vietnam.  I can’t wait to medically serve and explore new places with everybody!  I look forward to meeting each of you.