tanya raile team march 2017

Hi!

My name is Tanya and I am a Wyoming native, growing up in Cody Wyoming.  

I will be celebrating my 40^th birthday the day before we leave on our journey and I am looking forward to spending my ‘birthday month’ serving others.   

I am a Real Estate Loan Officer at Pinnacle Bank and enjoy working with borrowers making their dream of homeownership come true.   

Besides my work I am actively involved in our local Soroptimist club whose mission is helping women and girls. I am also involved in our local Habitat for Humanity organization and assist on the family selection committee.

  

I’m looking forward to joining my fellow volunteers on this mission trip for Children of Peace International.  I have known about COPI for the last 6 years since I’ve been a member of my local Soroptimist club.    

I met Binh at my 1^st regional Soroptimist conference and heard her story and the amazing things that she and others have done for the children of Vietnam.   I have no medical background but I do have compassion and love for children and I am looking forward to assisting in any way I can to make this upcoming trip successful.    

See you soon!!

raina zeeh team march 2017

Hello, I am Raina Zeeh. I feel blessed to know each of you a little bit through the interview when we spoke on the phone. 

I look forward to learning more about each of you as we work together, side by side.

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 23 years, Curtis, and I adopted our two children, Thane age 18 and Nina age 15, 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. This will be my 15th trip to Vietnam and my 10th time as a leader. 

My salaried job is as a nurse clinical coordinator in cardiology at the University of Utah. In my spare time I organize a fundraiser for COPI in the Fall and am a COPI board member. 

My interests are gardening, reading, traveling and serving where needed. 

I am very excited to lead another mission team. We will all work hard, have our fair share of fun and hopefully gain 32 more friendships from both sides of the world. I look forward to serving with each of you.

kate miller team march 2017

My name is Kate Miller and I live in La Crosse Wisconsin.

I was born and raised on a dairy farm and loved every minute of it.

I have worked as a certified medical assistant for 5 years now.

I have done one previous medical mission trip to the Lakota Indian Reservation in 2012 and it was an incredible experience.

Some of my interest include, traveling, trying new foods and experiencing different cultures, natural health, anything outdoor including gardening and biking.  I also love spending time with friends and family and look forward to meeting everyone in March.

The picture I have attached is of me and my parents on our recent trip to Ireland.

donna & brick thompson team march 2017

lori trumbo, team march 2017

Hi, I’m Lori Trumbo, from Salt Lake City, UT. 

 My husband and I have 2 sons and 1 daughter, and 7 grandkids. We are empty nesters and are enjoying our little condo downtown! I am an RN and have worked for 30+ years in the Newborn ICU at the University Hospital here. 

I love photography, walking the Avenues, and adventurous eating. I love to travel and have found medical missions to be a great way to get to know a country. 

I’ve volunteered in Mongolia, China, and in 2014 with COPI in Vietnam. I am really excited to be going with this group again. Vietnam is such a beautiful place! I’m looking forward to getting to know you all.

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!