Đà Lạt - City of Eternal Spring

Northeast of the sweltering, humid air and the traffic-locked roads of Ho Chi Minh City lies the quiet resort town of Đà Lạt. Situated 4,900 feet above sea level, and surrounded by terraced hills of agriculture and greenhouses full of flowers, Đà Lạt became the ideal get-away for the first ever senior missionary conference of the Vietnam Hanoi Mission. Four senior couples, the mission president and his wife, and two single sisters gathered together for four days of training, inspiration, fun, and fellowship. Our stay was at a beautiful bed and breakfast home with a view of the lake. 

It was like a mini-Garden of Eden, with an abundance of flowers and

 fresh fruit hanging from the trees.

The missionary training, led by President Hassell and his wife, became personalized messages of revelation from the Spirit as we learned those things we can do to improve and draw closer to the Savior.  The power of meeting together, sharing spiritual experiences, and being tutored by the Spirit were sweet blessings in this little paradise away from the rest of the world.

After most of our training, we had a day for exploring the area. Come join us on our adventures in the City of Eternal Spring: 

First off, it was time to sample the local delicacy - fried crickets! Yes - I did it!  (one is enough for a lifetime....)  (P.S. - tastes like chicken!  j/k)

Tiger Waterfall is the closest waterfall to Đà Lạt. The falls were beautiful, and we took the ride down to the falls in a toboggan. The walk back up the trail revealed interesting cultural and scenic views.

A cable car ride and visit to the Truc Lam Pagoda was next.

One of the highlights was a train ride through the country side to the Trai Mat Station.  The rolling hills are covered with terraced agriculture and rows upon rows of greenhouses lining the countryside - full of orchids, mums, roses, and all kinds of flowers.  

View You Tube video of train ride HERE. 

From there we visited the Linh Phuoc Pagoda - full of mosaics made from broken pieces of colored glass. 

Scenes from Đà Lạt 

Colorful street shop

Tasty snacks at the night market

Lunch time from a street vendor

The fairy book adventures had to come to an end, and the seniors packed up and headed home.  We are grateful for those who made this conference a success.  We are grateful for the faith, power, and testimony of each one of those who came.  We are grateful to our Savior Jesus Christ for the opportunity to serve Him in this beautiful country of Vietnam. It is, indeed, a season of miracles....