I was lucky enough to go on all 3 retreats, one after the other, for 5 weeks - a wonderful, tremendously varied, eye and heart opening experience from beginning to end. (Photo: at Tam Binh School) Coming from winter in England, simply being back in the tropics – the sights, sounds, smells, – was enough to lift my spirits, but then there was everything else: The warm, welcoming people (both locals and fellow retreatants.) The fantastic scenery, from the glorious green mountain

When I opened the email informing me I was granted a scholarship to attend the Loving Work Foundation’s 2019 retreat, I was filled with an uncontainable joy that physically thrust me out of the building I work in to release a simultaneous cry/laugh/whoop that I knew the river could handle but my co-workers would find… disruptive. Gratitude burst from my being in every direction; I was going to Viet Nam, to travel in Sangha, and granted the opportunity to take part in an ongoi

(Photo: Yen Tu Mountain) I must say that when I think about my travels and experiences with you and my Sangha, I continue to feel warmth in my heart and a smile on my face ….these few weeks spent with the Sangha and your guidance prepared me to handle the challenges I met upon my return with grace and compassion ….the sequence of places and subject matter was perfection. ….the quality of accommodations and food, and the manner of travel I could not have been better ….the only

The creative juices began to flow when Melody and Don made the decision to join their second Homeland Retreat. Melody immediately solicited the involvement of her ophthalmologist who agreed to donate 40 pairs of reading glasses which she would bring to gift to the poor in Hoi An. And, Don immediately joined the effort in his unique way. He managed to spill ginger ale on his MacBook laptop, rendering it useless. This was, however, the perfect challenge for Melody who resists t