I am in Nicaragua away from the internet, but some of my friends back in Granada agreed to post this for me. As I transition into life in Latin America, I don’t want to move on without some closure on Asia.
God did so much in my life as I walked across Asia, that I wanted to take a moment and review. When I first got to Thailand, I hated everything except the iced coffee. I hated the heat, I hated the smell of incense, I hated the temples, I hated the prostitution, and I hated myself for not being a better missionary. But as I kept walking, God proved himself faithful, and before I knew it the land of smiles started to feel like home.
I didn’t think that it was possible for people to be friendlier than Thai’s, but then we crossed the border into Cambodia the Khmer’s broke me with their kindness. The Khmer people have been through so much political turmoil. In the last fifty years they have had their own government and the rest of the world come against them. The state of their country broke my heart. I didn’t know how to handle the five year old beggars, I didn’t know how to handle the legless, land mine victims, and I didn’t know how to love the orphans we worked with every day. That month God healed my heart by filling it with a supernatural love for the Khmer people. There were days when I would hold the kids at the orphanage, and hold back tears because everything in me just wanted them to have all the love in the world.
My side trip to Viet Nam was amazing. In Viet Nam we enjoyed Dr. Pepper for the first time in five months. It was surreal to ride along the Mekong river delta, and just marvel at the people who live there. Viet Nam was a weekend that I will never forget.
Then there was Hong Kong where I discovered Sprite Ice which is like regular sprite, but with a deep cooling sensation. When I think of Hong Kong, I will always remember sitting at a coffee shop overlooking the Harbor and committing to the Lord that I will start living out the passion that is inside me.
Then there was China. I loved China. I loved getting to know individual faces in the crowds of people. I loved the cultural exchange program. I loved getting to spit my food on the table (not really, but it always made me laugh when I was encouraged to do this), and push my way through a crowd without being considered rude. I loved the different people that we would meet on endless train rides. I loved that God felt closer to me in China than ever before in my life. More than any other country that we have visited, China is a country that I would love to revisit.
My second trip to the Philippines was even better than my first (which is hard to believe since the first trip changed my life.) in the Philippines I was able to speak God’s truth to people. I didn’t even know how much I loved to teach until last month. I love watching people be freed from bondage that they are holding on to. I love watching people’s faces light up with joy. I love watching people find purpose and hope. It’s amazing how truth and love can transform lives.
