Pass Code: WheninAsia
This month, Team River dwellers had a different mission than usual. On a normal month, we would be assigned a contact (church, missionary, organization) for the month. This contact would determine where we would stay, what we would do, and sometimes even what we would eat. This month, however, was “Unsung Heros” month for River Dwellers. We had no contact, no assigned housing.. just our team, our budget, and 2 missions. Love on people, and seek out potential contacts for future racers. Our main mission, above all, Love. So what did love look like this month?
Love looked like building relationships and becoming family with the owners and manager of our Hostel.
Love looked like sharing in an impromptu meal of a sweet potato with an elderly monk in a village.
Love looked like spending one-on-one time with each of our teammates, exploring the city and looking for contacts.
Love looked like stumbling upon an ice cream shop and making sweet (pun intended) memories as a team.
Love looked like playing hide-and-seek and tag with the small children of the owners of our hostel for hours.
Love looked like watching the One Direction movie, because it is a favorite of one of our teammates.
Love looked like going to the same restaurants over and over, and exchanging smiles and laughs with the cooks and servers on a daily basis.
Love looked like cooking popcorn and banana pancakes and watching the kids for the Christmas party put on by the Hostel family for all of the patrons.
Love looked like teaching English to classes of eager college students and listening to their dreams and goals.
Love looked like decorating a Christmas tree with our hostel family, and sharing Christmas traditions and music with them.
Love looked like going to the village of our hostel manager, and sharing in a meal with his family on his farm.
Love looked like sipping tea and coffee with other travelers, asking them about their life and their travels. Giving them the chance to share their stories.
Love looked like sacrificing sleep to get to know the struggles and triumphs of teammates.
Love looked like being a reassuring and gracious support to hostel staff when an intruder brought an uneasy Christmas day.
Love looked like inviting an older man traveling through the area to join us for Christmas Supper at one of our favorite restaurants because he was all alone on Christmas.
Love looked like sharing our hammocks with workers and patrons alike at our hostel, spending hours swinging, laughing, and talking together.
Love looked like carefully picking and giving Christmas gifts to teammates, showing that we have spent the time getting to know them well.
Love looked like exploring new parts of the city and nature together with teammates, because adventure is important to them.
Love looked like spending our last evening in the city graciously accepting the gift of a meal from our Hostel family.
Love looked like living every moment with our eyes and heart wide open to the opportunities that lay before us.
Love looked like 6 young women, forever changed by spending a month in Luang Prabang, Lao for Unsung Heros.
A definition of love. The precious monk that shared his sweet potato with us. Photo Creds to Anne-Michael McDonald
