Ministry
Going into Vietnam I had no idea what to expect other than what I've heard from history class. To my amazement it was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. I would say it's number two on my list, after Swaziland.
My team and I helped out at an English Corner and a Coffee Shop. At the English Corner we would help young teens and adults with their English by playing games and talking about life. At the Coffee Shop we would help with daily tasks at hand and spend time with the staff.
This month I had one of the most memorable nights on the race. One of the girls from the English corner that I met wanted to meet up with the entire team to thank us for all we did for them. As we were planning the time and the day that would work good for us her and her friends were planning something special for us. They ended up planning the entire night of dinner, games, songs, and they also made us all bracelets.
God blessed us with these people by showing us that even if we are not doing evangelism, or preaching people can see something different in us. While getting to know this girl as a friend I found out that she too is a Christian and so were some of the others that helped plan the night for our team were, but not all of them. At the end of the night they all thanked us and said that us sitting there and talking to them meant so much to them. The little things DO matter!
Personal Growth
This month kind of gave me a little taste of what it would be like to be back home. I had constant internet access and almost anything I wanted within walking distance or a short taxi ride. After a while I started finding myself becoming comfortable with everything and getting back into the habit of being on the internet as much as possible, or watching TV during my free time. I still had some alone time with God and continued to grow in different areas but some of the things that I found important were slowly slipping away because being distracted by what is in front of me. I did not know how to face it and when I would bring it up with my team people agreed with me but after a few days it would go back to people being distracted again.
With all the distractions it was a good test of what could happen back home for me. I don't want to become so distracted with technology that I miss what is right in front of me. No, this does not mean that I'm against technology or anything for it helps us keep in touch with those who are far away from us, but there's a point when it can become unhealthy and I got a taste of that this month. God helped show me the value of the friendships of the people who are right in front of me. Soon these friends that I have made here will be scattered all over the US, even possibly the world and I want to show them that I really do care about them and not become distracted.
Fundraising Update: I'm staying the whole race!
I'm just about fully funded!
Thank you all for your support! 🙂
