Good morning Vietnam! As I write this to you, I am sitting on the patio on the 18th floor of the apartment where we are have been living for a few days. Also known as the penthouse! We spent the first 2 weeks in the South in Saigon and have been in the north in Hanoi for 1 week now. My team will remain in the north for another few days before heading back down South and flying to South Africa as a squad. This month has been such a whirlwind and full of such blessings on the journey to find Unsung Heroes. We have found the Heroes and continue to have them brought into our path.
My month in Vietnam wouldn't have been complete without watching this classic!
I have come to the reality that I am on my very own Kingdom Journey. As I read Seth Barnes book Kingdom Journeys, which is basically what the World Race is, I find myself on a whirlwind adventure. He describes three basic steps of this particular journey: 1. Abandonment, 2. Brokenness, and 3. Dependence. I am daily challenged with the abandonment part but did this leaving all the comforts of home when I launched from Georgia. The brokenness is something I continue to experience daily, especially truths about myself; as well as events that happen on the field that bring about such brokenness and heartache. Dependence is the part I am really working on right now and even struggling with a bit.
Last night as I lay on my sleeping pad, trying to go to sleep for 2 hours while battling a cold, the L0rd came over me and engulfed me in the realities of having full dependence on Him alone. I laid around the apartment yesterday trying to rest and get better and all I could think of is what I would give for my bed back home right now and its comforts. These thoughts crept in yesterday and I believe they are of the enemy; I had to go to the Lord in pr@yer and ask Him to be enough. Coming to the reality that nothing, no person, not even a teammate, thought, or feeling could be enough for me. What is enough is J3sus and His daily presence in my life. His hand was upon me as I lay on my sleeping pad and was seeking Him for wisdom. I ask you to be pray1ng for me as I continue my Kingdom Journey and find peace in Him alone. Also, the reality of the community I am living among and the importance of each woman on my team. Unless you have been on or are currently on the World Race, you have no idea the great community I am experiencing daily. It is such a blessing and this journey wouldn’t be possible without it.
A quick side note about the apartment where we are currently living in Hanoi, Vietnam. Sunday morning we attended an International (hurch and were approached by many individuals at the end of the service to ask about The World Race. Through this we have made many contacts and have had several meetings with Unsung Heroes. Among these individuals is an American couple, which I will call C and A, invited us to lunch at their apartment after (hurch. We gladly accepted and headed off to their apartment. They live in the penthouse and have an incredible view of the lake/city. We walk in and there is a living room, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a kitchen. This is one of the first homes we have been in on the race, and we immediately felt at home. We spent the afternoon chatting, preparing and eating lunch, and shared life with this beautiful couple. We each shared about the Race and briefly about ourselves. It was such a blessing and they poured so much into us. After lunch we spent a bit sitting around and chatting then off we were back to the old quarter to the hostel.
View from the 18th floor penthouse apartment.
Monday evening we were having team time with Erika and when we got done we had a text from C and A. They had invited us to stay with them for the remainder of our time in Hanoi. After the shock of the idea, we messaged them back and said YES! The next evening we were off to our new home, to literally move in with our packs. This has been such a blessing in so many ways: living in a real home, 6 rooms and 2 patios, cooking our meals, being poured into and being an encouragement to C and A. Who would of thought attending a (hurch service would lead to a new place to stay for a week and provide each of my teammates with exactly what we needed. Each of us have had our needs met in various ways: much needed alone time, a real kitchen to cook in, yoga with a real yoga mat, access to a real gym, and time to share about who we are with each other. I continue to be amazed daily with how my needs are met by the L0rd and His continual love and grace that shower me. Being on the Race involves pouring yourself out day after day and finding people to pour into us outside the community of our squad is rare. Our time in Vietnam proved different by finding 2 heroes, C and A, who poured into us each more than they will ever know. Thank you guys for your open hearts and doors, to allow us to take over your home for the week! It amazes me how G0d worked this situation out and allowed each of us to bless one another.
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10
