Vietnam was not at all what I pictured. I’m not really sure what I expected but it definitely surprised me. Vietnamese people are incredibly friendly and welcoming and we worked closely with some amazing people. This month reminded me very much of Africa because every day was different. We didn’t have one set ‘job’ for this month.
We did everything from:
-Helping students practice English
-Visiting HIV orphanages (pictures below)
-Cleaned a church
-Taught Children’s ministries
-Playing Games
-Took weekend trips to: leper colonies, to encourage fellow believers etc.
-And more!
One thing I did do consistently this month was sweat! That seems to be a recurring theme in my life until my return to America. SE Asia is NO JOKE when it comes to humidity and I’ve never been so thankful for the invention of air conditioning before in my life. This month, for the first time I can remember, I had the blessing of AC in our room. It was luxurious.
I’ve always been passionate about wanting to adopt one day. I think I always thought I would adopt children who looked similar to me. This year has made me want an incredibly diverse family some day. Being in Asia has opened my heart to adopting an Asian baby in the future. They are just so darn cute!
Picture taking has taken a back burner lately because I’ve wanted to spend more time soaking in my surroundings and getting involved than being behind the camera. I have a few pictures of my favorite day of the month, when we went to play with the kids at the HIV orphanage. The children were precious and so snuggly, my favorite combination.
We leave tomorrow on an 8-hour bus ride to Cambodia where we will spend our last month! My team will be teaching English, visiting prisons and more in Phnom Penh, which is the capital of Cambodia. From there we’ll head back to Thailand (avoiding rioting, no worries) and have final debrief before flying back to the states. Crazy!
