What a privilege to live in Asia for five months. What great experiences we’ve had in Vietnam, with its genuine people, delicious food, beautiful scenery, and outrageous motorbike traffic. What a blessing to be alive and on the World Race.
I feel like people are thinking, “Oh, you’re in month three. You’re still fresh. It’s so sweet that you think everything is going great. It will get worse.”
And they might be totally justified in saying that.
Our team has worked together really well. We’ve learned a lot from each other, but haven’t had any major drama or problems. We like each other as people and enjoy spending time working together.
We have been really blessed comforts-wise these first three months. I’ve never been without good food, a bed, and running water. We even had A/C this month, like, what??
So who knows what the next eight months will bring, but life in general is an amazing gift, let alone life on the World Race.
Team LoveStruck spent November practicing English with Vietnamese people in an American coffee shop in Ho Chi Minh City. Each day we worked four to five hour shifts, sitting in the upstairs rooms, talking about all manner of topics – politics, love, relationships, geography, travel, America, weather, movies, music, karaoke, Vietnam, faith, and religion.
We had great conversations, met wonderful people, and built relationships with the Vietnamese people there even outside the coffee shop. They took us to eat sea snails, goat meat, shrimp pancakes, and many other strange foods. We sang karaoke. We went to the beach together. They shared their lives with us and welcomed us with open arms.
We learned a lot about each other in a short amount of time, and sometimes, we were able to share our faith with them. I pray that our time spent with these wonderful customers at the coffee shop (there are many “regulars”) nurtured some seeds planted by previous World Race teams. I pray that we were able to plant many more seeds so that other teams who volunteer at the coffee shop in the future can answer more questions and open more doors in the hearts of these incredible people. I pray that the Truth will have such a powerful grip on the people here that they can’t help their desire to learn more.
So here’s to our last week in Vietnam, and here’s to eight more months of seeds planted, people loved, amazing adventures, and wonderful blessings.
“In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world – just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.” Colossians 1:6
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Friends and family, thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the support, thoughts, prayers, and encouragement, which is all summed up in the word “love.” You are not forgotten. I am always grateful for the people who helped send me and the ones who continue to think of me and pray for me. Know that I am also thinking of you and continuing to pray for you.
