To apply for a Chinese visa in Hanoi, it is a 4-5 day process for people from the United States… which meant that during the waiting period, we had some time to explore!
To begin, this was a post I made about my time in Hanoi last May… In case you missed it:
“H A N O I , V I E T N A M. As a naturally hyper-self-critical person, learning to love myself and my life right where I am at has proven to be one of the most difficult challenges I have faced. It comes from a good place of always seeking to grow, but easily transforms into an unhealthy pattern of never believing I am good enough & never celebrating the small wins of life. I have been working on seeing myself through a lens of love, and through the lens Jesus sees me in.
Today, my teammate started taking photos of us in an alley we are currently living in as we headed out for the day… and for the first time in a long time, I naturally smiled when I saw this photo of myself. I simply saw myself as beautiful, and no thoughts of criticism followed. And I paused in this awesome moment as I realized what a big accomplishment that was!!!
So, I wanted to share this photo with you all. Because it’s okay for us to love ourselves as we are & where we’re at. We are truly incredible, beautiful, unique beings and we need to remember to take moments to celebrate that (even if we have goals for growth in the future!). #11n11 #worldrace #loveyourself#vietnam #iambeautiful #soareyou“
It was an important lesson to learn, and one that I continue to step more and more into every day.
Now… the small adventures in Hanoi were some of the best moments (like to eat Vietnamese pho or to small, cozy coffee shops), but there is one day that truly sticks out as an incredible adventure in this beautiful world God has created for us: our trip to Ha Long Bay!!!
It was filled with cave exploring, hiking, kayaking, delicious food, and new friends from around the world (like David & his mom from Costa Rica, Jen & Rich from the UK, Sean & Nathalie from Canada, and others from Pakistan, South Korea, etc.) God continually provided encounters with Spanish speakers around the world for me to talk to, and it was incredible! Vietnam was no exception 🙂
Now, pictures do more than words ever could, so please enjoy this small collection of photos from this breathtaking day:
At the end of our time in beautiful Hanoi our visas were approved, and we started our journey into China!!! #teamfinechina
