5:15am: Roll out of bed, and suit up to go swimming with a few students before the sun gets too hot.
6:00am: Pull up to the beach, and sit amazed at all the people! 5-7am is the prime time for every activity (not) under the sun: beach volleyball, running, swimming, frisbee, gymnastics and even juggling!
6:15am: While I’m waiting for the students, I mosey over to watch some middle-aged Vietnamese tango dancing. One woman pulls me in and directs me to an older man for a cha-cha lesson! They laugh as I good-naturedly dance along.
6:25am: The students pull up on their motorbikes, and we prepare for a short, shivering swimming lesson in the beating waves.
7:15am: Return to the house to clean up. I love listening to our Korean hosts singing hymns in their native language to welcome the day.
8:00am: Walk to the market to grab Vietnamese baguettes for breakfast. They’re delicious with scrambled egg, fresh herbs and cucumber, but I politely decline the neutral-colored mysterious meat.
9:00am: Team time! Sometimes we can be found exercising together to a hilarious beach workout video on the lower level of our hosts’ three-story home. Then we sit down to paint our nails, get to know each others’ stories, and pray for the students we are meeting at the English cafe each day.
11:00am: Head out to meet a few students for lunch and English practice. One of our current favorites is “bahn xeo” – a Vietnamese pancake wrapped in rice paper with fresh herbs (again!), dipped in sweet peanut sauce.
1:30pm: Return home. Many people take an afternoon “siesta” – I’m happy to jump on that bandwagon!
2:25pm: Catch up on reading and emails.
3:30pm: Hop on our motorbikes to head to the English café. Traffic’s crazy (per usual), and horns abound as various semi-trucks and other motorbikes want to speed by.
3:45pm: Order a “bac xiu” from the café staff: a shot of espresso mixed with condensed milk. Yes, coffee shops in the U.S. should incorporate this into their menus.
4:00pm: Practice English with students in between their college classes. It is challenging to keep the conversation going while straining to understand their accents, but they are so eager to learn, and we laugh a lot.
6:09pm: Walk to the corner with a few students to get street food for dinner. They take us to try “hu tieu” – one of their many noodle dishes with chicken, egg, vegetables and fresh herbs (yay!).
7:45pm: English club begins! The topic tonight is “Music”. We discuss our favorite genres and tunes, and I get a few students to perform their own rendition of “Stomp” when we explain how rhythm works.
9:30pm: English club is over, and a few of the regulars invite us to hang out at a local restaurant for a bit. Vanilla ice cream mixed with avocado and toasted coconut? Absolutely, I’ll come!
9:45pm: One of the students confides in me that she lost her money yesterday. She’s pretty discouraged. “Could you please tell me some verses from the Bible?” she asks. She’s been asking a lot about our belief in Jesus these past few days.
I readily share a few of my favorites with her, so thankful for the verses I’ve memorized over the years. A few minutes later, she looks up and says, “It works! I feel much better. My heart feels more open.”
In this moment, I’m challenged to continue getting to know the Word. Jesus works. And this is why we came.
