Laos was a really cool and different month for my team and I. We left Cambodia and ended up on a little island called Don Det with the rest of our squad. This month my team and I didn’t have a host or a ministry that we were assigned to. We were ATL, or what we call “Ask The Lord”. This was my second time doing ATL on the race, the first being in Malawi, so I was excited to see what the Lord had planned for my team and I.
It was pretty clear early on that we were suppose to stay on the island of Don Det. We all felt very called to live there for the month and help out wherever we could. We then spent the first couple of days praying and walking around the island to look for any potential ministry opportunities. There was one place that really stood out to a couple of us, myself included. It was these cute, little bungalow houses with it’s own restaurant just across the street. The manager Annie was also super cool and we felt really drawn to help her out.
We decided to stay in the bungalows and work at the restaurant serving tourists, creating conversations, and helping to cook as well. Most of the time we just made smoothies and coffee. But, eventually we got promoted to making pancakes and spring rolls, super exciting stuff. It was my first time ever working in a restaurant environment and I was definitely able to grow in my cooking skills. We also had really great opportunities to connect with some of the locals and tourists who came to eat at our place.
We spent the early mornings and afternoon helping out at the restaurant. Around 3pm every day though we also went to go teach at the only school on the island. We taught English classes, mostly the ABCs, and also had dance parties out front with the kids. We also met a little boy on the island who soon became our best friend. We would take him every day to school and hang out with him and his mom sometimes on the weekend.
The month absolutely flew by. From watching late night movies, eating at this vegan/vegetarian place that had the most amazing chicken nuggets, singing the jolly phonics song on repeat to our school kids, handing out Valentines Day letters to strangers, and just floating down the river in tubes, this month was jam packed with great memories. Pretty soon we left our little island and went to Pakse for a couple days before we had to leave for Thailand. We stayed at a hostel in the city and met some other traveling backpackers. We were able to minister to them and have really open and honest conversations.
One of the biggest takeaways I took from this month is simply just having conversations with people. Whether it was people at the restaurant or other traveling backpackers, some of the most honest and open conversations I have had started with a friendly smile or a “Hello”. Being willing to step out and talk to others about hard topics or even easy conversation starters, despite how nervous I am, has opened me up to having incredible discussions that I never thought I would have before. These conversations might have never happened if I wasn’t willing to put myself out there and simply be kind to my fellow humans.
You never know who the Lord is going to put in front of your path. It’s up to you if you’re going to seek that person out or not. I encourage you all to be intentional and be bold. You never know what amazing, open, and honest conversations you can have with the people around you, strangers or friends.
Right now my team and I are in Thailand which is our very last month in Asia. We’re helping out at a camp in Roi Et doing manual labor like painting, shoveling, and planting. In a couple weeks we’ll be heading to South America so please keep my squad and I in your prayers as we finish out our time in Asia and prepare for our last continent. Thank you, love and miss you all 🙂
