You can look to my most recent blog post (in October- yikes!) and realize that consistent communication is not my strong suit. I’m sorry for not keeping you in the loop of all of the amazing work and adventures God has been leading me through over the past few months! Anyways, now that I’m here in South America (what?! I didn’t know you even left Asia, Brie…) I figured it would be a good time to give you a glimpse of what life looked like over the past four months in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar. Grab your chopsticks and let’s dig in!
Vietnam
November 2018
All of Vietnam was a surprise for me- our ministry, the culture, the food, the beauty, and I loved every part of it! And I have never felt so welcomed in a foreign place. I made some dear friends, joined a few English clubs with fun discussions and games, drank lots and lots of coffee, taught Sunday School, led worship, helped with some babysitting, went to a deaf church, helped a family organize and move, and did other random but meaningful tasks to help encourage the local ministries and to support the church.
Helping a family move
Besides all of that, our biggest task was to help in the production of How the Grinch Found Christmas, which shared the Gospel and the true meaning of Christmas with 2,800 people! 2,800 people got to hear, maybe for the first time, that Jesus, the Son of God, was born in a lowly, stinky stable in order to take our punishment for the sin that we have lived in so that we can have a relationship with God now that will be one day perfected in Heaven! I want to continue to pray for each person who heard this life-giving message, that they will come to a deep understanding of the love God has for them and that they will accept his forgiveness and grace and follow Him. We know of four people that we were connected with that gave their life to Jesus after understanding His love and sacrifice after the show! Praise God for new brothers and sisters!
Our involvement with this production ranged from stapling candy canes (which are virtually unavailable in Vietnam, fun fact) to cards to pass out to the audience, preparing set pieces (thanks mom for the gift-wrapping lessons growing up- they came in handy here!), joining in choir practice to help with English pronunciation and meet friends, do Who-hair and make up (I’m basically a pro after doing 300 faces), and working as a stagehand (I made my big debut by carrying out the Grinch’s coat rack to the stage- I’ll sign autographs when I’m back;)
The Who’s of Whoville!
My favorite part in all of this was getting the opportunity to meet SO MANY amazing people! My new friends took me around town to show me where to get the best tea and local food, went with us to explore Marble Mountain, and were a joy to hang around and play games and eat food with. I also loved becoming a Who and singing and dancing with all of the actors right before the curtain opened. It was so special to celebrate Christmas with my dear new friends in such a fun way.
One last thing to put your mind at ease… WE HAD TURKEY AND PECAN PIE FOR THANKSGIVING! Miracle of miracles, someone had sent our host pecans and he was able to secure a turkey a few days before Thanksgiving, which made our first major holiday away from home feel a little more normal. We had fun baking pies and desserts the day before the big feast, and I have to say, we crushed it.
One last Team Submerge photo on Thanksgiving! I am so thankful for the 4 months I spent with these incredible women
Cambodia
December 2018
Cambodia was probably the most random month of my race. Here’s a quick outline of what it looked like:
But first, a few definitions:
Squad- the entire group I’m traveling with, 25 in all
Team- small groups of the 25, usually 5-7 people that are together in one ministry site
- Debrief with the squad
- Becoming a squad leader
- Going to the hospital for loads of antibiotics to treat my severe bronchitis that I had been dealing with for weeks (…yep. Should have gone to the doctor sooner in hindsight)
- Hanging out at the night market with my new friend (my nurse) from said hospital
- Squad Leader training with my two new teammates Josh and Megan
- Visiting a team for ATL ministry (asking the Lord what He has for us to do each day) for 1 week in Phnom Penh
- Meeting up with a friend from Wyoming that lives in Cambodia
- Visiting a floating village and playing the guitar for a sweet grandma
- Joining our host family in children’s ministry in a village outside of town
- Spending Christmas with my new team and the previous leaders in Battambang
- Meeting monks at a temple and teaching their English class (and getting to share the Gospel!)
- Hosting a New Year’s Eve party for the squad and goodbye party for previous squad leaders
- Chasing down floating lanterns on New Year’s Eve and finding a festival to send one up (it was a dream!)
As you can see, my month was full of good and random things. Most of the month was focused on my new role as a squad leader, and learning how to do that well. We started the race with 3 squad leaders who had done the race before and joined us for the first 4 months to support, encourage, and lead us. They spend their 5th month training the “raised up squad leaders,” and then headed home. So my role now within the squad is to travel with a different team each month and join in their ministry as well as encourage and support them individually and point them to Jesus. The Trios Amigos (myself, Megan, and Josh, the new squad leaders) also help in leading the debriefs we have every few months and connect frequently with the leadership back in the US. Because of the nature of this month, I don’t feel like I got a good grasp on the culture of Cambodia, but I enjoyed the time I had to support the squad and learn and grow in leadership, dealing with conflict, and other aspects of training that I can carry with me for the rest of the race and the rest of my life.
The raised-up SQL’s dressed as the old SQL’s My new friends at the hospital
Some of the kids in the village
I was surprised at how hard it was for me to spend Christmas in a warm country away from my family. On Christmas Eve, I was at the grocery store and God blessed us with a mini Christmas tree for 3 dollars!! I was literally bursting with joy and gave it a tree skirt (my red shirt lol) and we surrounded it with our secret Santa gifts that we got for each other. We got to make pancakes for breakfast, pass out our gifts, and speak with our families- it was a joyous celebration in a way unique to anything else I will ever get to do! Christmas is my favorite time to remember the promise of Immanuel, God with us, and it was a gift to be able to celebrate and praise Him for that with my new friends.
The SQL’s around the Christmas tree on Christmas morning
Thailand
January 2019
Thailand truly is the “Land of Smiles”… and of spicy food. I learned my lesson at the first bus stop on the way from Cambodia to be cautious with your bite size as you try Thai food! It is delicious though, and probably my favorite food I’ve had on the race so far (except for Bulgaria, where we had home-cooked meals most of the time:)
This month, I lived with two teams at a hostel owned by Adventures in Missions, and it was such a gift to partner with people who had done the World Race before and followed God back to a place where He called them to! Most of our ministry was with a different partner, Christian Outreach Center, as they were finishing up a new facility for their growing international school. We joined teachers and spent the days sanding, painting, cleaning, and laying concrete at the school so that the building could be ready in time for classes to start again (they follow the Australian school calendar). It was fun to have a hands-on approach to ministry each day… and build up our muscle strength ;). We also joined the AIM base in supportive ministry with the red light district that was one street behind the hostel. We were educated on what sex-trafficking looks like in Thailand, worshiped together, prayed together, and walked through the street praying for freedom, opportunity, and restoration for the women and men affected, that they would come to know the saving love of Jesus and experience His goodness in their lives.
I a-door-ed painting this month!
I also got to do a few fun and adventurous things while in Thailand, including playing with elephants (they are wayyyy bigger than I thought, but so so kind), camping and hiking (we got to swim in a super cool waterfall, in both senses of the word), and climbing up a waterfall (literally the most interesting waterfall you’ll ever see in your life- you don’t slip on the rocks!). I’m really grateful for the time I had in Thailand with team YOJ experiencing sweet community with that group of women. I also got to visit with a friend from college who was there for a conference! What a small world!
Myanmar
February 2019
Our time in Myanmar was shorter than other places we’ve been, because we ended Thailand with a debrief and then had to leave early for 80 hours of travel to South America, but each day we spent there was such a gift! I joined team Bob this month, and we started out exploring the country for new ministry partners for AIM. This led us to a Buddhist monastery that accepts volunteers to help with the people in their care- mostly elderly or sick people that can’t live on their own. We stayed there for a few days connecting with volunteers from all over the world, sharing stories, experiences, and our faith with people as they were there looking to find themselves or their purpose on this earth. I also got to join in caring for those unable to care for themselves by treating bedsores, and I met a few friends by filling up water bottles- one of which gave me a seashell as a token of our friendship. Even through her broken English, this woman shared with me a bit of her story and allowed me to pray for her legs, and I pray that Jesus would reveal Himself to her in a powerful way.
One of the other women I made friends with at the center, she couldn’t speak but really wanted her photo taken!
We then headed to our ministry host, which was a Bible college called Myanmar Mission College. Young people from all different states of the country came here to learn the Word of God, grow in sharing their faith and leading others, and learn how to minister well in order to go back to their home villages and plant churches. Our job was to lead morning and evening devotions for the students and teach English to them as well as the orphans that lived on the compound. English gives people access to so much Christian education, as well as gives them opportunities in the future to make connections and teach English as a way to support and grow their communities. We had a great time making friends with all of our students, encouraging them through sharing our testimonies and what God has been teaching us, playing volleyball with them each day, and teaching and playing with the kids that lived there. I also got to lead worship for their church services on Sundays with a friend on the team. Our time flew by there, and it was so sad saying goodbye to our dear friends as we left.
Phew, we made it through. Thanks for taking the time to catch up on all that’s been going on these past four months- I really appreciate your support and interest in all that God is doing!! Thank you to each of you for praying for me, sending me messages, and for being invested in the journey God has me on for these 11 months. We are now in South America, and are spending our first month in Colombia.On our way here, we had a layover in San Fransisco, and my sister Brooke flew out to meet me to spend the day together! It was so so so so nice to be with her and explore the city, and we even got to meet up with our Uncle Mark for lunch! As I continue, I really will try to work on keeping you updated more frequently- thank you for your patience with me! I love each of you, it is a gift to have people who care about me and want to be involved in this journey. Talk to you soon!
