Month 10- Perseverance
Buckle Up your seat belts, cuz we are rollin into Month 10! Here we go! My entire squad met up in Phnom Penh, Cambodia for a week to refocus for the next two months. We enjoyed yummy Mexican food, rested, had team changes, and learned more about our Creator. Then our entire squad hopped on an 8-hour bus to cross the border into Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Then my new team, Fine China, made our way to the bus station to find tickets to Ha Noi City in Northern Vietnam. We grabbed a snack and hopped on this bus. This was my first ever sleeper bus to travel on, and let me tell you — it was an adventure.
Here is a little play by play action of our bus ride that turned out to be 42 hours. We were very, very sleep deprived, sweaty sticky popsicles, and super duper hungry. Let me tell youuuuu, it was not for the faint of heart or anyone above 5 foot 5. This is what you missed—neck cramps, no leg room, tiny beds, more cargo than people, bruised shins, lack of bathroom breaks, loss of feeling in limbs, chickens and birds, possible hit and run, box falling on my head, sleeper bus seat stuck in upright position, yellow moped under bus, hot Cheetos for breakfast, tired laughter, sleeping in fetal position, smashed bananas, the Shrek outhouse, “do people on this bus ever have to pee?”, watching 2 sunrises from the bus window, and baby wipe showers. Don’t you wish you were with us?
(Check Out My Team: LtoR- Rebecca, Rob, CC, Nicole, Morgan, and Aubrey. You can check out their blogs on the left column. Give them a follow to keep up with our exciting month.)
On that bus ride, God reminded my teammate Nicole and I of the word “endurance”. Endurance is defined as the fact or power of enduring an unpleasant or difficult process without giving way. That bus ride was endurance for all of us. We were challenged to sleep in uncomfortable places, to try to have conversations with people that do not speak the same language as us, and to laugh when we were exhausted and wanted to get off that bus.
Hey, but we are thriving now! We finally made it to HaNoi, Vietnam. Honestly, when we found out in August that we had a route change to Vietnam and Indonesia I was pretty upset. For some reason in my head, I didn’t like Vietnam, and I was afraid of it. I know that sounds really silly to say, but now I am here and there is nothing to be scared about. I feel so much peace and happiness in this country. I have only been here a few days, but I am continuing to fall more in love with this place. The Vietnamese people on our bus were so sweet in trying to help us use chopsticks at our dinner at a bus stop. Just walking up and down the street, you are greeted by sweet Vietnamese woman in the cutest hats selling some fresh fruit, sweet old men playing cards on a small table, and cute cafes in the Old Quarter that are so inviting to check out.
Like I have mentioned in previous blogs, my word that I am holding onto during this race is “perseverance”. The Lord is challenging me in different areas where I am having to persevere. Over this past week, the recurring theme of what I am learning is Rejoicing in the Lord Always. I am reminded the next time I am anxious and fearing my future, to rejoice in the Lord’s sovereignty. Rejoice in what He has accomplished. Rejoice that He is able to do what I cannot do. Don’t get lost in your troubles. Dare to believe that good things will happen.
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P.S. I will land on American soil in 50 days. But who is counting. 🙂
Blessings,
Catie Collins
