Hello everyone!
I’m sorry this is so late- but I’m finally getting time to catch up on my blogging.
This is the last blog for the month of Vietnam, and my blogs about ministry in Cambodia will be up shortly!
Vietnam:
You were ragingly high and dizzyingly low. Thanks for all the painful, beautiful, important lessons you taught me. I’ll never forget my time with you, that month spent among the tropical greenery, surrounded by rainstorms and bottomless cups of coffee. Until we meet again. Xx
Love, Hannah
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1.)The raging humidity of typhoon season.
2.) The resounding “Allo!!!” from every warm face you meet on the street.
3.) the vintage metal exercise equipment in every city park.
4.) Sitting on park benches, praying silently for every person that passes by, asking the Lord to guide each one of your next steps in how to reach out to that person.
5.) The glamorous lights and overwhelming karaoke sounds of Ho Chi Minh City at night.
6.) Traveling by sleeper bus for 18 hours across beautiful landscape.
7.) The way it felt to see the ocean again for the first time in months.
8.) Being celebrated so lovingly on my birthday by sweet friends who took me out at midnight, and calmly comforted me as I unexpectedly burst into tears instead of laughing with joy.
9.) My wonderful BG, who bought me McDonald’s (My first in probably 4 months at that point) at 2am and brought it back to the hostel for me on my birthday, and how I ate it in my bed, laughing because in the process she accidentally managed to wake up Jesse and Paige, who both just blearily said, “You do you, babe.” When they realized I was also awake, snacking on a burger and fries on the top bunk. I love my team.
10.) Having my first Starbucks in months, because even though I don’t normally like Starbucks all that much at home, it’s still nice to have something familiar that reminds you of home.
11.) The calm experience of sitting down at a restaurant, seeing shark fin soup on the menu, and deciding not to eat at that restaurant. Sometimes, following convictions brings peace.
12.) The STUNNING yellow allamandas and coral hibiscus flowers that poured over walls and fences everywhere in Da Nang.
13.) Getting a tour of the city and local street food stands on the back of our host’s moto.
14.) Riding a very old bicycle through that sweet coastal town at 6am to catch the early bird specials at the market and the way it felt like flying.
15.) The beautiful chaotic feeling that is a fresh food market in SE Asia. It’s chaos of the most wonderful kind.
16.) Participating in Zumba classes with the Vietnamese soccer moms on the beach pre 7am. We were terrible at it, but they were thrilled to have us participate.
17.) My pre-ministry early morning routine with Clarissa: exercising on the beach, banh mi and traditional pour-over, with a deep chat over breakfast, all before 7:30AM.
18.) The morning that Clarissa and I decided to “race the rain” by biking the 5 short blocks to our homeschooling ministry, and lost desperately. We barely mounted our bikes before the skies opened up and a monsoon hit. By the time we arrived at the house, we were soaked to the bone, and couldn’t stop laughing. We had to borrow our Pastor’s denim shirts and maxi skirts from the girls we were teaching while they threw our disaster-clothes in the dryer. A memory I’ll never forget.
19.) Crossing the street. It’s no small accomplishment to get away with one’s life when crossing a road anywhere in Asia.
20.) The feeling of staying up too late, working on fossil record lectures (be still, my scientific heart) and reading over material for the next day’s history lesson.
21.) Learning from my sweet new little sisters how to order the perfect bubble tea.
22.) Meeting a very special woman one morning on the beach during a run. Her name was Linh. I never met her again, but she brightened my day as she stopped me mid-run to give me a hug and welcome me to Vietnam.
23.) The unforgettable way that city smells after a heavy rainstorm.
24.) Falling totally in love with the sweetest, sassiest, smartest girls as they graciously allowed us to teach them for the month. Sisters are some of my favorite things on this earth, and I gained 5 new little sisters that month. Miss them dearly already.
25.) Making genuine, new friends with other Americans and having deep philosophical discussions about life, culture, religion, politics and socioeconomics with your new friends. And receiving an open invitation to crash on their couch the next time you hit up Los Angeles, as you explore ancient ruins and learn about local history together on one of your Adventure day.
26.) Watching the crazy fire-breather on the rooftop restaurant of a local hotel we would visit for dessert some nights.
27.)Eating lunch with our ministry family every single day, inbetween lectures. I love family meals!
28.) Making one of the most beautiful friendships with a very dear new friend for the first time- as we bonded over untangling Christmas tree lights on the night when we helped our ministry family set up their tree.
29.) The freedom and the pleasure of being able to explore your environment on your own. Thanks, Da Nang, for being a city with almost zero crime and being easy to navigate. You really knew how to speak to an overstimulated introvert’s heart.
30.) The love-hate relationship with traditional Vietnamese coffee, and the intense amount of condensed milk that comes with every single cup.
31.) The first time I tried nitro ice cream.
32.) Making new friends with a three-legged dog.
33.) Overcoming my dislike of ice skating to spend quality time with our little sisters, and the bumps, bruises, bonding and bust-your-gut laughter that came out of that night.
34.) The inexplicable feeling that driving along the ocean at night gives my heart. My breath catches in my throat every time.
35.) Ringing in Christmas with sweet friends from another team, as we all went out on Christmas Eve and danced the night away.
36.) Hearing How Great Thou Art sung at a youth group in Vietnamese. Coincidentally, we have heard this song sung in every country and every language we’ve been to yet. How crazy cool is that?
37.) Having a crazy pre-school dance party for a very special 14th birthday!
38.) Christmas morning hugs from half of my squad at church. Thankful Christmas fell on a Sunday this past year, because those hugs filled my homesick heart so very much.
39.) Rediscovering just how deeply I love playing guitar.
40.) The joy of road-tripping in another county.
41.) Solo breakfast and lunch dates, to fill my own tank. Talking with God over curry or by the ocean, by myself. For the first time in months.
42.) Sipping coconut juice straight from the nut, lounging on a sunny beach in SE Asia.
43.) That one off-day when I did absolutely nothing productive, and instead laid in the sun with Betsy and Holden for about 6 hours straight. Thanks, God, for giving me the beach and such wonderful friends.
44.) Making wishes in paper lanterns and setting them free on the river in Hoi Anh at night.
45.) The overwhelming exhaustion, but also addictive feeling of productivity, that comes with baking over 450 cookies for week-of-Christmas events for ministry, out of a convection oven. We had one tray that could only fit 6 cookies at a time on it. You do the math.
46.) BG’s open-eyed prayer team time, where we stared each other in the face and prayed over each other, and then washed each other’s feet in submission and servanthood. I cried a lot, but so did everyone else. There were a lot of tears.
47.) The rallying joys and the depressing lows of spending Christmas in another country, especially in Vietnam. But it was an experience I will never forget, and one that I am undeniably thankful for.
48.) Reuniting with a long-lost love, and reigniting the fiery relationship I’ve always had with that long-lost love: red lipstick. Merry Christmas to me.
49.) Passionfruit. ‘Nuff said.
50.) The way it felt to cook in a “western style” kitchen for the first time in months. True love, I tell you.
As always, thanks for reading. <3
