VIETNAM.
Whoo baby! This month was a wild one, starting off with team changes! I got an amazing new team, with the homie Bowen sticking around from my last team. One member of my team was out for 4 days with sickness to kick off the month, followed by another teammate’s passport getting snatched by a motorcyclist in Ho Chi Minh City, minutes before we headed out on a 45 hour bus journey up the coast of Vietnam. We got to have some amazing conversations with people in the hostel we were staying at, and see some absolutely beautiful parts of creation.
Bonding in the midst of difficult circumstances would be one way to describe our team during this first month together. Even though this was a closed country, we still found opportunities to share about Jesus with the people we met.
I also had the opportunity to make a special trip to celebrate my older sister Priya’s engagement in Australia! Such a sweet time of celebrating the future with family.
CAMBODIA.
I never would have expected it, but this has been my favorite month so far! The sheer amount of things we got to be involved in and see was amazing and eye-opening. We were out in the community just about every day, and it was during this time that I saw some of the hardest things thus far on the race, as well as some of the most joyous. We taught English for several hours each day, and the friendships formed with the teachers was actually one of my favorite parts of the entire month. Their faces lit up every time they saw me, and they took such good care of me, I felt extremely loved by people I had only just met!
My teammate Alicia and I also got asked to do a few (many) different special projects for the school. Each day it felt like they added something new, so I’ll just give you the final list of what was requested: 2 films on the school, 1 film of everything our ministry partner was doing, promotional posters, new staff and student badges, and animation of the school logo. All in under two weeks. Fortunately for me Alicia was a Film major back in the states, and they had some really nice cameras for me to use. Working with Alicia on all these projects ended up being one of the best parts of the month, we had so much fun even though there was a lot to get done.
During the first week there was a fair going on right next to where we were staying, with all kinds of food and fun, not to mention a full concert going every night late into the night. I won’t get into all the pros and cons now, but I will say I was stoked when it was gone because it meant the basketball courts were now open! There are a few good stories/takeaways with this one, so just ask me about Asian Kobe and I will be more than happy to tell you all about it.
LAOS.
Due to the closed nature of the country, I can’t give all the details of what we got to do, but I can say it was pretty incredible getting to work with people who have been beaten, imprisoned for their faith, and are still actively proclaiming the name of Jesus because to them, there is nothing better they could be doing. We did hours of construction building the abovegound underground church in Laos. We taught English, went into hospitals, and fellowshipped all over the place. We worked in schools, planted trees, and painted buildings. We prayed over pagodas and made divine connections.
One small example of the Lord making sweet connections was when one of our other teams ended up meeting and talking to one of the guys I got to have a 4 hour conversation with all the way back in Vietnam, which blew my mind! I was followed by prostitutes and searched by the military while I was there. The Lord taught, reminded, and encouraged me throughout the month, through His word and some amazing conversations. God is still working here, even when they are trying to keep Him out!
THAILAND.
My team is currently in Bangkok, Thailand where part of the ministry I get to do this month is an after school sports program! I am requesting prayer for myself and the whole team, for health, and boldness as we are no longer in a closed country. We leave on the 21st for Ecuador in South America to finish out the last 3 months of the race! Again, thank you for all the support!
nothing like riding in a hammock on the freeway 🙂
