Ok so Vietnam has been so sweet! I do not know much about the culture since I have been in little America helping out with some work with expats (internationals). So here are some super random thoughts of the month:
……….Revelation I got when worshipping on the guitar: Jesus is my Prince! He left His kingdom to find me, He fought the fire breathing dragon, climbed up thousands of steps to reach the tallest tower where I was imprisoned, picked me up since I was too weak to save myself, and brought me to His kingdom! I am a princess, I fit into the glass slipper, I am now trying to fight for the kingdom of perfection with my Prince!!!!! I am sooooooooo LOVED! I can’t get enough
Vung Tao…or however you spell it. I am on Jesus' shoulders here (literally)
….Bike update: Well…hahahaha…the handle bars had to be fixed for the third time, the brakes still don’t work, and the chain fell off a handful of times when riding. Funny story…The handlebars came loose so I tried to fix them while riding…bad idea…I began swerving and couldn’t figure out how to go straight and I saw I was heading towards the corner of a curb and tried to use my non-existent brakes…CRASH!!!!! The chain fell off again…I broke my arm…just kidding I didn’t even get a scratch. I am no longer using that bike, for the last week here I got to use a fully functional vehicle! I do miss going slow though because I got to take in so much…I took photos for people, got my bike used in a wedding photo shoot, had more time to just lift up requests to Poppa…
Taken on a bridge we cross everyday. A local in the water working, but you cant see all the giant apartment buildings around him. It is easy to look past the poverty here
………….This month has been a refueling month. Our contacts have poured so much into us, we have been living in an older woman’s apartment with HARDWOOD FLOORS (very rare to not be tile), we cook our own food, have more normal responsibilities. This month has been more like home! Katrina and I even got cupcakes!!!!!!!!!!! Yummy ones, at a hole in the wall cupcake shop!
Drug rehab center we went to one day
…………Here is a little laugh for ya (Doodle you’ll appreciate this one): Being the finance person that I am I had to go to the bank to get smaller bills…their currency is called dong…So I walk into the nicest bank where I get directed to a few people just to get to the teller…felt like I was in Willy Wonka bank land…I get to desk number 7 where a nice lady asks how she can help me. I said I needed smaller bills…she responded, appearing to know what Americans think of when they hear the word dong…So you have big dong? I give you small dong…I was trying not to spit in her face from laughing and said yes while Katrina is next to me cracking up until I couldn’t hold in my laughter…So you have big dong?
Bible day camp we helped out at
………….Self Esteem: In America people would consider me tiny because I am thin…I am thin until I come to Asia. The past three months have been so interesting when trying to find clothes. A small here could be found in Baby Gap and a large could possibly fit me on a day I don’t eat rice…So when you are shopping and picking up shirts you will hear these common phrases: “You need bigger size” “This won’t fit you” “We don’t have your size” or my personal favorite that I got in Thailand “I don’t know about your body”. I never felt big before, but now I feel like the jolly white giant roaming around who cannot fit into some larges and people aren’t sure about my body. How these people eat fried food and rice all day and stay in infant sized clothing is beyond me. I eat fried food and rice and it goes straight to the thighs!
Mekong Delta tour
………Prayer is the most powerful thing you can do in any situation. Poppa is listening and he hears every word that you speak to him or don’t speak to him. He wants to give his children good gifts, even if it is not what you are expecting. He is a keeper of promises and a fulfiller of desires!
Our canoe captain in the Mekong, seriously played bumber boats
………Stares: I never have really felt like a celebrity, I still wouldn't classify the feeling as a celebrity…but Vietnamese people LOVE to stare at us. A Vietnamese lady sat next to me on the bus and Katrina watched her look me up and down three times head to toe in slow motion. They love white skin and even use whitening lotion…I am darker than some of them since I don't wear a winter coat to protect my skin from the furnace of a sun…I don't know why they think we are so cool, but they love to say hello then giggle when we respond back….and did I mention they LOVE to just stare at you, all the time…I just want them to realize that they are worth the million stares as well. They are like America when it was cool to be pasty white and fat because that meant you lived a more luxurious life…except most are thin (chubby kids are popping up though, like the chunkster from the movie UP).
……….So I leave on Sunday morning, America's Saturday night, and am off to Malaysia! I have absolutely no idea what to expect. Please be praying for openness, safety, health (I am feeling kind of blah lately), and joy in saying more hellos and goodbyes…in a way you get used to saying them every month…it has been getting easier, but I sure love the people I have met here!
AND I AM FULLY FUNDED!!!! with monthly pledges that is!! PRAISE!!!!!!!!!
