The first half of this month has brought with it a slew of excitement along with the aspects of the Race that I was missing last month. Here’re a few nibbles to give you a taste of what I’ve been up to, along with prayer requests for each section:
- 1. Busy City Life – The city is PACKED with people. Everyday tasks like walking to the bus stop, going out to grab a bite to eat, and running to the ATM to take out some cash have become high-intensity situations. The reason is that with all the people the traffic is HORENDOUS. Buses, cars, bicyclists, and of course, millions of motorcycles. MILLIONS. Crossing the streets is literally like a game of Frogger (remember Atari?). Oh, and you know in the movie Mulan where the Granny covers her eyes and crosses the street to see if the cricket is lucky? Yeah…pray for our safety. On the other hand, I have gotten to ride on the motobikes a few times and it is certainly a rush to whip in and out of the traffic with all the city sights and lights around us. Thankfully, there are so many people we never really get going very fast and it’s required by law to wear a helmet so I feel relatively safe when I’m on the bikes.
- 2. Living Conditions – Our hostel is nice. All the girls on my team are sharing one room though, so it’s a bit packed and very messy. We do have a big bathroom with a hot shower though and enough room for beds or mattresses for everyone. The main drawback is the noise and the lights from outside on the street at night. Please pray for good rest for my team.
- 3. Food – One of the fun things about city placements on the Race is that normally we get to fend for ourselves for food, so we try all kinds of things. When I’m at work, our food is provided for us (for $1), but all other meals I get to roam the streets for cheap street food from vendors or try out any of the hundreds of little restaurants around that sell anything from the local “pho” (pronounced like fun, without the “n”), which is a delicious clear noodle soup, to Italian pastas, American hamburgers, fresh-fruit smoothies, and toasted sandwiches and pitas. It’s surprisingly easy to eat on our budget of $4 per day, as long as I can resist the urge to buy iced-coffees that are abundant in every direction I look. Pray for no intestinal issues with the food (it’s been messy for some).
- 4. Exploring! – One really cool thing I got to see was the tunnels from the war. We actually crawled down into one, and it was just big enough to slink down into the opening. I wouldn’t have gone any deeper into it for fear of getting stuck. I’m not sure how the soldiers got in there with their guns too. Learning about the history of the place was very interesting, although pretty gruesome too. The traps they used were a very clear visual of how brutal war can be.
- Running around the city is also an adventure. There are parks (which I’ve longed for the whole Race!), statues, monuments, one or two big cathedrals, pagodas, government buildings, and a millions little stores and restaurants to see. Not to mention the cultural differences that stand out to us and are worth noting as we walk along: women in the traditional straw cone-shaped hats, street vendors harping you to buy their knock-off sunglasses, shirt-less old men walking barefoot down a busy sidewalk, motorbikes loaded with 6 or 7 huge boxes, 6 foot-long poles, or the best yet, a massive bag of octopuses. Every day promises new sights! Pray for joy in our new experiences.
- 5. The Café- My team is working at a cafe this month as our main responsibility. It doesn’t even seem like work! In fact, it is pretty much a World Racer’s dream to just sit in a café all day and hang out. It’s what we normally do in our free time anyways. Having this as our job has been such a blessing! We get to help out in the kitchen making iced-coffees or baking cookies and other treats. We can take some of the customers with us to the nearby park for swimming or basketball, and sometimes we host events like movie nights or salsa lessons. But mostly, we just hang out with the customers and staff, helping them with their English by 1 on 1 tutoring, small conversation groups, or pronunciation practice, or just playing games and chatting to increase their fluency. We’ve been able to build some really great relationships and hang out with many of the friends we’ve met outside of the café as well. Would you focus your prayers on us building trusting relationships?
- 6. Going deeper – Another part of our time here is spent doing studies of the Word with the people we meet, praying with and for them, and encouraging them in their walk. There are many “young” people who have a lot of questions and are eager to learn and grow. Conversations with them are so encouraging and I see our Father at work. There are also a lot of curious minds that come to talk to us and already so many doors have opened to share what we know is true. Please pray for our words and for hearts that receive good news!
Ya’ll are great. Thanks for keeping up with my stories and remembering my team and me! Much love!
