It’s finished.
We’ve spent 6 months here.
And now Asia is done.
The Race is half over.
We’re headed to our next continent.
Africa.
And we are stoked.
Asia has been so good to us, and sometimes not so good.
But the oh-so-good outweighs everything. And we’ll miss this continent more than we can express, but it’s time to move on. God still has 5 months of work to do on this journey.
This last month, Vietnam, has been nothing short of amazing. We’ve lived on the beach, cooked our own meals, and had the opportunity to evangelize as we wish. It’s been a ministry “dream come true”. We’d all agree that it has ended entirely too soon.
We used our last day in Nha Trang well.
We Skyped with family for Christmas.
Rode on the longest over-water gondola in the world!
Spent the day at a waterpark/amustment park.
Packed our few belongings.
Ate a delicious home cooked meal (made by our contacts).
And we ended the night by eating a fetus.
Don’t be alarmed. We’re not cannibals. You see, in Vietnam, eating duck embryo is a delicacy, and apparently we had to try it before we left.
Just think about it for a second. It’s a duck. Sounds delicious, yeah?
Except that it’s a duck….in an egg….half grown.
And you’re eating it.
It has feathers.
And a beak.
And eyes.
And you’re eating it.
I always said that if something were put in front of me, I’d eat it. That statement was tried and tested when they put a duck embryo two feet from my face and asked me to eat it. “What did I get myself into?”
I ate it. It wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it’d be. I guess it was more the thought of what I was eating that freaked me out.
In all seriousness, though, it made me think of something awesome:
We don’t get it, and that’s okay. People eat strange things. They probably think the same about us. But what if we learned to truly appreciate everything that was put in front of us. It seems a bit drastic, and maybe it is, but remember this: Jesus asks us to do everything without complaining. Even eating a baby duck egg. It’s the small things that matter, right? Those small things add up to something huge. To me, eating a duck egg wasn’t anything to write home about (or, well, actually I guess it is). But to the family that served us, it was everything. We were showing them that we were willing to experience their culture. We were showing them that we appreciated that they wanted us to learn. And we did it without complaining. That’s what Jesus asks us to do. Our main ministry this month was loving on this beautiful family. My prayer is that we served well while doing it. As far fetched as this thought is, maybe making them laugh and eating that egg was just one small way to serve them.
And I’m just guessing that it’s good practice for what we’re about to experience in Africa…in a few short days!
Asia has been so good to us, and we’ll miss her.
We get the privilege of spending three months in Africa, and it is going to be great!!
Enjoy the video of me eating the egg and my reaction. It’s a bit dramatic, I’ll warn you.
