Longer than a trip…

  Ministry is going so well and I couldn’t feel more blessed to be placed with our hosts and overall the lives we get to interact with on a daily basis. These last 5 weeks living here though, I feel like I’ve realized (to a deeper level) 2 things. I am just going to take a minute emphasizing those 2 things in this blog.

  I’m falling more in love with this country everyday but more specifically the people here. I was trying to think of a way to describe what it’s like getting to work with the culture and people but the only thing that kept coming to mind is how easy it is to love them. The way we are just welcomed into family’s houses at any point, able to give our time/prayers to them and they so freely accept that is simply beautiful. Not only that, but the way they simply find our presence such a blessing is so precious. I feel so welcomed and invited every time we step into someone’s house and the craziest part is we were never even invited. That’s just how open to community in this country is. You can even tell the kids we work with, teaching English and soccer, are being raised with the same mentality as their parents. I have yet to run into a rowdy child who refuses to listen. They do so well with submitting to authority and being kind and patient with the language barrier… which makes our job so much more fun and easier. It’s one thing to hear about the individualism vs. collectivism cultures in training camp, but it’s a whole different thing to experience and see it firsthand. It makes me realize how they have to accept help and love from others, which I sometimes think we all struggle with. It is such a natural give and take here, which to this degree, is just new to me. They have to rely on each other and accept help from community over figuring everything out themselves. It may not be as efficient as the States but there’s beauty in working through things together which in turn also bonds family and friends in such a unique way.
I feel like a common mistake we make in the States, is making people feel like giving them our time is a burden. It is quite literally the opposite here. The look on their faces when we knock on their door is proof of that. Somehow, the gift of giving (especially meals) seems like more of a blessing for them than it is on the receiving end. They simply want to serve here, which I’m sure we can all learn from. Overall, I am so grateful to get to experience this culture and if anything rubs off, onto me from them, it could only be for the good.

    Something else i’ve realized more now, which I thought wouldn’t fully at this point, is how life on the race is finally starting to feel like normal life over what everyone considers a trip…. It’s like my body is finally realizing this is longer than what I would consider a trip. I guess I didn’t realize I was still considering it a “trip” myself over simply doing “life” outside of what I’m used to/ comfortable with. It definitely makes everyday disciplines harder, living like this, but also reveals true priorities and how to keep up with basic responsibilities. Things that I’ve had to be very intentional about making time for (that just came natural at home) are things such as keeping on top of laundry, staying physically fit, going to bed at a healthy time to get enough sleep, what/where I spend my money, etc. We are responsible for meals on weekends too, which means eating out or going to the grocery store to cook for oursleves. We do meals as a team sometimes but typically for lunch, we figure that out on our own. I’m thankful for this opportunity to grow in independency, even if its abroad and with a trio rule while going out. Another discipline I feel like we are all learning here, is time management. There is quite literally something at every moment that you could be doing or someone to hang out with, so making time for priorities can be challenging some days. I see that for others as well. Friends and family are still calling it a trip, which is fair since this is a mission “trip”, but when I think of right now as living over seas my priorities shift. Especially when we arrive in Vietnam (in 2 short weeks) I’m sure I will have to reconsider my mindset as it feels more like a “trip” when we arrive in new locations!


   Again, I absolutely love my ministry and my next blog will be an update explaining what we have been up to! I can’t wait to share that one, some stories, and pictures!