Traveling to New Lands

 We had a long few days of travel… this included us leaving the AIM base in Guatemala at 8:30pm -> an hour-ish bus ride to the airport -> first flight taking off at 1:30AM from Guatemala city -> a 10 hour layover in Houston, Texas -> another late night layover in LA -> 13 hour overnight flight to South Korea -> 4 hour layover early morning (South Korean time)…. Ps my brain couldn’t comprehend what time or day it was anymore at this point… #lackofsleep. Finally our last flight to Vietnam! We arrived in Vietnam around 12pm on December 9th. We stayed in a hotel this first week here in Ho Chi Minh City. After each big country shift we have a week of debrief to be able to move onto our next chapter yet memorialize the memories of our previous few months. I am personally so grateful for this week of remembering how God has been moving, getting a good mini mental reset, spending time with our friends outside of teams, and preparing for God to move in us in the coming few months! We were definitely tired our first day but made sure to stay up in order to get our sleep schedule lined up with the big time shift. I am now 12 hours ahead of my home in Michigan! Thankfully I didn’t end up having issues adjusting to the time change! After this beautiful week we took an overnight bus (18ish hrs including it breaking down a few times) to our ministry locations! Our squad is now living separately for the first time in different parts of the city.

   I knew these countries, across the world, would be the most change but the funny thing is the first thing I realized upon arrival was how much of the world is actually the same and not so scary after all. I was probably the most nervous to come here and be so far from everything I’m comfortable with. God reminded me how He is the same no matter where we go, people are people no matter the language or ethnicity, same oceans different names, food may be different but it serves the same purpose, etc. There are so many similarities on this earth no matter where you go, yet I was so focused on how it will be so far out of my comfort zone and different. I already feel so connected with this country and this side of the world. It’s such a privilege to get to share Jesus with people who don’t even know His name. My mind has been blown so quickly by the amount of people who have never heard and how anyone could be put in jail here for simply running a Bible study or evangelizing. I’ve heard of countries like that but to live here and see it firsthand is a whole different reality. I’ve never fully realized how much of a blessing the simple freedom of speech is in the States. So many people, after we say where we are from, say it’s their dream to live where we do and have our life. We are so beyond blessed to grow up in the States and have the life we do yet I don’t think that’s the mindset of many. Originally I came on a mission to gain a new perspective of the blessings we have in America… That has fully been accomplished in so many more ways than I could’ve imagined, yet also I’ve seen the beauties that these countries have that America simply doesn’t. Needless to say, I’m realizing so many things and experiencing the world/ new culture is teaching me more than I would’ve ever imagined.

  As for ministry, we do have to be careful but there is 1 registered church where we are technically allowed to all gather to share the truth. We are working with them to perform Christmas shows and help out with Sunday services! Our first day here after our long bus ride we actually gathered to sing Christmas songs and perform a skit. That was so fulfilling and mainly involved kids ministry! I personally got to learn some Vietnamese (“would you like this”)to help serve food and bond with some young girls! They were some of the most precious souls I’ve ever met! Next we added a few songs, introductions, games, and questions for our next show this past Sunday! This one was so fun as well and though we didn’t get to talk to the kids as much like the first Christmas party, we did get to see their reactions and play games with them! We have had rehearsal lately, lots of team time, and solid free time to explore this side of Vietnam! My favorite part of living here so far is being in a hostel! The connections we have made are amazing… we got to share Jesus and be a light for the tourists here to several times already! Again, hostile living is what I was most nervous for yet it is currently my favorite part of living in Vietnam! Next up is singing at a 5 star hotel on Christmas Eve! I’m so excited for not only that, but to start working with a pregnancy crisis center after Christmas! I’m in love with Vietnam and can’t wait to see all God has to offer us over these next 3 weeks!