Hello from the girl who said she would write more and has not done so! I can no longer make promises that I will get better because I am about two months away from closing this chapter of squad leading. I have a lot that I still plan to catch you up on though, slowly, but it will happen. I am currently in my final country and a few short weeks away from returning to the states. Meaning, I have two countries and soon to be three to catch you up on. This blog post is going to be focused on Vietnam, the place that has touched my heart the most.

Arriving to Vietnam

Traveling from Colombia to Vietnam was one of the most memorable parts of squad leading so far. We were already prepared for one of the longest and most draining travel experiences on the Race. However, who could have expected how it would really go for me and half of my team. With only half of our journey being completed, we had already taken two flights and slept in the airport twice (no chance for good sleep). During our layover in LA, I was told that 3 of my girls could not board the flight because of problems with their visas. We ended up sitting in front of the check in for half of the day, PRAYING that God would get us their visas and we could board with the rest of our team and our squad in time. It ended up taking two days of staying (and being refreshed by rest and the Lord) in LA before we were able to board a separate flight and catch up with our team. I am still amazed at God and the peace he was able to give me in a moment that could have felt terrifying for me in the past. What a blessing it is to rely on the Lord even in the toughest and most beautiful moments of life.

Experiencing Cultures

From here on out, our squad separated by teams to serve different ministries in different locations. One of the biggest blessings of this season was the two cultures my team and I experienced. Yes, we were in Vietnam, but we were hosted by Koreans. I fell in love with both cultures. Both consisted of some of the friendliest, most hospitable, and caring people that I have met. Our hosts really taught me what it looks like to accept constant generosity from people, even when it feels like too much. I expected to go to Vietnam and to serve in ministry and to love and serve our hosts as well. I did not expect for them to serve and love us far more than we were likely able to do for them. I am still in awe of them and can only pray that the Lord will lead me in having that same servant heart that they showed my team and I. The Korean culture and its traditions, food, language and everything else about it was so beautiful and one that I not only feel blessed to have experienced but actually desire to experience more of. The Vietnamese dress, food, traditions and everything else is one I wish I could have learned more of but still has a place in my heart. Being a leader is such a cool thing when it comes to host relationships. I feel blessed to have known our hosts and deeply desire to have had even more time with them. My team and I walked away with a sweet friendship, one that I will cherish for a while. Having host/deep friendship within a country I visit is something I have desired for so long. God brought me so much joy in this season of friendship and living alongside our hosts.

Ministry in Vietnam

Vietnam was a closed country, meaning we could not openly evangelize or share the gospel. This was both hard but also good when you look at it from the eyes of knowing that means the country needs God even more. Something beautiful I had seen in this country was that even though there was not a great number of Christians, the people were so hungry to hear about God and how much more there is for them. We worked with our hosts to teach English with the purpose of building relationships and hopefully sharing more. Something I learned from my original race was that standing in front of people and talking was not so bad but was actually quite enjoyable. We had the opportunity to lead English nights filled with discussion and games to help those who have a fairly good knowledge of English put it into practice. One of my favorite parts of ministry here was heading up the class with the Vietnamese college students who were beginners in learning English. I gained a new appreciation for teaching. The students were so bright, friendly, and a pure joy.

Personal and Team Struggle

While I loved everything about my time here, spiritual warfare is real and there was a lot of heaviness for my team and I during our time. The enemy attacked us each as individuals. We each struggled with hearing lies, isolation, laziness, and a lack of desire to spend time with the Lord. One of the hardest and best parts about being a squad leader is having your own struggles but also knowing that you cannot stay there. It was so difficult to see the ways in which my team was being attacked and knowing that we had to stand up and take away the enemy's control. However, how could I do that when I was still stuck in it myself? The Lord gave me his eyes to see my team in this season, and he gave me the strength to lead in the midst of trial. By the end, my team and I all had our eyes focused on what matters most, JESUS. 

And if you want to hear one more trial in this season, I could tell you about the time I had to rescue another one of my racers with visa issues and suddenly fly to another country to get it all sorted out. I don’t think I will get into it this time though, so ask me another time. 

Testimonies From our Time

By the end of our time in Vietnam, we had seen a friend of ours give her life to the Lord. We had even seen multiple kids in the Korean church give their lives to the Lord. A word that was prophesied over my team was lived out (the word perseverance). We saw God’s hand working in so many areas, in the lives of the people we met and in our own lives. 

God does not need any of us to help him, but how cool is it that he wants us to anyway? We did not have to see salvation to know that God was working in that country and in people’s hearts, but he allowed us to witness it and leave with testimonies of his faithfulness. All praise is to him!

What God Taught Me

Being in the midst of spiritual warfare is sometimes a place where you learn the most when it comes to your relationship with God. I have always found that when things are the hardest, it is actually a season where I am the hungriest for God. In this season though, I was only met with the lack of hunger and desire in my walk with God. I truly felt hopeless because getting out of it felt impossible. The thing is, it won’t always be as easy to walk with God in trial as I have found before. God taught me that even when there is a lack of hunger, desire, and energy, he will meet me but sometimes you just have to get up and show him he is worth it. So, I fought, and he took me and filled me with a renewed joy, passion, and zeal for him and what it looks like to lead my team and to serve the people in Vietnam. 

And that is really it and all I can share from my time here. I will say that leaving felt physically painful and I dream of going back. I wish everyone could have the opportunity to go to Vietnam and experience the immense amount of love and kindness that the people I met have. I wish I could have stayed longer, but I praise God that moving on was so hard and that he brought me there in the first place.

Next up… a new season in the Philippines and experiencing it while leading a completely different team. Stay tuned, because we never know how long it will take me to catch you up.