Out of the City

Today is a national holiday which means.... NO SCHOOL!!! And when you are living Ina foreign country and you don't have to go to work, you go sightseeing. Or in our case, we went hiking but it included sightseeing :).

Our principal and his wife invited us to join them for a morning of hiking and sightseeing outside of the city. Of course we jumped on the opportunity to get out and see some of this beautiful country. So we met them this morning at 7:30 at their apartment. At 7:40 we were on the road heading out of the city!!! 

Sometimes on a really clear day you can see mountains in the distance and that is where we went. About 40 minutes out, there is a national park. It was so amazing to see green trees and leaves, and smell the fresh air! We drove up most of the mountain and then had the choice between two different sets of stairs. 

At the entrance ready to begin the hike/climb to find out what's at the top. 

I don't think any of us were prepared for this climb. We knew it would be stairs, but I don't think we expected steep and eleven steps. But we were champs and made it to the top! It was so pretty! At the top of the mountain is a temple for people to pray to Buddha and their ancestors. So it smells a lot like incense and people where buying fruit and candies for their ancestors. It is very interesting to watch.  

After we rested at the top, it was time to walk back down. The steps were easier to go down but you had to focus on not falling! But we made it!!!  

We did it!!! So proud of us!!! 

We took our time going back down the mountain. I got to practice my Vietnamese with the driver, telling him to stop so that we could take pictures. It was so pretty!!! 

Pretty view! 

The fountain outside a small cafe.  

Town at the bottom of the mountain. 

I love flowers. And the ones here are just so pretty!!! 

Back 2 School Nite

Back 2 School Nites are happening all over the US and UK. It's a time for parents to go to the school where their students spend a lot of their time and see what they do and meet the teachers. It might go by a different name, like Open House, but it is still a common thing that most everyone knows about. Well here in Southeast Asia, its a foreign concept. LOL. 

One of my second graders painted a picture for our school and she "presented" it. It is very beautiful and is going to be displayed for everyone to see, forever!

Our school had its first back to school night yesterday, Friday 28 August. The parents were invited to school from 7:30-8:30 to see the classrooms and meet the teachers. We had been planning this night for about a week and really no one had any idea about how it was going to go. Were the parents just walking to all the classes? Staying in their child's homeroom? Are teachers moving classes? Do we need to present something? Many of these questions were answered differently by 4 different people. So we went into it not really knowing what to expect.

Parents began to arrive at 7 and at 7:30 we began with an assembly. Jean, the principal's wife, introduced the night and then David, one of the Board of Managers and our director, talked a little about the school in the South and where we see our school in the future. At 7:45 students and parents were released to their classrooms. They were moving in and out. Kids running everywhere.

At 8:00, David came into my classroom and asked me to talk. So I did the English TPR to get everyone's attention. Then I presented a little about the English department and asked the parents to ask questions. I only had 3 parents ask me questions about English. Since I don't speak the local language it can be difficult to communicate, but I did have our interpreter with me :). 

At 8:30, when this shindig was supposed to end, the parents began to make their way to the buffet tables while all the kids ran around the foyer. The one time they were allowed to because we weren't supposed to be the ones disciplining them. 

This night was also for the teachers. I feel like I got a chance to see our coworkers outside of school but still inside. It was nice to see them acting like young adults taking selfies with each other and taking pictures with us. I really am praying we have some opportunities to hang out with them more outside of school. I already have started building a relationship with our interpreter. I am really excited to see what God brings to this relationship! She has already invited us to her wedding in March :).

Back to School Nite with my friend, Ngan, and her friend. Really excited to see where this relationship goes!!!

Getting Connected

Living in a foreign country can be difficult especially when you are there for mission work. There are many times that it feels like you are constantly being knocked down before you even have a chance to stand back up. This just means you are in the right place! But a great place for support is the church! At HIF there is a young adults group and a women's group. And since I am a young adult woman I get to be apart of both!

The young adult group is great! I love everything about them! The people are always friendly and you almost connect right away. When everything familiar is 8,000 miles away it is easier to connect with people who are feeling the exact same way. Or have experienced the same things before.

On August 23, the message at church was amazing and it hit me hard. It was about Believers not being exempt from troubles. And it just seemed like the week prior was full of trouble. Just bad things turning into worse things and worse things getting worse. But the best part is that we serve an AMAZING GOD that is always with us. And even though I cried Sunday morning, God has provided this awesome group of young adults that we spent the day with. 

After church we went out for August Birthdays celebration (which was Jen). We got pizza for lunch. There was 25 of us at The Pizza Company! Lets just say we took up most of the restaurant! LOL. After lunch we went bowling (at the same place! There is a mall here called Royal City that has an ice rink, movie theater, water park, and bowling plus all the shops we wish we had and tons of food places). It was so much fun to hang out with friends and bowl! God provided this awesome experience, reminding me that he is always with me. Then after bowling we went for ice cream, because no birthday celebration is complete without ice cream!

Bowling with some great people! Each lane could hold 6 people and we had 3 lanes. I scored 112 points! One of my personal bests!!! :)

We also hosted the young adults at our apartment for our gatherings on Thursday nights. It was such a blessing to have 15 young adults in our living room worshiping and studying the Word. I am so glad God has blessed us with such a big living room. I can't wait to host more gatherings here. I think it is part of the reason we have such a large apartment. 

I also get to be apart of the Women's Group at HIF. I am slowly learning more about these lovely ladies. There are women in this group who have been here for less than 1 month and women who have been here for more than 18 years! So many experiences and everyone wants to help and be connected. Building relationships to help reach the people!

God is doing amazing things here! I am so glad he has called me! Even though times are hard, GREAT things are happening! Thanks for praying and taking this journey with me!!!