3 weeks of Vietnam!

We’re about half way through our time here in Vietnam already! It feels like time has gone by much faster than it did in Colombia. Our days feel much busier here, so maybe that’s why it’s gone by so fast. We teach a kids English at the Korean church twice a week, a class for lower-class college students twice a week, and a class for Korean missionary kids also twice a week. And every Tuesday-Friday night we host an English club for anyone in the community. In between classes, our time is filled with prep work, devotionals, and hanging out with our hosts.

In our first two weeks here, most the people on our team got pretty sick. A few of us went to the doctor. They told me I had an upper respiratory infection, and acute gastroenteritis (swollen intestines). With some medicine I have been feeling much better. But this past week I had to go to the hospital again because of severe ear pain. Turns out, I was coughing so much from my respiratory infection, that I basically coughed mucus into my ears and gave myself an ear infection! I also had gone swimming a few times this week, and the doctor said that is what made it worse, but was not the cause. So after weeks of seemingly thing after thing, I am finally starting to feel better. My teammates are also feeling much better.

There are two Korean sisters in their 20s that are also staying here at Vision to volunteer, and we’ve gotten very close with them. But of the girls got very sick with a Vietnamese virus and had to fly home to Korea the other day- they said she needed her grandmothers cooking! We miss her, but hopefully she will come back soon. She’s already starting to feel better.

My sister Tori is getting married on the 28th, and tomorrow I am flying back to the US for the wedding. And it just so happens that Christmas is the same week! I’m beyond excited to get to see my family, even for just a week. No one else on my squad gets to go home for Christmas, so I feel very blessed. I’m also very thankful to be feeling much better before I travel. I fly from Vietnam, to Korea, to Detroit- totaling about 20 hours. It feels like I’ll be time traveling. I fly out at 12 am, and 20 hours later I land at 8:30 am on the same day!

I’m now 79% funded, with just under $4,000 left. Yayy!! My goal is to be fully  funded by February 13th. Thank you for your prayers! Please continue to pray for the health of my team, and that God would continue to open doors to share His word, as evangelism is illegal here.

God bless,
Shelby