Asia Trip in Words

I’ve been home from Asia for over 3 weeks now and I just got my scrapbook done. I really re-lived those memories while putting the book together. There is so much to share that I don’t know where to start. And much of what I want to share, I can’t. I experienced many “cultural experiences” that are just plain hard to put into words.

The main purpose: The purpose of this trip was to build relationships with people (mostly students) in order to share the gospel. It’s a culture that almost requires you to “earn” the right to share. Relationships were built in a variety of ways ~ playing Uno, exploring local attractions, shopping, basketball and ping pong games, dinners out, English corners, etc. We tried to place ourselves in situations to meet new people and invest in them. For those of us who had been before (which was all but 3 members of our team), old friendships were also rekindled face-to-face and time was spent catching up.

Other things we did:

* We spent a day prayerwalking in a village. Loved that. We were out of the city and into the lush, mountainous part of the area. The paths we walked were stones in some parts and compacted dirt in others. I got to explore the oldest house in that village (which is thousands of years old according to our student guide), see the village temple (heartbreaking), admire the oldest tree in the village (which looked really cool!), touch wild bamboo, see people hard at work tending their land, and get surprisingly close to a water buffalo.

* English corners – 2 nights at our hotel we hosted an English corner, which is an opportunity for students to practice their English with native speakers. It was great fun and I was asked so many questions I felt like I was being interviewed. :) This was an excellent opportunity to meet and interact with a variety of students (some I’d met before, some I hadn’t).

* I introduced a new friend of mine to pizza. Watching her eat it was HILARIOUS and it took some serious self-control not to literally bust out laughing. But, I’m sure my chopstick skills were entertaining to many of the locals as well. ;-)

* Karaoke ~ Oh my word. Are there words for that night? I laughed so much watching and listening to teammates and Asian friends singing. Some good. Some joyful noises (*cough* me … but I was so sick I could barely talk and I was so congested I could hardly hear myself, much less the music!). It was all in good fun anyway. :)

Looking back, the trip was a great mix of evangelism, discipleship, and fellowship. God is at work in the hearts of those people and I am completely humbled that I got to be a part of it.