Vietnam

I traveled to Vietnam for the first time this summer with the Education team, not knowing how much I would be changed by the experience. When I first told my mom in February that I was going to Vietnam, she was very apprehensive about it. I was too, thinking how could I possibly leave the country with her health so fragile. I thought about what I would want if something happened to her while I was gone. I told my Mecca that it would be ok, we would just weather it. I was mainly worried about Mec and my dad, looking after mom by themselves. Even though she was in the hospital, we were involved in her care on a daily basis. You can't leave it up to the nurses or the doctors. There were just too many issues to manage. I spent several counseling sessions talking about how was I going to emotionally manage actually going with mom in the hospital, still. It was February and I never really expected her come home in the summer. I couldn't imagine it. God knew what was ahead and prodded me to go. Mom died May first and I left for Veitnam on July 29th. I thought of her the entire time. Everytime I was in awe over a new experience I thought of what she must be experiencing in heaven. I cried and grieved when I saw beautifully hand embroired Christmas linens, reminding me of how much she loved Christmas time. I remembered that while I was reminded of her in Veitnam, she was in heaven with our Lord, celebrating him everyday! It was an incredible journey; of faith, financially, emotionally and spiritually. I traveled halfway around the world to Vietnam, looked out over the city of Hanoi the first morning and saw so many people with so many needs, then realized the people in my own country have the exact same needs. We all have the same need...Jesus. I met educators and parents with the same concerns and same desires for their children as we have in the U.S. I've known that I was blessed but I went to Vietnam and felt it. I was incredibly touched when Dr. Mihn at the Autism Center brought us dragon fruit which her husband had grown and a mother of a child with special needs wanted me to take a picture of us together. I want to see them again, I want to know what is happening in their lives, I want them to know my Savior. It is all about on-going relationships and the exchange of information, showing others the love of Christ. I always wanted to be a missionary when I was little, it just took a long time for me to get here.

blessings,

Laura