Week One

Greetings from the other side of the world!

I have now been in Asia for a little over a week, and we have finally figured out how to get online using computers. (Up until yesterday, we could only use the internet on smart phones.)

So, you may be wondering, what have I been doing all this time?

Our journey started on Tuesday morning 9/20. We met up at Peter's house in Hampton and said our goodbyes. From Hampton, we had the long drive to Gwen's home in Connecticut. We were able to spend most of the day relaxing there—and enjoying the wonderful steak dinner provided by her parents—before heading to JFK late that night. Flying out at 1:30 am provided wonderful incentive to get some sleep during our 16 hour flight. After a much shorter connecting flight, we arrived at our destination, where we were met by Roger's sister and two brothers-in-law.

This began a whirlwind week of meeting people, settling into our apartment, finding helpful locations, and trying to begin to figure out what we are supposed to be doing here. One of our airport welcoming crew, Chad, has been traveling around with us acting as a translator and a guide. He has been invaluable in many situations, always willing to help, and a huge blessing to our team. Here are some of the highlights from week one:

We found an outdoor market a short walk from our apartment. We buy fresh fruits and vegetables there—and some lovely flowers for our coffee table!

There are many small, open-air tea shops all over the city. We have tried several and found a place where all four of us can buy noodle soup and tea for about $1 total!

We have met several local Christians who are interested in getting to know us more. They could be a valuable resource in learning more about the city, and also it's been exciting to start building friendships with people we have met while walking around our neighborhood or eating at a tea shop.

We had dinner with a missionary that Peter knows as he was traveling through the city.

There is a huge market in downtown that we were able to explore. We bought a guitar there, and have enjoyed playing music and singing together!

We were able to meet with two foreigners living and working in the city who we might be able to work with. They were both wonderful sources of information about living in this country and helpful in networking to other people and resources.

Overall, it has been a varied week where we never really know what we are going to do the next day—or in some cases the next hour. I came across this Bible verse the other day, and it sums up how we've been living: “The LORD directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?”--Proverbs 20:24. We are trusting God to guide us to what He wants us to be doing here. We've certainly had some cool new experiences so far, and I'm excited to see what he has in store for us next!