My Last Blog

            Hey guys, a lot has happened on my trek through the mountains the last couple of weeks and I’m excited to share it with you. First of all our friend from America made it here safely and should have returned home safely by the time this blog is posted. Spending time with him was great, seeing someone else being so motivated to do our work motivated me. During our two week adventure we visited 25 different villages throughout the area and each one has a story to tell.

            We eat an authentic local dinner with an English speaker in one of these villages. We also got invited to teach an elementary English class and were able to play basketball with them afterwards. There were also several homes we were invited to go in and sometimes they would fix authentic dishes for us. We saw some beautiful landscapes and had some breathtaking hikes. Not to mention we also did some shopping and shot off some fireworks. It was a pretty loaded couple of weeks.

            Christmas is just a couple days away and it provides us great opportunities to invite our local friends over to eat food, play games, and tell them the Christmas story. Already we have had one Christmas party with our friends and we will likely have at least two more parties. Christmas dinner consisted of rice, fried chicken, and cookies all eaten with chopsticks. We also get to sing some Christmas carols in both English and the local language. This has been a hard time being away from home but luckily Skype will bring me together with my family on Christmas day.

            I now have less than two weeks left before I will be back home with my family. I look forward to being back home but at the same time I am sad to leave my local friends. I will have a week after Christmas to say goodbye to my local friends and hang out with them one last time. Then I will fly to a nearby big city and have business meetings for a couple days and then I will fly home. So please continue to support me as I will say my farewells this week.

            It feels kinda weird that I’m writing my last blog. This trip has certainly been a big adventure for me. I expected this trip to be massive even before I left and it turned out to be bigger than what I expected. I have certainly learned and grown a lot from it. I feel like my Daddy has shaped me into the man He wants me to be. Thank you guys for your support in all of this, you truly have been amazing. You guys are our third man on this team and a dare say one of the best players as well. Your support has helped me so much during my stay here and if it wasn’t for some of your financial support I wouldn’t even be here. Thank you all, I look forward to seeing you again real soon. 

My Last Few Weeks

Hey guys, I’m glad I get to write to you again. Over the past couple of weeks various things have happened and I’m glad I get to share them with you. The majority of our time has been spent writing papers for school. However, this has caused us to interact with the locals tremendously. We have received the opportunity to interview various amounts of locals and ask deep questions to these friends of ours.

            Brady and I have both been engaging in the culture on a regular basis. From having interviews, to walking down the street and talking to locals, we have learned so much about this culture. We have had so many meaningful conversations with people. This is mostly because we are communicating with people we have already developed relationships with while teaching at the high school. We were even invited to a local’s house where they cooked us chicken and tofu in a boiling pot for dinner. Over the various interviews I have eaten rat, dog, snake, goat’s blood, pig intestine, and octopus. However, take me seriously when I say that I am truly grateful for the opportunities that have been given to us and I hope they will continue throughout the rest of our stay.

            By the time this blog is published our American friend will have arrived to our city and we will be packing our backpacks for an adventure through various rural villages. I am writing this blog a little early so I can spend as much time with them once they arrive. I am looking forward to this adventure and can’t wait to see what happens. I will be packing books about the culture so I can double check my research in my spare time. I have grown out a beard and let my hair go wild for the past month so I would be prepared for this adventure.

            Emotionally I am feeling great. I feel like I am at one with the culture and look forward to engaging it in the next few weeks. I am a little sad that I only have a few weeks left. I have always had a love for East Asia and have now grown relationships with those living there. So now I have a love for the people of East Asia. It will be sad for me as I continue to say goodbye to the friends I have grown to love so much. However, I do look forward to reuniting with my family and friends back home. I am so grateful I have people like you supporting me. Thank you so much, I love you.