Travel + Settling in Vietnam

Hi friends, welcome back to my blog. This is just a short little update of travel and past week here in Vietnam.

We started our long travel adventure on November 22nd. We spent the night in the Medellin Airport. We couldn’t check in till the morning, so we were hauling our big packs throughout the airport to find a place to sleep. Those packs really are a load for your back and neck. We then arrived in Houston, Texas for a super long layover. I was excited to go back to the United States for a few layovers. I got my first iced Dr. Pepper and it was so delicious. I have never stayed in an airport for that long, so we had to become creative on what to do. My friend Kenzie and I went evangelizing around the airport, and it was definitely more nerve wracking because most everyone spoke English. However, it was very fulfilling and I was truly seeking out the Lord in that moment and that was a cool time of prayer with the people we met. We met this one man, and Kenzie and I prayed for him, and then he prayed for our whole squad. It is so awesome to see how prayer connects even strangers. We then flew to Los, Angeles. I have never been to California so that was fun to be in LA. The downside of being back in the US was how expensive everything was, it was a bit of a shock for me especially LA. Every time I ordered food, I kept on saying “Gracias” as I was so used to saying that in Colombia. I didn’t even notice I was saying it till someone on the squad told me. I am still doing it here in Vietnam, that always makes me giggle. From LA, we had a 15 hour flight to Hong Kong, China. That flight was actually not as bad as I thought it was going to be, I did lots of walking, talking, and sleeping and that is what made time fly by. From there we had a flight to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. The city at night was so beautiful. It reminded me of New York City a little bit. We were all separating there and going to different cities in the morning, so we just hung out outside the airport. A few of us got McDonalds and it was yummy. Those fries hit different. Anyways, early in the morning my team said goodbye to the squad because we were in a different terminal. There were lots of tears, as saying goodbye was very hard. I know I am going to see all of them again, but the Lord had brought all of us so close together. My team flew to a small town in Vietnam called Tuy Hoa. Traveling with eight people instead of 43, is a huge difference. We arrived in Tuy Hòa, and the airport was literally just one room. We got our luggage and met our hosts outside the airport. Our host is from the United States and is married to a Vietnamese man. They have three beautiful children. They were so sweet, took us to our Homestay and got us food. I tried Pho for the first time and it was very good. My team is not staying with our Host family, we are living on our own in a Homestay. We are staying in two different rooms, and they are small, but just what we need. It is such a blessing that we all made it safely to Vietnam. The next few days were rough on my team, as we were very jet-lagged and tired. Vietnam is also 12 hours ahead, so getting used to the time change took some time. We started ministry immediately the next day. The town we are in suffered from a devastating flood, so we cleaned up some homes and businesses. We also observed elementary/middle school level English classes in the evening. Our schedule the next few days was very flexible. For the English classes in the evenings, those are every day during the week and my team takes shifts of when to go.  On Saturday, we had English club at this couple’s home. My team led some parts of the English Club and it was a super fun experience. This week, we are leading the whole night, so that will be exciting to do. The age group of the English club is teenagers. It is so great to be able to interact with people around my age. That Sunday we went to the International Church with our Host family. We went into a small classroom and set up chairs around the room. There were Vietnamese teenagers, and a man from Uruguay who play guitar and sang. The service was in English, and it was so special. There were about 15-20 of us, and we sang some of my favorite worship songs. It was so intimate and since coming to Vietnam, I felt like I hadn’t spent much time with the Lord so it was super sweet to have that time with Him. I along with 3 girls from my team went about an hour away to this woman’s house to help with flood recovery. She immediately started crying when we got there, as she was so happy to see us. We cleaned all her dishes that had been just sitting outside for days. She then brought out snacks for us, which I think is just wild. The hospitality in this area is so incredible. People just go out of the way to serve us. After, one of our Hosts’s friends had us over for a little Thanksgiving get-together. We had some good food together and shared what we are all thankful for. It was a sweet reminder of what I do with my family back home on Thanksgiving. Throughout this past week, I was struggling with seeking out the Lord first before anything else. I was so focused on the things I wanted and desired, I gave time for nothing else. This made me struggle with communicating well and having unity with my team. I realized that in order for me to pursue good relationships with the girls on my team, I need to put God first and then everything else will come so much more smoothly. By the end of this week, I started to have a more outward focus and look to encourage others before thinking about myself. I dived into prayer and sought out God to see where my heart was at. For one of our Adventure days, a few of us girls went to see Zootopia 2. The movie was in English and it was a sweet treat for us. I went to the beach for the first time and it reminded me so much of the beach at my Grandma’s house. Just this morning, I woke up early and walked to the beach. I took a dip in the water and swam for a bit. It was the perfect temperature, but the current was so strong. The waves were huge so we couldn’t go out very far, but just being in the water brought me so much joy. We have a few different coffee places here, and wow is it amazing. I loved the coffee in Colombia but this coffee was so tasty. Overall I am so excited to be here in Vietnam to serve the Lord. Even though it will look a little different since it is a closed country, I know that God is going to use that in ways I didn’t imagine. It is such a blessing to be with my team and I cannot wait to continue growing closer with them in this time.

I am so grateful for the financial support I have received, and am blessed to have reached my goal before coming on the Race. My leader and teammate are still fundraising for the remainder of the trip. I would love prayer for them to be able to reach their final amounts without any stress. If you feel led to donate, I am leaving their fundraising pages down below.

Thank you so much for your continued prayers for me, my squad, and my team.

Some prayer requests:

• Healing from sicknesses (overall health)
• Safety
• My team Teshuva
• Team Charis (Huế)
• Team Sheep (De Nang)
• Team Akouo (De Nang)
• Team Salt (Ho Chi Minh)
• D squad (Malaysia)

Amanda:

https://adventuresinmissions.servicereef.com/events/adventures-in-missions-3/2025-world-race-gap-year-25g0901-2/participants/amanda-gingrichk

Emma Bland:

https://adventuresinmissions.servicereef.com/events/adventures-in-missions-3/2025-world-race-gap-year-25g0901-leader/participants/Emma-bland