My India Teammate!

My name is Faye and I am a 25-year-old Christian living in Boston. I work as an electrical engineer in building design. I love musical theatre and traveling, and am also emotionally attached to having internet service at all times.

I was born to Christian parents and have attended church ever since I can remember. At ages 13, 17, and 19 (so far), God unmistakably showed up in my life in unexpected ways to reveal Himself to me, and through those encounters, I realized that this God I worship is truly a living God who is actively invested in me and in the world. With this affirmation, I get to go deeper with Jesus and explore what it means to be His disciple in the modern world. While the Bible does not explicitly mention social media or computers, its emphasis on empathy and grace are still very applicable lessons for living today. I am still learning this day by day.

Now that I have my college degree and middle-class job, it would seem like I have "made it" by achieving success. I understand and appreciate that, which only makes it more compelling to give thanks everyday and to try my best to live a life worthy of calling myself a Christian. I used to think all Christians would look the same, but now I know that being a Christian looks different for every Christ-follower.

For me, right now, being a Christian looks like mastering more skills, both at work and outside of work, living and loving my friends, my co-workers, and my family, and also challenging myself to be outside of my comfort zone, remembering that God will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, ,even in difficult times (Psalm 16:10).

Hope Prison Ministry, and My Role in South Africa

Hope Prison Ministry was started in 2003 by Jonathan Clayton and Jenny Joshua. They now work in nineteen prisons where more than three thousand inmates are enrolled in their programs. We will be joining the 153 volunteers they have on team.

They support prisoners with several different programs including job skills training, prayer walks, a letter writing program, counseling, holding worship services, and restorative justice.

What is my team's plan?

After a few low key days to settle in, get over jet lag, and do some more vital training, we will be jumping into the deep end. Our first week we will be assistant facilitators at a restorative justice program. The purpose of the program is to put humanity back into the crime, and to help the prisoners to confront and take responsibility for what they have done. Many crimes get prosecuted as "the state vs. so and so" and in some prisons the inmates become a number rather than a name. This makes the crimes impersonal and leaves the victims feeling twice wronged, and the offender not as easily equating what they have done with a life negatively impacted. In essence, the prisoners have been told "You broke the law. You will be punished by the government for doing that." This program comes in and says "You hurt people and ruined relationships. Let's work together to repair and reconcile what we can."

The staff and long term volunteers running the program will be going through a number of exercises and giving some lectures. On one day, the men will go through an exercise to name everyone effected by their crime. The victim/s is/are the obvious person/people, slightly less obvious are the victims' family and the convict's own family, but it spreads even farther to the police who processed the crime scene, the professional who did the autopsy, the community members who do not feel safe on their street and in their homes, etc. On another afternoon they have a rape survivor come in and tell the men her story of how crime has effected her life and still effects her to this day. Many of these guys were in gangs from a young age and have never really thought through the impact of their actions. They are giving themselves that challenge now. These man are not ordered into this program, and they receive no benefits such as reduced time or a nicer cell block. They are doing this because they want to be better men, and I really respect that.

My role (and my teammates roles) as assistant facilitators, is to sit at a small table with an experienced facilitator and small group of inmates and help them work through the process. After exercises we have time set aside to share in our table groups. Facilitators are supposed to help keep the conversations respectful, open, and meaningful. We are to ask probing questions and give our full attention to listening to their answers. We are also, when it is appropriate, to share personal stories from our lives.

After the weeklong intensive, the goal is to invite the prisoner's own families to come visit them and help them talk to each other and begin to repair their relationship. Many prisoner's families do not know why their loved ones are in prison. They then have bi-monthly follow up meetings with more exercises and homework. I am hoping to be at the first follow up which should happen before I fly out to Mumbai. After a full year of going deeper and doing more follow up, the goal is to invite victims to come meet with the prisoners for some time of open dialogue. Many victims are full of questions that make the process of healing and moving on more challenging, we hope that talking together will help both sides move forward in a healthy way.

In the ten days after the restorative justice intensive ends before I leave, my team will be visiting some other prisons to help in Bible studies, perhaps going out to visit another ministry in the townships, and supporting the long term workers wherever and however we can. We also plan to go looking for wild penguins on our Saturday off (and they told you penguins only live where there is snow!)

You always have my thanks and love for your support.
Tatiana

Please be praying:

• That anything I need to do (like putting together a first aid kit and getting my mom added to my bank account) I will get done in the next two and a half weeks.
• That things will go smoothly when I meet with my college advisor to talk over my change in major and registering for fall classes.
• That I will get enough rest to go into this prepared to serve and poor out.
• That my India visa application will be approved Monday.
• That I will be able to locate the translations of the book I want to give the prisoners as gifts.
• That be safe and healthy leading up to and throughout this trip.
• That this trip will help me better see what long term ministry I should be doing after college

You can support me financially for my South Africa trip by going to this website, selecting STM South Africa, and putting Tatiana Martin in the optional memo, or by putting money so designated in the offering plate at Park Street Church during Sunday service. (You would get a tax receipt for this)

My South Africa Team!

Small, but mighty!

Abiola

(On left in photo)

I moved to Boston for school and began attending Park Street back in 2009. I first became interested in South African prison ministry in the fall of 2012, when Andrew May came to Park Street to share about his work during the missions conference that year. Ever since, I heard his story, I knew I wanted to be a part of that good work — to share the good news of hope and reconciliation to men rejected by society. I’m looking forward to returning this summer to the same corrections facility as last year, to continue our work.

When I’m not hanging around Park Street, I’m usually developing software at a technology startup in the area, volunteering at my old college or at an elementary school in East Cambridge, or baking pies, tarts, and other treats.

Tom

(On right in photo)

As a little boy, I went church every Sunday. However, as I got older, I lost my way with God, and had a lot more personal losses in my life. So I turned to drinking. Which got me into trouble. I was ordered to attend AA meetings, and of all the Boston locations I had to chose from, I picked Park Street Church. The very first time I went to the meeting, something was different in my heart. It took a little while for it to hit me that it was never the meeting, it was the grace of God, and the Holy Spirit which had been placing the spirit of the LORD deep in my heart. The same night I realized it, I told Him "Lord Jesus, I need you. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive you as my savior and Lord. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be. AMEN”Now, one of my main goals is to help people enjoy life as much as possible. I take life seriously, but I know when to have fun and like to bring my sense of humor into as many conversations as I can. One of my challenges in South Africa will be keeping my sarcasm in check.

For the last few years I have felt the Lord tugging at my heart to go on a short-term mission trip, but it is intimidating. This year, I took a step of faith and signed up to go to South Africa.

One exciting opportunity I have is to share my testimony with the inmates. It includes God’s healing work in many areas - including my alcohol addiction of over fifteen years. What I get to share with the guys, is that at the time of the trip, I will be celebrating 17 years of continuous sobriety.

Please pray that all my interactions are filled with the love of Jesus and that I give my testimony in a way that also communicates God’s love and brings encouragement. Knowing that you are praying for me is very important.

Thank you for considering being a part of our mission of restorative justice in the prisons of South Africa!

Proverbs 27:17 "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another"

Prayer Points for the team:

• That all the preparation work we should be doing, we will do. One particular task we have is reading some books about restorative justice, cross cultural ministry, and being useful on short term trips. Please pray that we all have the time to finish reading them, and that we absorb the information to be more useful on the field. (I also have a book on India, an audiobook on South Africa, and a book creating home and community while traveling to add to the pile! I would like it noted that I did not buy any of these, and thanks to the incredible supportive people for all their gifts) 
• Please pray for soft hearts among our team, among our partners in South Africa, and among the inmates. The most valiant efforts on our part will be useless if we cannot connect and if the prisoners have stony hearts. 
• Please pray for physical, mental, and emotional protection. This is challenging work, that will only be more difficult if we go into it over tired, emotionally burnt out, with a cold or flu, or with minds that wonder instead of focusing on the men before us. (please add prayers that I will have even more strength and more to give when I move onto India) 
• Pray that we will be an encouragement to the long term workers, especially Andrew and Anne. We will pour ourselves out for just over two weeks, they do it for months and years at a time. 

If you wish to give financial support you can do so here. Select "STM South Africa" from the drop down menu, and then you may put one of our names in the memo, or you can leave it blank and we will allocate where it is most needed.

Where in the World is Tatiana Going Next (A.K.A Travel Plans for 2017)

Hello my Friends.

A year ago today, almost to the minute, I was just getting home from helping in a Chinese orphanage. (Or at least I was when I started drafting this post) Now, I am in the planning stages of two or possibly three trips overseas for volunteer work in vastly different ministries in different countries. They are all countries I have never been to before, which is super cool and exciting.

I will start with the one I leave for first, South Africa. My church is planning a two and a half week trip to the Cape Town area to help Hope Prison Ministry. This is totally outside of anything I have ever done before. I have never been to the continent of Africa, or even the southern hemisphere. I have never even flown through the southern hemisphere on my way to Asia. I also have never been involved in prison ministry. However, I have applied for, and been accepted onto the team.

In the Bible, at the end of Matthew 25, Jesus describes one group of people as blessed by God and another as cursed by Him. The difference between groups is not theology, or a prayer prayed, it is concrete actions done to help "the least of these". One of the listed actions was visiting people in prison. Prison ministry is not something I feel like I am especially gifted for. I do not expect to be unusually good at it, or to come away deciding to dedicate the next twenty years of my life to prison ministry. So why go? Because visiting people in prison is something that Jesus said people who love God will do. Because there are men in South African prisons who have said that they want to learn about justice, that they want to grapple with the results of their crimes, and they want to try to mend relationships they betrayed, and they need more people to help walk them through that. I can go. I can listen. I can share. I can be vulnerable with them and help to provide a safe space for their vulnerability. I have the time, and a desire to help as much as I can. I will explain more about what my role will be in a later post.

At the end of my time in Cape Town, I do not fly home. I fly straight to Mumbai, India, where I will meet up with a friend, and get straight to work helping a local pastor. He has a number of different projects, which I will detail later. The one I am going to explain now is his fostering of education for slum children that I will be helping with. If you are friends with me, or have been following this blog, you know that children are my biggest passion. So this trip really excites me. During my time in India, I will be working with children in a new set of hard circumstances that put them at a disadvantage. Most of the kids I will be working with have loving parents. It is poverty and ideas of fate that cannot be overcome that hold these kids back. The pastor I will be working with runs a free kindergarten for children in families referred to as the rag pickers. They would more accurately be called recyclers. They go around the streets picking up scraps of paper, empty soda cans, plastic bottles, and yes, fabric rags. They then sort the reusable rubbish and sell it in bulk to recycling and manufacturing plants. These families struggle to make enough money to provide for their children, and as a result many slum kids are malnourished. The parents keep their kids home from school because the kids can add more recycling to the pile, which will mean more money for food. They also keep them back because they do not think it is possible for their children to become anything more than they are, or their parents, and grand parents were before them. Lastly, families struggling to get enough food, find it impossible to buy the uniforms and supplies required at the public schools. The pastor I am working with runs the kindergarten for a group of five and six year old kids from these families. During the two years he has the kids, he tries to increase the families' commitment to learning. Once they are finished at his school, he offers to sponsor the children in their further education by paying for their uniforms and supplies. He also uses his school to help combat the malnourishment and disease of the kids by providing one or two meals a day and hygiene classes. On weekday mornings, I will be with these kids. My main job job will be substitute English teacher. In the evenings, I will go into the slum to visit their parents.

I will fill you in more later this week, including the other possible trip. For now though, I have to get to work.

Thank you for all you care and encouragement!
All my love,
Tatiana

Please Pray:

• That my team to South Africa will do all the emotional and mental preparation we need to do to be as effective as possible in this demanding ministry.
• That the men who will come to the program will have softened hearts.
• That we will be loving towards the men even as they confess the horrors they have done.
• That the money needed to carry out this trip will come in.
• That I will have the time needed to rest and rejuvenate so I can continue to pour myself out.
• That my friend and I will have good health and stay safe in India.
• That we will show these kids how special they are and be an encouragement to their parents.

 If you would like to support me financially, you can support the trip to South Africa by going this website selecting STM South Africa and putting Tatiana Martin in the optional memo, or by putting money so designated in the offering plate at Park Street Church during Sunday service. (You would get a tax receipt for this) To support India, because it is a local doing awesome stuff and not a registered non-profit, you would just give me cash or a check letting me know what it was for. Let me know if you have any questions.

Happy Home in Vietnam?

I started this a few days ago with this part:

I'm starting this blog post at the English center I'm volunteering at while my students are working in three teams trying to come up with the longest list of words associated with emotions. I can hear them whispering "scared, afraid, wonderful..."

The range of emotions I have been through on this trip likely includes everything they will come up with and more. It's amazing how I went from desperately homesick and dreading another two weeks away, to horrified that I only have ten days left and wanting it to be longer.

The biggest hardship I have with my travels is wishing I could be with everyone and everywhere at the same time. I am usually pretty good at enjoying the moment, but there are times I miss my kids (the kids I have bonded with so closely on my travels home and abroad) so much my chest constricts. I know that once I adopt children I will have no issue in viewing them as my own and loving them as such. I already have bonded with hundreds of kids. I always cry when I leave them behind and have their photos hanging all over my room. It's much easier when I know I leave them in good and loving hands, like in Myanmar. 

And this is from tonight:

There are other people people I so want to share parts of my travel with! Normally seeing something I know a friend or family member would love goes something like *Whoa! That is impressive art on the side of that building. Katrina would love it! I will have to bring her here this week.* However, that becomes less possible when she is in New York City and I am in Da Nang City. Sure I can and will photograph it when it is not pelting rain, but a photo is not the same. A photo is even less the same when the thing you want to share is riding in the 14th tallest ferris wheel in the world and the view it has of the city lights. (which is a real thing I did last weekend.) So many experiences, so many friends I want to introduce to each other that live on opposite sides of the globe.

I had lunch today with an Australian girl descended of Vietnamese parents who is in the country working with an NGO. She is going home tomorrow and as we talked of what she and I were looking forward to, we also talked of the sometimes awkwardness of going home. You find that you do not fit quite as well as you did before. Your friends ask if you want to go to the movies, and theoretically you do, but then you see the price tag of $12-$19. I can get a hotel and food for the day on that here! I will think of my afternoon students in Myanmar praying for a truck so they no longer have to walk forty five minutes to and from school. They do it five days a week regardless of if it is pouring rain or not. Regardless of the lack of streetlights on muddy backroads. How can I justify $14 to entertain myself for an hour or two when that same $14 could buy a school uniform and help a child get their family out of poverty. So usually I opt not to go. I like the movies! However, I can count on my fingers how many times I have gone to the movies in the last year, and I do not thing I paid once. Do not get me wrong though, I am not some kind of saint who never self indulges. I bought myself a new ring today when I went to buy presents for my family. It's on my finger as I type this. I am much more mindful about money though. I try to only buy things that are needed, reusable, or will bring considerable joy.

My increasing sensitivity to money is just one thing that sets me apart from my peers in my "home" country. I put home in quotes because the U.S. is not my real home anymore, it never was. I am only visiting here until I die. The One who's face I will finally behold after death, the One who sends me trotting around the globe, He is making me love new countries and feel at home everywhere and nowhere at the same time. I have eaten breakfast in a home with a dirt floor and holes in the walls big enough for the chickens to fly through (thankfully they chose not to). Minus the language barrier, I was totally at ease there. I have eaten diner at Top of the Hub (a restaurant in one of Boston's tallest sky scraper where the cheapest dinner is $27 and you can pay $56 for another) more than once and felt comfortable and happy there too.

As I grow too tired to continue I have looked back and realized how deep this became. This was not meant to be such a heavy post guys! I was planning to tell you how much fun I am having. Look at this view from the hike I did this week!

Who could be unhappy when they have a tour guide as happy as this girl?

Best work buddy ever!

Especially when she tells you that you look like a princess so many times you've lost count.

Do princesses wear pink dresses?

I meant to tell you that I love my work. My students are fantastic! They challenge me, make me laugh, welcome me, tease me, share their country and their hearts.

Giving practice talking to a foreigner to a class taught by a Vietnamese lady

Every night we have a topic led by a foreigner, sometimes me!, and we sit in groups at tables to answer questions and discuss.

We talk about deep stuff in class some nights, and I think they like it as much as I do. (Or they are really good at sympathy clapping their thanks at the end)

This was my favorite topic! Passion.

I was meaning to tell you all that I helped with the little ones (1-4) at church this morning and how happy it makes me to spend time with little'uns.

They pick the craziest colors!

I have been meaning to tell you that I went on the 14th tallest ferris wheel in the whole world. There are only two taller than it in the U.S!

Da Nang's Sunwheel

The view from the top

It is so colorful and the refections it makes are beautiful

And I was planning to tell you about my little moth friend who decided he liked my hotel room so much that when I carefully caught him and put him out the window he flew right back in twice!! So I had to catch him again and bring him down the stairs, through the reception, and out the front door before releasing for the third time.

In short I am having a good time, but that is the simple, short, and incomplete answer. It is true though.

A Fond Farewell, and an Excited Hello (With lots of photos!)

I'm sitting at gate 1 of Yangon International Airport as I write this. I am about to leave Myanmar, and go to Vietnam. It seems appropriate that it should be downpouring. As I'm sure you can imagine my feelings at the moment are quite complicated. Happy, sad, excited, thankful, nervous (flying always makes me a little nervous, especially when flying to foreign countries) Rather than risking boring you all to death talking more about my feelings, I shall now recap the last week for you.

Last weekend Peter's friend from Singapore came up to Lashio for a long weekend. He observed my Friday evening English class, and wound up being somewhat of an assistant teacher as he fed the boy he was sitting next to the answers if the group couldn't think of it fast enough. Which seemed to please and amuse the boy very much indeed.

Saturday was spent with my afternoon class hiking up a small mountain near their home. Hiking could be more accurately discribed as bushwhacking/clambering up, and mud sliding/trying really hard not to fall down. Before we set off, Jenevy split the kids up and assigned them all to an adult and said we were to all forage for edible wild plants. My team harvested hardly any food, and perhaps part of the reason is that the older girl in my group focused almost all her energy on trying to make sure I was okay, and helping me. At times she would offer me her hand at a particularly slippery or difficult part. I would look at her small frame and think "Honey, if I slip and we're holding hands, you're going down with me. I appreciate the gesture, but you're really too petite to hold me up." However, I could not really refuse her when she looked at me with her sweet quiet smile, said "Teacher." and held out her hand. She is one of the quieter ones in class, and just in general. She has a very soothing motherly spirit. She surprised me with knowing more English than I realized at one point saying "Teacher Iana, come over this way." Which might not sound like much, but the students didn't know all their colors and didn't know any shapes, and most struggled to even answer the questions "What is your name, and how old are you?" So for her to pull out a six word senance with proper word order that I had not taught her was surprising and comforting as I continued falling down the mountain with her doing her best to find me a good way to follow the trail. Once we got down, some of the kids laughed at how dirty my pants had gotten from my slipping in the mud so much, which was pretty funny. My little tour-guide/mother for the day just calmly, without many words got some water from the other kids and helped me to clean my hands and my wounds from sliding through a thornbush at one point. Then she ground up some leaves in her palm and dabbed my wounds with it, which stung so I assume it had some cleansing property. Just in case you are wondering if it was worth it since I got hurt, it absolutely was. The view at the top was amazing, and it was nice to see the kids outside of school and doing something that they love! Just spending time with this beautiful young lady made it totally worth it.

Before heading up. I think the hill behind us might be the one we climbed, but do not let it deceive you into thinking it was easy. It might have been fine with stairs....there were no stairs, handrails, or even a path

My team! Can you tell how sweet and motherly the girl in the back is?

This is the trail after being hacked at with the machete

Such a cool kid

Thankfully someone mentioned this makes
you itchy right before I touched it! 

Two of the most giving (and fun!) people I have met

This is my arm after being cleaned and having the leaves rubbed on.

This is how dirty Peter's hands were at the end.

Sunday brought a service at Peter's mother's compound. Weiguo, the friend from Singapore, shared some of his testimony and encouraged the children to run the good race. The service was in Mandarin translated to Lisu, so the only part I understood was my own opening prayer! After service we ate a delicious lunch (as always. The Lisu are fantastic cooks!) and then took a bus to Hsipaw.

Our bus to Hsipaw was not a VIP bus.

The purpose of going to Hsipaw was strictly tourism, and I did not really want to go, especially because it was my last week in the country. It was only for a day and a half though, and everyone was encouraging me to go, so I agreed. In the mysterious way of life and God, I went for rest and to get away from being surrounded by languages I don't understand, and then the very first thing that happened was we were invited to a Lisu home where no one spoke English. We went back again the next morning and one of the most touching moments on the trip happened. We had just finished praying for some of the people in the house who were a little sick when a new young woman I had not seen before came in. I was told she wanted prayer because she was sick too. I could tell this already. She was so frail and way overdressed for the heat in her fuzzy sweatshirt. After I'd prayed for her, which was a more moving experience than usual, I felt an overflowing love for the woman and the strong directive and need to hug her. I asked through Peter's translation if that would be okay with her, and was apprehensive of getting a no as hugging is not common in her culture. I got a shy yes and squatted down in the dirt to be level with where she perched on a stool. As I started to hug her I said "May the Lord bless and keep you." and asked Peter to translate that. Once he did I was suprised to feel her body start to shake with sobs. I held her while she cried, and until her own arms wrapped around me loosened minutes later. She thanked me, and then disappeared behind the house after some handshakes and headnods. I do not normally have people crying in my arms, and am very thankful I went to Hsipaw and had the chance to show this woman that she is loved by God. 

The rest of the day was spent biking around the city. We saw some beautiful rice farms, a corn factory, and a number of muddy, but very picturesque rivers. It was a very lovely day that ended with very lobster skin, which had both of my Asian (and barely sunburnt) friends laughing.

Little Began

Corn Factory

Tuesday morning we took the 5:15am bus back to Lashio, only to discover that both the Bible students, and my afternoon class were busy with other things and I therefore did not have teaching. I wound up sleeping all the way to lunch, and then went out with Peter to buy snacks for the kids as a goodbye present. One of the women in the market commented on the fact that I was wearing a floor length skirt like the Burmese women traditionally do, while many of the young Burmese women are wearing short skirts today. She found it ironic that I would be more modest, and was very approving of my outfit.

Wednesday was a day of goodbyes for all my students as I took an overnight bus down to the capital Thursday afternoon. My afternoon classes sang some songs for me in their wonderful enthusiastic fashion. They also gave some thank you speeches through Jenayvy's translation after we had our final English lesson. They came so far, and I'm so proud of them. They were the hardest to leave because I spent the most time with them. I'll admit to you I started to cry a little bit as we drove our motor scooters out of there. The only reason I was not crying a lot is because I am confident I will return, and if I do I should see most of them again. I am thankful I was able to get a group shot, and a photo of me with each child one by one. I wanted to give them all huge hugs goodbye, but instead resigned myself to the standard left hand on right elbow handshake, lots of waving, and lots of smiles. A few of the boys went running along side us as we drove out. It reminded me of my little brother who regularly does the same.

I love these kids!!

My sweet little mama. Some of us get the mother spirit young and strong.
So happy to have been able to bond with this quiet one who reminds me of
myself. She's the only one rested her head on my shoulder for the photo, with
the rest mostly posing like the young man below.

For dinner that night we went more than half an hour outside of the downtown to a river with lakes and a dam. The view was beautiful, and I really enjoyed the extra long motorscooter ride.

The kids used the dam as a free water slide

After dinner it was time for another goodbye party with both my evening class, and the Bible students. They had a small church service of sorts with hymns, a thank you, a present of the most colorful bag I've ever owned, and prayer. Then it was my turn to say something, and to give the kids the snacks I got for them. One of the women joked that I was the best kind of teacher, one that feeds their students!

A meeting before my farewell party

They really wanted me to take pictures of them eating their snacks and I kept hearing "Teacher!" yelled from different tables, only to turn and see them ready and posed.

These kids have personality and enthusiasm!!

So many lasts one after the other. Thursday was my last day in Lashio. I slept very little that night because I stayed up painting thank you cards for Peter's family because I literally could not find any cards at all in Lashio or Hsipaw, except at one shop where I found some unloved rather dusty looking birthday cards.Then it was off to the bus station for a fifteen hour bus ride to the capital.

How did I do?

My favorite was the one I painted for Peter's mother

Heading off to school after lunch break.

Thankfully we had a very good driver for these crazy turns

Now, the day after that long bus ride, I'm finishing this in the Ho Chi Minh airport. My flight has been delayed, and I've walked some laps around the airport, gotten food, and finished writing up this monstrously long post. So if you are bored and forcing your way through reading this, blame me being stuck in an airport without internet or people to talk to. Also, if you are bored and forcing your way through this, I can only assume it's because you love me. Thanks, I love you too!

The view at the restaurant where I ate my last diner in Myanmar

Ho Chi Minh City!

That's well over enough for now, I'll go back to reading!

Please be asking that:

• I do what I was brought here to
• The children back in Myanmar are well
• That I stay well, I do not really have time to get sick.
• That I would get enough sleep
• That my planning meeting for volunteering at Vision Cafe will go well tomorrow night.

Thanks y'all!!!!9