Free to Follow Him

October 14, 2010

I know it has been entirely too long since I posted an update!! I could give you many excuses, but the only real reason is a combination of laziness and forgetfulness.

Just a note….i also posted photo updates today….you need to look at the “New Photos 1” post before the “New Photos 2” post.

So I have been in Hanoi for 2 months now…I’ve gotten into the rhythm of teaching English 4 times a week. It’s a little weird to be “working” evenings and having my mornings and afternoons pretty free. I have to manage my time in a completely different way…it’s taken some getting used to, for sure.

While I like living here, I have definitely been dealing with serious culture shock and loneliness. Before, I have always had at least one person I knew with me that I could talk to and vent to. Here, I have no one I can do that with, so I really have to depend of the One who is the best Friend I could ever have…

One a bad note, I am in the middle of learning experience I hope never repeats itself. I have had the opportunity this week to see first-hand how a police investigation works. You see, what happened was…. ;o) ….no really, I had some cash in my room, and I was too dumb to lock it up and someone stole it. The police have someone in custody who admits to stealing at least half of what is missing, but she spent a big portion of it already. I’m really hoping and praying that God continues to do amazing things in this situation and that the investigation comes to close quickly and with good results for me.

Next week, GMT is sending a team here from England. I will get to hang out with them a little and join them in repainting a children’s home here. I am excited about the change of pace!!

I will be traveling a bit over the next 2 months. Please pray that all the details of those travels are taken care of and that I have no troubles with visas or customs.

I love you all!!! Shoot me an email, even if just to say HI!!

Leigh

leigh.skidmore@hotmail.com

October 13, 2010

Here is the next batch of photos...



Floating fishing village near Halong Bay




you see those yellow kayaks? yeah, i got up at 600am to use one...man was i tired!!!




the sunset behind Cat Ba Island




the view from my hotel room on Cat Ba Island




Our boat!




my berth aboard our boat! it was actually pretty darn comfortable!!




apparently even teenage girls in Viet Nam know every word to Taylor Swift's songs!!!




a wedding...in case you were confused....




Went to the War Museum in Hanoi...this wreckage is the combination of a French Hellcat (the main, tall portion), B-52 bomber engines, and pieces of a F111A Fighter.




A MIG-21 fighter than was used to bring down 14 US aircraft between 1967 and 1969



an American tank




i think you can figure this one out....

October 13, 2010
Once again, i will do a photo update, but then i will also do a REAL update....you didnt see that one coming did ya? A lot has happened since i last posted pics so i have to pick only the best of the best of the hundreds of photos i have taken....so here goes...




Our kids practicing their song for the Mid-Autumn Festival




The sight of kids gathering around an iPhone is not uncommon here too!!




I join friends at Hoan Keim Lake to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival




Traffic is snarly around the lake because of the Festival




So glad i was walking and not driving this night!!! this is supposed to be an intersection...




The white spots in the air? Oh, that's just what i breathe every day....nasty huh?




Vacation time at Halong Bay....google it!!!




I'm on the boat, headed to see a cave...




The boats here were so cool! So were the islands...




The pier at the island with the caves...




See, I was there!!! I have photographic proof!!




More to come....this post is getting long!!!!

August 31, 2010
My Facebook here in Hanoi is weird and I cannot upload photos so that will happen here instead!!! So here are some pictures of my adventures so far in Hanoi...


The view from my 3rd story room...


The house they are building directly across the street....VERY loudly and VERY early in the morning!!



A nasty traffic jam I watched the police unsnarl. This is what happens when people ignore traffic signals!



I can't remember the name of this, but it is essentially meat rolled up in very thin noodles called pho.



Fried pho noodles with beef, greens, and onions....sooo delicious!!!


"famous" Hanoi ice cream...lime flavored so i didnt finish mine....


This is what i look like when riding a motorbike...see Mom & Dad, I'm being SAFE!!!


Of course, safe is relative....i took this WHILE we are driving...Thoa should've been looking at the road i think...


Jeremy and Oanh on her motorbike...


At Hoan Keim Lake....it was beautiful but HOT!!!


a bakery that is 'famous' for its bread


Traffic on the way to Hoan Keim Lake


Thoa, me, and Oanh at Hoan Keim Lake


September 2nd is Independence Day here....65 years!!!!


I'll post some more photos later....let me know if you like them!!!!

Leigh

August 21, 2010 – I have been in Vietnam for 1 week now. Every other day I think I am used to the heat and then the next day is the hottest yet! First things first: yes, it is hot (check out HOW hot on weather.com); no, I do not have air conditioning; yes, there are other English-speakers here; no, they do not live with me (except Jeremy of course). To be perfectly honest, life here is very different from anything I have ever experienced and nothing like what I had imagined.

I am teaching English to children who attend the music school of the lady whom I live with. I will also be helping two lovely Vietnamese women with the English they already know (basically pronunciation and extra vocabulary). I am also learning Vietnamese two mornings a week. My world revolves around language and food!

Food here is fantastic. I have really liked everything I have tried so far, even the fruits. I am learning how to order food and pay for things here. Money here is very different – the exchange rate is about 19,000 dong to 1 USD, which means Leigh has a lot of money in her wallet (or at least it looks like it!).

I was very excited to see a supermarket the other day. I had resigned myself to having to buy everything from an outdoor market or a very, very small store, but God loves me and brought ‘Big C’ to Hanoi!

I have not yet taken the bus anywhere, but I know where the stop is, I have a map, I know which bus brings me back home, and I know that the bus only costs me 3,000 dong for each ride (do the math using the conversion rate above).

I have taken taxis and motorbikes everywhere I’ve gone here. Taxis are hard for me to take, only because the drivers don’t speak English so we have our friend call the taxi for us, we go wait for it near our house, then once we are in the taxi we call our friend back and have her tell the taxi where to go. Clearly, it’s not a perfect plan….

Motorbikes are the fastest and cheapest way to get around here. Cars are really expensive so all the normal people drive motorbikes and scooters. It makes for some pretty insane traffic, especially when combined with a distinct lack of traffic lights at many intersections, vehicles going the wrong way, and vehicles stopped on the side of narrow streets. The mix of bicycles, motorbikes, cars, and trucks on the road is scary, but it is something I’m starting to get used to. I have my own helmet and face mask (to prevent me from breathing in all the exhaust hanging in the air). I will try to post some pictures soon. To be blunt, I just haven’t taken that many…

PRAY – for my continued health, both physically and emotionally; for wisdom and insight into my work here; for me to develop relationships with V-ese believers; and for me to recognize God-appointed encounters.

I love you all so much! Thank you for all your support. It is really being put to work here in V-Nam.

Blessings on you all,

Leigh

Check out the link i posted below...those truly are the luckiest people in the world!! Also, here are some pictures of my time here in KL for those of you who are not checking them all out on Facebook.



view of Petronas Towers


me and a very photo-shy Hindu monk


me with Biang, a fellow GET student from Papua New Guinea


at our monthly International dinner (with Frances from India and a Yemeni friend)


me and Johnathan DeForest watching a World Cup match


in Kota Kinabalu: giving my testimony in church on Sunday


in KK: teaching English to Indonesian refugee children


in KK: it's picture time!!!!


in KK: group photo with the Sabah Cultural Dancers


Please feel free to comment to let me know you're reading! I love you all and will update soon!

Leigh

Luckiest People on Earth

July 19, 2010

Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!!!!! It has been far too long since my last update. So many things have happened and I have been so busy that I keep pushing this blog further and further down my to-do list. So now I will do my best to update you on what has been going on this last month.

June 26^th – 30^th I was in Kota Kinabalu (KK), Malaysia. This city in east Malaysia, on the island of Borneo, is one of the most beautiful places in the world. I was sent there as a part of a small team to assist in a ministry teaching refugee children from the Philippines and Indonesia. I have never been more hot in my life, but it was an awesome experience that I will always remember.

July 4^th is an interesting holiday to celebrate outside of the United States. You find out very quickly that no one else cares that the American colonies won their independence from Britain in 1776. My fellow Americans and I decided that everyone here in GET would celebrate with a potluck dinner and swimming party. We had a marvelous time eating hot dogs, potato salad, red beans and rice, cornbread, and pavlova (an Australian dessert).

I had a nasty run-in with a cold this month…I am finally better, thanks to good antibiotics and your prayers.

The most exciting thing that has happened this month is that I finally know where I will be spending the next 6 months of my life. My internship with GMT will be spent in…..drum roll please……VIETNAM!!!!! That’s right, Vietnam…Hanoi, actually. GMT has an orphanage and music school in the capital city, and I will be teaching English there for the next 6 months with my new friend from GET, Jeremy Phua.

Please pray:

• That God will continue to bless the work of GMT and its staff
• For clarity of vision for the plan God has for me in Vietnam
• For renewed health

Thank you so much for your continued support of the plans and purposes of God through me.

Leigh