What I miss about Vietnam.....

Believe it or not....there are many things that I do miss about Vietnam. Many things have been on my mind lately concerning Vietnam...so here are a few things I miss.

• Fresh fruit and Vegetables. I miss the grapefruit, the mang cut (dont know the English word for this fruit), and chom choms (Rambutans...they are so expensive here) the most. We could buy fresh fruit and Veg every single day and it didnt cost us very much at all!
• The food. There were so many times that I didnt want to eat Vietnamese food, but now that I no longer am able to eat it...I really really want it! I miss Pho (although I make a pretty good pho...ask shane), Bun Cha Gio (springrolls in noodles), etc. I miss the good rice! Cooking was something that I should have learned to do...I should have taken advantage of learning to cook Vietnamese when I had the chance. I miss sinh to dau....the best strawberry drink in vietnam made with condesed milk!!!! I miss fresh lime juice and orange juice. I miss the salt, pepper, and lime dipping sauce. I miss the great tasting soy sauce...not the crap we have here! I miss the passionfruit cheesecake that we use to buy.
• I miss riding on the back of the motorbike with Shane. I even miss taking a xe om....a motorbike taxi (riding with someone you dont know). I miss my helmet...the pink one with flowers on it and my matching pink raincoat that I had to wear in the wet season.
• I miss the cyclo. This is where you ride in the front and a guy pedals behind you.
• I miss Chi Thao. She was our house helper who did everything. She did some weird stuff sometimes, but she could clean, cook, and sew. She could even take care of plants too! Sometimes it was stressful having a helper, but other times it was a blessing among all the stress.
• I miss Ho Chi Minh City...and knowing what is sold on all the streets.
• I miss the street sellers...always selling cheap food/fruit/veg.
• I miss friends that we made...Gira and Hoang come to my mind first of all. Hoang use to say she liked me because I would eat anything. We use to eat blood clams together. It was actually really good!! I miss people like Gira who actually are hungry to learn the word of God. Never have I met anyone like him who just wanted to learn about Jesus ALL the time! I have recently found myself thinking about the tender quilt girls. They are doing great I have heard.
• I really miss Mai. Even though she wasnt on our second team....she is so dear to me, and I pray for her everyday and the work she is doing.
• I miss Mui Ne, Dalat, Hanoi, and Hoi An. Travel with a child is so hard, but these places are so unique and interesting. We didnt go to Hoi An with Noah...I was pregant then though.
• I miss ordering take away and having it delievered to your door for free.
• I miss the bread lady that use to come by our house at 5 in the morning yelling...banh me (bread).
• I miss the markets and the shopping...and having shane bargin for me.
• I miss the excitement we would experience when we thought that we were doing the work we were called to do.
• I miss the way we felt in the beginning where we had "everything" ahead of us.

Well...I think I hear my Dave crying so this list will have to do for now. We are really praying for God to show us what we should do. All we want to do is be obedient...nothing else matters in this life except what we do for God. I think I'm learning this lesson the hard way....but I'm thankful that God is a God that doesnt give up on me and is willing to keep teaching me new things everyday.