(Shout out to my Miami Deephers and the catchiest recruitment song in the world.)

Current Location: Top Deck of the V’Spirit Cruise in the stunning Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

As per the title, when I came to SE Asia, I promised my mama a few things:

1. That I’d eat well…

Since then I’ve eaten goat, fried tarantula, live octopus, silk-worm, weasel, and porcupine… oh and oysters (which I know is not a weird one, but for me that was a big step, I love seafood but have never been big on clams or things in shells haha)… and I have to say that I would try all of the above again. Weasel and Porcupine are delicacies in Vietnam for good reason! My thinking is this, if I die tomorrow, I don’t want to have missed out on a potential amazing food. *With the exception of the poisonous puffer fish which could actually kill you, I’m okay dying without knowing what that one tastes like.

I’ve also eaten more rice and bread and drank more beer and whiskey in the past two months than I have the past four years put together. If I come back home looking like Happy Buddha you know why. But when beers cost $0.25-$2 and Mekong whiskey costs $1 and rice whiskey in an unlabeled water bottle or my personal favorite, the plastic bag, is even cheaper once shared with friends… and you are on an eternal “holiday,” well it’d be ridiculous not to and it almost costs more to drink water. Not to mention, when your home stay family brings out the rice whiskey during dinner, you can’t say no… it feels impolite.

2. That I wouldn’t excessively do anything “dangerous”…

Since then I’ve jumped off cliffs, got on the back of a motorbike, road a bamboo train, stood a little too close to poisonous spiders and a green mamba snake, abseiled down cliffs and waterfalls (which I don’t think my mom knew what that was when I told her: leaning your body back perpendicular to the cliff with water roaring at your face and abseiling down the waterfall until you run out of rope and have to let go for a 5 meter free fall, probably the most nerve wrenching shit I’ve ever done in my life)…. But to be fair, I think crossing the road everyday is actually more dangerous than all of the above. Seriously, I feel like I’m dodging bullets and cheating death every time I successfully make it across in Hanoi with all ten toes.

3. That I’d meet God…

Since then I’ve met him everywhere.

This is not to say that I hadn’t met Him at home or that I fell away from Him per say and had to find him again. Yes, I’ll admit that my attendance at church the past four years has been almost non-existent if I’m being honest. A drastic change from when I was growing up at home.

Truth is, the church turned me off in many ways. I experienced judgment and disconnect (and maybe that was me pulling away more than anything else.) I experienced the people closest to me get hurt over and over and over again by other members of the church. “The Body of Christ” damaging itself from within.  It didn’t make sense to me… Wasn’t the gospel about love?

There are things that I didn’t and still don’t fully understand or agree with… things that I question… but that’s my personal walk of faith and well for me to walk and work through.

But, I still believed and continue to believe in a God. I also believe in living a “good” life above all else, Karma you could say. I believe the energy you put into the world is what you get back. I believe in acting from and in love. In being kind to every one… in forgiving and letting go… because that’s what God did for me and continues to do for me each and every day.

I believe in a beautiful, mighty and powerful God.

One that created the lime stone islands of Ha Long Bay.

One that preserves Khmer Kingdom’s breathtaking Angkor Wat.

One that makes water flow through rivers and roar over cliffs.

One that put mud baths in the middle of caves so people like me could have the time of their lives floating in it.
One that made the sparkling Paradise Caves…

One that designed the terraces of the Sa Pa rice fields…

One that put all of the amazing people I’ve met on the other side of this world into my life so far. Each person has become a part of me in some way, some inspiring my passions…some gifting me with their wisdom… some simply putting a song back into my heart… Some friends, I’ll probably never see again and that’s okay. Traveling, you learn to let go and say goodbye knowing that the time you shared was all that was meant to be. Others, I’ll reunite with undoubtedly in Amsterdam in a few years to engage in absolute debauchery in “never-never-land,” (I’ll let your imagination run with that one.) Each person has been a chisel to my stone. God created me and continues to create, mold and strengthen me with each person indelibly leaving his or her imprint on me forever.

I believe in God because I see Him in the beauty of every minute, every detail, every other human being He created.

God exists in each moment for me: in the potential of life that every second of the day holds… in the daily miracles. That’s where I’ve met Him and am meeting Him over and over again.

Live & Love Fearlessly ❤