This is the view from my bedroom window every morning that I wake up here in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC)…

Our home here faces the East, which, according to the Chinese, is a good place to be because that is where the sun rises, heralding the start of new beginnings. And so it is, that we begin a new life here, as a family. Well, not quite. Our current situation requires that I shuttle between HCMC every several weeks to keep our family units intact. A new way of living that as early as a year ago, the Lord had already placed on my heart.

Last year, I quit a full-time job and opted to focus on family at the same time doing free-lance writing and editing work on the side, in addition to teaching. It was a great place to be in. Around the same time, H opted for early retirement from the company he was working in. Together, we were able to, in that one year, focus on family and working for the Lord while writing and teaching. We are grateful for that time that we were given to strengthen family ties.

Vietnam has always held a fascination for me as far back as my childhood days. Of course, it was a childhood peppered by movies such as “The Deer Hunter”, “Apocalypse Now” and later on as a young adult, “Indochine”, “Cyclos” and “The Scent of Green Papayas” — not exactly great representations of Vietnam but just the same, the country had always held me in awe. Watching Lea Salonga onstage as “Ms. Saigon” and listening to its soundtrack countless times, further piqued my interest about this country.

I believe that if God wants to you to do something, or he is about to create a change in you, He does it with wonder, and often surreptitously.

Last year, I bought a ticket to fulfill a lifelong dream to visit HCMC in October as a birthday gift to myself. I had bought it in tandem with a Bohol ticket that I used in September last year. Bohol and Vietnam were on my travel wish-list for 2007. For some reason or another, the Vietnam trip did not materialize — either due to school or work scheduled that kept me home-bound. Little did I know that God was going to surpise us in 2008 and that ticket would be used, in HIS time.

We visited here in January for some initial talks, and went back home. Prayed about it, mulled it over, deliberated the pros and cons, went back and forth with the principals… to make a long story short, this is where we are now It’s not the ideal but I believe that this is where God wants us to be because everything just fell into place. A wise Christian friend told me, “Sometimes God allows ‘distrurbances’ to take place because there are lessons that He wants us to learn.” I know that there will definitely be new learnings on this journey. Another good friend calls it “the great mid-life adventure” and it is turning out to be such, in more ways than one.

I’ve been here one week but have already learned and grown so much. The Viets are such a resilient, hard-working people. When you think of what they had to undergo — a 20 year war that wrought so much havoc, death and devastation to their country, you will be humbled and awed to see where they are now and where they are going. The work ethic is amazing. But yes, there is a lot of poverty around, but somehow, you see that they make do.

As a family we have grown closer, stronger individually, and God-willing stronger together and apart. P and I wedre kidding that we could now relate to the OFW stories on “Wowoweee”. I now have a new burden for other spouses who are in the same shoes. I consider it a blessing though that we can get to see H more often than the other families who live apart.

Vietnam is lovely but it is also difficult to live here because of the language. It is something that you need to get used to. It can be frustrating, but like all other things, you summon up the courage within you to adjust, make changes when and where necessary, in the name of love and family. It really all boils down to that.

It’s a blessing to be here and we are all eager to see how God will continue to mold and change us as we face this new adventure as a family. May He go before us each and every step of the way. We return home to Manila next week to adjust again to a new set-up. In times like these, you really must have a strong faith and open communication lines with the Lord. Knowing that He is everywhere, that He holds you safe if the palm of His hands is enough comfort to trust and know that there is nothing impossible to face with HIM. He really, is enough. So thank you Lord, for the blessing of this new way of life, we look forward to traversing the road ahead, knowing that you are there by our side.