Psalm 139:9-10

If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast.
Psalm 139:9-10

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Everyday Opportunities

I have friends who can bring up spiritual issues in any kind of conversation. A friend of mine was selling something off Kijiji, the people came to his house, started talking to him and now they are attending our church regularly! It seems so natural for him, but sometimes I have no idea what to say to even bring up the subject, or if the opportunity is there I shirk it, or the words will feel awkward coming out. 

Sometimes I like to do ride shares through an app on my phone. It helps to cover my gas and passengers help me stay awake when I'm driving long distances. There is also great potential for sharing the love of God with them, and have spiritual conversations when you're together for several hours without any distractions, which is my greatest motive for driving, but like I said, things can get a bit awkward for me.

The other day I was scheduled to drive someone from Edmonton to Calgary and before I picked her up, I asked Him to turn the conversation in that direction, and particularly to make it seem totally natural and not forced. 

I picked up this person, and found out that she grew up in Southeast Asia and was raised Muslim. I talked a bit about my trip to Asia and we were chatting a bit about our different cultures and different holidays we celebrate. 

Then out of the blue she asks "What is the meaning of Good Friday?" 

How clear is that? What a cool opportunity! Thanks God for giving me a natural way to share your entire story with someone, in a casual laid back setting. 

God is faithful! Pray for opportunities and believe that He will provide them. Nobody has ever asked me that question, and it seemed like such a great way to talk about Him, He definitely had a hand in it, and I was able to tell her the whole story :)

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Back From Another World

When you think "missions work" what do you normally picture? 

I normally picture somewhere warm, somewhere expensive to fly to, somewhere most people speak a different language, food I'm not normally used to, exotic culture, hosting a service, encouraging long-term global workers and making new friends.

We just got back from a trip to the North where it was definitely not warm, but everything else matches the description for a mission trip! I haven't left Canada, and yet I'm experiencing culture stress coming back! Here are some things I saw/experienced in Fort Smith:

Average October Temperature: 4 degrees C

Flights to Edmonton (I didn't fly, but there's one airport in Fort Smith that only flies to Hay River and Edmonton): $1,500

Spoken Languages Heard: Chipewyan, Cree, Inuit & English

Common Food Eaten: Moose Stew, Bannock

Cultural Experience: Went to an Aboriginal church service, which was structured very differently than most services we went to.

Service: Ran a church service for the Pentecostal church in town (1 of 3 church buildings)

Encouraging Global Workers: Hung out with a few people in the community and were able to uplift them and encourage them.

Making New Friends: Met some young adults, adults and lots of youth who we hung out with and were able to share our testimonies with and provide a "safe place" where they could hang out and have fun.

Want to see some cool moments?


 Our team with our "Fort Smith Swag"


The Slave River... ft. Krystal slipping hilariously

 
Hanging with the buffalo!


Freestyle rap is the best way to end youth group!

Prayer Request: I'm starting up a Skype Bible Study for some of the youth in Fort Smith and would appreciate prayer for wisdom, that it would run smoothly on a technical level, and that the youth would be impacted and grow in their faith.

Monday, September 26, 2016

Why Praise?

Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! (Ps 150:2)

I've been reminded lately of how important it is to constantly praise God for the good things He does. Some reasons I think this is important:

1. It strengthens our faith
When we can reflect and see the good things He does, it reminds us that He's there and taking an active part in our lives. It helps us to look forward to His goodness when we're going through trial.

2. It encourages others
Some of my greatest "WOW" moments are when I hear other people's stories about what God's done in their lives, which inspires and excites me to keep persisting in prayer or suffering through trials.

3. God loves it
He's our good Father and wants to hear us speaking of the good things He's done for us. It's a form of worship to Him to speak of His influence in our lives.

Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. (Heb 13:15)

Now here are some of the good things He's been doing around me lately!

1. My friend's Dad (a Global Worker), who was imprisoned on false charges has been released and is safely back in Canada now. Praise God!

2. My roommate is able to live with us all year round now when she was unsure at the beginning of the year. 

3. A friend from Thailand's mother and brother got saved!



A video of our Beach Day during the Asia trip, when we took two buses of students to the beach for Shaokao (barbecue), swimming, games and chatting.

Sunday, September 4, 2016

Pumpkin Spice, Packing and Papers

It's Fall again, one of my favorite times of year. After a lazy summer, I like getting back into a type of routine, meeting tons of new people and getting out my favorite clothes and boots I forgot about for a few months.

I've moved in to my new house in Edmonton, and it's beginning to feel quite homey now with some paintings, rugs and cushions.





In preparation for school, I'm going to post my favorite paper from last year, because it's an area close to my heart. 


I hope to update my blog more frequently than I have been this summer. If you have any topics you'd like my opinion on, leave a comment :)

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Reflection: English Corner

For one week we hosted an English Corner in the evenings, after we had taught all day. In order to get in, students needed to ask us for a ticket to get in. Because so many wanted to come, we needed to use our judgement and say no to some students, because there wasn't space, and it became so distruptive when it was full that nobody could concentrate. 

We were looking for students with the following criteria:

1. Able to understand basic English
2. Wanting to learn
3. Wanting to improve their character

Every night we would do the Davina Saga (which you can read about in my Davina post), which got the kids to laugh, added a cliffhanger element so they would listen to the lesson and the message and taught them the good morals to exemplify in their own lives, as well as bad decisions that can lead to unfortunate consequences.

We played some fun games and handed out prizes!


There was a special song every night, and one of them "You're a Good, Good Friend" was very popular. In fact, one day in class I asked the students if any of them could sing and one girl stood up and started singing "You're a good, good friend. It's who you are, it's who you are, it's who you are, and I'm loved by you, it's who I am, it's who I am, it's who I am". All the other students in class even started singing along!

Each night there was an English lesson about Honor, Self-Esteem, Overcoming Obstacles, Temptations and Leadership, which were followed by a simple message.

One night there was a mouse in English Corner. Madi was teaching during the lesson and there was a commotion in the middle of the room with students lifting up their legs and talking. She stopped her talk to ask if the mouse had returned and continued to teach while standing on top of a chair and holding a broom as a weapon, just in case!

We also had a translator with us for the English Corners, which helped exponentially! It took us a few nights to get used to not acting out parts of the play when we heard the English cues, but to wait until she translated the cues into Chinese.



The end of the night always ended with a dance party!

Friday, May 20, 2016

Reverse Culture Shock

I've been back in Canada for a bit over three weeks now, and I continually get asked if I had any culture shock when I went to Asia. My answer is always that I had more coming home! This is a phenomenon called Reverse Culture Stress, when someone has been in a culture other than their regular one for a long enough period that they feel unfamiliar, out-of-place or uncomfortable with their own culture. 


Riding in the truck during "Songkran"

Not everyone goes through Reverse Culture Stress when they've been away for seven weeks, but for me certain things stood out about Canadian culture that I hadn't really noticed much before. Things like:


Busyness
Our pace of life is so hectic. We rush to and fro, are booked every evening and things are expected to happen "right now". I was asked so many questions when I got home by people who wanted to know my schedule right away, and when we were doing this and that and I just wanted to shut down and take things one hour at a time! Not to say that people aren't busy where we were (the students in Hong Kong run to buy lunch every day because they are worried about missing class), but I had been out of "scheduling" mode for so long, I would only focus on one day at a time for seven weeks!

The busy Hong Kong streets

Individuality
It bugged me when I got back how individually-minded our culture is. Everyone needs their own car, and their own food, and their own house and their own stuff. In Asia I became so used to sharing meals with other people, sometimes without even using plates and cutlery! We would just use our hands, put the food on the table (not individual portions either!) and just eat together. Sharing is normal for their cultures. I had a group of friends in Beihei and I know there were three scooters, four friends and me. I had no idea which scooters belonged to who because they would always drive each other's scooters! In Thailand it was normal to lean against someone's pickup truck if you needed something to lean against, or to borrow someone's hose if you needed some water for your water gun during the water festival.

A river restaurant in Thailand

Fear
This one has bothered me many times before and I noticed it all anew when I got home. Canadians are so afraid of everything! Health, crime, strangers, all of it. It's becoming normal for people to not let their children play outside because they might get dirty or get kidnapped, or don't talk to strangers because they might snap at them. Overseas it felt so freeing to see a culture that was comfortable with each other. Strangers talked to each other, people ate wierd things (and didn't get sick from them), and there is a general level of trust between people that we are generally missing here. It always amazes me what we miss out when we let fear control our lives! But I've already written my thoughts on fear before, which you can read here.


Climbing Sticky Falls

There are many things that I appreciate about Canada (poutine, my family, clean air, the mountains), but I am seeing people, myself, my lifestyle and the culture as a whole through a new lens. I think it's good for everyone to re-evalute their perspective on things every once in a while to make sure they are living their life the way God intends. He even says "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-His good pleasing and perfect will" (Rom 12:2). This trip was a great way for me to do exactly what this verse is talking about, to take a step back from my Canadian world and come home with a renewed mind to seek God's will.

Friday, May 6, 2016

Back from the Far Side of the Sea!

I have been gone since March 8th in four different countries, meeting many people and doing everything from teaching English in a formal classroom setting, to cleaning out a very dirty Guard's House, to giving my testimony at church, to eating raw jellyfish tentacles!

But I always like to see things for myself, so here is a video I've made with some of my adventures.




If it does not load here, try clicking this link to watch or download a copy of it to your computer.

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Prayer, Praise and Photos!

Today we were teaching Creation and Adam and Eve to the kids for English Camp and I presented the full gospel message to the kids! There was some translation but we have also had a few kids asking us questions about faith, so praise God! Tomorrow we will be teaching the Easter message so please pray for the kids hearts to be changed, to realize that they don't need to be Buddhist just because of where they live!


Playing Songkran at English Camp!

Climbing the waterfall with our friends from another church we visited.

My friend and I in a foam pit for Songkran! 



A Buddhist temple we visited. There is a common saying that "to be Thai is to be Buddhist"

There have been few dull moments with this team! We have been getting along well as team and have been building great relationships with the kids and the Christians already in this community. Our goal is to encourage those here to keep them going and to build them up, as well as to share Jesus with the kids and to show them Christ's love.

Sunday, April 10, 2016

Pictures!

We were able to upload some pictures today! Finally got the cords working :)

The first night with my Hong Kong crew! Eating all-you-can-eat at a Japanese place. 


China friends at English Corner on the last night

A middle school in China that we were teaching at. A great spot to look out over all the students! 


Kayaking at Halong Bay for Team Days in Vietnam 


A Thai baby dedication this morning, at the home church where we were.

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Prayer: Sickness

Still in Vietnam! Haven't been able to upload pictures and probably won't until we get home :( The disadvantages to not having a phone, but a real camera!

Today we went to see Ho Chi Minh's body, which is preservered in a very guarded building. Team days is a time where we get to relax a little, debrief about our time in China and Hong Kong and spend time together to refresh ourselves as a team in preparation for our longest and last phase of the journey.

Please pray for our team, as there seems to be some sort of 12 hour stomach bug going around. We seem to be tag teaming it and more than half of our team has gotten it already. I'm one of the safe ones so far but it's just a game of waiting right now. Tomorrow is a travel day, so please pray that we are all strong and healthy by then and that no one else gets sick, as we also have to lug around our giant bags!

I am at the point where half of me wants to stay overseas and keep on doing missions and half of me wants to go home and see loved ones again! There is definitely excitement for starting out for Thailand first thing tomorrow morning, and I am looking forward to seeing all the things that our Team Leader has prepared in advanced for us to do :)

There are so many idols and little ancestor temples here. It is wierd to see in an everyday, modern setting. Even in the hostel we're in there's a little shrine that people put out new food and "spirit money" every day to make sure that the building is blessed.


Hannah Brett's photo.
(Our cruise at Halong Bay during Team Days)

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Good Morning, Vietnam!

Hey everyone!

It's been a while but you know how it is... No Facebook or Gmail or Blogger allowed in China... 

We are on our team days now, a chance to relax a bit and recharge with each other before beginning our longest phase in Thailand.

I am having a wonderful time and making some good memories. I have made some amazing friends in China and have many funny and cool stories to share when I get home!
  
Still trying to figure out how to upload photos but there will be some when I get home!!

Friday, March 18, 2016

HK Pics!

Here is one picture I have taken from FB!


 

In the "rubbish" heap!
 
 

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Update: Hong Kong

We are here!

I have spent three days teaching English at a school in Hong Kong and getting to know the students. They have been so welcoming and some of them have been real gems! We have gotten along well and the door has been opened for some wonderful conversations.

Teaching has been tons of fun and we have been able to teach good values and moral lessons, along with getting the students to practice their English. By using tons of activities and games we have gotten the students excited about learning English and have also had fun with them and helped them to relax right before their major exam times. Exams are a big deal in Hong Kong and one of the social issues the students have talked to us about are the student suicides that happen around this time. The pressure is just so strong from society, their teachers and their parents that it is easier for them to give up. The students and the majority of people we have talked to are upset about it, but they don't know what the solution is, apart from a major academic change.

The weather here has been cold, believe it or not! When we first arrived it felt much colder than Edmonton, and none of us were prepared for it. I have been wearing my hoodie and rain coat together nearly every day!

The crowds weren't quite as bad as I imagined they would be, but over time the amount of people starts to wear on you. We rode the train around rush hour a few times and had to really "shove in" at the doors in order to fit. I think we have spent over 15 hours on the MTR (the subway) since we arrived, but their system is so easy to navigate because it's all in English and it's all color-coded!

Right now we are volunteering at an NGO doing very hard physical labor. It is exhausting but it is a great feeling to help them out a bit. At the end of the day we definitely sleep well! They have recently moved over to an old military base and they have many buildings that need cleaning. We spent the day yesterday moving furniture out of the Guard House and scrubbing it down. The building was very neat and had a prison door in one room with bars on the window and another room with ammunition storage and a gun rack! 

On Sunday we will be grabbing our huge backpacks, our day packs and our team bags and boarding the train to China for Phase 2!

I don't know when I will be able to write next or be able to post pictures, but I am looking forward to it!

I miss you and love you and can't wait to tell you more over the summer!

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Prep: Heading out!

This is it, I'm off soon! By the time you read this, I should be boarding the plane. I'm apologizing in advance if I am not able to blog much while I'm away as we will have limited time and access to internet. But you can check out these links to stay in touch with the the crew while we're away:



https://www.facebook.com/groups/2254693725/


https://www.facebook.com/swdvanguard/ 



http://www.vanguardcollege.com/

Thank you so much for keeping our team in your prayers while you're away. I will miss you!

Monday, March 7, 2016

Tomorrow!

Here it is! in 24 hours I will be at the airport to head off on this big adventure. We've been preparing since September, but it still hasn't solidified for me yet. 

One thing I've been learning about in class and will be able to experience first-hand is the whole process of Culture Stress. It's not the same extent as Culture Shock, and is experienced by many people in many circumstances. Whether you are moving to a new city in Canada, working in a new field, serving in a new church or travelling around the world, you can experience culture stress.

There are four steps to Culture Stress, and they can often repeat! Or you can be stuck on one for longer than the average person:

Honeymoon

 http://wmevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Loi-Krathong-Festival-Thailand-Lanterns-WM-Events1.jpg


This is when you are in love with the new culture. There are new, fascinating things and you can't get over how great the people or the new things are. At the moment you feel like you could live in that environment with no problems and nothing bad could happen!

Frustration

http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/ebooks/alex-prager/custom/img/EXHI029440.jpg


Things annoy you about the new culture and you can become grumpy and irritable at the smallest of things. You begin to see people in the new culture as inferior to people from your own culture or their traditions are inferior to your own. All you want is to surround yourself with things from your own culture and go back to the way things were. It is hard to function in everyday life, buying things, eating and getting around and you are often caught offguard with social cues and traditions.

Recovery

http://www.saporedicina.com/english/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/movingtochinarelocationservices.jpg

You've started to get over the problems you've had with a culture and started relaxing again. You can find humor in things again and begin wanting to make relationships. You begin learning many of the cultural cues and it's not as hard to get by in everyday life.

Adaptation


https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/jTUMCEUT3cVVaMC4lL9tdw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9NTQwO2g9MzY5O2lsPXBsYW5l/http://l.yimg.com/cd/resizer/2.0/FIT_TO_WIDTH-w540/cde23e9558496a83f5f6a607676cdbaeaacdfa71.jpg

You are pretty much a local in this stage! There are very few barriers in your communication and you are not often caught off guard anymore by cultural differences. After this point, it may even be harder for you to adapt back into your "old" culture as you will see new flaws in it and things will annoy you about it, causing "Reverse Culture Stress".

Attitudes that Minimize Culture Stress

humble
compassionate
patient
willing to learn
flexible
respectful
brave
servitude

Attitudes that Maximize Culture Stress

ignorance
superiority
pessimisstic
stubborn
sarcastic
unwilling to change

Sunday, March 6, 2016

Brutchko

I have been recommending this book to so many people, so I figured I should just tell you all about it at once at get it over with! 

I read it in December for an assignment and it blew my mind and answered some of my questions about the conflict between culture and evangelism. There are some great gems to find in here and is a testament to just how fantastic God is!

 https://kozhely.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/bruce-e-olson.jpg?w=620&h=467

Why should you read it?


1. It's fantastic! A thrilling story, with so many neat things going on!

2. It's true! Truth is stranger than fiction, and this is a classic example. 

3. God did amazing things in this book, and He still does amazing things today!

4. It's quick and easy! It's not very long and he doesn't waste much time on long unnecesssary paragraphs, which I am so glad about because it is hard for me to get into a book when they do that.

I'm sure you can find this one in any used bookstore, or borrow it from a friend. Or you can always buy it on Amazon here for $16. 

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Prayer: Healing

If you could please mention me when you're talking to God next, I would greatly appreciate it! Yesterday in class we were practicing our stage fighting (for some of the dramas we do) and because I'm a bit older than the other students one of the side effects is that I'm not as limber! As a result, I put out my back :(

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Steven_ho_about.jpg
PS: This is not me, but this is what I feel like in dramas.

It's not too terribly injured, but there's a team bag and my backpack to take care of for the trip so I'm praying I will be fully recovered before our plane touches down.

Also, the team leader for Hong Kong is quite sick with a cold today. Please pray that he will be healed before the trip, and that none of us catch it too.

Thank you so much for your support family!

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Prep: Last To Dos

I have a few things to get done still before we leave. Some are big and some are small, and I also am hoping I haven't forgotten anything! Here's a bit of a summary for you!


1. Write and practice my sermon

I have a passage! Just need to write it now!
(Since I wrote this post, I found out that someone else will be preaching on Sunday! I'm still going to finish writing the sermon in case I ever need one, but it definitely takes a load off my mind!)


2. Pick up some last minute items

Where do you buy nonaerosol bug spray in February??


3. Plan the "God loves animals" lesson

Our 5 day camp turned into a 9 day camp in Thailand, so we all needed to come up with another lesson and craft.


4. File my taxes

It's weird thinking about this in February but we won't be back and functioning before May, and I'm only just finishing getting my T slips in.


5. Pack my house

We return on April 27 and Moving Day is April 30, with full days of debrief and jet lag in between!


6. Set up new email

Many websites in Asia that we regularly use will be blocked, including Facebook and Gmail, my primary forms of communication.

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Where in Asia will Laura be staying?

I finally have an idea of where we'll be staying in Asia! It'll be very different everywhere I am so I am looking forward to the different experiences.

1. College Dormitories
In Hong Kong we will be sleeping at a college in one of the dorm rooms. The two Hong Kong teams will be staying together so we'll have a chance to encourage and debrief with each other every night. I'm not certain what dormitories look like in Asia, but this is what Google promises! (probably without the college boys... I hope...)


http://petapixel.com/assets/uploads/2013/04/imagesconnect19.jpg

2. Homeless Shelter
After our teaching in Hong Kong we will be volunteering at a homeless shelter. Part of this experience is staying there. I'm guessing this will be in a motel style room. Another part of this experience is a blind simulation and an AIDs simulation where they see up scenarios for us to roleplay a day in the life of a blind person or an AIDs victim.

https://www.crossroads.org.hk/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/IMG_4382.jpg

3. A Teacher's Apartment
We are staying in one of the teacher's apartment's during our second phase. The "beds" here are aparrantly much more like mats, but it is close to the school and we will be a little family. It will be neat to see where an average middle-class Chinese person lives.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/02/04/2541CACC00000578-2935957-An_alternative_Twenty_five_year_old_Ji_Lanlan_and_her_three_year-a-3_1423079274659.jpg

4. Homestay
This is perhaps the most interesting place to be staying. I will be staying with a Chinese family who likely doesn't speak much English. It will be one of the student's families and I will eat dinner and breakfast with them every day. 

http://homedeas.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/chinese-apartment-buildings-11.jpg

5. A Global Worker's House
In Thailand we will be staying in a global worker's house! It is air conditioned too! Plus there is a cafe they run across the street and we will get coffee every day! Did I mention that I am really looking forward to Thailand?

 http://www.thai-blogs.com/images/richard/thaihouse_2.jpg

Saturday, February 20, 2016

Risen

I just got back from the movies and wanted to share a bit about the new movie Risen!

 http://www.grafmartin.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/risenbannerphoto.png

The premise is of a Roman soldier who is asked to remove Jesus from the cross, to ensure the tomb was sealed and to then investigate the missing body after he rose. I liked this movie for a few reasons:

1. It looked very historically accurate! From what I have studied, learned and seen about Israel at the time of Jesus it is nice to finally see a movie that cared about the little things such as props, landscape and costumes. The high priest wore an ephod, the boat looked just like the one I saw in Israel and the Romans marched in proper shield formation. I was sad to learn it wasn't filmed in Israel itself, but it certainly looked close!

The "Jesus Boat" in Galilee

2. It was fairly biblically accurate. There were a few things that were a bit off geographically (ex. where Jesus' ascension was) and a few scenes were a bit different (ex. doubting Thomas) but I still thought the same themes and ideas were there, and much of it seemed very close! Out of all the biblical movies I've seen, this one appeared to be the closest account.

3. It was good quality. The beginning was structured like a Roman detective story, and I thought it seemed fairly interesting and well done. Unlike many other "Christian" movies, the script wasn't awful, the acting was good and it wasn't long and boring.

4. It portrayed the joy that Christians have. The disciples, Mary and all the witnesses that met Jesus had such joy on their faces everytime they were talking about Jesus! I love this portrayal of Christians, because our joy should be something that sets us apart from the world. This movie highlighted that well! "You believe in Him and are filled with an inexpicable and glorious joy" (1 Pet 1:8a) 

5. It clearly showed why Christians are still here. In the Bible, after seeing Jesus risen his disciples return to fishing (John 21:1-3). Directly after this Jesus appears to them and asks Peter if he loves Him. He says yes three times and each time Jesus tells him to feed the sheep. The movie makes it very clear that the disciples jobs after Jesus left were to grow His church and spend their lives as "fishers of men" and not to go back to the way they were. Once we encounter Christ, there is no going back to "normal life"!

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Pray: Specifics

It's beginning to feel real! Our classroom has been turned into a supply room as we finalize our shopping lists, lesson plans and other planning today and tomorrow. By tomorrow, we should have everything we need ready to go!


Room 210 is now a supply room!


There are a few things that still need to fall into place before the trip. Your prayer is greatly appreciated! Here are some things you can pray for:

Phase 1
  • Sermon preparation
  • Lesson preparation
  • Team dynamics

Phase 2
  • Find a translator
  • Permission for a Beach Day with students
  • Safety and protection from spiritual oppression

Phase 3
  • Lesson preparation
  • Easily make friends with students
  • Strength and energy

Phase 4

  • Team leadership. Our team leader for this phase is now staying in Canada so we are shuffling around a bit.
  • Good connections with the kids as we'll be here the longest.
  • Health for our host from previous years who won't be able to visit us due to medical issues.

Prep: Hair Update!

I've done it!

I went for one of the shorter haircuts, to stay cool in Asia. Here are some pictures for you:

 After the haircut, waiting for the highlights.


Highlights are in! Just waiting for the dye to set in.



My finished "do"!

This haircut is thanks to Heather at Dolce Salon in Market Mall :)