Hello friends and family! I just wanted to say that I am so blessed to have your support both financially and through prayer. It is truly a gift from the Lord and I wouldn’t be here in Vietnam without you guys, so thank you!

I am currently living in the city of Da Nang but the information I share about Vietnam will most likely be more limited since it is for people’s safety that I don’t share certain details.
But I am more than happy to reach out to any of you individually if any of you would like to talk about it and I’d be happy to share more!

Since getting here me and my team recovered from over 80 hours of traveling! When we left Colombia we spent the night at the airport in Medellín, then took off to the Houston airport the next day. We had a lay over in Houston and then waited to catch our flight to LA. We then had another overnight layover in LA and then our 15 hour flight awaited us to Hong Kong. We had a very short time in Hong Kong so we immediately got on the next plane to fly to the airport in Hochi Men. We then had another overnight layover and stayed up all night at the nearest 7/11 trying our very first Vietnamese cuisine.
After our night of snacks and sleep deprivation our teams split up and Akouo (our team’s name) took off and we flew over to Da Nang! The first few days we were here we didn’t even really know what time it was to our bodies so we really tried to go to sleep when night came and wake up in the morning so our bodies could get adjusted to the time difference, but it was a struggle! We met our hosts Daniel and Rose and they welcomed us in to our new home for the next 8 weeks with a delicious Vietnamese sandwich called Bahn Mi. We have been meeting students and building relationships since then with the people of Vietnam in hopes that they will come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior. Be praying for the people of Vietnam and that their hearts would be open to hearing the gospel! These past few days the Lord has been speaking to me through a book I’ve been reading it is called “The Heavenly Man.” It is a true story (autobiography) about brother Yun’s life and how he boldly followed the Lord in teaching the gospel and spreading the good news across China and the world. It is miraculous the ways God used Yun to share the gospel and even in times of danger or suffering, the Lord gave Yun the powerful testimony of turning to gaze at the beauty of Christ rather than focusing on the troubles of this world. I was really reflecting on this and what this looks like for my life. What things have I been prioritizing or holding above my relationship with the Lord, or what have I been gazing at instead of Christ? God is so gracious to gently help us turn our face to his so that we won’t miss out on anything he has for us. And that has been such a testimony of my time in Vietnam so far! Even though there are so many things to distract me in this world, nothing truly captivates me the way God does, and nothing will ever fill me the way he does everyday! I love the Lord!

Here are some things I would love prayer for!

• That our whole team will yield to the Holy Spirit and that we will desire to be more and more like Christ.
• that my eyes would be opened to things I have been prioritizing over God and that I would be set free from any bondage to these things
• Our time teaching English classes would be fruitful and filled with the Holy Spirit
• Our time of worship and prayer as a team would be for our audience of 1
• For any loneliness or homesickness during this Christmas season, that it would be filled by the fathers love since we’re all away from family right now
• for financial support as well, that the Lord would provide the funding for the rest of this mission trip
• That all the time we spend with the people in Vietnam, that it would be such a sweet time fellowshipping with unbelievers and believers, that we would see all of Gods people the way he does with love

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support I love each and every one of you and can’t wait to give you more updates soon!

-Abby on the Race!

The link below gives straight access to my donation page. If you feel led or are prayerfully considering giving, any amount is appreciated and gets me closer to being 100% fully funded! 

https:/adventuresinmissions.servicereef.com/events/adventures-in-missions-3/2025-world-race-gap-year-25g0901-2/participants/abby-purvisn

Here is our team hanging out at a local coffee shop with some friends!

Here is me and some of our girls bowling at a young adults church event!

Our host made us a delicious Vietnamese dish called Mì Quảng, which is a bowl of white rice noodles with pork, quail eggs, some fresh vegetables, and some flavorful broth at the bottom! Delicious!

we’ve enjoyed many nice walks to the beach nearby and have loved exploring the city!

our squad arriving at the LA airport after our flight from Houston! This was only the beginning of our travel!