Brian and Cassie Vinson* are not easily intimidated. They have taken on the challenge of living in Asia with a large, young family. The Vinsons say that managing a large family is difficult in any country.

It seems as if it’s been forever and a day since I met our house helper. She has a name, but to me she’s just Ayi, which means “aunt”. I met her a year ago and we gradually became friends. She comes to our house five days a week to cook, clean, and help us learn the local language.

Asia is a very interesting place. At ordinary markets, you can find very weird things or types of food, such as, live frogs, flattened pig heads, dead snake wine, roasted ox stomach, etc. I’ve tasted duck feet, spicy noodles, blackened tofu, and pig intestines. Some are too spicy to swallow, some are too hard to chew, but some are very yummy!

It has been said that raising a child is not for the faint of heart. Yet countless times during my first year of motherhood I found myself echoing with the Psalmist, “From the ends of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint…” (Psalm 61:2a) Yes, welcoming my first baby into the world brought rich rewards of deep joy, but living in “the ends of the earth” seemed to multiply the challenges that new mothers fac