If youve ever met me at any point in my life you know that
Im a big Auburn fan. I grew up watching
Auburn football, so not being able to attend (or watch the end) of Auburns
annual rivalry game with the University of Alabama this past week was brutal
for me. The last thing about the game before I jumped on a bus for a 16 hour
bus ride to Cambodia was that the game was tied and Alabama was going to get
the ball back with 32 seconds. I was
certain Alabama had won. If you havent seen the ending heres a link. Enjoy!
I really love Auburn football. I love it so much that I even talked to my
squad mentor about getting a leave of absence, half joking/half serious. She said yes which may bode well for me if
things keep looking up for Auburn, but getting plane tickets back may be a
little out of my budget.
I would have loved to have been at that game, especially
with that ending! It really may be one
of the biggest Iron Bowls of my lifetime.
The more I think about it though, I am reminded that that the Lord
allowed me to see an even bigger miracle in Vietnam this past week.
This past month I
spent the majority of my time in Ho Chi Minh City at a coffee shop called Grace
Caf. Grace Caf is an open and inviting
space where people can come to practice their English. Lots of people in this city want to become
fluent in English for the opportunities that speaking English provides and Im
very impressed (and saddened by my lack of motivation) by the time/effort
people will spend in order to improve their English because of the
opportunities it provides.
One Saturday a lot of the staff at Grace cafe and some
customers went to a park to play soccer and spend time with each other. It was a great day (one of my favorites on
the Race) and I realized that I havent completely lost all of my soccer
skills! After we were done playing we heard
testimonies, both from World Racers and from some of our Vietnamese friends. It was a really cool time to hear how the
Lord has worked in so many peoples lives.
After we had finished for the day, my friend Trang (one of the girls
that works on staff at Grace caf) asked my teammate Helene and I whether we
would be willing to share our testimonies with her since we didnt share that
day. Trang is a staff member at Grace
caf and we had become friends.
To be honest I dont really enjoy sharing my testimony all
that much, but for some reason (Jesus!) I was really looking forward to the
opportunity to share my story with Trang the following Monday.
The next Monday came and in the afternoon we went to an
upstairs room in Grace caf to share testimonies. I shared first, and it was evident from the
start that Trang was very interested in what we had to say. She stopped at multiple points to ask
questions and seek clarification. Once I
finished my testimony, she was amazed at the amount of similarities between her
story and mine. Mainly the fact that
from an outside perspective it looked like we had it all together and
everything was going well but how on the inside that wasnt really the case at
all.
She felt the same. Funny
how a guy from a small town in Alabama and a girl from such a large city in
Vietnam can have so much in common. Both
have tried to act like they have it all together when they really dont. The burden gets so big and you get lonely, depressed,
shame, guilt, all of that. The awesome
thing though was that Helene and I got to remind her of all that Jesus has done
for her. That she doesnt need to worry
about her past or act like she has it all together. Jesus
loves her no matter what, died on the cross for her, and offers forgiveness for
anything shes ever done or anything shell ever do!
This past Iron Bowl was really great. Ive read all about it and Ill probably
watch the entirety of the game on Saturday at some point (hopefully really
soon) and pray that I can watch the SEC championship game. That said the Lord allowing me the privilege
to witness Trang saved and know her Heavenly father is something so priceless
that it cannot compare. I added a new
sister to my family!
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has
gone, the new has come!
2 Corinthians: 5:17
Helene and I were able to share the verse above with Trang
and I was reminded of the special work that Christ does in us when we accept
him into our hearts. It is an even
bigger miracle than the game. It has
eternal implications!If youve ever met me at any point in my life you know that
Im a big Auburn fan. I grew up watching
Auburn football, so not being able to attend (or watch the end) of Auburns
annual rivalry game with the University of Alabama this past week was brutal
for me. The last thing about the game before I jumped on a bus for a 16 hour
bus ride to Cambodia was that the game was tied and Alabama was going to get
the ball back with 32 seconds. I was
certain Alabama had won. If you havent seen the ending heres a link. Enjoy!
I really love Auburn football. I love it so much that I even talked to my
squad mentor about getting a leave of absence, half joking/half serious. She said yes which may bode well for me if
things keep looking up for Auburn, but getting plane tickets back may be a
little out of my budget.
I would have loved to have been at that game, especially
with that ending! It really may be one
of the biggest Iron Bowls of my lifetime.
The more I think about it though, I am reminded that that the Lord
allowed me to see an even bigger miracle in Vietnam this past week.
This past month I
spent the majority of my time in Ho Chi Minh City at a coffee shop called Grace
Caf. Grace Caf is an open and inviting
space where people can come to practice their English. Lots of people in this city want to become
fluent in English for the opportunities that speaking English provides and Im
very impressed (and saddened by my lack of motivation) by the time/effort
people will spend in order to improve their English because of the
opportunities it provides.
One Saturday a lot of the staff at Grace cafe and some
customers went to a park to play soccer and spend time with each other. It was a great day (one of my favorites on
the Race) and I realized that I havent completely lost all of my soccer
skills! After we were done playing we heard
testimonies, both from World Racers and from some of our Vietnamese friends. It was a really cool time to hear how the
Lord has worked in so many peoples lives.
After we had finished for the day, my friend Trang (one of the girls
that works on staff at Grace caf) asked my teammate Helene and I whether we
would be willing to share our testimonies with her since we didnt share that
day. Trang is a staff member at Grace
caf and we had become friends.
To be honest I dont really enjoy sharing my testimony all
that much, but for some reason (Jesus!) I was really looking forward to the
opportunity to share my story with Trang the following Monday.
The next Monday came and in the afternoon we went to an
upstairs room in Grace caf to share testimonies. I shared first, and it was evident from the
start that Trang was very interested in what we had to say. She stopped at multiple points to ask
questions and seek clarification. Once I
finished my testimony, she was amazed at the amount of similarities between her
story and mine. Mainly the fact that
from an outside perspective it looked like we had it all together and
everything was going well but how on the inside that wasnt really the case at
all.
She felt the same. Funny
how a guy from a small town in Alabama and a girl from such a large city in
Vietnam can have so much in common. Both
have tried to act like they have it all together when they really dont. The burden gets so big and you get lonely, depressed,
shame, guilt, all of that. The awesome
thing though was that Helene and I got to remind her of all that Jesus has done
for her. That she doesnt need to worry
about her past or act like she has it all together. Jesus
loves her no matter what, died on the cross for her, and offers forgiveness for
anything shes ever done or anything shell ever do!
This past Iron Bowl was really great. Ive read all about it and Ill probably
watch the entirety of the game on Saturday at some point (hopefully really
soon) and pray that I can watch the SEC championship game. That said the Lord allowing me the privilege
to witness Trang saved and know her Heavenly father is something so priceless
that it cannot compare. I added a new
sister to my family!
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has
gone, the new has come!
2 Corinthians: 5:17
Helene and I were able to share the verse above with Trang
and I was reminded of the special work that Christ does in us when we accept
him into our hearts. It is an even
bigger miracle than the game. It has
eternal implications!
If youve ever met me at any point in my life you know that
Im a big Auburn fan. I grew up watching
Auburn football, so not being able to attend (or watch the end) of Auburns
annual rivalry game with the University of Alabama this past week was brutal
for me. The last thing about the game before I jumped on a bus for a 16 hour
bus ride to Cambodia was that the game was tied and Alabama was going to get
the ball back with 32 seconds. I was
certain Alabama had won. If you havent seen the ending heres a link. Enjoy!
I really love Auburn football. I love it so much that I even talked to my
squad mentor about getting a leave of absence, half joking/half serious. She said yes which may bode well for me if
things keep looking up for Auburn, but getting plane tickets back may be a
little out of my budget.
I would have loved to have been at that game, especially
with that ending! It really may be one
of the biggest Iron Bowls of my lifetime.
The more I think about it though, I am reminded that that the Lord
allowed me to see an even bigger miracle in Vietnam this past week.
This past month I
spent the majority of my time in Ho Chi Minh City at a coffee shop called Grace
Caf. Grace Caf is an open and inviting
space where people can come to practice their English. Lots of people in this city want to become
fluent in English for the opportunities that speaking English provides and Im
very impressed (and saddened by my lack of motivation) by the time/effort
people will spend in order to improve their English because of the
opportunities it provides.
One Saturday a lot of the staff at Grace cafe and some
customers went to a park to play soccer and spend time with each other. It was a great day (one of my favorites on
the Race) and I realized that I havent completely lost all of my soccer
skills! After we were done playing we heard
testimonies, both from World Racers and from some of our Vietnamese friends. It was a really cool time to hear how the
Lord has worked in so many peoples lives.
After we had finished for the day, my friend Trang (one of the girls
that works on staff at Grace caf) asked my teammate Helene and I whether we
would be willing to share our testimonies with her since we didnt share that
day. Trang is a staff member at Grace
caf and we had become friends.
To be honest I dont really enjoy sharing my testimony all
that much, but for some reason (Jesus!) I was really looking forward to the
opportunity to share my story with Trang the following Monday.
The next Monday came and in the afternoon we went to an
upstairs room in Grace caf to share testimonies. I shared first, and it was evident from the
start that Trang was very interested in what we had to say. She stopped at multiple points to ask
questions and seek clarification. Once I
finished my testimony, she was amazed at the amount of similarities between her
story and mine. Mainly the fact that
from an outside perspective it looked like we had it all together and
everything was going well but how on the inside that wasnt really the case at
all.
She felt the same. Funny
how a guy from a small town in Alabama and a girl from such a large city in
Vietnam can have so much in common. Both
have tried to act like they have it all together when they really dont. The burden gets so big and you get lonely, depressed,
shame, guilt, all of that. The awesome
thing though was that Helene and I got to remind her of all that Jesus has done
for her. That she doesnt need to worry
about her past or act like she has it all together. Jesus
loves her no matter what, died on the cross for her, and offers forgiveness for
anything shes ever done or anything shell ever do!
This past Iron Bowl was really great. Ive read all about it and Ill probably
watch the entirety of the game on Saturday at some point (hopefully really
soon) and pray that I can watch the SEC championship game. That said the Lord allowing me the privilege
to witness Trang saved and know her Heavenly father is something so priceless
that it cannot compare. I added a new
sister to my family!
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has
gone, the new has come!
2 Corinthians: 5:17
Helene and I were able to share the verse above with Trang
and I was reminded of the special work that Christ does in us when we accept
him into our hearts. It is an even
bigger miracle than the game. It has
eternal implications!If youve ever met me at any point in my life you know that
Im a big Auburn fan. I grew up watching
Auburn football, so not being able to attend (or watch the end) of Auburns
annual rivalry game with the University of Alabama this past week was brutal
for me. The last thing about the game before I jumped on a bus for a 16 hour
bus ride to Cambodia was that the game was tied and Alabama was going to get
the ball back with 32 seconds. I was
certain Alabama had won. If you havent seen the ending heres a link. Enjoy!
I really love Auburn football. I love it so much that I even talked to my
squad mentor about getting a leave of absence, half joking/half serious. She said yes which may bode well for me if
things keep looking up for Auburn, but getting plane tickets back may be a
little out of my budget.
I would have loved to have been at that game, especially
with that ending! It really may be one
of the biggest Iron Bowls of my lifetime.
The more I think about it though, I am reminded that that the Lord
allowed me to see an even bigger miracle in Vietnam this past week.
This past month I
spent the majority of my time in Ho Chi Minh City at a coffee shop called Grace
Caf. Grace Caf is an open and inviting
space where people can come to practice their English. Lots of people in this city want to become
fluent in English for the opportunities that speaking English provides and Im
very impressed (and saddened by my lack of motivation) by the time/effort
people will spend in order to improve their English because of the
opportunities it provides.
One Saturday a lot of the staff at Grace cafe and some
customers went to a park to play soccer and spend time with each other. It was a great day (one of my favorites on
the Race) and I realized that I havent completely lost all of my soccer
skills! After we were done playing we heard
testimonies, both from World Racers and from some of our Vietnamese friends. It was a really cool time to hear how the
Lord has worked in so many peoples lives.
After we had finished for the day, my friend Trang (one of the girls
that works on staff at Grace caf) asked my teammate Helene and I whether we
would be willing to share our testimonies with her since we didnt share that
day. Trang is a staff member at Grace
caf and we had become friends.
To be honest I dont really enjoy sharing my testimony all
that much, but for some reason (Jesus!) I was really looking forward to the
opportunity to share my story with Trang the following Monday.
The next Monday came and in the afternoon we went to an
upstairs room in Grace caf to share testimonies. I shared first, and it was evident from the
start that Trang was very interested in what we had to say. She stopped at multiple points to ask
questions and seek clarification. Once I
finished my testimony, she was amazed at the amount of similarities between her
story and mine. Mainly the fact that
from an outside perspective it looked like we had it all together and
everything was going well but how on the inside that wasnt really the case at
all.
She felt the same. Funny
how a guy from a small town in Alabama and a girl from such a large city in
Vietnam can have so much in common. Both
have tried to act like they have it all together when they really dont. The burden gets so big and you get lonely, depressed,
shame, guilt, all of that. The awesome
thing though was that Helene and I got to remind her of all that Jesus has done
for her. That she doesnt need to worry
about her past or act like she has it all together. Jesus
loves her no matter what, died on the cross for her, and offers forgiveness for
anything shes ever done or anything shell ever do!
This past Iron Bowl was really great. Ive read all about it and Ill probably
watch the entirety of the game on Saturday at some point (hopefully really
soon) and pray that I can watch the SEC championship game. That said the Lord allowing me the privilege
to witness Trang saved and know her Heavenly father is something so priceless
that it cannot compare. I added a new
sister to my family!
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has
gone, the new has come!
2 Corinthians: 5:17
Helene and I were able to share the verse above with Trang
and I was reminded of the special work that Christ does in us when we accept
him into our hearts. It is an even
bigger miracle than the game. It has
eternal implications!
Me, Trang, and Helene!
