Life in Vietnam has been exhausting.
I’m lying in bed dirt tired after another full day. Lately, my body has been doing a fun little trick on me where, despite the exhaustion, I cannot sleep.
So instead of fighting it, I will blog…I just got back from a ministry where we were teaching life lessons to people who have shown interest in going deeper with some of our friends here. Tonight’s lesson was on seasons of life and why we shouldn’t judge someone on the particular season they are going through. This gave us all the opportunity to talk about times in our lives that have impacted us and led us where we are.
I got to talk about my job before the race and how I didn’t feel a purpose in it. I explained to them how it was a perfect set-up. I was hired before I even graduated. I didn’t apply for one other position at one other firm. One day during my internship I just got hired. It was simple. It was many people’s dream job. Entertainment marketing for such clients as Disney, Paramount, and the United States Olympic Committee…sounds great, right? And it was; only my heart wasn’t in it…my heart beat for something more.
So I’m sitting here explaining this to my small group of 3 students. And they don’t really understand…which is pretty standard these days, with the language barrier and all. But the words weren’t tripping them up, the concept was. See the conversation was void of God. We were instructed to leave all of that out. So I was just trying to honor the rules that had been set before me and not get our contact in trouble. But how do you explain why a group of college grads with solid jobs, quit, left america, and started travelling the world with eachother, complete strangers at the time. None of it made ‘sense.’ They were confused and probably a little weirded out.
But the questions kept coming, and for some reason they were locked in, despite the hot, close quarters and my relative sketchiness on certain topics.
And then I made a split second decision and prayed it wouldn’t get anyone in trouble.
I started in the beginning. There was a man named Jesus, who lived 2000 years ago…have you ever tried to explain the Gospel to someone who has never even heard the name Jesus? It was strange. I felt like a crazy person. Talking about this man, who died and then rose and ascended into heaven, yet still lives in each of us who accept him into our lives. And how He is the reason I left home and am travelling etc. I’m pretty sure I tried to change the subject at least 5 times but it just didn’t work. They were hooked. Their faces resembled children during story time and from no ability of my own. I am not an eloquent speaker; I have sure learned that after 9 months. I rarely use the words I intend to, I’m horrible at creating anticipation in a story, I usually skip important parts of the story, yet I was the only one sitting with these 3 people. It was me or no one, Callan the man with all the words had his own group. Anthony the salesman was tied up too. So there I was, I felt an obligation to tell them about who I really was, why I was really there. No I’m not just a backpacker who enjoys volunteering around the world, and they seemed to know that.
In hindsight I realize I didn’t even tell the whole story of Jesus. I was nervous to even be talking about God in a setting where I was told explicitly not to, I didn’t feel ‘equipped’ to be explaining the whole gospel to people who had no bearings about it, it was just awkward. Yet the words continued to pour out of my mouth. They continued to listen.
And I don’t have a cool ending about their miraculous conversions or something, and that’s not what it’s all about anyway. It is just a story about these 3 people, who had never heard about Jesus. And how despite my best efforts to avoid the subject, got to hear about him from me. And how I can do nothing but pray that those conversations pierced their hearts and left them wondering and seeking. Because even if they never come to know Jesus or meet another Christian, at least they heard. At least they were given an opportunity to hear for themselves and make a decision for themselves. And that’s all we can do anyways. The rest is up to God.
Goodnight my friends.
