(PASSWORD: 1234)
This month, God asked me to be available so the people in Ho Chi Minh City would know that they are known.
A few nights ago, I walked around the park, up and down the main street, and around the bars with some of my teammates to talk to people. We began by prayer walking in the park. We stopped on a bench and were chatting. A man our age limped up. He never asked for money, but rubbed his stomach like he was hungry. He took off his flip flop and sat on it to face us. He spoke no English and we spoke no Vietnamese. We used small actions to have a simple conversation. We invited him onto our bench and continued our conversation through our hands. He showed us his leg that had a visual fracture. We signaled asking if we could pray to God for healing. He nodded and we shined the light of Jesus in the park as we prayed healing over the man’s leg. We walked with him to a food cart and gave him money for dinner. He thanked us and we went along our way.
We continued walking and came across a woman who invited us to sit with her on a bench. She spoke English and told us she lived in the park and had no money. She never appeared to be unhappy and never asked for anything. Jesus asks us as Christians to love people. This sometimes comes in the form of supplying the needs of people and my team felt prompted to offer her food. She denied the food, but said she was thirsty so we walked with her to buy some water. We then told her about our God and prayed for provision, safety, and providence.
My team decided to walk the street and see who else God put in our path. We talked to people working in the bars and random university students that were eager to practice their English. We also talked to girls that were working for the nail salons. People continually passed by them, ignoring everything about them besides their bodies. We stopped, looked them in their eyes, smiled, and chatted with them intentionally.
“How are you today? What is your name? Do you like doing nails? What do you dream of doing some day?”
We desire to actually know them. We hope they know that they are worth being known.
I am learning to slow down, look up, and listen. I hope that as I go though my day, I am interruptable for what conversations or interactions God might have for me. We pray that through our actions, we can bring love and light to the darkness around us.
