We traveled to a beach town, Nha Trang! I thought we were going to impact the people here, but instead God impacted me through their lives. I will tell you about one man in particular. His name is Doc. As soon as we all entered the room, joy and laughter filled the room. He has suffered from leprosy for 50 years and as a result has no legs. He has never been married. He was rejected and cast out of his community. He was left to die on the streets. The church took him in and gave him hope. He received Christ and because of that is FULL of joy. When we asked him what he wanted prayer for, it wasn’t a request for himself, which I would totally understand, but it was for his community, who neglected him, that they would know the love of Christ. I think God had me meet Doc to teach me many things. I learned of God’s forgiveness. This man had an excuse to be mad at the people that betrayed him. He had a right to never forgive these people. When he became a believer, he understood Christ forgave him, and lives in peace because he has forgiven others. I learned of God’s strength in times of trials. This man has suffered from his disease for too long. I thought what if that were me? Would I be as joyful as this man is? I am simply amazed at this man’s strength and hope in the Lord through his suffering.
We were going to visit an elderly home and our contacts wanted us to bring milk to feed 200 people. It is a part of Vietnamese culture to bring gifts. We were debating whether or not we had enough money to buy these items. You see, we are often wanting to do more but we are scared of blowing our budget. It becomes a question of giving generously, knowing God will show up, or being smart and making the bottom line. But just a week before, I was at a bible study with some students and after I shared my testimony, our translator came up to me saying that one of the students was so touched that she wanted to pay for our taxi home. He taught me that night, that He is our provider. He knows our need and will not stop taking care of us. He says in His word that “whoever sows generously will also reap generously” (2 Cor. 9:6).
I could also tell you about Mai, who lost her husband to cancer but is so on fire for the Lord. When our Buddhist van driver got pulled over and ticketed by the police, she started sharing the Gospel with him and inviting him to her church. We participated in so much here – we visited orphanages, churches, the elderly, the blind, and the poor. Each place we went, there were so many stories of how the Lord rescued different people out of darkness. It’s funny because this month I can’t really tell you about how God used me to touch a life, but I have many stories about how God used others to touch my life.
