I was told a joke by my friend Rachel as we were crossing the border from Cambodia into Vietnam:
“What’s the hungriest country that we’ll be visiting on this trip?”
“Viet-nom-nom-nom” (Nom, nom, nom being a joke about “nom-ing,” aka eating).
And it is hungry. Its so hungry for the Good News of Jesus, yet trying to be filled by the things of this world. Material possessions, jobs, education, and power are all measures of success that we saw over and over again during our time in Vietnam.
And so I proclaimed the Gospel. I told the customers at the coffee shop where we volunteered about Jesus. I told new friends that God sent His Son so that we didn’t have to be broken or wounded anymore. I stated the truth that we all need a relationship with the Living God, Creator of the Universe, who knows us intimately and loves us completely. He is our help in times of trouble, our comfort, our resting place, and our joy.
A closed country can’t keep Jesus out.
God blessed me this month with relationships this month. I hadn’t realized how difficult our time in Thailand and Cambodia had been in creating friendships due to language barriers. There is a limited amount you can invest in someone when there is one translator for fourteen people. The English Speaking rooms at our ministry opened the doors to relationships that were deep, meaningful, and lasting.
Meet the Four Ladies:
Nhi, Ngan, Thao, and Thuy
These four women were the ones that I connected with most deeply and whom I will miss dearly. We spent many nights hanging out, eating together, singing karaoke, drinking coffee, and riding around on their motobikes. They are generous, beautiful, caring, loving, and intelligent women who have captured my heart and will continue to be in my life in the future. My experience in Vietnam was completely changed because of their presence in my life.
I made a short video about our time in Vietnam. You can check it out below and don’t forget to check out my photos at: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150612063927085.383212.512522084&type=1&l=f5dd4eb8e5
