Today is Thanksgiving, and even though I am in Vietnam, I am still American and I’m still thankful. This is the first time in my 22 years of being alive that I am not spending the holidays with my family back home, but also the first time that I have had the opportunity to bring “Thanksgiving” to the other side of the world. I miss my family, I do… and if I were home today I would eat so much sweet potato casserole that I could fast until Christmas; but something special happens when you trust God with the little things. Something as simple as a free afternoon can change someone’s life if His Spirit directs that time.
So this morning we started the day by having corporate worship with the 3 teams that are here in Ho Chi Minh, after which we adjourned to “brunch” which really ended up being a big lunch at a local restaurant. But then I was left with an entirely open afternoon until I went to play Ultimate Frisbee with some students at 7pm. Now even though my lunch wasn’t a traditional Thanksgiving meal, I was all in favor of the post-meal nap that usually follows a holiday feast. However, my squad leader had a great idea for the afternoon and asked if anyone would like to join him in going out and maybe even finding some hungry people and buying them food. Although my first instinct was to be selfish with my “free” time, I ended up deciding to go with him at 3pm and walk the surrounding streets.
About half a dozen of us met and prayed that God would direct our steps as we went out to love on people, then we just started walking and looking for divine encounters. Very quickly we found that there were a lot of hungry and thirsty people on the streets right outside our hotel. So we started buying water, coke, and sandwiches to give away. At first people were very shy and suspicious about receiving free food and drinks, everyone was confused at why we were just giving and not selling. But before long, it started to catch on. We started attracting a small crowd on the corner and almost instantaneously bought out all the sandwiches from a nearby street vender, and as the word spread people started waving to us across the street asking for food or water.
I made 4-5 trips into the nearest convenience store and bought dozens of water and coke bottles. As soon as I started handing them out, they would be gone and I would go back for more. I have no idea how much money I spent, and I don’t really care. Because when you allow God to open your eyes and you see that the hurting people around you are His children, who He loves… material things lose their value. For an hour and a half I had no idea what time it was, how much money I was spending, or where I was going next; and it was the one of the most beautiful times I’ve ever experienced. You see, people are made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27). No matter how old, how lost, or how broken someone is, there is a likeness to God that never disappears. And as I handed each person a water bottle I saw the joy and love of God escape through their smiles. His love is already there my friends, and our calling is to draw that love out and let it wash over every individual we encounter.
So I didn’t have a feast to invite anyone to, or presents to give anyone. But today I took what little God has given me, and met people where they were at. It was the most beautiful Thanksgving that I have ever experienced. Our Father loves these people, and today I was infected by that love.
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." (James 1:27)
Your Brother in Christ,
Tanner Hubbard
