Nightfall in Ho Chi Minh city synchronizes with the crescendo of pulsating dance music and the illumination of glowing, neon signs, indicating their respective establishments open for business. Here, night life is the fire that fuels the city, and although lively and contagious, the atmosphere does have a sinister underbelly.
Bui Vien street is unequivocally dark. Menacing even, but I can’t quite feel it. Others often deem the atmosphere too intimidatory or dangerous to spend long amounts of time here, and I can understand that. It’s the red-light district. However, I don’t feel the darkness tugging at my heart. Contrarily, I’m drawn to these places, and I feel as if I’ve located the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow every time I step out into the chaos. Something in my heart exclaims, “This is it.”
I resonate with this part of the Lord’s heart, because he sent his son to find the lost sheep. He left heaven, and the 99, to find the one. I love that. And in my experience, the lost ones aren’t usually between church pews or wondering around the really safe, less intimidating parts of town.
They’re down on Bui Vien, dancing the night away.
Attractive, provactively dressed young women reach out, yielding pamphlets offering cheap one-hour pleasure packages outside their massage parlors. Sometimes they’ll grab you by the arm and pull you aside, telling you how much they love your hair or shoes.
Older men will stop you mid stride and offer gum, lighters, fans, t-shirts, and the like. I think this is hilarious, because once you’ve politely declined, their last ditch effort is always a hushed, raspy, “Marijuana?” “Cocaine?”
Although flanked by prostitutes and salesmen of miscellaneous items turned drug dealers, people in this town are friendly. This is the kind of place where you can spontaneously break out dancing in the middle of the street to whatever song is blaring from the nearest club, and people will leap up to dance with you. I love that about Bui Vien Street, and Ho Chi Minh City as a whole. Countless conversations have stemmed from dancing and singing with strangers to Avicii or The Weeknd in the middle of the street.
The happy-go lucky, hippie backpacker vibe is palpable uptown in coffee shops as well. We’ve met heaps of people at the local hospital and at coffee shops, and nights usually commence there. The local park is also a hotbed of students eager to practice their English, drifters eager for conversation, and homeless people slumped on park benches. Our time spent in the park has been so fruitful, and many relationships have been built and forged here, as we’ve had the pleasure to share our stories and the Lord with people who have never heard the good news. That’s incredible. I could spend the rest of my Race here and still never run out of people to talk to here in Ho Chi Minh.
Yet, there’s something unique about our outreach on Bui Vien. People don’t expect to hear good news in that environment. People don’t even expect honest conversation.
There’s so much power in bringing light into dark places, and carrying hope with boldness.
I think people get too comfortable in their Christianity, and that too often morphs into complacency. The battle for hearts is won by the aggressor, and if I walk downtown and am offered sex and drugs on the way to dinner, who do you think that would be?
Being aggressive with love may look wild, risky, and even dangerous, but I believe that being courageous in my life is the first step in shifting atmospheres. Boldness wins battles, and everything changes when we’re wild enough to take a stand.
We walk into bars, sit down, and offer to buy women drinks. At massage parlors you pay for time alone, and at bars, it’s essentially the same concept, except drinks are the currency. After you’ve finished your coffee or whatever’s in your glass, you’ll be whisked away to somewhere more private if you don’t order another round or leave. The secret is to sip slow, and pray that your words carry enough impact to generate interest, which can effectively eliminate the time crunch.
Initially, there’s playful flirting and giggles from the women, and a lot of comparing eyelashes or skin tones. When they don’t speak English, we communicate via Goggle Translate, which is a lifesaver. Conversation is light and fun.
Gradually, that gives way to more intentional conversation. Ladies will tell about their families, or favorite parts of Vietnam, or lesser known hole in the wall restaurants with delicious pho. When asked what I’m doing here, and how long I’ll be in town, I explain that I’m a traveler from the USA doing something called the World Race, which is just a trip where we work alongside various organizations, teach English, tour around and experience countries while we talk to people about Jesus and show his love.
Ladies, generally, will either respond and say they’re Catholic, they’ve heard of him and don’t believe or care, or that they’ve never heard of this Jesus guy. More often than not, it’s the last two.
Explaining that all he wants is a relationship is a proposition most find it difficult to grasp. I understand wholeheartedly, and shared that stance for most of my life. Spreading messages of hope, and of his profound and immense love for these women, just for who they are, never gets old. “He created you, and you’re worthy, and he loves you.” These are phrases they’ve never heard. At this point, I can detect traces of belief, but still a spirit of skepticism dominates. It’s as if they want to believe this good news, but how can they? If everything in your life indicated the opposite of a God in heaven loving you, and if every one you’ve ever talked to indicated the opposite of a God in heaven loving you, and if you’re selling your body and your soul to strangers on the street nightly to provide for your family, how could you believe that you would be worthy of love, let alone a relationship with the Creator of the universe?
At this point, the women usually take a breath, and revert to the original goal of getting me to spend more money and time in the back room. It’s as if they snap back to reality after contemplating the existence of something more, and then decide to stick with the script.
But here, in this moment, is usually when the magic happens. And it’s beautiful every time. After a few tugs on my arm, and a pleading, “You don’t want to come to the back?” I look them in their eyes and simply say, “I just came to talk with you.”
It’s like that’s the moment that all they were hoping to believe at first, during the initial conversation about the love of Christ floods back in, and it does so with ferocious fervor this time. This is the moment where the Spirit takes over, and a sense of being perplexed, for the first time, gives way to what could eventually be belief. And it’s so evident. You can see it on their faces, but eye contact is everything to me, and there the beauty begins to overflow, sometimes in the form of tears.
It’s as if those whom we talk to grapple with this blossoming epiphany, whispering in their heart, “Could I really be this special? Am I really worth loving?” Did God actually send these people all the way from the USA just to tell me that he loves me?”
The answer is a resounding, and reassuring, YES. Some conversations end with the opportunity to pray over these women, and all usually end with hugs and invitations to come back and hang out the next night. Being friends with these women is such a privilege, and now when we walk the raucous streets of Bui Vien, many recognize us and beckon us over with smiles on their faces. Asking how their day was and if they’re having a good night, we talk and catch up and build on a new friendship.
Sharing the love of Jesus with these women has been such an incredible experience. Laughing with them, getting to know them, and building relationships plant seeds that I pray take root in their hearts, long after we leave Vietnam.
I believe unexpected love is the best kind of love. When it comes from people we least expect in places we deem immune and incapable of it existing at all. When we are loved by people we don’t expect to love us, in places we’ve never before been loved, I believe it gives us a glimpse of the love of the Father. His love, and his grace, is the ultimate case of this; where we receive love and grace and mercy and blessings from The Lord of the universe, whom we may never have expected to even take an interest in us, let alone love us richly. And it doesn’t stop there. He reaches for us. He pursues us relentlessly, and in unexpected ways. He left heaven to find us. He left the 99 to find his one little lost sheep on Bui Vien Street. And it is my highest honor to play a role in that.
– My team and I have been living extremely frugally here, and we’ve been pulling from our ministry budget, as well as emptying personal money into our late night ministry fund. Obviously paying for the time to talk with these women at massage parlors or bars can get pricey, so my teammate and partner in Crime on these late night adventures, Jeff Stackhouse, set up a gofundme to raise some cash to fund our ministry. The Lord overwhelmed us with his benevolence and provision, and what we received far exceeded our goal amount in just one day!! Those of you who donated/have prayed/continue to pray, I cannot thank you enough! I think of you every time we go out and minister, and none of this would be possible without your support. You are as much apart of this incredible mission and story as we are, and you are constantly in my thoughts as hope and love is spread to those who need it most. You, yes you, are changing lives! Thanks for tagging along.
As always, ADVENTURE ON!
