GOOOOOOD MORNING VIETNAM!!!!!!!!
As I said in my previous blog, we are in VIETNAM!
I am obsessed with this country. This month we’re working in a school teaching English. I would just like to say, that I never knew how DANG cute Vietnamese children are. My goodness my parent’s would kill me about all the thoughts I have been having about taking these babes home! This month has been really cool because the Lord has been teaching us SO much. I went into college wanting to be an English teacher. Then I changed my major to elementary ed, and after speaking with counselors about the fact that it wasn’t likely I would find a job at the time, I changed my major. But the Lord has revealed to me how much I absolutely love education. I don’t know if I’ll ever go back to school. But I would love to teach in some form or fashion one day.
We have two different groups of students we teach each week. A couple set days during the week we are teaching children that are affluent and then later in the week we are teaching children that are very very poor. It is amazing to see the differences between the two. The children that are affluent are very intelligent and have been taught the importance of studying and school and that is very much drilled into their heads. They are also very good at English. The poorer students are smart. They really are. You are just able to tell very clearly that they are not getting the education that the other kids are getting. Their English is not nearly as good as the other students either. It is also very apparent as to how much these children crave affection as well because you can tell they are not getting it at home.
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I have felt so blessed by these kids and the fact that here I can hug them and squeeze them and kiss them as much as I want. I was thinking about the fact that in America, teachers are in no way able to touch their students that way. It’s just so different here.
We also had the opportunity Saturday to go to an orphanage and play with the kids. In Vietnam, there are many instances where mothers will abandon their children at the hospital after they are born. When this happens, they are not able to get a birth certificate so they are unable to be adopted. So these children are literally living in these orphanages for their whole lives until they are of age to leave. Also, there are some children in the orphanage that are able to be adopted. However, they are unable to leave the orphanage. So they have adoptive parents, but because of past problems with people literally adopting these children and selling them into sex trafficking, the children have to stay at the orphanage and the adoptive parents are able to just visit. It makes me sick.
I went into the orphanage with an open mind, and I had no idea what to expect. To be honest, at one point I was really worried that I would be a mess walking into that place. However, the children that I encountered were so joyful. And I felt like the Lord was telling me that there is some sort of hope. That although it doesn’t seem that way right now, HE is hope, and that He loves these children so much. I think He just wants us to be praying for them and to embrace these opportunities to love on them and pour into them as much as we can. Although we don’t get to see the fruit of what He will do in and through them, I know there is hope.
We played games with the kids, and I got to connect with some really sweet children. First was this little girl. Right away she started crawling all over me and climbing on me. She would hug me several times, crawl up to me so that she was in my arms and kiss my cheek. She is beautiful isn’t she? Look at her!
Then a little girl came and found me. She was such a sweetheart. She wanted love so badly. So I just got to sit with her and squeeze her for awhile.
THEN I met this little boy who was playing with a piece of cardboard. He had a little deflated balloon that you make balloon animals with. I went over to him and started playing with him. He playfully hit my leg with his balloon and I started chasing him, and he laughed that ADORABLE baby laugh that everyone just dies when they hear because it is so contagious. I got to play with him for quite awhile. I would catch him and tickle him, put him down, and he would hit me with his balloon again, and I would go on chasing him again. He brought me so much joy. My heart is literally pounding out of my chest right now thinking about how much I love him and wish I could love on him every day.
After we played for awhile, I picked him up and just loved on him. I gave him lots of kisses and prayed over him and just told him how much Jesus loves him and how much I loved him and just how loved and worthy he is. Although he couldn’t understand me, I know that the Lord was telling him for me. He kept pointed to the kitchen so I carried him over to the kitchen to get something to drink. We got some cold soda for him, and every time I would let him down to walk and hold my hand, he would reach up for me to pick him back up again. So I just held him until I couldn’t hold him anymore.
When we were told it was time to leave, my heart literally broke a little. How was I supposed to leave this child? My heart connected to him. I did not want to let go or say goodbye. To be honest, it brings tears to my eyes even now thinking about it. I gave him several more kisses and squeezed him as much more as I possibly could, and had to put him down. When I put him down, I started walking toward the bus and he started following me. Guys, my heart even posting this is aching. I turned around and told him I loved him but that I had to go and I waved at him. He stopped, and waved at me, then turned around and walked back to the other children. God saved me in that moment because my heart seriously could not handle that.
Isn’t he just the sweetest thing ever? He kept trying to feed me that cookie in the right picture, and he was fussing at me because I wouldn’t eat it. Glad we captured that moment on camera.
Things in Vietnam have been amazing though.
The Lord is using so many beautiful children to show us how deeply He loves. I have also just been growing so much in my intimacy with the Lord. I’m praying that I keep digging deeper, and growing in so many more aspects of my spiritual life. The Lord has allowed me to know what it feels like to love deeper than I’ve ever loved before. And He has been inviting me to share that with the people, and children in Vietnam, but also encouraging me to spread that love every where I go.
So much joy, hope and peace this month.
We have also been able to really enjoy Pho, which I explained earlier is a really delicious Vietnamese soup, and AMAZING smoothies every day. Jesus, you are so good to us.
Prayer Requests:
I already wrote down most of them. But a couple more big ones:
-Please be praying for Vietnam. It is a closed communist country. So they are very closed off to the Go$pel. We are very restricted in what we can and cannot say. But this place needs Je$us. Please keep these people in your prayers.
-Please pray for our kiddos we have been able to interact with and love on. Please pray for hope for their futures and that the L0rd provides a beautiful path for them. That they don’t slip into the lies that they are told, but that they find truth.
I love you guys so so much.
Peace and Love,
Keeley
