“For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, He will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful singing.” •Zephaniah 3:17•
Merry Christmas from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam!
This afternoon, the community had a Christmas party at the center! It was so sweet and so much fun. All the babies and their families came as well as the neighbors! Throughout the day, our team cooked meals from home alongside the women who care for the babies as they cooked Vietnamese meals! It was so beautiful to see all the babies with their families gathered together around one big table. This community is so special. A sweet and playful boy named Bum, has a disease that makes it tough for him to digest his meals. Bum had sadly been throwing up after each meal. My friend Amaris prayed for him one day and since that day he has yet to throw up! Bum celebrates after each meal! Another amazing thing that happened tonight is my friend Kayla shared the gospel with Huang, a new volunteer who lives in the neighborhood! She believes in ancestor worship and she was really receptive to the gospel and had never heard of Jesus before! God is so amazing!
The babies are so adorable and lovable. Each day, we will be so silly in attempt to capture their gaze! I am often saying silly things to a sweet one year old baby boy named Ken, “Baby boy, Ken, sweet boy, hello! Excuse me, hello, Mr!” All while giggling and in attempt to turn his gaze from his block building tasks and cartoon watching, an activity he adores, to my eyes. I will often find myself sitting in front of him as he watches his cartoons or works on one of his projects to adore him. When our team walks home, we pass by Ken and his brother, Long’s home. We will wave and say hello to him with great glee through the fence as he plays inside.
I wonder if he sees how adored he is. He is so loved and delighted in by all. After the Christmas party, during prayer, with eyes closed, I saw a glimpse of this adoration that desires my gaze so passionately too. In prayer, I saw myself laying at the feet of Jesus. In a big swoop, Jesus picked me up and placed me in His lap and was overflowing with excitement, joy, and adoration to see me! So similar to how I and everyone who cares for the babies love to swoop them up into our arms and admire them.
In this moment, I realized that God is always sitting in front of you and I, waiting so patiently to delight in you and I, and you and I to delight in Him in return. To rejoice over us in joyful singing! All that is required to experience this love, is to turn our gaze to Him.
“Let my presence override everything you experience. Like a luminous veil of Light, I hover over you and everything around you. I am training you to stay conscious of me in each situation you encounter.
When the patriarch Jacob ran away from his enraged brother, he went to sleep on a stone pillow in a land that seemed desolate. But after dreaming about heaven and angels and promises of My Presence, he awoke and exclaimed: “Surely the Lord is in this place!” Then, ask Me to give you awareness of My Presence. This is a prayer that I delight to answer.”
•Jesus Calling: December 5. Psalm 31:20; Genesis 28:11-16.•
Merry Christmas! Thank you so much for reading!
