Good Morning, friends and family! I am posting this exactly twelve hours ahead of all of my loved ones back in the Eastern time zone. I am happy to announce that I have finally arrived in Thai Nguyen, Vietnam! After four airplanes, two hostels, 38 hours by bus, and many taxis, I am in one place for 20 days! The city that I am living in is in the very northern part of the country, only a couple hours from China. No World Race team has ever had the opportunity to live this far north. The town is more urban than I had previously expected, but definitely has that small town feel, with about 200,000 residents spaced out over a large plot of land.
Like I previously mentioned, this month my team does not have an official host. In ATL (Ask The Lord), we will spend an hour every morning in prayer and see where that takes us throughout the day. We are staying in a Home Stay affiliated with AirBnB. This type of accommodation is a large home with several rooms, where the owner also lives in the home. It is quite spacious and I even have my own room with a hot pink bed! In a very foggy and neutral color-scale country, God know what He was doing when He led me to this bed!
We do not have an official host, but the sweet family that owns the hostel has been incredibly kind and generous to my team, and has taken in us as one of their own. This north of the country is not a tourist hotspot. Some citizens have never seen a caucasian person. There have been many stares, but such kind smiles. Oh and a lot of selfies and peace signs. I kind of feel like a celebrity, sometimes, TBH. The family has been overjoyed to show us their culture.
Being a Christian can be dangerous in Vietnam. It is not illegal, but being a missionary is. However, I am safe and will be for the next few weeks! I have been trained on how to appropriately live here and to even spread the gospel without mentioning the name Jesus. One of my new priorities is trying to understand the hearts of indivudals. I believe we are all born in God’s image for His glory. I also believe we all are sinners. All of our less than imperfect moments, and seasons of life, are directly the result of some false knowledge, or saddened heart. No matter how frustrated I may get with someone, there is always a reason for their shortcomings. e Everyone deserves the same love that the Lord continuously gives me, despite the mistakes that I make. I have found that when I take the time to understand the heart of why someone has acted the way they have, I can better have compassion and patience for what they did.
I asked a tough question today to our hostel owner, who is Buddhist. I questioned why the government despised Christians so much. He said that a lot of this country has a bad conception of who Christians are. Many believe deep in their hearts that Christians are hypocrites and evil. He explained that during the war, many white Christians from America came and caused vast destruction of the land and people. I spent a night in Ho Chi Minh City last week and had the opportunity to got to the War Remnants Museum. I don’t know enough about the US’s side to the story to make enough critical remarks, but I have heard the Vietnamese side. And regardless of what good intentions were had, there was far too much pain and devastation done to the innocent lives of those here. From this I can understand why they wouldn’t want much to do with Christianity, when they have had a false picture painted of who Christians are.
Even though I wasn’t alive during the time of the war, I couldn’t help but feel some responsibility for all of the mess that the war caused the citizens here. There has been a fire ignited in my heart to just love these people. I do not feel that I will be able to accomplish the greatest task of ATL, which is to find future ministry hosts, but I do feel that I am called to help paint a new picture. I want to build connections with people and love on all that I can the way Jesus would. I’m not sure what that will look like, but I know that tomorrow it will be a visit to a local farm and tea plantation.
Have a great week, and hug your loved ones tight for me. xo
