Father, thank You so much for Vietnam. Thank you for sustaining them through all they’ve endured in their history as a country. Reveal Yourself to them, Lord, in big ways and in small. Thank You for allowing my life to be written into their story as a nation and as a people – what a priceless gift.
I’m writing this blog from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in disbelief that our 3 (too short) weeks in Da Nang, Vietnam are already over! Month 4 was my favorite, by far. As soon as we entered the country, I felt like my entire being let out a deep sigh of relief and rest. I drank in deeply the beauty of the landscape, the kindness of the people, the carefree atmosphere and the green I saw all around me…finally, some GREEN!!!
And those waterfalls, tho…I’ve been waiting 3 months for those beauties!
The people here smiled more, and I felt a more immediate connection in Vietnam than anywhere we’ve been yet on the Race. We also had no idea before arriving that our hostel would be located just 2 minutes walking distance from the beach! The Father above gives such good gifts 🙂
This past month, we partnered with an underground university campus ministry that many of you may heard of from the States – Campus Crusade for Christ. Our primary means of partnership was hosting clubs to teach English and spend time in conversation with students from several different universities. It was amazing to have a little more freedom this month, as most of our ministry times were in the afternoon/evening. Freedom to enjoy our surroundings, freedom to build relationships, freedom to just ‘be’. Here’s a pic of our schedule from this month:
One of the most impactful parts about this month were the beautiful and surprising relationships I made, even outside of ‘ministry’ time. Each of our students were amazing and, since we all taught several classes, we got to know probably at least 40 students each (not to mention gaining a whole lot of new Facebook friends)! I didn’t have the chance to go deep with all of them, but the students that I did go deep with took a piece of my heart and left it in Vietnam with them. Here are some pics of the classes I helped to teach…
Above is pic of my sweet friend Be Bao. I met her our first day of classes and we tried meeting on the beach the next day at 5am to work out together. She didn’t show up until 6:30am (because she couldn’t find her bike), but we became close friends and I got to share Jesus with her! She’s very much wrestling with what she believes, but she’s open and eager to learn more about Christianity – please pray for her! 🙂 I connected her with An, who I’ll introduce her later int his blog. An will help get Be Bao a bible in Vietnamese and will be a spiritual mentor for her. I just love that I get to leave this country without a doubt that this sweet friend will be followed up with and discipled well.
It was the people that I met outside of English clubs, though, that I consider the most unique connections from the Lord.
…meet Caroline…
Caroline and I met at a church service through Da Nang International Fellowship, a powerful, hospitable, non-denominational church, which became our church home for the month. When Caroline and I met each other, we realized that we are from neighboring states in the US (she’s from Illinois, I’m from Missouri) and that we are both OTs – it’s not even a common occurrence in the US to meet another OT, let alone one that lives so close! Caroline came to Da Nang partnering with an organization to open an OT clinic and provide her services for 2 years. She is 9 months in and thriving! I made arrangements to visit her clinic, but sadly the timing didn’t work out with the heavy rainfall we received that morning. You can still check out pics/vids/and more on Caroline’s story through her blog here:
https://therapyinvietnam.wordpress.com/?fbclid=IwAR1rzyDgj0XUc0N38XZ5YKAIAEBz-xnMo6t6Ed35vewVvytDiw9Dut2gq0E .
Caroline will play another part in a larger Story the Lord was writing this month, which I’ll share a little later…
The next connection I made in Da Nang is Charmain and Andy, a couple from South Africa who retired and wanted to spend time in Vietnam teaching English and loving people like Jesus. This couple first introduced us to our church and are full of wisdom, kindness and love. After having already met them, I ran into them one evening while I was taking a walk around our area. I had been feeling a bit forlorn and needed some comfort and wisdom – sure enough, they were the perfect pair to confide in. The Lord truly shines through these two, and I’m so thankful to have crossed paths with them.
Next, this is An, who I mentioned up above 🙂
I first met An when hanging out with a small group of locals that came to welcome us to Da Nang. An is on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ (CCC). On our walk together that evening, arm in arm, she confided in me that she isn’t sure what she will do this coming summer when her contract with CCC ends. I told her I understood how she feels and that I also have to make a decision about what I will do this coming summer when I get back to the States. We prayed for each other at the end of our time and felt a deep bond of connection, empathy and love.
An was a huge point of connection for Be Bao, and she also plays a huge role in this next connection…
…Meet Win 🙂
I first met Win one morning early on in our time in Da Nang. I was feeling restless, anxious and distant from the Lord that morning…just ‘off’. I grabbed my bible, journal and devo and headed to the beach, hoping to gain some solace and clarity. After a while of laying on the beach, still feeling unsettled, I reasoned that it was best just to jump in the ocean – I’m more of a ‘kinesthetic and distracted listener’ anyway, meaning I usually hear God best when I’m moving or attending to other things in the process of listening, with open eyes and open ears (I just made those terms up, by the way, but it’s true!).
The South China Sea in Da Nang is awake and active during the winter months, so every time we went swimming last month, the waves swept over us without hesitation, almost as if the water was drawing us in to remind us not to take life so seriously; to remind us to make play a priority. That morning, it didn’t take long for me to follow the lead of the few guys swimming around me to catch a few waves and body surf them toward shore. One wave was much stronger than I anticipated, and I got swept nearly halfway to the beach. When I stood up and gathered my salty, tangled hair out of my face, I saw Win (pictured above), waving goodbye to me with a sarcastic “See ya!” in response to my tumbled attempt to gracefully ‘catch a wave’, haha. It was an easy open door for me to strike up a conversation and learn a little more about him.
Win is a local from Da Nang. I was hoping he was in school so I could invite him to English club, but for reasons I don’t need to explain, he’s no longer in university. He’s currently searching for work and the path toward something that makes him happy and gives him fulfillment. He’s interested in possibly becoming a surfing instructor…though first he said he needs to learn how to surf 😉 I wished I had more time than the hour and a half I was able to swim with him, but a meeting with my team pulled me away from time in the ocean that day. That morning, I had felt so disconnected and distant from God, but after having met Win, I immediately felt reconnected to Him. Win gave me his name to look up on Facebook, which actually took me a long time to find, but alas God was on my side 🙂 I didn’t see Win again after that for a while, but when I did, it was a crazy awesome surprise!
Let me back up a bit, because there are SO many key parts to this story that all just fit together so beautifully. Our church, Da Nang International Fellowship, puts on a huge production every year called “How the Grinch Found Christmas”, which they use as their primary means of outreach to their community. Even though Vietnam is a closed country, they get this production approved by the government each year, including the songs and script, which include scripture and tell the story of Jesus’ birth. The Saturday evening before the play, at about midnight, I felt prompted to share an invitation with Win and I messaged him all the links I had (including a link that said tickets could be picked up at the church). I had been sending several other invites out to my English club students as well, and didn’t think much beyond that.
The next morning, I went to church with my team, and at the very end, my teammate Laney whispered to me, “Amanda! Dreadlocks in the back!” I had no clue what she was talking about, but when I turned, I saw Win! He was sitting in the back and starting to leave, so I had to crawl over people just to get to him. Win said that morning he clicked on the ticket link I had sent him the night before, and that he looked on the church website. He found a time and an address, so he showed up, not entirely sure that he was actually showing up for a church service. He said he’d never been inside a church before and didn’t see me when he walked in, but he decided to stay anyway and shared, “I feel it in here (pointing to his stomach) – It’s so good!” I could not have planned that morning any better – the message was about John 3:16 and that verse was broken down line by line in the sermon, going into detail about the Gospel and grace message of salvation in Christ alone. I quickly introduced Win to my OT friend, Caroline, and she introduced Win to the pastor to help him get connected. Turns out Win was already skateboarding friends with one of the pastor’s best friends from Australia – what a small world!
My team and I went to lunch after church that day (with Charmain and Andy actually, our South African friends I introduced to you above), with the plan to meet up with Win at the Christmas production later that day. There was some miscommunication, and Win didn’t come on time to the production, so I was afraid he wasn’t going to show! Just when I had given up hope, my teammate Genna got my attention in the theater and sure enough, there was Win, who was just running 30 minutes behind. Win seemed to really be enjoying the production, and we talked a little during, about the references throughout and the story of Jesus. Once the show was over, I introduced Win to some of my newfound Vietnamese friends, including An (mentioned above). An and Win were talking together for about 10 minutes before An came over to me and said, “Win wants to pray to accept Jesus into his heart! Let’s pray for him!” My sweet teammate Makayla snapped this pic of the 3 of us praying together, when I got to invite this brother of mine into the Kingdom!!! What an incredibly unexpected gift!
A group of us went out to dinner after the show, and it was sweet to spend more time with An and Win together 🙂
After dinner, Win and I walked to the beach near my hostel and spent probably another 2 hours together. It was evident that he understood the basics of the decision he had made earlier that day to follow Christ and the prayer he prayed to make Jesus Lord of his life. He was eager to learn more, though, and it was a joy and a pleasure sharing about the Kingdom of God with him. As Win and I were reflecting on the events of that Sunday morning, he said, “I’m not sure who invited me to church this morning – I guess God did!”
Win and I reflected on the sermon from church that morning and, as I was opening my bible to share with him, he saw my pressed flowers that I gathered in Romania (pictured left, below). He immediately took off his phone cover and pulled out the pressed plant he had collected and has been carrying with him (pictured right, below) and gave it to me as a gift. I met my soul brother in Win; a kindred spirit. It really is about the little things 🙂
The next day, Win came to meet up with us at our hostel as we loaded up to head to the bus station. Sadly, it was already time for us to say goodbye to Vietnam, though I know God already has awesome things waiting for us in Cambodia. I left Win with this simple little card with the passages from the church service written on the back, as a small reminder that he is loved and of the powerful truths spoken over us at church that Sunday morning.
The thing that really blows me away through this whole story, is that I really had nothing to do with it all. I met Win on a day and at a time when I was feeling restless, anxious and distant from God. I didn’t even think to invite Win to church, but somehow he found his own way there, even though he’d never stepped foot inside a church before in his life. I had nothing to do with the conversation between him and An when she asked him if he wanted to pray and invite Jesus into his heart. Each and every part of his Salvation story could have easily taken place without my influence, but the Lord was kind enough to let me take part in the Story that He is writing in the heart and life of Win, as well as every other person I am able to connect with on the Race around the world. Even if it was “all for one”, I know that every sacrifice I have made to come on the Race has been worthwhile.
“What do you think a man does who has one hundred sheep and one of them gets lost? He will leave the other ninety-nine grazing on the hillside and go and look for the lost sheep.” (Matthew 18:12)
