“Everywhere that can be easily reached has. Now, we have to get creative.”
Our host for this month is an energetic American man who has lived in V3tn@m with his wife for about seven years and shares his wisdom about starting m1ss10ns in creative access countries. This was a term that I hadn’t even heard before our last staff meeting where our host emphasized that no country is really “closed” with G0d.
The goal of many international Chr1sti1an workers in creative access countries is to make J3s3us at least accessible to everyone on Earth. Everyone should be able to make the choice to become a Chr1st follower. In countries like Vi3tn@m, giving people this opportunity is challenging, but not impossible.
Our host runs a successful tutoring program that teaches Life Skills, Conversation (English practice), Communication, Language, and Art to both paying customers and a local school in a poorer section of the city. During these classes, our host does not openly preach the g0sp3l, but uses the characteristics of Chr1s+ to help students grow.
The word last week in Communication class was “compassion”. Our host led the class and explained the definition of compassion and that it requires actions, not just feelings. He shared a story of how he gave a homeless woman some noodles and yogurt instead of just feeling sorry for her. He also showed a video of a momma elephant protecting her little baby from a pack of hyenas. After the lesson, one of the students looked at our host struck and said “I can’t believe it… it’s just so…nice”. From just being here a week it is easy to see that compassion and putting other’s needs above self needs is not emphasized in this culture. This may have been the first time students ever really considered compassion, a characteristic of Chr1s+.
Our host has also told many stories of when he could share more about the g0sp3l with students. One student came to him after class with an issue and he actually pr@yed with her, which was something she had never done before. Another student found a B1ble in the building and our host was able to offer it to her. The organization is also able to answer any questions about J3s3us that others ask them, which is another way they share with students.
Our job as Racers is to help our host with running these courses and to build relationships with the students. Every volunteer in his classroom saves our host $500, and it also gives students a chance to practice their English in smaller groups.
We also be sure to love on the children from the moment they walk through the door. We greet the kiddos as they literally run up the steps and jump into the arms of volunteers or our host. During breaks, we let them braid our hair, get piggy-back rides, and play games before coming back to class.
Please pray for this organization in Vietn@m. It is incredibly challenging to work in a creative access country, but our host is already showering these children in Chr1st’s love and giving them opportunities to pursue Chr1st that many others may not have.
