Month 3, November, was in the beautiful country of Vietnam. In addition to knowing very little about the country I was about to step foot in, I had no idea what our ministry would even look like. But honestly, nothing could have prepared me for the blessing of Vietnam.
Travel days were insane. We had bus rides after bus rides and hours spent in the rain trying to cross borders. We spent two unexpected nights at a hostel, and got to take a cheap 2 hour flight instead of a 23 hour bus ride. Days after leaving Thailand and having to go back through Cambodia, we arrived in Vietnam.
This month we were working with an international church where only foreigners are allowed to attend church. The first weekend was a church retreat at a super nice resort. For sure not Race style living, but God just seemed to bless us like that all month. At the retreat we ran the children’s sessions so that every church member could hear the speakers. We also did children’s church every Sunday throughout the month.
After the retreat we were back at our swanky two star hotel because foreigners can’t stay with families without government scrutiny. Seriously, it was amazing. We did a lot of office work this month. The church is doing a Christmas pageant for the whole city where they are able to share the gospel with over 1200 people, so a lot of work was surrounding that. We made Christmas cards and tied 1200 candy canes to them. We made Power Points, prayer cards, videos, and edited podcasts. We babysat for families in church. We also did intercession prayer for the city and another amazing blessing, got to decorate for Christmas.
On Thanksgiving, it was hard to be away from home, but I don’t think I’ll ever forget this Thanksgiving. We started the day with our very own Turkey Trot to the beach. We helped a restaurant that is also a ministry to deaf community in the city that was serving Thanksgiving meals. Afterwards we had an amazing and huge meal at our host’s home. We took naps, watched movies, and ate way too much. We even got leftovers the next day while decorating our host’s home for Christmas. As far as Race Holidays go, this greatly exceed all of our qualifications.
It was such an amazing month and I know we made an impact on the country. We learned to serve such a unique group, missionaries. It was cool to learn how to serve people who give their lives to serve. God was good, and we were blessed beyond measure. Honesty though, it was a cushy month. It was not what I would ever expect coming on The Race, but it was what The Lord wanted. But I know I wasted time. It was so easy to just go through the motions. Nothing was really uncomfortable and nothing was sacrificial serving. And I may have missed out on things God could have done. But thankfully he’s a God of redemption and he is redeeming mistakes from this month. And plus, now I know what it looks like and how much it sucks to coast through The Race.
Vietnam was great. The beach was gorgeous and my team grew a lot. Ministry was full of Christmas cheer, and it’ll be a month I’ll always remember and treasure. Plus, now for the rest of my life I get to use the phrase, “back in ‘Nam.”
