Greetings from Vietnam!
Password: wonderchurch
We are leaving this Friday to travel to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to spend Christmas together as a squad before we travel to Ethiopia.
Here is an interesting story…
So this morning I went for a run and then went to use the body weight exercise machines on the sidewalk like I always do. I had just gotten done with one of them and this middle-aged Asian man comes up to me and says, “Do you play soccer?” and I replied, “Yes I used to.” He then began to tell me that he is Korean and spent some time in the U.S. and that he is the best tennis player in Da Nang. He also told me he is starting a University for sports and music. He really wanted to play tennis with me, but I told him that I am not very good at it and that we are leaving soon. It sounded like he was trying to recruit students and people that would be willing to help him teach, so I told him about Daniel (our host) and that his English cafe would be a good place to start. He asked me if I have a college degree and I told him yes, and he asked me if I would want to further my education and I told him I wasn’t sure. I told him I have no idea what the Lord has in store for me, which was a bold thing for me to say out in public because there are secret police in this country. I asked him if he was a Christian and he dodged the question by saying that his father was a pastor and then he proceeded to say that didn’t mean that he was a Christian. Then he asked me to share some bible verses from the top of my head and the first one I could think of was Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Then he asked me to share some that came to my mind while looking at the ocean and mountains in front of us and I shared Psalm 19:1, “Heaven is declaring his God’s glory; and the sky is proclaiming his handiwork.” and 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in every situation because this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” This man knew these verses and even shared some with me. Then he began to tell me about how he has written a book about Ivanka Trump and that it’s on amazon, and just as we were walking down the sidewalk two of my teammates were walking towards us and I was rejoicing inside because I know that was the Lords timing. I introduced him to my friends and then he began to ask them what their passions were and he shared his, and he even offered us jobs as lecturers at his future University. All this to say, that on the race I have met some very interesting people who really have a heart for changing the world. I don’t know if I will ever run into this man again, but I know there was a reason that I met him today and that the Lord had a hand in it. (Don’t worry mom and dad I didn’t give him any personal information or anything of the sort. I know better.)
If you could join me in praying for this man I encountered, the people of Vietnam, and the students we teach English to to have a hunger and desire to know the Lord, and also that this country would have a changed heart about publicly evangelizing.
Thank you for reading and following me on this journey through Asia!
Next Stop: Ethiopia!
