As I recap the past couple weeks here in Vietnam….
I can’t help but recall a 6:30 a.m. phone call I had with Linda, our ministry contact from last month. Calling to see if we had made it safely on our bus heading to Mexico City, I poured out my heart to her in tears. I expressed to her our bittersweet emotions in leaving Nicaragua….
“Krystle, this is how I look at it. We have this huge canvas here and every person that comes is another part of painting a stroke. You guys have painted a big one. But, you need to move forward. God wants you to look ahead for what’s next, while treasuring all that’s behind. He has more for all of you this year and needs you to keep moving forward in faith. But, treasure.“
This idea of treasuring has really captured me, especially when it comes to this kind of lifestyle on the World Race. Moving from place to place, person to person, and all within a one-month time frame, there are times you question if there are any treasures worth tucking away. Sometimes it’s difficult to believe there are any when you’re so tired, don’t see any fruit from your efforts, or any real change from pouring your heart out. For part of our squad that’s what Vietnam was like the majority of time, as some of us went from deep relationship building the previous month to never seeing the same person twice here. For the other half this month was their greatest month of relationship building and seeing God move.
In the midst of spiritual heaviness, darkness, and battling for the restoration of Vietnam, God has shown me there are always treasures. You just may need to dig a little deeper to uncover the veiled ones.
Lindsay naming and deeply loving “Jaron Moses,” an abandoned newborn who was left on her birthday. Kira choosing to walk forward in her identity as a “Daughter of the King.” God fulfilling Maithili’s name, pouring out his supernatural courage in her while she then lavishes it on others. Love moving beyond all cultural and language barriers, while Josh plays his guitar on the hotel steps with a teenage Vietnamese boy who eagerly wants to hang with him. Watching a prostitute’s face light up as she gazes into Lisa’s eyes when handing her a rose. Dan making friends with a pimp through a ruler competition, balancing it on their noses. Ali’s heart breaking for the things God’s heart breaks for. Brian’s ankle miraculously healed. Natalie and Tara bringing two Vietnamese friends to church, with our squad in our hotel room. Singing worship songs at the end of a hallway filled with prostitution at 2 a.m. Answering questions for a Vietnamese man whose heart was prepared to receive Jesus that very day. Men in our squad “rising up!” The hotel manager’s words where we’ve been staying, “We’re happy to have had them here. There is something different about them.”
This month we have experienced the depths of spiritual breakthrough together, moving from a squad to knowing how to be the church. Not only that, but God has answered our prayers, scuffing up our armor while using us to be LIGHT in the dark places.
“…Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Luke 2:19
