As my team was sitting in the new hunger games movie (which was great) I had this realization that the gospel in our Mockingjay. In some counties it may not be as evident as it is here in Vietnam but it still works. Let me explain in case you are not a hunger games person. The mockingjay (Katniss) is a symbol that signifies the different districts will come together against the capitol because they want freedom from the oppression of the capitol. The capitol sees this as a threat because of the power and backing that can come from a group of people being united for one cause. The sight of Katniss sparks camaraderie, courage, and strength to fight. She is the uniting cause for all the rebellions happening in the districts. As you can probably see, I view the gospel in the same way here in Vietnam. The government is threatened by the good news of Jesus. They do not allow some churches to be considered churches because of this and that. Every church here has to be registered through the government and they have control over it. The government is President Snow from the movies. The government wants to know all that is happening so that they can shut it down if there is too much power gaining. We have met many friends this month that cannot show us their work because a group of white people would bring too attention and the police would be notified. This limits the work that westerners are able to do in this country. But let me assure you that there are amazing things happening in this country to build the kingdom of the Lord. The gospel is changing people here. It gives them freedom. The gospel is uniting people of Vietnam and there is amazing things coming from the work of those here in this country. As much as it is frustrating if you actually think about it, it’s kind of awesome. The gospel is viewed as a threat but how many times do you actually view it with that kind of power. For me growing up, most everyone I was around all the time believed in the same God as I did. It was easy for me to forget the power of the gospel. The bible reminds us of this in Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile”. That’s some serious power that I think I tend to forget sometimes. I have been so encouraged this month to be reminded of this power through the tight restrictions on ministry here in this country that I come to love.
