Apologies for the lateness of this update, but I have really enjoyed soaking up my time in Vietnam! This month has been the biggest blessing and much needed. It has looked quite different from previous months and has been an introduction to how different ministry
can be in Africa versus in Asia. As we head into our last week in Vietnam, I want to give you guys an overview of what we have been doing here as well as what it has been like to celebrate Christmas in a non-Christian nation.
First of all, we have been blessed enough to live a block away from My Khe Beach in Da Nang this month. It has been insane. Whenever I have free time, I am able to take a walk on the beach or just come sit out here and read. It feels unreal and I still don’t
understand why God continues to bless me like this, but I’ll take it! The weather has been incredible – sunny and 75 almost every day. And the ministry has looked very different than it did in Africa.
We have been working with an American man who has lived in Vietnam for the past seven years. One of the main things he does here is put on English clubs for young adults. There is one English club he holds at his house every Monday night and another he holds
at a medical school every Thursday night. The one on Monday has been going on for multiple years, so the students coming have been able to build relationships with one another and many of them have come to know Christ. It was really cool to get to participate
in both of these English clubs and build relationships with the students.
Our host really wanted us to focus on relationship building this month, and God truly delivered in that. I especially bonded with one young woman from our Monday English club who I ended up hanging out with during some of my free time. She does not know Christ,
but much of the hunger I see in this country for something more was displayed in her. It has been really cool to get to talk to her about everyday life as well as hear some of her story. In Vietnam, one of the main things young people struggle with that I
have noticed is the shame/honor culture. It is very important here to honor your family, which is a great thing. However, sometimes it comes at the expense of one’s own mental health or desires for life. For example, this girl is in university for accounting
just because it’s what her mother wants. It is not something she is passionate about yet she is studying it to honor her family. I have found that one of the most important things to do while building relationships is to be a safe space for someone to share
his or her story. Sometimes all someone needs is for someone to listen to them, and I have been able to be that for this young woman this month which has been such a blessing.
In addition to English clubs, my new team and I have also gotten the opportunity to work with the local church. This church is actually government approved, and it is mainly attended by expats from all over the world. We baked A TON of cookies and bread for
church events and helped with the Sunday kids programs as well as putting on the Christmas Eve service. It was really fun working with the kids – many of them are actually Australian and American and have been living here because their families moved for work.
I love kids, and it’s been really fun to get to pour into kids who have been growing up so far from home.
Christmas away from home has also been very new, especially in a country where the majority of people don’t celebrate it. I came into this month fully expecting 0 Christmas spirit, but God delivered again! Da Nang is a very international city, so there are
actually Christmas decorations everywhere! In addition to this, my team and I got to put on Christmas parties for the English clubs and do Christmas activities with the kids at church which was super fun! The Christmas Eve service was also awesome – it was
really cool to see how a bunch of people from all over the world came together to celebrate the birth of our Savior. The pastor at our church is from Australia, and one thing he said on Christmas Eve that stuck with me was that we are family. No matter where
you come from or how long you’re here for, you have family in the body of Christ. This could not be more true and I really saw this in our church this month.
Regardless of all the Christmas spirit in Da Nang, Vietnam is still in need of revival. A lot of the Christmas celebrations and decorations are much more of a fun thing than actually a celebration of Jesus. Many of the people in Vietnam who celebrate Christmas
don’t actually know it’s true meaning. However, Jesus is here. I know He is. And I trust that revival is coming – our host said that when he first moved to Vietnam there was no Christmas celebration whatsoever. Now, there is a government approved church here
and more and more people are learning about Christmas and it’s true meaning. While I got to be a small part of bringing more of Jesus to Vietnam, I trust that the work is going to continue long after I am gone.
This month was for sure my most luxurious and comfortable so far. And I know that that is a rarity on the World Race. We travel to Cambodia on Friday, January 3rd, where we will be staying in a rural village and teaching English for the month. A month of luxury
and comfort was such a blessing, but I am definitely excited to be going into a less-developed area in January. My team and I are ready for you, Cambodia!
Below I have attached a picture of my new team – from left to right: Esther (again :), Carley, Autum, Brooke, Averie, and me. These are the girls I will spend all my time in Asia with! Going into Cambodia, I will be taking my password off my blog since it is
not a closed country.
God bless and merry Christmas!
