[First published on 4/22/2016. To view the original newsletter, click here.]
Hello friends!
Greetings from Vietnam! OK, who am I kidding? I’m in Indonesia, haha
At this point, it’s safe to say that it’s been hard trying to catch up with my updates. Even with internet available throughout the month, there just hasn’t been enough time to sit down and write. But no matter — I will press forward until I’m all caught up!
Until then, take a look at what my March in Vietnam looked like! And please read about my fundraising situation at the end!
MINISTRY
Our ministry this month was based in the beautiful city of Da Nang in central Vietnam. It’s located on the coast so we had access to the beach, but the city is also a fast growing metropolis attracting much native and foreign attention. Personally I absolutely loved Da Nang and could see myself living there. And it was definitely a big change from the Cambodian countryside we experienced the previous month!
We primarily worked with an organization called Orphan Voice (orphanvoice.org), whose mission is “to meet the needs of ‘the least of these’ in Vietnam and Southeast Asia. We work to protect orphans, children living in state institutions, special needs children including the deaf, families at risk to place their child in an orphanage, and children and youth at risk for sexual or labor trafficking.”
The staff at Orphan Voice were so amazing and welcoming. They treated us to many meals in their homes and found us a great hotel with A/C, wi-fi and free Vietnamese breakfast every day for our entire stay. Orphan Voice also lent us bicycles to ride during the month so we could get around faster. It was definitely a bit nerve-wrecking to share the road with so many motorbikes, cars and trucks (sheer chaos!) but we eventually got the hang of it and loved exploring the city this way!
In terms of ministry, we worked with Orphan Voice in a variety of ways. Most of our time was spent helping out at a children’s group home in Da Nang called Promise House and entertaining children at an orphanage in a nearby province. I also had the special privilege of seeing two other programs that Orphan Voice supports in the Vietnamese countryside — a school for the deaf and a physical therapy center for children with special needs. It was such an honor to work with and see firsthand all of the great work that Orphan Voice has and is doing for children in Da Nang and Vietnam!
Our team also had the opportunity to work with a local church called Da Nang International Fellowship (DIF) (dananginternationalfellowship.org), who “seek to serve as a spiritual haven for the English-speaking expats who live in Danang and for those who are just passing through.” We not only attended their services every Sunday (which were in English!) but also helped them with a special project, some church cleaning and teaching Sunday school to some very cute kids. Our team was so thankful to have a church to call home during our time in Da Nang — it even felt like a piece of home as well!
If you want to read more about our work with Orphan Voice and DIF, click on my blog post link below!
http://sangpark.theworldrace.org/post/month-3-vietnam-ministry-in-da-nang
[Life in Da Nang — beach, city river view, Da Nang at night and the Dragon Bridge!]
[Working with Orphan Voice — painting at Promise House, games at the orphanage, the school for the deaf and the physical therapy center!]
[Working with DIF — prayer tree project, church cleaning and teaching Sunday school!]
OFF DAYS
Our off days this month blended in with our normal ministry days because we were in a city that had so much to offer. Additionally, we had one less off day (more on that shortly) so we spent most of our time simply enjoying Da Nang. And one of the first things I did on my off day was shave my head! Yes, you read that correctly — I shaved my head, haha. Our team was also able to share in the baptism of a teammate and was treated to a farewell bonfire on the beach by an Orphan Voice staff member. These weren’t technically off day experiences, but they were still highlights of my time in Da Nang!
As for an actual off day experience, our team took one to visit an ancient town called Hoi An that was only 40 minutes south of Da Nang. Hoi An was an important port city many centuries ago, and the town has gone to great lengths to preserve its rich history and culture. We spent the entire day visiting the old town area and taking in all of the tourist spots. But we also found time to kick back and enjoy a cup of coffee together that seemed to make the day just right and memorable!
I’ve already posted a blog with more pictures and details of how we spent our day in Hoi An (and also explaining why I shaved my head…) so if you’re interested in seeing more, click on the link below!
http://sangpark.theworldrace.org/post/month-3-vietnam-off-days
[Da Nang highlights — shaving my head, beach baptism and farewell bonfire!]
[Hoi An memories — old streets, Japanese Bridge, assembly hall and a coffee break!]
[More Hoi An memories — traditional show, Hoi An River and Hoi An at night!]
DEBRIEF
So our time (and off days) in Da Nang was cut short this month because we had our first squad debrief during our final week in Vietnam! What is debrief? Essentially it is a five day “break” from ministry and is instead an opportunity for the squad to come together after a few months apart to relax, recharge and reconnect. Our coaches, mentor and staff are flown in to conduct teachings, meetings and simply worship together with us. But debrief is also about some fun and fellowship, which we got to do thru some lip sync battles and spending an afternoon at a water park. Plus, we were able to do all of this in Vung Tau — another beach city!
And another thing — we formed new teams during debrief! So I guess after a few months of being outnumbered by women, our leadership deemed it appropriate (and apparently necessary) to put just the men on one team, haha. We only have 4 guys in our entire squad of 25 so we’ll be a pretty small team compared to others. And while I am sad about parting ways with my last team, I’m very much excited to being on a new team with only guys — not only to do “guy stuff” but to build each other up as men of God!
So if you’d like to know more about debrief and some of the sights in Vung Tau, check out my blog post!
http://sangpark.theworldrace.org/post/month-3-vietnam-debrief-in-vung-tau
[Exploring Vung Tau — Back Beach, Front Beach and the Statue of Jesus Christ!]
[Debrief worship — evening sessions, teachings, meetings and Easter sunrise service!]
[Debrief fun — lip sync battles and water park!]
[And meet my newest team — Team Wild!
From left to right: Chris, Darek, Salvador and Sang]
FUNDRAISING UPDATE
Thank you family and friends for continuing to pour into my World Race journey! I am now at $14,181 of my $16,362 total goal (87%)! But that means I am still in need of $2,181 by my fourth and last deadline of $16,362 total by next Friday, April 29.
I know — that’s only 1 week away. But I have faith that God will continue to meet my financial needs this one last time, just as He has throughout my Race. And a week is nothing to Him — if Jesus can feed five thousand people with only five loaves of bread and two fish in only one afternoon, then just imagine what He can do with seven full days thru my community of family and friends! But don’t get me wrong — I will continue to pray the “multiplication prayer” and ask for His favor in this!
So if you’re led to support me financially, please contribute using the link below. Any amount will help tremendously, whether $20, $50, $100 or more. Because as you are pouring into me, I will be able to continue pouring into the people and places that God will lead me to throughout the year. So please, please help me get there with one last, final push to the financial finish line!
Plus, it’s a new tax year so any contribution will now count towards your 2016 tax refund! Sorry, that was the CPA side of me again, haha
And if you have questions about my fundraising, feel free to ask!
[Select Support a World Racer and enter my full name, Sang Yeop Park.]
A FEW THOUGHTS AND PRAYER REQUESTS
To be honest, my experience in Vietnam this month was mixed. Yes, it was great to be in a city again, and having so many luxuries and amenities at my fingertips was a blessing for sure. But ministry was a bit disjointed for me. When we first found out in Cambodia that we’d be working with an orphan organization in Vietnam, I was pretty excited. I was looking forward to and expecting that our work in Vietnam would be with one specific orphanage for the entire month because that is what I wanted — an opportunity to fully invest and build strong relationships with the children there. But our work was a bit all over the place — a mile wide but only an inch thick, whereas what I sought was an inch wide and a mile thick. So yes, I was a bit disappointed.
But just like the prior month, I believe not getting what I wanted was yet another blessing in disguise. Because of debrief at the end of the month, I had to pull myself out of a good number of ministry days to stay back and arrange things for Logistics. And what made it even more difficult was the fact that my Logistics teammate was in an area where there was no internet readily available…so I had to do the heavy lifting for debrief. So why was it a blessing in disguise that our ministry was not one orphanage-specific like I wanted? Because if it were, then I’m pretty certain that it would’ve been very hard to pull myself out of the ministry to do debrief logistics. Everyday I would’ve had to wrestle with myself on working with the kids vs. working on debrief — and that might have killed me inside.
But of course, God knew all this and what everyone’s needs were — for our team, for Orphan Voice and for the children and orphanages. I also believe that the Lord understood the importance of planning the debrief for our squad, and for all of us to be able to come together and worship Him as one body. So by the end, I knew and was thankful to God of the reminder of something I learned the previous month in Cambodia — to let go of my expectations of what my World Race should or should not look like and instead embrace it for what it is. Let’s hope I won’t forget it again next month!
On to some prayer requests…
1. Pray for my health. So I’ve been having a bad cough for over a week now. It is worst in the mornings and at night right before I go to bed. I’ve been taking some medicine and antibiotics for a few days now, but the cough still persists. It has made sleeping rather difficult at times and leaves me tired the next day. Also, I have been having some stomach issues during this same time as well. So please pray that I may be healed — and healed rather quickly. And as our squad transitions to a colder climate in Eastern Europe next week, please pray that I and others will not get any sicker because of the change in temperature.
2. Pray for my finances. As that final fundraising deadline is fast approaching, my mind can’t help but be occupied on whether or not I will be fully funded. Money is never a fun topic, not just for missions trips but even personally. And asking others for money is even harder. But this is where I must learn to let go and let God take care of all that. So please pray that my thoughts will not be consumed by my fundraising level, but instead by the level of my ability to remain fully engaged to the ministry at hand everyday. But also, please do continue to pray for my finances — that the Lord will lead people, whether others or yourself, to invest in His kingdom thru me on this Race.
So thank you for making it to the end and reading about what God is doing, both in Vietnam and in myself. If you’re ever curious as to what others are experiencing on this World Race, feel free to go to my blog at http://sangpark.theworldrace.org and check out the blogs of my fellow squad and teammates!
Until next time from Indonesia hopefully! Or maybe not…haha
By His Love,
Sang Park
