Today was our last official day of m.i.n.i.s.t.r.y in Vietnam. The past 3 weeks flew by and I didn’t even get a chance to tell my readers and supporters what I’ve been doing! So, this is long overdue but I figured I would share about my time in Ho Chi Minh City.
My team has been living in the city of Ho Chi Minh and working at a coffee shop in 5 hour shifts 5 times a day. Before you get too excited, no, we didn’t get aprons and stand behind the counter as a barista. One of the huge attractions to this coffee shop is the unique rooms upstairs that Vietnamese and other internationals can go to to practice their conversational English with native English speakers. Like in most schools around the world, the Vietnamese learn a lot of reading and writing in English, but their speaking and listening skills lack. Its also completely different and a lot more valuable to learn English from a native English speaker than a fellow Vietnamese. The owners make sure to have a native English speaker in the rooms at all times. They receive a lot of groups from the United States and other countries that come and stay for a week or more and help out in the speaking rooms.
This is what we got to participate in this month. We are in the speaking rooms to ultimately talk about God and faith. But also to participate in activities with the locals outside of the coffee shop to build friendships and have the chance to answer their questions or even disciple them. What World Race teams start, the owners will continue long after we’re gone.
I was able to encourage one new believer to continue to pursue God with her boyfriend as she drove me on a motorbike on the way back from dinner.
I was able to listen and learn from some people who practice Buddhism and ancestral worship and share the differences between that and Christianity.
As I walked through China Town with a girl named Sophie and one of my teammates, I was able to explain the Biblical afterlife after she explained what a lot of Vietnamese believe about the afterlife. A lot of Vietnamese families offer food sacrifices to their ancestors on mini altars in their homes, believing they are “out there somewhere” and can “eat” food in the spiritual realm. They believe you cannot burn bodies or donate organs because they will need those things in the afterlife. They also buy idols and worship them on the mini altars.
The conversations didn’t produce any decisions to follow Chr!st but I’m learning that that’s okay. It was hard to hear how led astray people are. I didn’t know how to “convince” them, and I came to terms that that is not what it’s about. It’s about being bold and obeying when God wants you to speak up. As much as I wanted to be “successful” in leading someone to Christ, I had to give that up and give it to God. It’s God’s job to pursue these people and change hearts.
The great part of this m.i.ni.s.t.r.y. is that the four owners, who have been here for 10+ years, hold a huge presence in the coffee shop. Since Vietnam is a closed country to m.i.s.s.i.o.n.a.r.i.e.s., they are “just an American family that wanted to move to Vietnam to open up a coffee shop to help Vietnamese with their English skills”… who just happen to be Chr!st!ans. In order to accomplish what God put on their heart to do, they had to learn how to live missionally: by sharing their faith and discipling the regulars at the coffee shop. They do this by spending a lot of time in the speaking rooms forming relationships with the locals, as well as meeting up outside the speaking rooms in the coffee shop to talk about religion and life, and having B!ble studies and game nights at their houses, as well as some ultimate frisbee on the weekends. They also hold a Sunday church service in the basement of the coffee shop and a Saturday evening prayer meeting where they invite the locals they’ve been discipling to attend.
In my next blog, I’ll talk about what I learned and my take-aways from this m.i.n.i.s.t.r.y.
A peek inside the speaking rooms:
Phuong, a regular at the coffee shop, bought the whole room parfaits one day!
Sometimes a whole classroom of high school students & their teacher come in the evening!
Conversation topics vary, but include:
- college majors, jobs, and careers
- American vs. Vietnamese education
- fashion
- the confusing English language
- the tones of the Vietnamese language
- Vietnamese & English word pronunciations
- Vietnamese food
- places to visit in Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City
- traveling
- the differences between American and Vietnamese culture
- parental discipline
- music and movies
- passions and talents
- religion
and a whole lot more!
P.R.A.Y.E.R. Requests:
A lot of people are Buddhist or participate in ancestral worship in Vietnam. They view Chr!st!anity as just another religion. A lot of others are atheist.
- Please pray for the people practicing other religions, for their eyes to be open to the Truth of the B!ble and for them to believe Je$u$ is the only way to G0D.
- Pray for the four American owners of the coffee shop, that their business would continue to thrive and be looked at as the best place to go for practicing English and the best environment where they feel loved and welcomed.
- Pray for the relationships that the owners have formed with the Vietnamese and the new believers that need discipling.
- Pray that their church would grow in numbers and faith.
- Pray for the topics of conversation in the speaking rooms, that G0D would open up opportunities for the people to talk about Him and what they believe and that everything would be communicated effectively and with love.
The older couple are looking to retire eventually and move back to the States. One of their prayer requests is to find another married couple who is called to come alongside their son and his wife to continue the business and step into the m!n!stry role they leave behind. Please pray that God would bring a married couple with a heart for Vietnam and friendship evangel!sm to them that would invest many years into the m!n!stry.
