Over the course of this month my team has had lots of opportunities to build deep relationships with people. From teaching English in a class room, sitting on a park bench with someone, to sharing songs and laughs with students in English Clubs, we’ve seen a lot of people this month! Compared to Nepal where it was much more secluded, Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon as most of the locals call it, has a population of over 8 million people! Out of those 8 million people almost everyone on my team has gotten to develop a deep connection with 1 or more people while we’ve been here. It’s been amazing living day by day waking up asking “God, what do you want me to do today? Who do you want me to talk to?” Time after time he’s brought me back to Colossians 3. Read all of it when you get a chance! One verse:
Colossians 3:12-14
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”
This month has been the beginning of the rest of my life. Vietnam is a closed country, meaning missionaries and evangelical acts are illegal. The question we all asked ourselves at the beginning of the month was “can I share Jesus with someone, without using the M word (mission/missionary)?” The answer is ABSOLUTELY! God has no boundaries and simply asks us to NATURALLY be his hands and feet. I’ve realized one of my biggest missions on this trip is to portray the church the way Jesus did, the way God intended. By going out and simply being a light, naturally overflowing God’s love onto people. As people share their stories with me and I’m vulnerable to share more about mine we create trust. From there what Jesus has done for me naturally comes out. Jesus walked alongside the people he came into contact with and DID LIFE with them. He saw them for who they were, children of God, and not for what their struggles were. He sought to help people in their suffering through compassion, patience, humility and love, never by judgment or humiliation.
This is Nguyên or ‘Carter’ which is an English name her friends have given her. She has dreams of coming to the US to study film and become a producer. Currently she’s attending a University in Ho Chi Minh. On the side she’s a fashion accessor for a couple big names in Vietnam, and also does makeup. We talked a lot about cosmetics in the beginning, being that I’m a cosmetologist and she loves design and makeup. But after hanging out with her a couple times we got to dig deeper. She desires to come to the US for a new start, new friends, new school, new life. She’s having a hard time with teammates in school and the stress that comes with school in general. I got the opportunity to instill truths in her that she wasn’t believing in herself. That she could get to the US but she could also start anew here, and that a new place doesn’t always change your struggles. We shared stories and through that I got to tell her how Jesus has changed my life and how I deal with life situations differently. She’s failed her visa interview for coming to the US twice, and it’s very expensive. The interview takes 3-5 minutes and at the end of it they are either are accepted or declined. Very intimidating. So please keep her in your prayers, that one day her dream of coming to the US will be fulfilled if that’s what’s meant to happen!
