Our time in Vietnam has been interesting! It has been great having four other teams with us in Da Nang. There are 28 of us all staying at the same hostel.
The focus this month has been identity. We have had guy and girl time a couple times a week. The times with the guys has been great. We listen to podcast and just talk about life and struggles. We have had a good bit of down time this month due to a few of the orphanages that we were originally scheduled to help at backed out. We were only able to help out at one orphanages. The Lord is still teaching me to be intentional with me time and showing me that ministry is not something I turn "on" and "off." Worship is a lifestyle so I don't want to say that the orphanage was our only ministry.
The orphanage took us about an hour to get to there! We visited once a week for a few hours. The orphanage had 190 people. Their age ranging from 2 to 86. Our visits there were emotionally and physical exhausting.
I want to introduce you to two of the orphans I was especially fond of!
First, meet Gum. He is a 29 year old and speaks descent English. We had so much fun together. I spent a majority of my time with him. We went on walks around the orphanage every 20 mins. He would help me learn Vietnamese as I would help him learn English. He had this book with a "magic" pen and the pen could be taped on any phrase in book and the pen would say the phrase in either English or Vietnamese. We would just laugh together as I tried to pronounce the phases in Vietnamese. I also would help him sit up in his wheelchair. Gum does not have the use of his legs, but he does not let that get him down. He is was such a blessing to my life.
Secondy, I want you to meet Mi! She was 1 of about 7 children who were severely disabled due to Agent Orange. It was very emotional due to the cultural outlook of the handicapped. They are not viewed as real people. What? How can you not see the Image of God in these children? Mi is probably around 12 or 13, which broke my heart when I found out her age. I thoroughly she was 6 or 7. Mi was a little lady of few words. The only phrase Mi said was, "laka laka lama." We would say it together. I spent 3 hours with Mi. Her hip and legs are very weak, so I helped her with her physical therapy. We worked on walking, standing, sitting for muscle memory . She is such a trooper and did a great job. Later in the afternoon I helped feed her. I learned quickly not to make her laugh while eating or the pourage came spitting back out. Mi is so Beautiful!
A few others that just touched my heart was Four. Four was a 77 year old women who spoke English very well. She was just a sweet heart. And lastly Con, he was a little boy around 2 or 3. He was also affected by agent Orange. He did not have a right hand, but boy he could army crawl across the room.
I loved my time at this orphange. God has soften my heart in so many ways towards people. It is a slow process, but I am learning to view people as Jesus views them.
I attached a video to the blog! Check it out!
