A Small Part of the Big Picture (Vietnam Recap)

As we wrap up our time here in Vietnam, I figured I would share what we have been up to! Here is a little overview of not only our ministry here but the people we have met and the events that occurred outside of ministry! (I will add all the pictures at the bottom )

First off, I would like to mention the people we have met therefore making it easier to understand the stories that follow! Our amazing ministry hosts name is Thanh! It is so evident her heart is purely to serve the Lord and to take care of us while we serve! She has so many connections across Vietnam I genuinely wonder how she keeps up with everyone… she is one of those people that you go on a walk with and somehow everyone we pass knows her. It’s honestly inspiring to see how God uses her and how willing she is to do anything. Her husbands name is Rick and we have spent all of our holidays with him as well. He is so evidently here to serve everyone around him! Next we have really gotten to know some girls, a little younger, named Merry and another named Chip. Merry is already beginning ministry with kids and singing with us at our shows. She is working on her translating skills and is doing so good. Chip we met at a Christmas party and she simply took a liking to Ella. She has come on all our fun long ministry/ adventure days as well as been at all our parties! Her mother (Nancy) invited us to dinner one evening and we got to get to know her, her family, and learn about the English school she runs! It’s such a sweet connection we have with their family and I’m so grateful for it. She even invited us to stay last night and prepared snail and fruit for us as an evening snack. That was very unexpected. Usually we just drop Chip off and says our goodbyes but Nancy wanted to show her gratitude towards us. Kara felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to join us this time. (usually it is just Ella, Abby, and I) We were so grateful she did as we were able to stay longer (with her being our leader and past curfew) and she was the only one brave enough to be the first to try the snail. I did try it after her but I can’t say I would’ve if she hadn’t first. It is courtesy to eat the food they prepare for us in this country because of the intentionality and time they took. As you can see we have also spent time with families and parents. Alongside those relationship, as I partially mentioned in my last blog, we have been able to make some amazing connections at out hostel. Not only have we each had hour long conversations with guests and workers living there but also been able to give out multiple Bibles to some of those people! I will say this again, I love hostel life!

As for ministry, our first week here we were a “professional” choir at a 5 star resort. I never could’ve imagined or guessed this is what ministry would look like but also how fun and fruitful it is at the same time. God is continuing to show me how lighthearted conversations, activities, and events can be just as life giving as serious, deep conversations that get down to the roots of lives. A simple smile can be more impactful to someone than an hour long conversation to another. My last Vietnam blog I mentioned a bit about our first night here and the kids ministry. Since then we have done our official Christmas Eve performance. What a blessing that was and so much fun too! We got to explain the reason behind each song we sang, give out some gifts, and throw the gospel in there a few times! We have also worked with so so many kids which is perfect for our team! We had to come up with a 2 hour English class (on the spot) for our first class. We ended up doing some worship and then splitting off into 3 groups. One room was conversations (Ella, Kara and I stayed here) the next room was dancing, and finally game room. It ended up working out so well and I really think the kids enjoyed it. We have taught a few more classes and taught it based off of that class. We also got to run the kid’s program at church on Sunday where we performed a couple skits, taught bible memorization, played games and sang songs! My team loves working with kids but even more babies! We got the honor of caring for babies in a pregnancy crisis center and we were all thriving. We each simply held a baby for awhile and most fell asleep in our arms. The Lord’s peace and presence was so evidently in that house because it is rare, in my opinion, to call a room with 8 babies, peaceful. We also got to tell some testimonies, pray, and share some favorite parts of the Bible with the moms! It was so sweet. Finally, being involved with church has been such a blessing and one of my favorite nights in Vietnam has been our young adult’s Bible study! The women and men there are absolutely so kind, so full of the Lord, and so boldly walking with Jesus. It is hard to do so in a country like this, but they don’t let that stop them. That alone is a testimony to the goodness of God. He so evidently worked in each of their lives enough to turn from what the world says they should follow and seek after the one true truth. Their stories are so powerful and their patience with their friends coming to Christ are so inspiring. They are such a light.

We have also spent a lot time in ATL where we split off into groups and simply “Ask the Lord” where He wants us and what to do. We have done a variety of things from making new connections, pouring into established ones, complimenting people, or simply praying over the country and lives here. My favorite ATL day was getting to write notes to the people we have met here and hand out sticky notes with encouragement to strangers. As we were writing our notes in the coffee shop, my and Kara’s new friend, David, (who we have run into multiple times there) walked in. We were able to hear a bit of his story, why he is here, where he has traveled to, etc. I got to write a note with verses and encouragement and you could just tell any intentionality we gave meant so much to him. I prayed he would stay until I finished and right as I wrote the last word, he stood up to leave! He also mentioned he was leaving the country in a couple days! Talk about God’s timing! We finished the day by sticking the extra English notes around our hostel and handing out some Vietnamese notes to locals! It was so fun to see the smile on their faces receiving a note! Through many small connections like that, God is showing me a deeper level of trust in Him with the seeds we plant. Like I said before, a smile can go so far, let alone the relationships we get to pour into daily. I don’t necessarily see the progress from each person we run into but we are all learning to trust the process and believe we are only a small part of so many testimonies and the overall picture.

Thanh is also so intentional about throwing fun activities in the various areas we have worked at. For example in between English classes we visited Marble Mountain, took a boat ride, and visit Hoi An for the night market there. Marble mountain was so clearly Buddhist and slightly scary for the kids but very interesting to visit. The boat ride was so fun, that stop was about an hour long. Ruby made sure to come in my boat (she has claimed me as her best friend… so cute) and not only was it so cool to see more of Vietnam but we got a few shows in there as well! Some guys were spinning super fast, throwing crab nets out, and we made a pit stop to get out of the boat and take pictures next to the signs. Finally we got to visit the night market in Hoi Ann where they had so many beautiful lanterns, boats, bridges and tables full of souvenirs. Another day, after the crisis center, we got to go water rafting at a resort! That was slightly scary to be honest… Ella and I shared a raft and almost tipped over, got stuck on a rock with no raft guides in sight (that took a solid few minutes to get unstuck), were fully underwater with the raft sinking a few times, and watched a raft pop in the middle of the pathway. It was so fun though, despite some mishaps…. we would do it again!! Finally, we get to go to Ba Na hills on Monday and have had so many small adventures like biking, long walks, gym time, movie nights, coffee shops, trying new food, etc. over this past month. Needless to say we’ve had some pretty packed days but so much fun and personally I love a packed day, so I’m thriving. Our time here has been so special and so full of adventure, community, new faces, and loving others. I love Vietnam!

Random Funfacts: There are rats running around… ramped. So many mopeds and bikes on the streets here. Way more mopeds than cars and way more scary driving haha. $1 is on average 25,000 dong here!! (It’s weird to be paying thousands for small items ;). My team is split off into 2 rooms. We have air conditioning yay… but it rains SO MUCH here so it’s usually not too hot right now. We use “grab” in place of Uber and you can order from just about any restaurant for super cheap. They will deliver it right to your door!

Here is a video of one of our hostel friends playing Kara’s guitar! They heard us worshiping and decided to show us the music they like! He’s so talented!

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