Our ministry in Vietnam definitely stretched me by pushing me to serve in ways I didn’t prefer or was uncomfortable with. I don’t love performing in front of big crowds and talking to strangers, (especially with the intent of evangelizing), it’s always been something I have dreaded. My family can attest to that, and I’m sure they have many embarrassing about how much I dislike talking to strangers. Ironically, our ministry in Vietnam just so happened to be exactly both of those things.
Our first form of ministry was a big Christmas choir performance and worship session at a resort where the audience was mostly non-believers. Even though half of our team was sick and none of us have had professional choir experience, the owner of the hotel apparently loved our performance and asked that we send future World Race teams to perform there yearly for Christmas. It felt like we had lived out “God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called”, because we were in no way a qualified choir for a resort that fancy.
Next, we organized multiple kids events where we played games, led worship, and performed skits about different Bible stories. Though these times were usually filled with chaos, it was fun to connect with the kids and see their interest in the God we love so much and His Good News.
We also helped volunteer at a local international church, attended their services, and even led Sunday school one morning there as well. I was so thankful to be welcomed in by that community and get to be a part of what they’re doing, even if it was only for a month. There is something so special about uniting with believers around the world, it’s been such a sweet thing in each country that I hold dear to my heart. It’s such a blessing to come together with people worldwide who share the same love for Jesus.
My team also frequently prayer walked our neighborhood, got to talk to locals about our faith and why we were there, and planted seeds of Truth in the people we encountered. The language barrier unfortunately kept us from building more in depth relationships with locals, but we were thankful for just the gift of presence and communication through hand motions and body language.
We also were staying in a hostel, so we got to connect with and share our faith with other travelers coming through the hostel. I had some incredibly unexpected interactions that left me in awe of the traveling community, and how open and curious everyone was. They didn’t hesitate to jump into friendship and then repeatedly invited me to hangout with them, and it was so cool to see the fluidness and spontaneity with which they lived. It was also a cool challenge to discuss my beliefs with other people and hear about theirs, the diversity not only of nationality and ethnicity but also of thoughts and opinions was so refreshing.
I felt like Vietnam was an equipping season for the rest of life in the sense of learning how to approach and initiate connection with strangers, how to remain curious and open-minded about my thoughts in order to learn and better understand others, and how to communicate and express myself effectively, especially when it comes to the more vulnerable parts of who I am. I got to share my testimony and redemptive stories of how the Lord has worked in my life with so many people, and it was remarkable how impactful it was to those I shared it with, whether they were believers or not. I’m thankful for the gift of storytelling and how God designed us as humans to want to share our experiences with others.
My prayer continuing our time here in Cambodia is that the way I live would be evidence of the transformation and redemption I’ve experienced through Christ, and that I would be a testament of His faithfulness to everyone I encounter.
