We made it to Vietnam!! It took us four days to get here: five flights (one being 16 hours) + three airport sleepovers = 73 hours total. It took us a few days to recover, as I got about six hours of sleep in those four days, but sleeping for 15 hours straight helped with the jet lag 😅. We flew together as a squad to Ho Chi Minh, and then parted ways as my team took our last flight to Hue.
I love Vietnam. I love the culture, the people, the ministry, the coffee, the food, the city and everything in it. My team is staying at a homestay right on the edge of the city, and it’s a narrow, three-story building surrounded by other homestays. The people are always very surprised to see Americans, but they are so kind and welcoming. We get random “hello’s” everywhere we go, as people pass by on their motorbikes (which is the main form of transportation) and by kids on bikes. They also love their selfies. We never know when we’re going to walk into a coffee shop and have our picture taken. The coffee here is the best I’ve ever had, and for those of you who know my love for coffee, that’s saying a lot. There are approximately six coffee shops on every street, and I have yet to have a bad coffee 😋
Our ministry hosts names are Minh and Thu, and they have two adorable sons named Minh-trí (6) and Minh-huy (4). They are a very kind, young couple who love the Lord and whose whole lives are dedicated to expanding the Kingdom of God. They are administrators of the CCC (Campus Crusade for Christ), and they connect us with Vietnamese university students. Hue is made up of mostly non-religious people, with a small percentage of Buddhists, and a smaller percentage of Catholics. Our ministry is to build relationships with both the believers and unbelievers, in hopes of connecting them with each other so that our ministry is lasting when we leave. We meet up with them at coffee shops, teach them basic English (as it is very limited for most of them), and build friendships with all the university students. For the CCC students (the believers), we share our testimonies and read through a chapter of the Bible with them to help them with their English. We also meet up with Minh and Thu throughout the week to do the same.
(Minh!^)
(CCC students^)
(My hosts son- Minh-huy^)
Our schedule looks a little different each day, but it is roughly one english class in the morning, break for lunch, meet with/read the Bible with Minh and Thu at 3:00, and one more english class at night. We also have a few other ministries spread throughout the week such as a Saturday night discipleship group with the CCC students, soccer/volleyball games with them, christmas parties, and church on Sundays. There is only one Christian church in all of Hue, currently made up of about 300 people, and it is actively growing. Aside from our planned ministry, there is a coffee shop about a 30 second walk from our homestay that I have also set as my ministry goal. They love seeing the Americans everyday, and I have already made friends with and learned the names of most of the employees. My goal is that through consistency, kindness, and prayer, they see the love of Jesus through me. They already see that I’m different (and not just because I’m American), and even a simple “what is your name?” or “how are you?” means so much to them. The language barrier makes it all the better because of the laughter it brings when we’re trying to figure out what we’re saying.
(the church^)
Even in just this past week, Vietnam has truly touched my heart. I already never want to leave, and I am so excited for what these next few weeks brings! My praise is that we’ve settled in well, and we’ve already made so many friends! My prayer request is that the Lord would touch the hearts of all the unbelievers, and that we show them the love of Jesus in everything we do.
Mo 😊
P.S. Also it’s been 100 days of the race!!
Leave a Reply