WE DID IT!!

(More to follow . . . .)

Gifts

S - 1 Peter 4:10

As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

NKJV

 

O - Each of us has been given a gift from God.  These gifts are the things we discover we are particular good at or fond of doing as children of God.  There is a reason why God has given us each of the gifts He has given us.   It would be very difficult for us to understand our God-given mission in life if we don't use the gifts He gave us to accomplish that mission. 

 

A -  Kim and I had this conversation a few nights ago.   Since she's become a Christian it's been clear to the both of us and those who know her that God has given her a special ability to connect with children and care for them.  She has a particular fondness for impoverished street kids which makes her quite an asset in God's Kingdom here in Vietnam since everywhere you go there are impoverished and disabled children.   Her only obstacle to using her obvious  gift, she told me, was one word.  That word was "laziness".   

After reading this Scripture, we both realized that God gave her this gift because Jesus desperately wants to lavish His love on the impoverished children of Vietnam who she runs across everyday.  When she's not using her gift, she's preventing the Lord from expressing His love to these children and it hurts.  

As Kim's husband, I accepted my responsibility in not encouraging her to use her gifts as much as I should have.  We both made a good prayer of repentance to God after this humbling realization and suddenly felt excited about the different ways God will use us to love His people here in Vietnam.  

 

P - Lord, thank You for the many gifts You have lavished upon Your children.  Your gifts are good because as we begin to use them in accordance to Your will, we move into a deeper understanding and appreciation for who You are and how much You love your Creation.  Just as well, Your gift to us, Father, reveals to us who we truly are.  May Your image be magnified in us Your children.   Amen.  

Roman Candles

S - 1 Peter 3:15-16

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.

 

O - Peter wrote this letter to believers living throughout the Roman Empire.   These were dark times for Christians when the Emperor Nero made sport of torturing and murdering them wherever they were found in his empire.   History tells us that Rome was lit up at night by the light from the incinerating bodies of Christian men, women, and children who were soaked with oil then tied alive to poles and lit on fire.   For Peter to exhort his brethren to  give a defense for their faith with EVERYONE who asks in light of the grave consequences was simply scandalous. Wouldn't it make more sense to keep their faith in the closet at least until there was regime change?  What was even more scandalous was that many did make a stand for their faith.  And many were killed.  And the chariots of Rome enjoyed well lit streets at night for many, many years.

 

A -  It's not easy being a Christian.  It's difficult when people turn against you when they discover that you have chosen to genuinely follow Jesus. It's especially difficult when those people are people you love.   Just today, Kim and I had to endure many vicious attacks from my own family simply because we're not having our wedding ceremony at a Catholic  church.  They are all traditional Vietnamese Catholics and for me to follow Christ in a way that does not include Mary worship, statues, priests, or sacraments is offensive to them.  I have struggled with this issue for several years and finally I have come to the peace that I and my wife must serve our Lord and not the traditions of man.  Chances are, there won't be any blood relatives representing the groom at our wedding.  But my Father will be there by my side.  And as Jesus once said,

"Who is My mother and who are My brothers?"

And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother."  Matt 12:48-50 NKJV

 

P -  Father, I thank You for counting Kim and I worthy  of suffering shame on behalf of Your Son, Jesus. May we always be reminded of the faith exampled by your children throughout history who chose to suffer even unto death rather than disgrace the Name of Your Son, who gave His all. Amen. 

The Stand

You stood before creation

eternity in Your hand

You spoke the earth into motion

 

My soul now to stand.

 

You stood before my failure

And carried the cross for my shame

My sin weighed upon Your shoulders

 

My soul now to stand.

 

So what can I say        

And what could I do        

But offer this heart, O God        

Completely to You

                                                                            

So I'll walk upon salvation

Your Spirit alive in me

This life to declare Your promise

My soul now to stand.

         

So I'll stand

With arms high and heart abandoned        

In awe of the One who gave it all        

I'll stand

My soul Lord to You surrendered

         All I am    is Yours

                   

So what can I say        

And what could I do        

But offer this heart, O God        

Completely to You.

Music and lyrics by Hillsong United

S - 2 Peter 1:3

His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue

NKJV

 

O - God has given us everything we need in order to fulfill our God-given destiny in this life.  In order to fulfill our God-given destinies, or in other words discover our purpose in Life, we must start first by becoming intimately acquainted with His Son Jesus.  

 

A - How do I become intimate with Jesus? 

1. Start with asking Him to be your friend.  Remember the Resurrection?  Jesus is alive and present in a dimension we can't perceive with our five limited senses, but he can be reached with a sincere prayer. 
2. Then learn as much as you can about Him.  Over the span of human history, men and women have witnessed God manifesting in human affairs.   These eyewitness accounts have been recorded in the Bible.  St. Peter, one of Jesus' closest companions attested in his second letter to the Church, "For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty."  2 Peter 1:16 NKJV.  He went on further to say that. "prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." 2 Peter 1:21NKJV.  The Bible is a good place to start when seeking to learn more about Jesus.  Begin reading the eyewitness accounts of your new friend, Jesus, in the New Testament.

3. Communicate with Jesus often and about anything.  If you are one of those people who wishes you had someone who would listen to you, you're in luck because Jesus will always listen to you.   He has been since before you were born.  Talk to Him and learn how to hear Him talking to you.  What?  You didn't know that Jesus talks to you?  Perhaps that's because you don't recognize His voice yet.  Learn to distinguish the tone and nature of His voice by reading His words in the Bible.  You'll be surprised at how well you'll be able to recognize His voice in no time.
4. Befriend others who have sincerely embarked on this spiritual journey to discover their God-given destiny in life.  This way you can learn from each other and encourage one another when times get rough.   The spiritual road is full of excitement, self-discovery, and God-discovery - but it is also full of struggle, as you will be departing from your old familiar patterns of living and thinking to embrace new.  Be of good cheer.  Encourage one another.  The new life is very worth it.

P - Father God, I thank you for the revelation of your Son Jesus.  He is the brightness of Your glory and the express image of Your person.   I pray that all who read through this blog entry will take a moment in their busy lives to make friends with Your wonderful Son,  Jesus.  Amen. 

Where Ability Ends and Faith Begins

S - 1 Peter 4:11

If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

NKJV

 

O - When God gives us a gift and we use it for his purposes, we can be sure that He will supply us with what we need to succeed, for He is Jehovah Jireh, Our Lord who will provide.  

 

A - On Sunday night, Kim and I were invited to the youth group at her church to share a little about ourselves.   Kim had the idea that we could sing a worship song together so we quickly practiced "You Are My King", translated it into Vietnamese, grabbed the guitar and headed out the door.  On the way over, Kim decided that she was nervous and maybe we should hold off from worshipping until the following week after getting a few more practices in.   She suddenly lost her confidence and was stressing.  Once we arrived, it was really too late to back out.  As soon as everyone saw the guitar, they all broke out in loud applause and asked us to sing a song.   I pulled Kim aside and prayed with her, reminding her that we needn't worry about the outcome or about our unpreparedness, because this is where our ability ends and faith begins.   The Lord will provide.    And He certainly did.   We worshipped the Lord that night and Kim was so filled with the Spirit she prayed with a fervency and passion that you don't get too experience too often in Communist Vietnam.  It was beautiful.    

 

P -  Father, thank You for being Jehovah Jireh.  Let us find faith in Your provision in those moments when we are afraid to carry on because we are lacking.  In this You are glorified.  Amen.   

Fervent Love

S - 1 Peter 4:8

And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins."

NKJV

 

O - We are to love one another not with just any ordinary kind of love, but with a "fervent" love.  What does this mean?   Can we describe our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ as "fervent"? 

The word "fervent" in this Scripture has been translated from the Greek word  "ektenes" which means "intentional and without ceasing".

(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

 

A-  Kim and I confessed to one another that we often find ourselves being overly critical with people we meet.  Rather than looking for the best in every person we meet, we regress to our old fault-finding natures and distance ourselves from people rather than embrace them.  This is very bad.  Peter is telling us this morning that when we interact with people, we must intentionally love them , the kind of love that leaves a lasting impression on both people.  If this is difficult to do, then we must make a greater effort and again, be intentional about it.   Because if we love every person like this, what does the Scripture say will happen?  We will no longer be able to see their faults because "love covers over a multitude of sins."

 

P -  Lord, You love us with a fervent love.   Your love is intentional and it is everlasting.  Kim and I are far from good at loving people yet, but we hope that in Your eyes we're getting better at it.  Your words are a big help to us.  Thanks for the insight this morning.   Amen  

The Road to Grandma's

S - 1 Peter 4:9

Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.

NKJV

 

O-Being "hospitable" goes beyond inviting people to your home and entertaining them as guests which I am fond of doing.  When I read this Scripture this morning, the Holy Spirit was leading me to see a truth about myself that I didn't like too much.   What I saw was that although it is easy for me to entertain people as guests at my house,  I have a difficult time allowing people, especially new people, into my life in a way where deep  and meaningful relationships can grow.   It may be easy to be temporarily hospitable until everyone went home, like at a party.  But how about sharing my life and my time with people by making myself accessible, available, and approachable until something deeper develops?  That's what I'm not very good at.

 

A - Kim knows how stingy I can be with my time.  She's had to endure my many insensitivities especially when it involved her family members.  She has a really nice family and they're always reaching out to connect with me and make me a part of their lives.  But rather than embrace her numerous brothers, sisters, uncles, aunties, and cousins I would often complain and grumble about how her family members were trying to rob us of the precious little time we got to spend with each other each year.  Bad Christian! Yes, I know that my attitude is wrong.  That's why, starting now with my trip in Vietnam, I am going to make a strong effort to make people feel welcomed and appreciated in my life at all times.

 

P -  Lord Jesus, I will always remember that day when You were just exhausted and looking for a place to rest and pray.   Then the crowds of people found you and instead of telling them to leave You alone (like I would have) , You had compassion on them and spent time with them. Time I'm sure you would have much rather spent sleeping.  Lord, give me that heart.   Amen.    

So, in response to the Scripture this morning, we decided to take the time to visit Kim's grandma way out in the boonies.  

When we told her 

parents our plans they advised me to change into a pair of shorts. 

It's been raining the past few days

 so the road in was  going to be muddy.  I

 remembered that miserable road from my previous trips to Vietnam.   "Shouldn't the county have paved that thing by now?" I asked.  Kim shook 

her head left to right and said one word, "Tham nhung" which means "Corruption."

This is Kim's youngest brother, Hoa, picking up some fresh fruit for grandma as we begin our long journey to Grandma's House. 

On the road to grandma's house, we stopped by at Kim's very first school 

where she attended kindergarten. (Ooh. How cute!!) 

Her tiny little grade school shared the same grounds as this huge Khmer temple complex. (Ooh. Not so cute!)   

As I walked through this place I was trying to remember  what Indy said that village  guy in Temple of Doom meant when he kept going on about the 'Babbalingas, babbalingas!" 

Well, there was some serious Babblinga voodoo magic going on at this place. 

 

Kim told me  that this pyramid shaped building is where the local Khmer took their dead to be dedicated and incinerated.

  

The Khmer monks by means of star charts and divination knew the exact day and hour it would be most auspicious to burn a corpse.  On those days when these auspicious windows of time occurred within regular school hours Kim's entire school would be dismissed since the stench of burning flesh was simply not conduscive to learning. 

 

This is Kim the day before at this upscale WiFicafe in downtown Soc Trang.

This is Kim just minutes after she slipped and fell in the mud on that miserable road to grandma's house.

Trekking through the mud to Grandma's house.      

We made it to Grandma's house just in time for dinner.  

Look, sauteed chicken gizzards!  YUM!

After our hearty meal, we invited Kim's grandma and aunties to the wedding and were on our merry way back home. 

This is a golden snail egg I spotted in the reeds on our way home..  The snail is golden.  The egg is the pink dot on top of the reed.

You can't tell by this picture, but this lady was full on sprinting across this narrow bridge.  She was in an obvious hurry.  

Here are some pics taken around Kim's Family Shrimp Farm.

Aloha everybody!

Countdown

Here’s me, Pastor Hoa (right), and brother Su (left).  Pastor Hoa performed our first unofficial marriage ceremony in 2005. 

Since our K-1 Visa application got jammed up in bureaucratic gridlock at the U.S. Consulate HCMC, Kim and I decided to cancel it altogether and officially register our marriage in Vietnam.  

We'll have to start a new visa petition once our marriage is registered here, and hopefully everything will go smoothly this time. 

   

On 3 November we'll be throwing a huge wedding celebration in Kim's village.   The countdown has begun.  The excitement is building.    

Scraping Wind

This is what happens when Kim catches me playing video games when I should be studying the Bible.  

No, lol, just kidding.  I've been sick with a cold these past few days and in Vietnam there's this ancient folk remedy  called "cao  gio"  (or scraping wind)the village folk like to use to treat a variety of illnesses.  

The belief is, illnesses such as colds, and fevers are caused primarily by bad stuff in the wind.  When the bad stuff gets inside of you, it gets trapped and has no way out which results in illness.  

To remedy this, you get someone  to take some of that green Eagle Brand Oil 

and any piece of metal - i.e. a coin, spoon, a dogtag, in my case it was a U.S. quarter - and scrape the skin on your back along the ribs while applying the oil to create ample ventilation for the bad wind to come out.  The more bad wind a person has, the more dark, red splotches will appear on their back.   Conversely, if you have no bad wind at all, you won’t get any red splotches.  I tried this on Kim's back and to my surprise, no red splotches appeared.  Weird eh?

Anyway, we made sure we prayed and asked for Jesus' intervention before scraping wind just in case we were unwittingly meddling into some backwoods, Vietnamese voodoo.  Everything turned out fine, but I didn't start to really feel better until we made a trip  to the local pharmacy later that night and picked up some good old fashioned Sudafed.  Go figure.  

Answered Prayers

This morning I prayed and asked God to wipe my eyes clean so I can see the beautiful fruits of His labor in this country.   

Until now, I've been so focused on the little things that cause me stress in Vietnam

 (you know - things like insane traffic,  sweltering heat, wierd food, Communist bureaucrats, lack of clean water, mosquitoes, snakes, shrines to demons, dishonest people, and this thick, humid cloud of oppression you feel around you just about everywhere you go)

I haven't been able to connect with the land and people the Lord loves. 

See how cute me and Kim look in our moped helmets and dust covers? I'm squinting because the sun is right in my eyes, otherwise, I'd be smiling like Kim because God answered my morning prayer in a very cool way.  

That morning Kim and I went to church where she ran into some good friends 

(Thao and Tien) who promised to take us on a little adventure.  

There is this tiny Khmer village nestled deep 

in the delta lands of Soc Trang , where the Holy 

Spirit is giving birth to a Church.  Thao and Tien teach the Khmer kids in that village every Sunday and class was about to begin!

We all hopped on our mopeds, cruised out of town and into the country side.  We passed through miles and miles of rice paddy, quaint farming villages, and small patches of jungle as we headed toward the mouth of the Mekong River. 

We rolled into a remote village in the delta called Long Phu.   Kim and Thao made a quick stop at the local market to pick up some fruits and cakes for the Khmer kiddies.  I stayed with the mopeds, taking in the scenery.

 

Here's a nice picture we took by the roadside.  The fellow to my left is a friend from church named Anh Bay which means "Brother #7".  They have big families in Vietnam.

These are Khmer kids playing by the river near  their village.

Finally, we made it to the baby Church.  Look, at all the little kiddies!  As soon as I stepped into this room I knew there was something special happening here.

These kids are memorizing Scriptures although they can't read or write.  They were all so giddy about God's Word, they couldn't wait until it was their turn to recite their Scriptures.  We sang songs and played games with the kids until it was time to go home.  

But we couldn't leave until we gave out all the goodies!

I'm sitting next to the men God is using to share His love with the impoverished Khmer peoples in Vietnam.   They have been persecuted for their faith and endured extreme hardships.  The house church we visited had been raided and shut down several times over the last 15 years.  Leaders have been imprisoned, believers have been forced to recant their faith.   Only recently has God opened the door in Vietnam for the unreached ethnic tribes of Vietnam.    Today, the Vietnamese government has granted the majority of ethnic tribes the freedom to pursue the Christian faith.   In the last year, this tiny house church has grown to over 200 believers and is still growing!  And by the way, that's not counting the kids!

"Yes. Have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise'?"

Matt 21:16 NKJV

Lord, thank You for my wife and our friends, both old and new. 

 

It's been a truly beautiful day with You!

 

 With Love from Vietnam, Bill and Kim