Called to serve in Vietnam
The first time when I first through the streets in Vietnam leaving the airport, I was not surprised to see how poverty-stricken the city is since I saw something similar in Mexico when I went there with our youth. But what surprised me, was that later on when I visited these poor homes, I noticed that, no matter the financial status, they had an altar for their gods to whom they sacrificed food, money, and incense daily. Some homes had just one tiny altar in a corner, while others had a whole room dedicated to their gods with different flashing colored lights 24h a day, so their gods would feel happy. After I met Alexander and Irina, I found out that there is only a very small percentage of Christians in this country, most of which are Catholics. I asked them how are they able to evangelize to them since they don’t know the Vietnamese language, and they answered, “In the language of love – God’s Love.”
I was blessed to be part of a few mission trips with Alexander, Irina, and Evgenia out of the many that are serving in. We visited the girls in the boarding school with children from different ethnic groups whose parents aren’t able to provide for their education. We told them about how God loves us that He gave the best to us – His Son. We sang to them and made crafts with them, each girl made a paper vase and a special flower where they wrote on the petals John 3:16. It brought so much joy to me seeing how these girls were happy with the interaction and the attention we gave them.
Another ministry I had a chance to be part of is helping those who live in the city on the cemetery. Heavy rain started when we were about to leave and Alexander said that we should just go now, so we went in the rain to visit one family. When we arrived, I was a bit sad to see how four children are being raised by their grandparents amidst all the graves in a broken-down hut. But when we gave them food and candies, I was surprised by how a small handful of candies brought some joy to the little ones. We also prepared some clothes we wanted to give them, but we forgot them at home. The next day the rain was still pouring and many streets and homes were flooded, including the home of the family we visited. The day after, we went to visit them again and brought the clothes that we forgot, and saw it as God’s hand that He planned for us to provide them with dry clothes after the flood. Praise be to our Lord!
In those two weeks, I saw how devoted Alexander, Irina, and Evgenia are to the Lord by serving the Vietnamese people, and I understood that the work there is something that can’t be done by coming – doing – and leaving. In order to be the light of Jesus and to witness His love one needs to live among the people of Vietnam, and it would be a great blessing for me if I am part of that!
Ministry in Vietnam – Tatyana Yevstratenko