Journal notes from one of our team members, Scott

November 14, 2011

Favor continues to be widespread here in Viet Nam.

Mark has been engaged in discussions about the legalities of our land lease and the required involvement of the local authorities.

We are learning as we go…Don and Maria Whitney, the “grandparents” for this project, are intending to stay here. They have signed a contract to initiate the improvements of the small simple accommodations that exist on the property. They are the advance party…. here to oversee the early transition and to assist Mark and Jessica in their move…They too have sold everything to make the move….This will be their home as we get things rolling…

A thorough cleaning, new paint inside and out, some simple appliances hooked up to the propane, new screens added to the windows and ventilation portals and “voile” they are ready to move in….  or so you would think….but we are here in Viet Nam and respect for the local government is imperative…..

“Do You Have Your Papers Please?”

We find that consternation can grip us as further legal requirements in achieve our goals appear seemingly out of left field. Venturing out into deeper water requires greater faith…..and I would say we are well in over our heads!! But Faith abounds when your abroad!!

And herein lays a conundrum….(I like that word….”conundrum”…maybe because I always enjoy a good puzzle or mystery)…….anyway…..I find I can say this with a smile on my face because the solutions to each of these challenges arrives almost immediately on the heals of the issue…. One only needs to understand how the Hand of the Father can bring about immediate resolution for all things and marvel as He unravels the mystery…….

We find that Don and Maria, as well as Mark and family, will need to have a permit to stay in an individual house…in contrast, if we stay in the hotels, we don’t need to have permits. Seems “they” want to know where all the “peeps” are…. No problem, as of this writing it was all handled…praise Him!

Other legalities have presented themselves and have been answered with equal resolve. Very little seems to be a problem here….Even the mosquitoes don’t bother me….  and the debacle with the internet??...it too has fallen under His favor and has been overcome….

Most amazing and most wonderful to see His Hand providing!!! 

Today we have a meeting with Christian leadership of this wonderful city….Once again we boarded the bus and headed for a destination that only a few know about….Down a narrow alley way, in an unmarked building, lies the largest of the clandestine church buildings…. We exit the bus and are quickly ushered past the gates and into the “lobby” a simple area where bikes, scooters and shoes are parked.

We pass through a darkened basement-like area to the rear and slip into a narrow stairwell….rising steeply and twisting to the left. We enter a hallway where the ceiling is a good ten feet high…passing along side beveled glass panels, we are beckoned to enter through a pair of glass doors…the kind you might find in a dining room…..Here is the main meeting hall…marble floor with two wooden pillars equally spaced from front to back… about 20 feet wide and 50 feet long. On the plastered walls, hang articulating fans. Whirling a passing, momentary relief, that is certainly welcomed here….. and thank goodness for the sparse air conditioners that sit just above a few of the fans….

Shoes are traditional removed but we are asked to keep ours on…I believe this was a statement of honor….they are so hospitable that I am certain they want us to be as comfortable as if we were in our own homes….but removing the shoes is actually pleasurable and most of us, if not initially, eventually remove them….with toes embracing the coolness of the stone floor we start up with Praise and Worship…

I am moved as I hear a sound that would rival any recording…professional or otherwise!

They lift their voices in perfect harmony, as the musicians present a flowing and well filled out arrangement…..With simple instruments, they lead a passion filled chorus…

  

Some of these people, all of them leaders in their local community churches, have traveled for over 10 hours to attend this two day conference….It never ceases to amaze me what some folks will to do for the Gospel!! 

We kicked off the teachings with Mark, followed by Mike and then me….Yes indeed, it was one of my first times to teach a full message…… and with an interpreter no doubt. I shared about how my son, Jason and I had been at odds during his teenage years and the many reasons that laid at the root of the impasse….The message was simple and straight forward greeted with a round of applause upon completion…….so was that because they enjoyed it?...... Perhaps relieved it was over?........ Or were they just being their open and hospitable selves, celebrating the good news without judgment on its delivery!?! It’s an “Amen” to any and all of the above I’m sure!!

These people like to eat I must say…A wonderful lunch awaited the team as they gathered around a comfortable table in a small room upstairs. I held back to do some typing and no less than 4 people approached me to confidently influence me to join them in the meal….I eventually felt compelled to oblige and headed up the stairs…..Like all meals here…it was simple…fresh and flavorful.

After lunch, I held back and did some internet work and more writing….I joined the group shortly thereafter and we presented them with a fire tunnel.

A fire tunnel is were the giving group forms a double line….with the team members facing each other…sort of like what you have seen in military weddings with the swords drawn and held over head and crossed above forming a path way or “tunnel”.

The idea here is to pray for each individual as they pass through the tunnel while laying hands on them. This can be, and was, quite moving…And of course not many of the bless-ese understood English. But that didn’t stop the blessings from having an affect as many broke down in tears as their hearts were sanctified.

We finished up by 3:30….But not until after another round of glorious music!! Afterwards there were lots of hugs accompanied with “Thank You”s in various forms of broken English……. Oh no!!........you don’t understand….Thank you  pastors!!! ….Thanks for coming and blessing us and thanks for giving your lives over for the Gospel!!