Our team rode a train from Danang to Saigon. Our seats were basically a wooden park bench, without any cushion, that should have only fit 2 people on each side. The train was completely over-booked and some people who purchased tickets had no place to sit. The workers eventually brought out little plastic chairs and crammed 6-8 people in a space of 4. The bathrooms were hideous, the sinks outside of the bathroom were full of puke, and there were roaches crawling around our feet. Not the most comfortable situation for a 24 hour ride, but G-d used it to teach me many things.

One, as Paul said there will be times of abundance and times of want, but it is important to be content in every situation. How do you find contentment in a time like this? The answer is to pr-y, pr-y, pr-y and dwell on the positive rather than the negative. Kelsi helped us with this, by recording us saying why a 24 hour train ride was worth it (video to come). Although I have been in a spiritual desert lately, I was able to read a lot of the Word and G-d spoke to me like crazy. My B-ble looks like a college student's notes after a lecture. There are so many words written in the margin and things underlined. I read 1st, 2nd and 3^rd John and learned that G-d only really asks us to do one thing. Yes we need to love Him, and by loving Him, we obey Him. So what has He asked of us? To love others the way He loves us. As long as we are doing that one thing, we are in right standing with G-d, and there is no need to strive or have self-condemnation. This was a very big revelation for me.

Two, Josh was missing for quite some time. When he finally came back to our seats, he told us that someone he was talking to, had decided to commit their life to Chr-st. How awesome is that, Josh lead his first person to Chr-st in a closed country, where it is illegal to evangelize. This totally made the trip 100% worth it : )

Three, we got to see the reason why G-d is close to the poor, and the kingdom of heaven is theirs. There were people sleeping under tables and in the aisles of the train. They never once, got angry, complained, or treated each other unfairly. Instead, they shared their floor space, and allowed people to put their legs or feet on them, just so they would be more comfortable. Even though these people were strangers. There wasn't much food to go around, but they still shared whatever they had with us and with others. They even gave Justine and I some money so we could buy a plate of food to share, because we didn't have enough. Talk about the love of Chri-t radiating from these people, and who knows how many of them, if any, were believers. It makes me think of how poorly, as a believer, I have treated those in need around me, when I was back in the states. I pray that when I go home I go out of my way to take care of those around me, strangers or not. They are all G-d's creation, and He said whatever we do for these least of these, we have done for Him.

 

On the first day of m-nistry in V-etnam, we went to visit a woman who opens her home to street children. While the street kids were playing outside, this woman would knee down with her two sons and pr-y. Her sons are 7 and 11 years old. The family would always pr-y with their front door open, so the street kids started noticing what they were doing. Eventually the kids from outside wanted to come in the house, so she opened up her home to them. Now they come for a few hours a day and she gives them snacks, they pr-y together, she teaches them w-rship songs, and she teaches them about the B-ble. She never asks them to come, they just show up everyday. She is such a sweet woman and her passion for Chr-st is like a raging fire.

There was another woman there the day we visited. She was very quiet so we just assumed she was one of the teachers. After getting to know her, it turns out this woman is an undrground p-stor. She travels to the most remote villages in the north of V-etnam and teaches them about J-sus. These villages are where most of the perscution against Chr-stians take place. She says she goes to these places, completely lead by the H-ly Spir-t. She will ask the H-ly Spir-t who she should pr-y for and He leads her to people who need heal-ng. The people she pr-ys for get he-led immediately and they spread the word about her to the other villagers. Next thing she knows, many people come to her for pr-yer and she is able to lead them to Chri-t by sharing the g-spel with them. She is a mighty, brave warrior for the L-rd.

After she told me this story, Justine said to me, "You should have her pray for your eyes." I have been saying out loud tha G-d will heal my eyes in Africa, but Justine was telling me why wait, have Him heal them now. I have worn glasses since the 9^th grade and without them, I can barely see anything. Why live with this, if G-d the Heal-r and He created our bodies to work in perfect order? I asked her to pr-y fr my eyes, and when she did I could feel the H-ly Spir-t moving. In that moment G-d told me to throw my glasses away....so I did! The next five days I couldn't see a thing, and I remember G-d telling me that He would lead me blindly, all I needd to do was take hold of His hand and trust Him.

After those 5 days, I started to get a little frustrated....I don't understand, I believe He can heal me with all of my heart....I have the faith, so why I am I still not he-led? My fellow teammates told me it was important to sow the he-ling of my eyes, and it was funny how G-d gave me ample opportunities to pr-y for the healing of other people's eyes. The first person I pr-yed for was a blind man who was poor and was trying to raise his children. The second person I pr-yed for was my friend, Hun's aunt, who was diagnosed with throat cancer. She had a stroke and it damaged her eyes, but not permanently in J-sus name : ), and the third person I pr-yed for was a woman who has such bad cataracts she was completely blind, and there were white scales over her eyes. I believe he-ling is manifesting in these people, just as it is manifesting in me, but I still had that question lingering in my head....Father, is there something I still haven't done? Are you waiting for me? Am I not trusting enough or having enough faith?

 

In Cambodia, it was pr-phesied over me that I would be going through the desert and at the end of the desert, I would reach a kingdom. So far, the "desert" has been an amazing place. This was not at all what I was anticipating. To be honest, I was expecting the worst. I was full of fear, even though I shouldn't have been. Why, because G-d always protects His children. He is mighty to save and He promised that no harm would befall the righteous. So what exactly was I afraid of?

            V-etnam has been quite an amazing place. I love the way the people here embrace you like you were their long lost relative. They truly treat us as brothers and sisters in Chr-st. Their generosity is beyond anything I have ever experienced in the states.

            My new sister Hun, she is V-etnamese but currently lives in Australia, has quit her job to come and take care of her aun,t who is battling throat cancer. We had two days off between m-nistries, and she was so touched by the m-ssion we are doing, that she invited us to go to the beach, all-expenses paid. We traveled 8 hours by bus to a famous beach town called Nha Trang.

            While I was in Florida, before the race, I had gone to a V-etnamese restaurant with my sister. While we were eating, there was a huge, beautiful painting next to our table. It really caught my attention. The painting was of mountains surrounding a turquoise blue ocean, V-etnamese people were in canoes floating on the water. On the bus trip to Nha Trang, I woke up at 6 a.m. and looked out the window. I saw the exact painting I had seen in Florida right before my eyes.

            While at the beach, we got to ride a banana boat, took a boat to a remote island, took a glass bottom ride to see the coral reef in the ocean, swam in the middle of the bluest ocean, and went down a water slide in the middle of the sea. We were completely pampered and blessed by the Most High God.

            Why would a complete stranger go through all the trouble of blessing us so much? She is the daughter of a p-stor. Her father pre-ched in the city but was forced by the g-vernment to move to the countryside to p-stor a church. During that time, he did not receive a salary, but had to support his family solely by the food that was given to him by the villagers. Sometimes there was no food. They lived in this village for 7 years, and his daughter begged and pleaded to leave and find a better life. However, her father decided to be obedient to the L-rd and he said he would stay as long as G-d needed him to. They suffered a lot, and the g-vernment would tell them, deny your G-d and we will pay you lots of money, give you a good job, and food. They refused and persevered. After many years, G-d opened the door for the family to go to A-stralia and p-stor a church there.