The Blog post that I am presenting for this week is a reprint of my original WP public submission on April 18, 2019. God only knows what awesome and blessed experiences I was privileged to witness and participate in as I served the people (mostly children) in an orphanages in Hanoi, Vietnam.

It is my sincere desire to someday revisit that part of the world to see just how far The Good Lord has brought his precious little ones.

Beautiful Hanoi Children

COME, take a stroll with me down memory lane.  I want to revisit with you a memorable conversation I had with the Lord while on an international 7-day mission trip to Hanoi, Vietnam  in 2013.  In retrospect, God caused me to realize that Vietnam is a country whose wheels turn more slowly; patience and perseverance and resilience among travelers and visitors are the key; being flexible; and finally, understanding that time is not money…relationship-building is!

The mission trip had been organized by Buckner International, a world-wide humanitarian organization that establishes, operates and funds orphanages in many countries all over the world.  Our mission team consisted of just eight dedicated travelers on a maiden voyage to Hanoi, Vietnam. Our mission was to deliver new shoes, a few personal items, and some school and medical supplies to the abandon children, at the orphanage, many on the side of the road.  We were also to teach English as a second language, and serendipitously instill the love of Christ to all persons we met along the way.

Reprinted below is my conversation with the Lord about an assignment given to me by our Buckner tour guide.  Realizing that the people of Hanoi, Vietnam believed in Buddhism, I was surprised when the Holy Spirit led me to deliver our group’s private morning devotions from Acts 19:10.  You see, I knew that our permanently assigned Vietnam government officials (who holstered two guns and a rifle) who shadowed us everywhere we went, would be in attendance.  And Buckner officials had been forewarned not to apotheosize while in the country.

Well, after being reassured that it was permissible for our group to hold private prayer meetings in our hotel during breakfast, I further questioned the Lord as to why he wanted me to present the gospel from Acts 19, knowing that a Buddhist believer would be in attendance.  I asked the Lord why He had in a dream forbidden Paul  to preach the Word in Asia and instead to go over to Macedonia .  Was it because of Confucianism and Buddhism which had been worshiped in that region long before Jesus Christ was born.

The Holy Spirit convicted me that I was wrong in my query.  Paul would later preach throughout all of Asia (see Acts 19:19), (which Vietnam is a part of) and lay the foundation for such a time as this.  Furthermore, I had no idea what God was up to.  He actually told me, My child, this trip is not about you, but about what I am about to do for a Buddhist believer in your mist.  All you have to do is trust and obey.

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