Do you know those times when you tell a story about an amazing time, event, or moment in your life and you just can't do it justice? You know that the "moment" was so much more awesome than what is coming out through your words, and the other person just doesn't comprehend how crazily awesome it was. They look at you like..."oh, that's nice", then they go about their business. That is often how I feel about the things that happen and the emotions that are invoked during our trips to Vietnam, but I guess "God moments" can sometimes only mean much to the person going through them. Tuesday held a few of these moments that I won't be able to do justice, but I'll try anyway.
We started off the day picking up 40 children, about 5 caregivers, and 10 of the nuns from the orphanage so we could all head to the first feeding of the week and then to the beach. All of them, coupled with our 17 people that were already on the bus, made for a very tight fit. There is something pretty amazing about hearing those little voices and laughter while driving through the beautiful country that is Vietnam. It didn't take long for the some of the kids to pull out their little bags and wrap the holes around their ears. See...these kids never ride in vehicles, so they get a little car sick. That is why the nuns give them each a little plastic grocery style sack to catch the...well, you know. The ride was extremely bumpy and winding because the location where we were doing the feeding was pretty remote. We actually had to end up parking the bus and walking about a mile to the feeding. I do believe God orchestrated it all this way for a couple of different reasons. It makes for a very surreal moment when you have to walk on a dirt road to a church located in a remote village in southeast Vietnam (this is one of those "moments" that I was talking about that I just can't do justice). It's hard to convey how different the smells are, the scenery, the homes, and the vegetation, not to mention the fact that you are are stranger in a foreign land on the other side of the world.
It never ceases to amaze me how the people we come in contact with at the feedings can be some of the most sincerely joyful people I've ever come in contact with. I could spend all day walking among these people, shaking hands, saying "Sin Chow", which means "hello" in Vietnamese. Withing the first five minutes of being there, Cheyenne was in tears. I know that doesn't surprise most of you, but it caught me by surprise because we had just gotten there. *(Here comes another one of those "God Moments") See, one of the first people Cheyenne met was a little old lady, who looked about 150 years old, and was positioned in the customary "Vietnamese squat". Her eyes were nearly squinted shut and she had this very uncomfortable look on her face, one that seemed to say that she was in pain. She grabbed Cheyenne's hand and wouldn't let go. She started talking to Cheyenne in Vietnamese, which of course, Cheyenne didn't understand a word of. So Cheyenne called Christine over to translate. Christine relays to Cheyenne that the woman's eyes are hurting her very badly and that she was asking Cheyenne to pray over her. So...Cheyenne then prays over the woman, in English of course, and tells the woman: "Chua chuc ban ahn" which is "God bless you" in Vietnamese. A smile comes over the woman's face, the pain seemingly disappearing, and she repeats "Chua chuc ban ahn". I don't think the smile left the woman's face the rest of the time we were there.
Needless to say, we had an awesome time at the feeding and it was so cool to see the kids at the orphanage serving the kids of this village. How crazy is that...we go to serve on a mission to the orphans, who turn around and go on mission to the feeding at the village, and we end up being the ones blessed the most. I love how God works!
After the feeding we had to walk back to the bus, which was parked in a field waiting for us to return. Being a pretty large bus, with about 50 people on it, sitting in a field that gets rain every couple of days, it's no wonder that we end up getting stuck. We then have to exit the bus so we could hopefully get unstuck, which didn't work. We weren't standing out there for 10 minutes when, low and behold, a large work truck...WITH A WINCH, comes driving up and helps pull us out. (Another "God moment" by the way) This may not sound all that crazy, but...we are in the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, in Vietnam, where work trucks and winches, especially ones in working condition, are not common. And to add, how about the fact that he drove up to us, while we were on a secluded dirt road, and we didn't even have a way to call anyone!!! Ok...you just had to be there!
After all this, we finally made it to the beach with the kids. We ended up having a complete blast with the kids and one of the most amazing days ever. Again, something to be said about sitting on the coast of the South China Sea in Vietnam, with forty orphans having the time of their life in your presence. I have said it before, and I will say it a ton more...love has no language barrier.
We played games, swam, relaxed, and ate two meals while we were there. It was a day I will never forget.
Our time with Tram, not to mention Truc Mai, Nungh, Oahn, and all the others, has been amazing. It is almost like we never left. Tram is no doubt our child. She may live on the other side of the world, in a country that is closed to adoption from the United States, and baptized into the Catholic religion, which they say causes her not to be adoptable to a non-Catholic family. But we know God is bigger. He can and will soften hearts along with open the doors that need to be opened for her to legally be ours. The Lord keeps on reaffirming it. She knows it too. There is a certain comfortableness that she has when she is with us that we can't explain. She gets bummed out when we have to leave every night, and so do we, because she hasn't been able to stay the night with us like last time. It stinks, but unfortunately we have to follow the rules. The three big girls, including Tram, will be able to stay the night with us Friday night, our last night in Lagi. We can't wait.
One of the many things The Lord has been revealing to me during this trip is that humans, regardless of where we live or what nationality we are, are not all that much different. We may live in different countries, speak a different language, look a tiny bit different, or even have a taste for different foods. But, we all still like to laugh, kids still like to play, we all bleed, we each have feelings, we all hurt at times, we each need hugs, we need to feel loved, we were all created for one reason, we will all meet our maker one day, and Jesus Christ died for EACH AND EVERYONE OF US!!! I am so thankful that I was ADOPTED by Him, and for that, I owe Him my life. Besides, having experienced the true fullness of life that can only be found in Him, how could I settle for anything less. Looking forward to what He has planned for the future!
All for Him,
Kevin
Love all your updates! Praying for y'all!
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