A few weeks ago I wrote about an upcoming opportunity that my husband had to visit Vietnam with a mission team. He is currently in Vietnam and I have received some positive news from him about the trip.
While many of the small churches in the U.S. are struggling just to pay the bills each month, it was an encouragement to me to hear about the church growth taking place on the other side of the earth. The number of house churches in Vietnam has grown exponentially with more and more people coming into God’s kingdom daily.
I’m just going to let you read about it in Don’s words:
“Hi all from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Greetings in the name of Jesus who saves us all, including the many believers in this beautiful country. I have been here for almost a week with eight others from the Shawnee Valley District of the United Methodist Church, on a trip approved by the West Ohio Conference and Bishop Ough.”
“We have been granted so many blessings here as we have trained almost 90 student pastors and this morning had the privilege of worshipping with a small church in Saigon’s west side. Talk about an Acts 2 church! And to think that they thought they were honored for us to be there. You cannot imagine the Spirit’s presence in each believer here. I cannot tell you enough right now, so will tell you that I will save the best for later. Pastor Don Mundy.”
This note was e-mailed to us just a few days ago (March 18, 2009).
“Hello there from Hanoi, Vietnam. We have seen things that I cannot even begin to tell you about. Except for today’s trip to the Hanoi Hilton, everything has been so upper room, Acts 2 that you cannot possibly see what we have experienced in an e-mail.”
“I will keep many of the details until I get home. Trust me on this one. I am taking notes of each day and you all know that I am certainly taking pictures as I go along. If you get a chance, do read again about the Acts 2 church. Read also Mark’s parable of the sower. You will soon see it in a different way.”
“I am doing well. We use up all of our energies every single day, but most are doing very well. Any free time I have, I am downloading images, altering them or preparing batteries in some way. They do not do very well in the heat and humidity.”
“Do keep the prayers going strong. There have been doors opened up. There has been great healing in so many ways. You cannot imagine all that is being removed from our paths as we go forward in Jesus’ name.”
“If you do get this note, be sure to pass it along to others so they will know too that there is love half way around the world for us and our God, the living God of all; CHUA, as the Vietnamese call him in their language. God bless all. Pastor Don Mundy.”
One incident that I find particularly heartwarming took place between Don, another Vietnam veteran on the team and several Vietnamese pastors who fought against our forces more than 40 years ago. There was a reconciliation that took place between the former enemies that can only be classified as a miracle of God. Don was even invited to the man’s house to meet his family. Who but God could arrange something like that?
God’s spirit is at work in the world today; healing and restoration are taking place in far away lands like Vietnam, through ordinary people who want to serve Jesus and share the good news with others. What can I say, sometimes the most newsworthy stories taking place in the world just don’t make the headlines.