A Glocal Movement

I'm finally back from Vietnam and I can't tell you how excited I am about the future of our involvement there. Despite a long way to go in the work...there is still so much to look forward to.

We have been a part of a NGO (non-governmental organization) called Glocal Ventures as we've begun to mobilize into the country. This has provided us with a recognized group with government backing. Because of this we were able to do all the work we've done with the villages in the north. (water purification, school supplies, clothing, etc).

Being a part of Glocal Ventures also opened the door for us to be at the table at this historic conference this past week.

And now, because of our participation in this conference and with Glocal Ventures, we are going to see our work double or triple or maybe more. We have opportunities now like never before to engage the culture in Vietnam and to initiate more community development projects.

The key is domains. We have to figure out what we do best at our place.--Who has God given us? What do they do? How can their areas of expertise help in community building. Medicine, technology, business, agriculture, human resources, education, art....you name it. All of it can be used for our efforts in Vietnam. And looking beyond Cool River...what partners could we gather to help in this effort? The sky's the limit.

The government has given us a green light. They even signed a "memorandum of understanding" Included in that memorandum was this line: "Promote community to community relations between America and Vietnam, focusing on Vietnamese socio-economic development by carefully expanding the "Glocal Ventures" model as established in Lao Cai Province to other provinces." That's us guys! Our mother church, NorthWood, started it. We joined in on it. That's what all the work and effort and sweat and tears and accumulation of resources and lost sleep is all about.

Way to go Cool River! You are part of history!

Winding Down

So today is the last day of our conference. Tomorrow morning we're back on a plane to America.

We've gotten to meet so many fine people from all over the world....scholars, professors, pastors, policy makers, etc. from France, Belgium, The UK, Singapore, The Philipines, Russia, Australia, Japan, Malaysia, India, China, Thailand, Indonesia, The US and Vietnam of course. We have been sharing in a discussion about the religious climate and evolution of religion in southeast asian countries. There have been presentations, question and answer times, debates and casual conversations over coffee. And overall the feeling, at least for me, has been mixed.

On one hand I am excited about the exposure of these tensions in Vietnam and I am glad of the progress that I've seen. And then on the other hand I know there is still much work to do and many conflicts that still remain.

Either way....I'm happy to be a part of the conversation and the transformation of a nation.

A Wild Ride

This has been a wild ride. Think 'planes, trains and automobiles' times 10.

We've been able to see many things and meet with many people.

From the finest dinners with some of the highest government officials to trekking through rice fields to meet a village house church pastor...we've done it all. And through it all, my eyes have been openend to so much that God is doing here that we never dreamed.

One quick story--
So we're driving down this mountin road close to Sapa and all of a sudden we stop in the middle of nowhere. Out of the bushes comes a small man....he looked like a teenager. He motioned our group to get out of the van and then we followed him through the fields, down the mountain, through a stream and then back up the hill. He led us to a small house....straw roof, wooden walls, cracks filled with mud.

He motioned us inside. The house opened up to one medium-sized room. On the walls were the stories of Jesus in a children's Sunday-school, comic book style. At the front was a pulpit. Leaning up on the sides...little, tiny, wooden pews. A church in the middle of a rice field.

As we entered, several people from the village gathered, providing us chairs and drinks...making sure we were comfortable. And then we sat and talked.

This young man (20 years old) became a Christian because he heard a radio broadcast in 2001. He felt strongly a call from God to share the message he heard. And a church was born. Now there are over 200 people in this church that only 60 people can fit into. They have services 2 nights a week and on Sunday mornings. He doesn't know much about the faith, but he prays and reads the Bible three times a day to study and teach the people.

We asked him about the people and his work. We asked him about his faith and his spiritual disciplines. We asked him about his needs. And in a fresh way, he shared with us his joys and his struggles.

We gathered together and held hands at the end....praying in Vietnamese, in English and in his native tongue, H'mong.

Amazing!

Thanks to all of you that have been praying for us. We still have a few days left and some very important meetings to go. Keep praying. Keep praying. Keep praying.