Friends,
What an amazing trip! Overall this was a trip of confirmation. We left convinced that the ministry of Young Life is a perfect fit for Vietnamese kids and the principles of incarnational ministry, humor, and winning the right to be heard work here! It works everywhere. From downtown Ho Chi Min City, to Hanoi, to the highland provinces, to small tribal villages across the country. We left confirmed that Johnny & Pearl are the right national directors and the ministry is in great hands. (They are likely coming to our All Staff Celebration in January, and also staying a few weeks after for some gatherings).

As you can see from the attached picture (can you find me?) we had about 70 people from around the country for our 3 day training. About half were from HCMC, another 25 or so from the central provinces and tribes, and 4 from Hanoi. Some great seeds were planted for new clubs, a camp next spring and summer, and potentially a similar training next year in Hanoi if our friends that attended really go for it this year.

One of the coolest moments is when we had all the leaders pray for kids they knew, kids they didn’t know, names of towns, villages, and provinces, cities, districts, and schools, and for the whole country of Vietnam. They wrote down their prayers, and names of kids, and put them on the maps on a white board. Above the maps the Young Life mission statement is written in Vietnamese.

After 4 hard days of vision and training we took a day to see a little bit more of Vietnam. We went to the Cu Chi tunnels. This was in the middle of the former DMZ (Demilitarized zone) where some of the worst jungle fighting of the Vietnam war took place. The propaganda machine is still churning here, and it was interesting to walk through exhibits and see videos about the "American enemy." Lots of mixed emotions, but the predominant one was respect and admiration for our troops who served here. What a horror that must have been. At the end of the tour I did get to shoot an M60 and AK47 J. We also got a chance to visit the Mekong Delta area. On the second video below (it is a bit long) you can see some of the interesting (non-ministry) experiences I had while there. Just be warned, I eat some weird stuff, shoot some guns, and join a public work out session. Oh, and they eat dog there and I shot a video of a basket of them heading to market….so the video is a bit PG-13.

At the end of the week we helped put on a Young Life ‘Birthday ‘ club in the middle of a worn down part of the city. Kids came streaming in from the streets and were greeted with smiles, music, laughter, and the name of Jesus proclaimed. The room we had club in was so hot I joked to the kids that this was the first club ever done in a Sauna. No kidding, it was about 110 with 100% humidity. You can see in the pictures in the club video my shirt is completely soaked…that is not water! Somehow us ‘Westerners’ were the only ones bothered by it as all the kids seemed just fine. At the end of this email I have a link for you to see club and some pictures. They call it a ‘Birthday Club’ to avoid suspicion from officials.

Overall, the Young Life movement is well on its way in Vietnam. It has been a true joy and honor to see it start and thrive. Thanks to those of you who have stepped in and become regular prayer partners and donors. I hope to introduce many of you to Johnny and Pearl in just a few short months. More to come on that…


Videos:

Birthday Club Video: Starts with a few pictures and then the footage is a bit dark as the room was not well lit, but you will get the flavor: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm4iX-JRJfg

Jamie’s other Vietnam Adventures: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9D8R1P8K5Q