Saigon

Relevant Bible Verses

1) Gen 26:24 That night the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham."

2) Gen 3:12 And God said, "I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain."

3) Matt 28:19-20 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Like many cities in Vietnam, Saigon did not escape the wrath of war. Saigon has had quite a traumatic history. In the mid 19th century, the French with the aid of the Spanish invaded this port city and destroyed the fort. This event was the precursor to the long struggle between the people of Vietnam and France leading to the historical defeat of the French in 1954. Until today we can still see very strong French influence in this city.

After the fall of South Vietnam to communism in 1975, the city and many of its inhabitants were in a state of chaos and turmoil. In 1976, the new government, renamed the city Ho Chi Minh City and shut its door to the rest of the world. Although recognized worldwide as Ho Chi Minh City, to the people of Vietnam, the city is still lovingly referred as Saigon.


The Mission Team Minus Fong Ping

Last week, I was given the opportunity to be part of the mission team to Ho Chi Minh city. I have heard of christians being put into jail for unknown period and some were tortured till death. I was troubled with the whole exercise and most of all, I was very worried if I would ever see my family members again. I was assigned the tasks to assist in the medical team, share in a church and teach in two bible schools. I have not done any of these in my life before!

I have successfully avoided accepting mission trip twice over the last two years. The third was a little hard for me to avoid and I reluctantly accepted it. The main reason I accepted it was not because of my heart for mission but to "visit" Vietnam since I have not been there.


Dr Mak in Action

God works in a miraculous way. After the MIME (perfomance art without speech) by our team in a church there, it was my turn to preach (share). I started off with Genesis - the creation and the fall of man. Then I proceeded with the death of Jesus on the cross as redemption of our sins. I continued to trust God and ended the sharing with the challenge for the people to accept Christ. I was totally surprise people actually responded! The whole team joined me to help pray for these people. As a matter of fact, the leader of the local church approached me later and told me that she was very excited that her mother-in-law wanted to accept Christ and asked me to pray for her. I was excited too. She further said that her mother-in-law has been in the church for 25 years and refused to accept Jesus. God was working through us.


Gold fish for breakfast anyone?


The Fantastic Four

I also taught in two separate locations and those attended are leaders of church and pastors. I was given two topics to teach; Effective Leadership and Cell Church. The class started in the morning at 9am and ended at 3.30pm with 1 hour lunch break in between. I could not believe I could speak for 4 hours non stop in each class. It was a good trip and I enjoyed it. Possibly I have found my "calling".


Effective Leadership Class


Kipling Bag

When God commands us to go and reach out, there is always one promise that follow - "I will be with you". God was with us all the way. We even had time to do some shopping and site seeing.