Jesus in Vietnam Ministries

GREETINGS FROM BINH CHAU
We praise God and thank you for your prayers for our safe travel back to Binh Chau, Vietnam. We arrived in Saigon on time with ALL of our luggage. God also gave us favor in going smoothly through customs and security. We were greeted at the airport by Mai’s sister Kim, Han our house mother for our orphanage/love house, Pastor Bien from the church in Long Thanh, and a handful of “our” precious children. It’s always such a joy to see our brothers and sisters in Christ when we return here to serve with them. We’re also always amazed at how much the children seem to grow in just 6 or 7 months. We then proceeded to take a 3-hour van ride from Saigon to Binh Chau. We took the first couple of days unpacking and recovering from the 36 hours of travel (from the time we arrived at the Tucson airport until we arrived in Binh Chau). Those members of the Binh Chau Church who attended our first Worship Service on this trip (May 14) send you their love. They are so grateful for all you do to help them grow in their walk with the Lord (and so are we).

SATURDAY CHILDREN’S CHURCH
One of the many joys we have of serving our Lord here at the Binh Chau Church is working with all the children. It’s so exciting to see God at work in their lives and to imagine how He will use them for His glory as they grow into adults. We are thankful God has given us the opportunity to show and share the love of Jesus with so many over the last 13 years. We have attended Children’s Church twice since we have been here and we have had over 60 in attendance each Saturday (picture above). That number will increase in the next couple of weeks as the children start their summer vacations. Having to attend school 6 days a week hinders some from attending Children’s Church every week. We are blessed with a great group of youth leaders who lead about 70% of the service. The new classrooms are such a blessing too as they provide such a better atmosphere for the kids and teachers than sitting outside (with the mosquitoes:) Not only are the children involved in Children’s Church, but they actively participate in Sunday Worship also. One of our high school students reads our call to worship Scriptures and different youth sing during the service. Plus, Thanh (picture below) plays the keyboard for Sunday Worship (and Children’s Church, Wednesday Bible Study, etc.). Thanh’s only been playing for about 4 months now, but God has given her a gift of music. Please pray our youth will continue to have a heart to serve our Lord.

VBS PREPARATIONS
VBS is only 2 weeks away and we are putting the final touches on our preparations. This year we will be focusing on teaching the children the truth of the Creation through Mai’s Eternal Way message with that leading into the Gospel (EE presentation). In a country where so many false gods are worshipped, it is so important to teach the children first who the one true living God is and then share the Gospel. We have met with those who will teach at this year’s VBS (picture above) and they are excited about this year’s message. Our vision/desire is to plant a deep, rich understanding of who God truly is, our need of a Savior, and the depth of God’s love for us through His Son Jesus’ work on the cross, in each child’s heart at VBS so they will be excited to return home and share this wonderful story of God’s love, mercy, and grace with their non-Christian family members, friends, and school mates.

A NEED FOR MORE BIBLES
We are in need of at least 50 Bibles (King James Vietnamese translation) to be given out at VBS. Each Bible costs $7. If you would like to share the blessing of helping a child or children receive a Bible at this year’s VBS, a donation may be made online at our website, jesusinvietnam.com, or given to Dan/Nancy Lupo. If God puts it in your heart to help purchase these Bibles, please email us the amount so we can let everyone know when this need is met.

PRAYER REQUESTS
Please pray God will use this year’s VBS to bring many non-believing children to faith in Jesus and give them a desire to attend Children’s Church so they might grow in their walk with the Lord.

Please pray God will give the children attending VBS the desire and boldness to share what they have learned at VBS with their other family members and friends.

“How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you.”
1 Thessalonians 3:9