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GAC 2019 CAMA Immersion, Milpitas, CA (2026)

06/11/2019

Monday June 10 – final blog (by MSH)

From the beginning, I was drawn to Micah 6:8 to meditate on for this trip, “He has told you, O man, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly before your God?” My eyes were opened to the injustice of our world, injustice passing down from the beginning of sin to the first family (Genesis 3-4), to today’s society, to the orphans themselves and worst, to my own heart. I have been victimized by the injustice of our world, and I have certainly contributed to it. The only One who can break this endless cycle of injustice is Jesus, and He did that when dying on the cross, accepting the iniquity of us all.

I was also drawn to pay attention to the Spirit’s guidance on the trip. I was reminded to just be present, noticing and not judging. I do have the tendency to make judgment. I learned to engage with the orphans and enter into their own world. I intentionally mesmerized myself in the video game clips that they watched, clips that I would normally judge as futile, and my eyes were opened to Jesus’ loving presence with me when I was mesmerized in my own futile YouTube addiction at home. I understand deeper the love of Jesus has for me and for our world.

As we end this trip I feel a little unsettled. I so look forward to returning home to my dearest family and friends. Yet it also feels like I’m leaving “home.” Jesus’ death has the power to reconcile, and I now have new friends and family everywhere, making it difficult to say goodbye. As I write this blog God reminds me that this world is not my home. All these unsettleness will one day be gone, when God gathers all His children and settle us in our final home, allowing us to enjoy Him, enjoy each other and enjoying His new creation until eternity.

Until then, thanks to my family and friends in Viet Nam who helped me experience deeper the love of Jesus, and thanks to my friends and family in the US who helped finance the children camp and train up workers and leaders to serve needy people in Viet Nam. I thank you and I thank God for you!

Now … someone please help me switch gear to focus on home church again!

(here’s a small collection of photos showing activities at the children camp)

06/09/2019

Sunday June 2 Blog (by Thu Ngan)

Saying goodbye is difficult!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Three days at the orphan camp flew by so quickly. It was time to say goodbye to the kids and the volunteers this morning. Seeing them leave, I wish I have one more day to be with them and to understand them more. I will never forget all of the innocent smiles on their faces. I think they all have a good time, not only learning life skills, but also having fun together. Thank God that I can see the fruits of the seeds that CAMA have planted for years. Some of the college students, supported by CAMA service, came to camp to serve and support the younger orphan kids. Even though they do not believe in God, I believe that they will be saved soon because of God’s love through CAMA.

Tonight we had another chance to eat dinner and say goodbye to the Bible College Students. We ate, talked, and shared about our stories with each other. I heard new stories about how they were called to be a servant of God in their hometown, and how God has provided them spiritually and financially. When they were financially struggling, God provides for the people who are studying His word. Those stories encouraged me a lot in my faith and my walk with God. Tears were falling from one of the students’ face and it makes me want to come back every year or even stay here forever.

Thank God for the opportunity that I can meet new brothers and sisters in Christ, so that we can share our blessings and praying for each other.

Good bye CAMA staff and all the volunteers! May God always be with you and bless you. I pray that God will help us to have more time to work together.

06/08/2019

Saturday | June 8th (Christine Lum)

Thank you for all of your support and prayer so far!

Today was our second day of camp, and I woke up asking God, “God, what do I have to offer these kids when I don’t even possess the same language as them?” I felt discouraged from yesterday, as I was unable to communicate with the kids in the ways that I wanted to. But as I sat alone with God during our devotion time, I felt Him telling me that He is able to break down any barriers, including the enormous language barrier that I felt like I was facing. If I was willing to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading, He would show me how to love these kids.

We started off the day with teaching for the kids. We learned about human trafficking and self worth. My group was made up of younger kids, so I thought it was so great that they were being taught about these subjects, but also sad that they had to learn about human trafficking because it applied directly to them. Then we had the rest of the day to swim and play! It was fun to see the kids enjoying themselves - and even better because I know they don’t often have the luxury of swimming.

The entire day I kept asking myself, “How do I love these kids?” And I felt that God was leading me to just be goofy and show them physical affection. I danced with them, taught them how to swim, and hugged them. It’s so crazy how sometimes it’s just the little things that can show God’s love. I’m grateful for the Holy Spirit’s leading, and for this opportunity to be with these kids.

At night, we had a time of singing and playing games. At one point, we were singing a song and I was holding hands with one of the girls in my group. When it came to one part of the song, she laid her head on my side and smiled at me. Diana turned to me and said, “Do you know what the song is saying? It just said ‘We will meet again sometime.’” Reflecting on this one moment brings tears to my eyes. It’s almost unbelievable that this girl could want to see me again when we haven’t been able to speak a word to each other. I am so grateful that I was able to show her love. God broke down all barriers and made it possible!

06/07/2019

6.7.19

If this were my last mission trip ever, what do You want me to see, God? And if this were my last blog ever, what do You want me to write about?

Lately, I’ve been exercising the word “if” a lot but haven’t improved on my faith with the one and only God (Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”) That’s because I know I have little faith yet am surrounded by volunteers & CAMA staffs whose faith are far greater than mine. What they can offer for these orphan kids are their enormous faith and I feel ashamed because really faith doesn’t cost money or time with God. So why am I lacking?

Today, I was pretty pumped to see 60+ orphan kids arrived. We split into different groups for gaming activities and lessons on human trafficking. During our breaks, I had a chance to learn more about em Lan Anh’s and em Nhan’s situations. Their stories reminded me of how helpless I am, and how much more faith I need to build in order to cope with the fact that life is just simply unfair. I wish my eyes could record every little detail about our activities and stories today because oh boy, just when I thought I had done this 3x, God never fails to amaze me.

Thank you for all your prayers and supports. Until next time, I hope!

HH

06/06/2019

Thursday | June 6th [Nhi :))]

Hello friends and family back home.

Today is our 6th day here in Vietnam. During the last few days, I was blessed to see a lot of God's works, but I was also sad and burdened with what I saw. In our sharing, some of us are hesitated to go on this mission trip because of many different reasons. I am, personally, afraid to be challenged emotionally. I noticed that on the year that I go on a mission trip, I am always challenged emotionally. This year, I feel so helpless seeing the orphan kids and their families. I want to snap my fingers and change their lives, but I know it is not realistic and it makes my heart ache. But God’s love is great, so He allowed a friend to help me see that even though we cannot make instant changes to their lives, we can love them and help brighten their day. God is doing great things in His time. So with this mentality, I went with the volunteers to Ba Vì (where the camp is hosted). We had a great time eating, worshipping, playing, and preparing for our meeting with the kids tomorrow. I am so thankful for these volunteers. Eventhough some of them are not believers, God is using them for His kingdom. And maybe through these kids, they will come to know God's love and His purpose for them.

Stay tuned for more updates :))
P.S. We love and miss everyone back home.

06/05/2019

Wednesday | June 5th (Diana Lam)

A couple days ago, Christine and I joined GAC and it’s been so much fun!! We’ve been living life with each other and immersing ourselves with the lives here. This morning was pretty hard for me to wake up because I’ve been so tired, but the thought of gathering together got me out of my bed real quick (and cause I was running fashionably late hahaha!)

MSH took a moment by playing, “God of Justice” and asked us how it felt listening to song at this moment? (If you haven’t listened to it yet, check it out!) We went around answering and some of us felt that it was so real singing the song here and how the words are easier said than to put into action. Afterwards, everyone shared how they were feeling so far. This precious moment allowed us to see what God was doing through the lens of other teammates and it was a sweet moment for us.

It was a light day and in the afternoon we were meeting with a college ministry within Vietnam. If you don’t know, Christine and I went with this ministry two years ago and so this ministry is home for us. As we gathered together, the leaders began to pour our their hearts through sharing various stats, regions that didn’t know the Lord and stories of God changing/reviving lives! Christine and I got to see God using this ministry a couple years ago and since then we haven’t stopped thinking about the leaders/students here. After praying for each other, we went to eat yogurt with sticky rice (so good, you should come here and try it!).

As we finished our dessert, it meant that it was almost time to leave and leaving was very hard for me. It wasn’t just about saying goodbye for awhile, but it was the thought of leaving them to finish a task that was so so big - reaching the unreached students of Northern Vietnam. I was telling God, “Lord, I want to stay back and help! This land needs your help and there is too much to be done. God I also want to live the everyday life with the people here, but now I won’t be able to…” As I got up, I hugged each leader and tears started pouring down because I love them so much.

I think there will be tears to come in the next couple days, from tears of seeing the injustice of this world to feeling loved by God. Please pray for our team as we prepare our hearts, minds and energy to serve God and the orphans at the camp tomorrow! Thank you for all your support; We feel the prayers!!

06/04/2019

Tuesday June 4th Blog (by Anthony)

I want thank Jesus for bringing me on this trip because if I wouldn't have come on this trip I wouldn't have seen all the hardship that the people are going through in Vietnam

This morning we all went out to visit 6 different family. we all met up with them in their own house and we hear different stories and the stories of the family were sad and hard many went through family members dying because of depression or illness, two of the family members had HIV and couldn't find work because people were stunning them and one didn't had a dad or mother to support them.Thank God because some of them are getting support by Cama. It was a blessing to hear from them even though I can only understand a little bit of it, but I was able to be in there present and I felt that God was calling me to them. Like in John 1:39 Jesus call us to come and see. I see how their life were effect by it but they don't let it weight them down they keep going and it really encourage me.

I love you my brother's and sister's please keep praying for us because it will get hotter in the next few days and we need the Lords Strength with us Thank you guys.

06/03/2019

Monday June 3rd Blog (by Quynh Nhu)

Cảm tạ Chúa đã cho đoàn truyền giáo- Mission Trip summer 2019- chúng con một ngày đầy phước hạnh và bình an. Cảm tạ Chúa đã tiếp trợ cho chúng con thức ăn thông qua các anh chị em trong Chúa, cho chúng con được đến nơi bình an và có khoảng thời gian thật vui vẻ cùng học hỏi lời Ngài, trò chuyện, làm chứng và hiểu hơn về nhau.

Sáng nay, đoàn dậy sớm và bắt đầu di chuyển đến Trung tâm Đời Sống Mới- trung tâm cai nghiện tin lành- toạ lạc ở xã Hoà Lạc. Tại đây, đoàn có cơ hội cùng thờ phượng Chúa với các anh em, cùng nhau học hỏi lời Ngài và lắng nghe những câu chuyện. Con thật sự rất bất ngờ khi đến trung tâm bởi sự thân thiện, và vui vẻ hoà đồng của các anh, các bạn tại trung tâm. Kinh nghiệm cách mà các anh em cùng tôn vinh Chúa và cùng học và đọc lời Ngài mỗi ngày, con chỉ biết thốt lên:”Thật tuyệt vời.” Một lần nữa Chúa mở mắt cho con thấy rõ hơn rằng Ngài đang sống, đang làm việc, đang hiện diện giữa vòng chúng con, trên mỗi đời sống của các anh chị em. Mỗi người chúng con mang mỗi câu chuyện khác nhau, song Chúa Ngài là thành tín, Ngài có chương trình riêng cho mỗi người chúng con.
Tại trung tâm đoàn được gặp anh Doanh, anh vừa quay trở lại với trung tâm được vài ngày sau một thời gian lạc lối, xa cách Chúa. Xin Hội Thánh cùng đoàn chúng con cầu nguyện cho anh Doanh, xin Chúa thêm sức và làm việc trên cuộc đời anh, chữa lành bệnh tật và giúp anh vững tin bước theo đường lối và chương trình của Ngài dành cho anh.

Vào buổi chiều, đoàn đến thăm nhà của các bạn sinh viên CAMA, cùng trò chuyện và ăn tối cùng các bạn. Mục sư Hùng hướng dẫn, học cùng chúng con câu chuyện trong Giăng 8 và rút ra bài học về tình yêu rộng lớn của Chúa Ngài. Đoàn có gửi đến các bạn sinh viên tốt nghiệp năm nay và năm ngoái những phần quà nhỏ để tán dương sự cố gắng của các bạn sinh viên CAMA. Đoàn được đến xem nơi ở và sinh hoạt của các bạn sinh viên, lắng nghe những câu chuyện của các bạn và những dự định ước mơ của các bạn trong tương lai. Nguyện xin Chúa ở cùng nâng đỡ và thêm sức cho các bạn trên con đường sắp tới. Xin mọi người tiếp tục cầu nguyện, giúp đỡ và thêm sức cho các bạn.

Cuối cùng, xin mọi người tiếp tục đồng hành và dõi theo đoàn truyền giáo chúng con. Thời tiết sẽ nóng hơn trong những ngày tới, xin mọi người cầu nguyện cho sức khoẻ của các bạn trong đoàn để chúng con có thể hoàn thành chuyến đi thật tốt đẹp, vinh hiển danh Ngài.

06/02/2019

Sunday June 2 Blog (by Thu Ngan)

Thank God for a blessing Sunday that we can worship Him at Hanoi Church and meet with some of the Bible Students that we worked with before.

After a long night sleep, we all woke up early in the morning to have personal devotion with the Lord and a full nice breakfast at the hotel. We also had time to sit down together to remind each other about the promise of God in Psalm 139 that He is always present with us, protect us, and lead us to everything according to His plan.

Then we attended the second service of Hanoi Church to worship Him and to listen to His word. This is the second time that I worshiped here, and it helped me imagine about the holy, joy, and peace of the worship that we will have in heaven when Christ returns. The sermon today also reminded me to ask God to keep my spiritual eyes open to always look for God and the relationship with Him but not to the vanity things on earth. I also had a chance to meet with some friends that I knew couple years ago. I was so happy because they still remembered me and said encouraging words to me.

In the evening, we had dinner and shared with some of the Bible students. It is a blessing time that I can listen to their stories of how they were called to know and to serve God. God has different plans for different people to do His work. Some people have gone to church since they were a child, so they could learn a lot about God and receive a lot of His blessing. Other people were called later in their life after facing with a lot of troubles that they cannot overcome by themselves but by the power of God. We also could share the differences between Vietnam and the U.S lives, so we can understand and be closer to each other. We come from different places and have different stories, but we all have the same Father in heaven and have the same calling to glorify Him on earth.

Please continue to pray for us to have strength and health to finish our busy schedule in the next few days. Thank you so much. I'll see you in my next blog.

06/01/2019

Saturday June 1 Blog (by MSH)

Each year we get a chance to "immerse" ourselves in the work God is doing in North Vietnam. We come with the hope to SEE a bigger picture of God, to SERVE alongside whose whom He has placed in this area, and to SEEK a clearer vision when we return.

On the flight over here I was praying specifically for a greater awareness of God's presence with us on our trip. It is hard to slow down and notice God on the hustling & bustling streets of Hanoi. But if I can't stay connected with God love and align myself with His work, I will just be running aimlessly beating the wind.

And so ... please continue to pray for us to be able to be still and know God.

Thank God for an eventful journey here. The first flight was delayed but everything else was smooth. I am so thankful that our church, families and friends sent us, my Thursday night group came to pray for us, the CAMA staff worked on a Saturday to give us a grand welcome, the hotel is comfortable, the weather is mild, nước mía is amazing and the street food is great. Oops ... don't tell my wife I said that.

Thank you for your prayer.

GAC 2019 CAMA Immersion

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