St James' Church

A post-trip report by Diana Yap who visited Michael and Bee Yong with Andrew from 15 to19 July.

Something immediately struck me as we touched down in Hanoi- the traffic.

Sounds of honking filled the air wherever there is a main road. I was amazed how the locals can calmly cross roads with swarms of motorbikes and cars criss-crossing past them, non-stop.  Unused to having 45 honking vehicles all moving within centimeters of me, I cringed whenever we had to cross any road during the first two days.  Andrew wasn’t as stricken as I was, having been there twice before. His advice to me was “just walk; the cars and bikes will avoid you.”

Making Contact
It was our great pleasure to be able to visit Mike & Bee Yong and their kids. They were delighted and grateful for the gifts received from Singapore, such as cooking ingredients, newspapers and Daniel’s milk powder.  They had just recovered from a bout of flu, having been caught up in a very busy spell coordinating and hosting different short-term teams that just left. 

Peace and little Daniel were both looking happy and naturally inquisitive. Peace was her usual chatty self, dramatically describing how her bedroom wall-plaster had once collapsed.  Daniel just started walking a month back and was already playing “Prison Break” or rather “Cot Break” with Peace as his accomplice (see picture).

Their Family & Ministry
What was most enjoyable for us was being able to talk and fellowship with Mike & Bee, and observing them at work and with family. On the day we arrived, we had dinner and spent some time praying at their home. On Sunday, we had the joy of attending service with them and hearing Mike share in Vietnamese with Bee Yong doing the English translation.

A typical Sunday starts really early for them - Bee Yong would begin lunch preparation before 8am. We helped in what we could whilst laughing at Peace who was splashing around in her mini-bathtub. Service is followed by the home-cooked lunch and fellowship.

St. James’ International Kindergarten & English Club
We visited Mike at work in the Kindergarten on Monday. Andrew and I tried hard to keep up with the action & singing while Mike taught. The kids (very cute!) were obviously happy and enjoying themselves - much like in SPK.  We learnt that this style of creative-learning is very different from how local kindergartens operate. A second class was recently added - more cute kids!
We also dropped by the English Club briefly, led by their staff who works as a translator for the Club.

Heavenly Vision, Joyful Obedience
Imagine if there were no faithful witnesses in that place, the little community of faith and the good works in their midst would not have come about. I am humbled once again by cross-cultural workers’ obedience to the Great Commission and willingness to lay down their lives so that God can use them for His glory.

If we at home are not concerning our lives with any of part of God’s purposes for the nations - praying, sending, mobilizing, going, learning, or welcoming internationals in our midst - we have to ask ourselves why.

Heartfelt Prayer Needs
Just before we left, we asked Mike & Bee how we and SJC may pray for them.  “Ask for more co-workers” was a consistent answer. There is a great need for more long-termers who can contribute meaningfully to faith-community planting work. Even though short-term workers are important, there are certain things that only committed long-termers can do to make a difference on the field.

They also asked for new worship music CDs to keep themselves updated and to be able to teach them to their friends; and for good sermon recordings for personal feeding.

Let’s pray too for God to keep their family in good health, for them to be able to appropriate good Shepherd-care and exercise self-care in the midst of their work there.

And on our part, let’s keep in mind the importance of building a good sending-support structure and member-care practices. Because God’s cross-cultural servants are too precious to lose!