Vietnam & Beyond: June Update Letter

As our time in Vietnam continues, we have seen God continue to open doors for us to be a blessing in this nation and beyond. The Billy Graham festival was definitely a huge highlight for us, an answer to prayer, and something we were blessed to be a part of. If you missed our last newsletter, it's definitely worth reading! But since then, we have continued to minister in different ways and we're excited to share a few highlights from those opportunities with you now!

DTS in Cambodia

In April, we took a trip to Battambang, Cambodia for 2 weeks. Two different DTSes (Discipleship Training Schools) from Vietnam joined a larger ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) DTS there for a month of joint classes. We went to support the teams, aid in translation, bring encouragement and help prepare them for the outreach phase of their schools. We were also able to see many old friends and strengthen the connection between our bases and nations.

Teaching Opportunity

In May, we were able to partner with some friends to organize a 3 day seminar over the holiday break. They have been leading a Bible study with some young believers from a minority tribe in the central part of Vietnam who have come to Ho Chi Minh City for work and school. Daniel taught for one day on the nature and character of God, using stories from Jesus' life to help illustrate who God really is and how He wants to have relationship with us. I (Cassandra) taught another day about identity and who we are in Christ. I really enjoyed sharing with these girls about my life and the importance of knowing what God says about them!

YWAM Vietnam Gathering

Earlier this month all of YWAM Vietnam gathered together for the first time in 5 years to reconnect, hear from each operating location, encourage one another, worship together and look to the future as a mission. Daniel was the main translator for the entire gathering and I led worship one morning. It was a very special time to see friends from other cities, hear from our different leaders, pray for one another and process some of the difficult things that have happened in the nation over the past 5 years (ie. COVID lockdown, the death of one of the national leaders, etc.).

My personal highlight came from one of our small group sessions. I was in a group with 2 other moms from another location. They each had toddlers running around with mine making lots of noise and interrupting us every few minutes, yet amidst the chaos, we were able to share some real struggles of motherhood in missions. We cried together, prayed together and encouraged each other. Being a mom to 2 toddlers isn't easy and it can be difficult at times to get a lot of "ministry" done; but I've found that God brings about special moments like these into my life where I can bring encouragement, share my experiences and pray for others - even with my energetic, sometimes screaming, children running around!

Future Plans

We will soon be sending out another letter sharing more details about what is next for us, but we wanted to give you a heads up about our plans for the near future. We are leaving Vietnam on August 16th and heading back to Minnesota for the rest of the year. We will mainly be focusing on fundraising in that time. We are moving back to the US permanently and are planning to join YWAM Lakeside, Montana early next year. We have already been accepted on staff there but must be fully funded before we can go. This means that we need to raise approximately another $2100-$2600 in monthly support depending on base housing availability/rent prices. Keep an eye out for our next newsletter sharing more about this!