When we stepped into our current role we understood that there would be a lot of travel involved. That did not concern us. We both love to travel and are well-inured regarding its vicissitudes and frustrations. So when Teach Beyond announced that the next Asian conference would be in Hanoi, we were excited about the opportunity to return to Vietnam, a country that we found as vibrant and vital as any in Southeast Asia.

We were further encouraged when our boss Vance, who also has a heart for Vietnam, was willing to financially help several of our national colleagues from WCA in Bangladesh to attend. Many of them had never left their own country and most had no passport and no visa. But with the diligent efforts of our National Director, Shankar, we were able to help all those – fifteen of them in total – who wished to attend.

I was asked to help with the seminar presentations and was encouraged that most of those whom I reached out to were willing to help. I found a couple of very competent Vietnamese staff at the hotel most helpful in setting up projectors, microphones and tables and all of the seminars were well attended and well received.

Pam’s responsibility was to set up the tables that would allow our attendees to get more information about aspects of their ministry that interested the. These tables were then staffed with those who could del with individual questions about their ministry particulars that would have been difficult to ask in a public setting like a seminar. We do try to stay culturally sensitive.

The plenary sessions were a great encouragement to all who came. Of particular joy to us was to see the Bangladeshi nationals that we had encouraged to attend volunteer to lead one of the worship sessions with their own particular traditions of worship, including the gorgeous national dress that is such an important part of the culture of South Asia.

We also had a chance to meet and encourage several of our national members. Our plan was to invite each of them to share a meal so that we could chat in private. These meetings were the highlight of the entire conference as far as we were concerned. We are unable to share the stories we heard, and most work in “creative access” countries, but they made us keenly aware of the importance of these meeting for those who serve in such difficult circumstance. Pam also met with the planning team for the changes necessary in WCA’s constitution and legal standing in Bangladesh, which is going to be a true Gordian knot to untangle.

As the conference happened to fall during Canadian Thanksgiving, the Canucks who were there decided that we should meet separately one night and celebrate our common heritage. David, who had also lived in Hanoi, knew a local baker who would be willing to make a couple of pumpkin pies for the occasion and so a really great meal finished with a favourite desert that was every bit as good as any we have had back in Canada.

A group of us from the Horsham office even got a chance to go to the park in central Hanoi, which was vastly different from the one we remembered from our time there ten years ago. There were stalls and restaurants and a real touristy vibe that has simply did not exist on our last visit. We opted for a quiet meal beside the lake rather than trust the food at the outdoor stalls with the others and had a very pleasant evening together beside the lake.

The conference proved to be a great encouragement to our Asian members and a resounding success. It was also emotionally and intellectually challenging to meet with so many to discuss in detail the problems that they are facing in their own country and ministry and to problem-solve solutions for them in real time. Asians hide their sorrows well, but we know that many of them are facing significant challenges in the year ahead and during our days there we tried our best to support and encourage them in the short time we had.

We also felt the need to just get away from the demands of ministry by leaving the hotel for a spell. We took a stroll along the Song Hong (Red) River that runs through Hanoi until we found a little place that had a tea shop overlooking the water. There we sat and reflected on the path that God has been leading us one for these past 16 years. It has been a remarkable journey, and with this new set of responsibilities it appears that God is not done with us yet.

October 2022