I want to share a testimony with you of how God is moving in great and awesome ways around the world! This past week, I had the honor and privilege to travel to Vietnam where there was a celebration for the 500^th year anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. Franklin Graham was the keynote speaker, and he boldly and clearly preached the Gospel. Wow, how incredible is that?! Over 30,000 people came to this gathering, packing out a stadium with overflow seats outside. At the end of this 2-day event, around 7,660 people filled out contact cards to say that they had committed their lives to Jesus! The harvest is plentiful!!

I felt honored to be among the Vietnamese believers – ones who have persevered and kept the faith. They are true heroes. Their joy, love, passion, and hunger touched me. My Vietnamese brothers and sisters find such joy in the presence of God! They know Him intimately and depend on Him. They love Him so much and His love pours out through them. A couple of times at the event, I was hugged by a passerby or waved at enthusiastically. The local believers were so thankful that I was there for such a historic event in their country and welcomed me in love. At times during the gathering, I would look around the stadium and watch the Vietnamese Church engage in worship. I saw them worship from a deep place in them and with passion. And they hungered for more of God. I was learning from them and hungered for what they carried.

I feel the Lord stirring me personally to pray for my Vietnamese brothers and sisters. Ephesians 6:18 says, “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints”. We are family as the body of Christ, and I see it being necessary to support each other, especially in times we need to persevere and endure. I encourage you to think of yourself as a part of a greater whole – you are a part of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27). There are millions of believers all around the world right now, and we all are a part of the same family with the same mission to love God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength; to love our neighbor as ourselves, and to see His Kingdom manifested on this earth. 

Something else that I saw during my time in Vietnam was God displaying His mighty hand. Our God is the God of miracles, and just as He led His people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, He is going before His people in this hour with awesome deeds for His glory. This is an exciting time in history! Remember who your God is, who you are, and the incredible things He is doing in this hour. And know that He is empowering you to be everything that He has called you to be!

Written by:  Jacqueline Bixler
Published on 12/14/2017