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I will take many memories from the trip, Viet (a young boy) telling me “I will love you forever”, Huong and Dung (two thirteen year old twins) drying my sweaty forehead and loving me like they were my daughters, sitting on a curb and singing “Amazing Grace” to Anh (a translator) who wanted to hear me sing.

Two specific incidents reminded me of Father’s protection and our need to work without ceasing. First, we went swimming in the murky beach water four times. The first two times, I was assigned a young, rambunctious, wild boy named Huam. I called him Juan because it sounded the same and was easier to remember. The third time to swim I was late and he was taken by someone else. I admit, very ashamedly, that I was relieved. The fourth and final time to swim, I was running late and as I exited the hotel, everyone had gone except one boy-Huam. With a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes, I ran to Huam-he was waiting for me and me alone. How foolish and selfish I was to want an easier child to handle. He wanted me. In the water, Huam wanted to be left alone, he wanted no help, no guidance, no boundaries, but he wanted to know I was there. When he got in over his head, he grasped for me. Isn’t that the same way we are with Father, or is it just me? No help, no boundaries, no guidance-but please be there when I need you. Fortunately, He always is.

Secondly, on Saturday we painted a house in the SS3 orphanage surrounded by hot, humid rice fields. Kyle Nieman would have made $12 if he could have sold his sweat for the price of gasoline. On a steamy roof, as my almost 50 year old body showed its age, I was reminded of something I heard in a sermon years ago: “We must never rest here on earth in order that others may find rest for eternity.”