Missionaries in Vietnam!!!

Eric again.

I went to church today in Hanoi. Showed up an hour early on account of a faulty email tip. I parked my moto in the basement and walked up the stairs. Keep in mind, this is a house down a small alley. Not a Utah stake center. I emerged onto the ground floor and was met by the stares of two Vietnamese youths reading at a table. I looked closer and nearly peed my pants. They were wearing black name tags that read 'Anh Ca.' Elder in Vietnamese. Before me sat Vietnam's first full-time missionaries!!!

Eleven years of prayers answered on one rainy morning.

Now, it's not totally accurate to say these are the first full-time missionaries in Nam. During America's war here, the Church sent missionaries over from approximately 1973-1975. That ended with a bang when the VC drove their tanks through Saigon and kicked all things U.S. to the curb. And in the early '90s, service missionaries began to show up in Vietnam. They weren't allowed to proselyte, but they planted seeds. Over the past few years, the Vietnamese government has allowed investigators to travel to Cambodia to get baptized by Viet-speaking missionaries over there. And every once in a while, those same Viet-speaking Elders were allowed to come over to Vietnam for a few days at a time and do several baptisms.

But these elders, standing before me, are the first full-time missionaries in the modern era. There couldn't have been better news.

They've been here almost two months. There are also two more in Saigon (the southern part of the country). Their names are Anh cả Hậu and Anh cả Thắng. They've already had five baptisms up here, and have two more planned in the coming weeks. They had been serving Viet speaking in Cambodia before being called to open Vietnam. Both joined the church in Saigon roughly two years ago. They're phenomenal. They have strong testimonies and can share them better than I ever could.

Unfortunately they're not allowed to leave their homes to proselyte. They can only teach people who are brought to them. They rely 100% on referrals, but insist that they remain busy. I'm going to a few appointments with them this week.

There were about 40 people total at church (there are over 100 in Saigon). I was kind of surprised that I was the only Viet Speaking RM in attendance. They made me translate like I did on my mission. It was horrible. I can only pray the Holy Ghost did most of the teaching. But there are several other expats in the branch. Overall, I really tight and strong group. Many of the members joined in other countries while studying or working. Next time we'll bring a camera. There is a talent show this Friday night that should produce some good stuff.

Finally!