Hundreds of Handshakes - The Hanoi Vietnam Mission Branch

 Alo - 

This will probably be the longest email I have written. 

The Vietnam Hanoi Mission Branch is a branch that covers the entire country. Any individual living outside of the boundaries of Hanoi, Saigon, or Bình Dương, are all part of this branch. They join church online weekly, and if possible have their own sacrament services during the stream. As assistants, Elder Trường and I are assigned to the branch supporting members and helping individuals learn the gospel virtually. Every year in July, an event called "Mission Branch Conference " occurs, where members from around the country drive to the physical branch location in Long Xuyên. Elder Trường and I were fortunate enough to be invited and had the opportunity to attend this last week. 

Last Thursday, Elder Trường and I departed Hanoi to fly to Saigon. Friday morning, we met up with President and Sister Howell, the mission branch President and his wife, the first counselor, and began our drive to visit members in Western Vietnam. For three days we rode around, visiting members in their homes, and joining the mission branch conference on Sunday. We rode in a "Limo" - a big fancy 16 seater sprinter van which had individual seats, like an airplane. Although driving for nearly a total of 11 hours that day, we were very comfortable. 

The first group of Saints we visited was in Trà Cú - a group of around 15 individuals who join the mission branch. They are lead by a strong leader named Cô Kim Hoàng, who learned about the church in Cambodia and brought the gospel with her when she came back. The Trà Cú group can understand Vietnamese, but a large portion of them actually only can communicate in Khmer. We knew some of them spoke Khmer from our calls -- but we didn't realize how many of them ONLY knew until we got to visit and needed translation through Cô Kim Hoàng. They prepared a wonderful for us meal, and it was great to visit and speak with so many people we have only seen virtually. Cô Kim Hoàng also introduced us to her family, and told us she wants us to help them be baptized, which was sweet. 

As we were leaving, a crazy rainstorm hit. I've never seen it rain like this before in my life - it just comes out of nowhere. You could say it was raining up, down, left, right and sideways. The dirt road we walked to their home became completely flooded, which made a fun adventure back to the car. (Not a great day to wear my cream pants, haha). Despite some mud, we tromped through as the wife of the Branch President sang "I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go" in Vietnamese as we walked through. Once we got to the car, someone in a nearby house saw the condition of our shoes and feet and called us over - they offered us a hose, towels, and seats to sit down and wash our shoes. They were so kind despite us being strangers, who they easily could've just laughed at the foreigners. We thanked them, and left for more of our branch visits. 

While driving we stopped at a big roadster, which had this massive colorful egg/flower structure. It was so random we were just laughing. We bought some famous Durian Bread [not my favorite] and continued on our journey. We got to cross the Mekong river on a car ferry, which was really neat! I loved seeing all the scenery and all of the floating homes/boats on the river. 

We did our last two member visits for the day, one of them being Chú Sơn Ni. We have been calling with him for 4 months now, so it was really exciting to see him. He also knew Elder Trường's grandparents when they served in Cambodia which was cool. We loved listening to his stories and hearing him laugh. Probably his most notable quote: "Yeah, I used to hold a gun like this and kill people, but now as a member I save people! I've repented!" At the end of the night we returned to the hotel and crashed at 11pm. 

Saturday morning we woke up and continued doing member visits, this time in the Long Xuyên area where a majority of mission branch members live. We were so close to the border of Cambodia, it was crazy! All of the members live close together, so once we departed the van we just walked around the neighborhood meeting members in their homes. I did a baby blessing and gave the baby a name. She was SCREAMING so loud I hope Heavenly Father was able to hear the prayer. Not too bad for my first baby blessing though. We got to meet so many members who have played critical roles in building the church in Vietnam and especially the mission branch. There is so much history that hasn't been recorded, we hope to write some within the following weeks. Elder Trường called them the "Avenger Team" of Vietnam. 

Sunday was the branch conference which was the highlight of the trip. It was so cool to see everyone gather - some people said they couldn't sleep for 2 days because they were so excited. Many people left early in the morning to make the long drive on their motorbike, leaving at 1-2am in the morning. Despite this everyone was all smiles and energetic to see each other. Elder Trường and I blessed sacrament, translated the meeting, and each shared a testimony. For my spiritual thought of the email I'll attach it below. After the 1st hour, the branch President walked up to us and calmly said, "Hello Elders. The teacher for Sunday school didn't make it today, so you have 1min to prepare a lesson". We were a little taken back, but grabbed the "Come Follow Me" book and taught a lesson on gratitude. It went well and people seemed to enjoy it. Afterwards, we had a feast with the branch and socialized with more members and people we have taught. Around 1pm we said our goodbyes, took our photos and left for our trip back to TP.HCM. We had dinner with President and Sister Howell and stayed the night with the Thủ Đức Elders. 

This was truly an unforgettable and spiritual experience to me. It's hard to explain the honor and gratitude through words. The branch faith is so strong, and we know it will grow and expand more in the future. 

Check out Google Photos for more insights from the trip. We are doing well and staying busy - we have a devotional from Elder Lund and Elder Tai, Zone Conference, and 2 mission branch baptisms this weekend. So we will be down south for a total of 12 days. 

Love you,

Anh Cả Reynolds 

Testimony: 

Con biết ơn cho thời gian ngày hôm nay để chia sẻ lời chứng ngôn của con. Thật vinh dự khi được lắng nghe lời chứng, đến thăm nhà, và làm việc cùng các anh chị em.

Một điều com liên tục được nhắc nhở trong suốt công việc truyền giáo và khi đến thăm nhà các anh chị em là tình yêu thương mà Cha Thiên Thượng dành cho chúng ta. Con rất thích một câu thánh thư trong Sách Mặc Môn, An Ma 26:37, mà có nói:

"Giờ đây, hỡi các anh em, chúng ta thấy rằng Thượng Đế nhớ tới tất cả mọi sắc dân, dù họ ở tại xứ nào; phải, Ngài đã đếm từng người dân của Ngài, và lòng thương xót của Ngài ban trải ra cùng khắp thế gian"

Con làm chứng rằng không nơi nào quá xa để tình yêu thương của Cha Thiên Thượng có thể đến với chúng ta. Tình yêu thương của Ngài luôn hiện diện xung quanh chúng ta - Anh Cả Tai trong Đại Hội Trung Ương đã dạy làm thế nào chúng ta có thể nhận được tình yêu thương của Thượng Đế và có nói:

"...Thánh thư và các vị tiên tri của Chúa dạy chúng ta rằng chúng ta có thể liên tục cảm nhận tình yêu thương của Thượng Đế thông qua ân điển của Chúa Giê Su Ky Tô, chúng ta kiên trì hối cải, chân thành tha thứ, cố gắng tuân giữ các lệnh truyền của Ngài, và phục vụ người khác một cách vị tha. Chúng ta cảm nhận được tình yêu thương của Thượng Đế khi chúng ta làm những điều mà mang chúng ta đến gần với Ngài hơn, chẳng hạn như trò chuyện với Ngài hằng ngày qua việc cầu nguyện và học thánh thư, và ngừng làm những điều khiến chúng ta xa cách Ngài, chẳng hạn như trở nên kiêu ngạo, tranh chấp và chống đối"

Với tư cách là tín hữu của Giáo Hội Ngài, chúng ta có cơ hội chia sẻ tình yêu thương này với người khác.

• vì Ngài yêu thương chúng ta
• vị tiên tri và Jospeh Smith
• phúc âm phục hồi
• Giáo Hội của Ngài
• Sách Mặc Môn
• Plan of Salvation

Và giống như có nói trong Giăng 3:16 -  Vì Đức Chúa Trời yêu thương thế gian, đến nỗi đã ban Con một của Ngài, hầu cho hễ ai tin Con ấy không bị hư mất mà được sự sống đời đời.

English: 

I am grateful for the time today to share my testimony. It has been an honor to hear your testimonies, visit your homes, and work with you.

One thing I am constantly reminded of throughout my mission and when visiting your homes is the love our Heavenly Father has for us. I love a scripture in the Book of Mormon, Alma 26:37, which says:

"Now, brethren, we see that God is mindful of all people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his mercy is over all the earth."

I testify that there is no place too far for Heavenly Father's love to reach us. His love is all around us - Elder Tai in General Conference taught how we can receive God's love and said: "...The scriptures and the Lord's prophets teach us that we can continually feel God's love through the grace of Jesus Christ, as we persevere in repentance, sincerely forgive, strive to keep His commandments, and selflessly serve others. We feel God's love when we do things that bring us closer to Him, such as talking to Him daily through prayer and scripture study, and stop doing things that distance us from Him, such as becoming proud, contentious, and rebellious."

As members of His Church, we have the opportunity to share this love with others.

• because He loves us
• the prophet and Joseph Smith
• the restored gospel
• His Church
• the Book of Mormon
• the Plan of Salvation

And as it says in John 3:16 -  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

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