Give Thanks

Attending church is something that I have not done in Vietnam until last Sunday.  Wasn't sure if it was legal.  I contacted a local pastor and we met in advance.  He assured me that everything would be fine, so I accepted his invitation.  Pastor Trang said his congregation was small, like a home-church.  The service started at 8:00 pm and lasted until 10:00 pm.  No conflicts at that time and it was only a short distance from my dorm. 

So, I left campus about 7:15 to get a taxi.  What I did not count on was the traffic.  Last Sunday was the closing ceremony for Hanoi's 1,000 year old birthday party.  I have never seen so much traffic in all of my life - like magma spewing from a volcano.  The first taxi I flagged did not know the church location.  The second taxi wanted 200,000 Dong (about $10) to get there.  I said no way.  The third one was a charm, or at least I thought so. 

After driving around Hanoi for about 40 minutes, and two phone calls to the pastor, my taxicab driver gave up hope.  So, he let me out on the side of the road, but I still had to pay.  I wasn't much better off than when I started.  It's about 8:10 now, so I called the pastor and explained the situation.  He got on his motorbike and tried to find me, but could not.  Faultering would be a good word to describe my faith.  I called him back about 8:40 and he said to hire a motorbike taxi.  So, I hail a motorbike and off we go - into the abyss.  The driver finds the location and I arrive at church about 9:00 pm.  Only one hour late..  that's a miracle!

The congregation consisted of 15 members, but only 8 were there that night.  Perhaps the others got stuck in traffic too.  Although the sermon was in Vietnamese, I was able to recognize one of the songs - Give Thanks. And so I did.  Pastor Trang asked me to come back this week and say a few words of encouragement to the congregation.  I told him that I would.