Jeffrey and Kristin Lee on the Road: Danang, Vietnam (November 2024)

In 2024, SfK decided to focus on Vietnam for its BAM Field Trip. We visited two cities, Danang and Hanoi. We visited Danang first with seven members and three additional members joined us in Hanoi.

On the day of arrival, we spent time at ICLS, a Korean language institute, run by a member of SfK MB Community. BJ and Caleb Yoo gave their lectures to the students. Both of them were received very well. Meanwhile, other members spent time with Mr. Choi for his business concerns. It was also quite productive.

The class taught by Caleb Yoo

We also visited a new music academy to be started soon by one of BMT 2025 attendees: Sungjoo Lee. She is a guitarist and we spent time praising God. Caleb Yoo played the drums to make our praising time more exciting. The music academy is called Blessings Music Academy.

The following day was packed with meetings and programs. It was a rainy day, making our schedule a bit challenging to manage, but we nonetheless managed to pursue most of the program, including a visit to a famous cafe and to Danang's landmark City Hall building.

In Danang, we also visited the Danang Museum where we found many interesting stories of the past. The French first came to Danang and settled down. The city has since been continuously developing into an expat haven in the middle of the long Vietnam land.

We also visited a few places in Danang, such as this Catholic church despite the rain.

In the afternoon, we visited Hoian, an artistic town located in the south of Danang. There we visited several places, including an art gallery. The artist depicted old men and women of minority groups. The paintings were quite colorful and vivid.

Hoian is quite often flooded by the river that passes through the city. On the day we visited, the river was almost flooded and we could tell the danger by looking at the water level that almost flooded.

A Banmi Place

A shuttle bus used for the City Tour in Hoian

For the ministries, we visited a church in Danang, established to serve Hansen Disease patients. The church was well built, but the number of congregation members has been declining due to several challenges, including economic ones. We made an unplanned donation to help the church prepare to host a Christmas celebration for the neighbors. The pastor couple who have been serving for decades was honorable and respectful.

We also visited Happy Heart Cafe in Danang, owned and run by a young lady with disabilities, namely Ms. Thao. Also, almost all employees are deaf people. She was truly a little giant. Despite the physical challenges of her own, she has been inspiring and motivating deaf people to work for self-sustainability. While she was sharing her life stories, she never stopped smiling. She was truly living up to the cafe name, Happy Heart.

Ms. Thao is married to a British man

We also visited a motorcycle repair shop, Triple 8 Bike Shop, run by an Australian minister and businessman, namely Patrick. Through this business, registered as a social enterprise, Patrick has been supplying motorbikes for minority group pastors in the mountains. When we visited, he was commissioning the 42nd motorbike. We prayed for him and his business. Later, our group financed the 43rd motorbike.