Tuesday, 2026 Journal Entry Central Highlands, Vietnam
We are leaving the hotel after two nights. They’re bussing our team to a different location today and we’re spending the night elsewhere. The dental team is splitting off from us today, for today only.
In fact, the authorities only let Dr. Stan, Dr. Le, and two Vietnamese dental and medical personnel with American passports work with the dental team today. The rest of us American passport holders were not allowed back.
I awakened this morning praying for the local pastors, and the church in Vietnam, especially the Highlands.
The people of the Central Highlands seem to be much more open to the gospel and come to faith much easier than the populated areas of Vietnam. They seem to have a simple, child-like, faith, and not so much indoctrination as those in the cities and more heavily populated areas.
I had an impression to leave some T-shirts that have Christian messages for local pastors as I go. I asked Pastor Ngoc, and he said that would be fine, but not here, due to the scrutiny. In the next villages it should be fine.
One interesting thing happened at a public restaurant last night. The local pastor prayed over our long table of about 30 people (mission team plus local church members), a long passionate prayer in Vietnamese. A table of men drinking beer at the next table clapped loudly when the prayer was finished. So we did too. One of them looked me in the eyes and said in broken English, “Good prayer!” :):)
That was a new mission experience!
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In the early afternoon our dental team of four rejoined us. We boarded our bus and drove a few hours to our next location.
“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” I’m not sure where that pharse comes from, but out leader, Pastor Ngoc, must take it to heart, because at our next hotel in the Central Highlands, we were suprised by two Asian elephants giving rides next door! What a sight, and experience! All this was in the middle of a beautiful agricultural valley on the shores of a very large lake. It was an incredibly beautiful and peaceful setting we were to enjoy morning and evening for two days before and after serving in nearby villages.
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“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren. Amen.”(Galatians 6:18)
Monday, 2026 Journal Entry Central Highlands, Vietnam
Wow! Nice first day in the central Highlands.
We have excellent team chemistry with everyone working together with joy and goodwill. One miscue — the Vietnamese dentists, who were supposed to come, backed out, and they were to bring all the instruments and dental tools. Thankfully they weren’t needed today and will be shipped overnight on a nine hour bus ride from Saigon for tomorrow’s ministry. Our dentists did other things today with Dr. Le doing a good bit of translating for the doctors–our own Dr. Ron and two Vietnamese doctors.
We saw 167 patients today. I worked in the pharmacy with Thai Le and Linh Pham under direction of our pharmacist An Tran from Atlanta. She kept us organized and busy handing out meds that our doctors prescribed in bags with the patient’s name and instructions which were explained by a nurse in the next room.
All this ministry took place in the humble church atop a hill with the Pastor’s living quarters in the back.
Everyone, patients and providers, seemed thankful and pleased with the processes and ministry.
Many of our team simply posed with locals in the waiting shelter outside, who wanted their photos with Americans. There were lots of smiles, laughter, and hugs. “A joyful heart is good medicine” (Pro 17:22).
The movement and actions of churches and Christians are much more closely monitored in the rural, indigenous areas that in the cities. The authorities showed up to see what we were doing. Then they forbade us going to our planned location tomorrow. But they would permit those villagers to be bussed to where we were today.
“Father have mercy on these people we came to serve and help us find favor to do what You have for us to do. Amen. ‘Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; and confirm for us the work of our hands; yes, confirm the work of our hands'” (Psalm 90:17).
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Psalm 90:12 was painted on the wall at the front of the church. “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.”
I was recently invited by a young Vietnamese dentist to visit Vietnam, where he was born and grew up, along with an American dentist who is a friend of mine. My friend mentored the young Vietnamese dentist, and ended up selling him his practice. Both are believers and were to be a part of a medical and dental mission team to the Central Highlands of Vietnam. So this particular opportunity for travel and adventure had two parts. First, the opportunity to visit a unique and fascinating country, and see it through the eyes of a local who speaks the language. Secondly, to be a part of a team of faith-motivated people who want to serve local churches, pastors, and their flocks by providing some much-needed medical and dental attention.
This two-week trip may merit several blogs. I’m still processing what I experienced there. But I’ll begin with the tourist part of the trip by describing some of the things we saw and did and came to know about Vietnam.
I love history, the study of kingdoms, leaders, and the political science of different types of governments as described in the Bible and history. But I’ll confess that since I’m not too much into current events these days, and I purposely stay away from mainstream media for the peace it affords, I was in the dark about what has happened in Vietnam during the last few decades. In my mind, it was still a war-torn nation recovering from the Vietnam war that ended in 1975, 50 years ago. Nothing could be further from the truth.
In preparation for the trip, I went to the local library and checked out a Lonely Planet tourist guide for Vietnam, and discovered the following facts:
[1] Vietnam is open to tourism and hosted 22 million visitors in 2025. [2] Vietnam has a population of a 102 million people. [3] It’s a long, skinny country, 1000 miles north to south, with a long, beautiful south-Pacific coast line. [4] Vietnam is composed of 54 different ethnic groups. [5] Vietnam is the world’s leading exporter of cashews and the second leading exporter of coffee, after Brazil. [6] Vietnam’s population is young and vibrant with 70% of it below the age of 35. [7] The street food is delicious, safe, and inexpensive. There are a large number of tech startups in Da Nang, an other urban centers. [8] Hanoi (pop. 8 million) established 1010 AD is the cultural heart of the country, while Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) (pop. 13 million) is the economic heart and engine of the country. The country is about 38% urban and 62% rural. [9] Modern Vietnam is heavily influenced by 1000 years of Chinese occupation, 100 years of French occupation, and a 25 year civil war between the northern part of the country desiring communist rulership allied with the former Soviet Union, and the southern part of the country wanting a democratic-republic government, allied with the United States. Diplomatic normalization between the US and Vietnam occurred in 1995. [10] Vietnam ranks 34th in the world by GDP, and 23rd by purchasing power parity—its economy in a steady climb since it embraced private ownership of property and encouraged free trade, inviting international investors. There are many billionaires along with large numbers of supper poor.
Spiritually speaking, Vietnam is reportedly 13% Buddhist, 6% Catholic, 1% Protestant, with 73% reporting as non religious—practicing folk traditions including ancestor worship. The spiritual landscape will be the subject of subsequent blogs as I process my experiences and reference my journal.
We spent time in Da Nang, visiting the beach, driving about the city over the amazing Dragon Bridge, and visited nearby Ba Na Hills for the views, the architecture, and to experience the iconic Golden Bridge held by giant hands. The French discovered the area in 1901 and built a French village in the mountains to enjoy the cool air, and to escape the heat of the coastal jungles. Today it has become an exhibition of where East meets West, and a Disney World-type venture that is remarkable to behold.
We also visited Hoi An about 30 miles south of Da Nang called The Lantern City because the ancient town glows with thousands of colorful silk lanterns every night. It’s a UNESCO site. No cars are allowed in the old town. There’s a river where folks release floating lanterns—super romantic at night. It’s been a trading port along Vietnam’s coast since the 1500s, and has special historical ties with Japan.
As an airline pilot I had many opportunities to travel as a tourist for short stints. But whenever afforded the opportunity to visit a country and culture and see it through the eyes of a local person, who speaks the language, and wants to show you their favorite places—that’s special! We had plenty of unhurried time to dine, sit for coffee, and talk about life, family, history, culture, and beliefs. That’s sort of what short-term mission trips are like too—guided by a friendly local into their world. I’ve been on more than twenty such adventures. Each one is special in its own right. This one certainly was special!
Unbelizable! Belize It or Not? Those were titles I considered for this short report on the fantastic spiritual adventure I just completed with six friends from Northwest Arkansas, January 3-9, 2026.
Unbelizable! Because of the ways we experienced God, the people we came to know, and the sights we saw.
Belize It or Not? Because initially there where just two college women and myself signed up for the trip, and I didn’t think we should go. But our mission leadership said, “Go for it!” And the two ministries we were going to serve said, “Come anyway. It will keep our relationship growing and God will use it.” Well, we’re back home now, in a snow storm with temperatures in the teens for a week, still processing what happened there. We became a team of seven, and God did all those things, “…Above all we could ask or think” (Eph 3:20).
Background
Our church community is an average size, and fairly young, but very mission minded. They envisioned and promoted this short term mission adventure to Belize in Central America. The thought was that not everyone can muster the time and financial resources necessary to go on our longer mission trips such as Malaysia and Uganda. Therefore we should provide opportunities for Harvest Community Church members who have it in their hearts to participate in the great commission by going to other nations and sharing the gospel and making disciples in a shorter and more accessible timeframe and place.
Let’s Go!
I co-led this adventure with a young couple, Colt & Taylor, from our church and community group. I’ve been on 20+ short term mission trips since my first to Burkina Faso, Africa, in 2002. But I’m encouraging the next generation to go and learn to lead them. I tell them often, “All you need is someone you know, and some place to go.” “The Holy Spirit will be with you to lead and guide and do the things He does.”
Our young team got it! We so bonded with the young pastor and his wife with their two young daughters and their community in Bella Vista, Belize, that we hated to leave and tell them good bye. The feeling was mutual and we all felt a loving, spiritual, and family bond that’s impossible to forge in three days, unless the Holy Spirit is working, or the wind is blowing among His people (John 3:8). I wrote a several-page, after-action report for our elders and leaders, but there isn’t space for that here. I only want to report that we went, and you should consider going yourself.
I’m giving a thumbnail sketch of our trip, along with some photos, and I’ll let those do the talking. Normally one wouldn’t visit two places on a short adventure like this. But we were led to do so from an earlier scouting trip to Belize in April 2025. I had made five trips to Belize with our church in Fort Smith, Arkansas, but that was more than a decade ago. So we were asking the Spirit to lead us to ministries we could support and people we could trust to allow our short term groups to do kingdom work there in the future.
Our first three days were in service to a small, growing, multigenerational church in southern Belize with lots of kids. Our second three days we served the discipleship ministry of a young couple from Northwest Arkansas, who intend to disciple Belizeans to disciple future generations of Belizeans. We were welcomed into their lives and saw the places they minister and their vision for a campus on the outskirts of the capital, Belmopan, high on a jungle mountain top. We ministered in area high schools, and were connected serendipitously with the East Texas Baptist University track team which was staying at the same camp where we lodged and had our meals.
There were so many opportunities for prayer, ministry, interactions, and friendship that we will be processing what happened for a long time with a sense of mystery, wonder, and joy.
During our ministry time, we visited the beach at Placencia to buy paint, for a brief swim, and to admire the beauty of Belize. We also visited a Mayan ruin near the Guatemala border, and ate some of the world’s best ice cream at a dairy owned by Mennonites, who produce most of Belize’s food in the community of Spanish Lookout. Most mission teams include a day of recreation and reflection to further enjoy a new culture and place, while meditating and talking about the experiences they’ve encountered–still fresh on their minds and hearts.
Go Ye Therefore…
I hope you’ll find a group who takes these kinds of adventures and go! We are blessed more than the people we go to serve. But they are blessed too, so it’s a win, win situation.
Also, you almost have to go away to get to know your friends in our day and time. It’s a bonding time with friends in your church community that you’ll always remember, and a fresh experience with God. You’ll discover, or rediscover, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand….” as Jesus frequently told us ( Matt 3:2, Matt 4:17, Mark 1:15). Adventure with purpose!
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“The godly people in the land are my true heroes! I take pleasure in them!” (Psalm 16:3 NLT)
“You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, And Your right hand upholds me; And Your gentleness makes me great.” (Psalm 18:35 NASB1995)
“Brethren, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent.” (Acts 13:26)
“‘That the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear my name,’ says the Lord, ‘who does these things’— things known from long ago.” (Acts 15:17-18 NIV)
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20 NASB1995)
This week, I returned from Malaysia, where eight friends from our church went on the friendship, mission, and travel adventure of a lifetime. Our leader, who lived with his family in China in the past and is connected to some manufacturing company, made a friend in Malaysia who invited us to come.
This friend is a Malaysian pastor, and he introduced us around to some of his friends who served as our hosts and guides as we explored the Island of Borneo (now known as Sabah, Sarawak, and part of Indonesia). We concentrated our exploration on the cities of Semporna, Lahad Datu, and Tawau in Sabah and the islands easiest to visit from there for snorkeling and sightseeing. Two of our young guides were pastors, so we asked if we could experience their churches. They obliged.
We found the people friendly, and they welcomed us into their lives and culture. Not being more knowledgeable, I assume this is more of the Indigenous people group. Malaysians are known for their hospitality, and there are many people groups and cultures living there. We saw no other Americans while we were exploring that part of the island and only a few European travelers. The populations we encountered were mainly native Malaysians and Chinese tourists.
Thankfully, Tim and wife Lindsay could guide us on food choices along with our hosts. The food was delicious and inexpensive — adding to the adventure. And several in our group were much more “foodies” than I had known.
Malaysia and neighboring Indonesia are primarily Muslim. There is a fair amount of religious freedom, with segments of the population being Buddhist, Hindu, and Christian. On our arrival day in the country, we decided to rest a bit from the long (35-hour) travel and recover from jet lag. Tim was familiar with the city from his business travels, and using Grab (Asian Uber), he snagged us a couple of cars to transport us from the airport hotel to the Batu Caves, a beautiful, unusual Hindu religious site.
Then, we used Grab to get to downtown Kuala Lumpur to see the impressive city center with business and government buildings, including the Petronas Towers, the world’s tallest twin skyscrapers at 88 stories. They are officially a bit higher than the Sears Tower in Chicago, which held the tallest building record for many years. We also strolled through Chinatown, which was a short ride away.
We returned to the hotel for our friends’ briefing on the country, had a good night’s sleep (I think!), and the next day, boarded another three-hour flight to Sabah, our main destination for the visit. I had traveled with these friends to Honduras the previous year, so I knew they were tough and would soldier through the travel without complaint.
Our reward was soon a nice hotel in Semporna, where we hung our hats for the entire stay, except for excursions and flying out of Tawau. The people were friendly and helpful, our hosts were gracious, and the scenery exquisite. It was just like I imagined the South China Sea to look, maybe better. Peaceful, serene, beautiful white sand with aqua-blue water housing coral reefs and the most colorful array of fish imaginable — along with comfortable temperatures and a gentle breeze moving palm trees and clouds with its sway. Enchanting.
Our guides welcomed us into their lives and families, showing us that the Spirit of God moves similarly to people all around the globe. And around the globe, it is! Thirteen time zones different from CDST, south of Vietnam and north of Australia, get you in the area as the peninsula of Malaysia extends off the south tip of Thailand. And off the very south tip of Malaysia is the tiny, powerful island, city, and nation of Singapore.
It’s far. For pricing and connections, we elected to go east through Qatar on Qatar Airways (15 hours from DFW), connecting to Malaysia Airlines (8 hours) to KUL, Kuala Lumpur.
Overall, it was a trip, a cultural and spiritual experience none of us will soon forget. Grateful for the experience, the company, and our new friends, we returned to our homes, families, and friends who held down the fort so we could experience this culture, place, and people for ourselves—an unforgettable experience.
“The Lord has made known His salvation; He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations” (Psalm 98:2).
“The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many islands be glad” (Psalm 97:1).
“For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God” (2 Corinthians 4:15).
One of our members at Harvest Community Chruch has a fledgling relationship with an African pastor who is four years into a church plant in Uganda. Our church sent a five-member team to support this church in July/August, and scout out whether the Spirit might be leading us into an ongoing relationship. This turned into a beautiful, relational adventure.
We were their first team to host, and they did a remarkable job. Our lodging was clean and safe, and their hospitality was exemplary and warm. We felt honored and well cared for — indeed, welcomed into their family.
Buyera Community Church (BCC) is a non-denominational church in an association of about 200 similar churches throughout Uganda. We found Pastor Steven and his wife Judith to be very hard-working, self-sacrificing, genuine Christians who are laying their lives down to further the church and Kingdom of God. They have put together a fledgling church in four years of about 100-150 people in Buyera, a village on the outskirts of Kampala, the capital. While the area is relatively impoverished at the moment, its proximity to the capitol with some recent business and governmental activity promise to bring needed economic resources to their village as well as many new people.
They’ve put together an amazing, well-kept campus, and started an elementary school with about 80 children. That’s Judith’s passion and dream, because she was a Project Compassion child herself who came out of the slums and a bad family situation to get an education and wants to give back or replicate that for others. Teaching children is about the best way to make disciples imaginable. Pastor Stephen is well-educated, with Christian parents who recently celebrated their 47th anniversary — their age being a rarity in Uganda where the average age is 15.5 years.
Steven has a young, energetic leadership team — one quite large for the size of the church. It occurred to us that their real call may be to raise up and train leaders for the church in Uganda and Africa. Steven’s main focus seems to be the church, as it should be, the bride of Christ and a representation of His family. Their local church is bursting at the seams, space wise — meeting in the three-room school each Sunday. They have the foundation built for a church building on the campus, with standing metal beams. They are also ready to pour concrete for the floor and are in the process of making their own concrete blocks — a process in which we participated.
We enjoyed our recreation day at the beginning of the trip (desert first!) instead of at the end as usual, resting Steven and Judith, by going on a safari. This turned out to be perfect for getting to know the couple and their hearts, as we let them know us and gain their trust. We feel like family now.
On that note, a safari is a good option for the recreation and reflection day that most short-term-mission trips build into their schedules. It’s about a 5 hour drive from the BCC to the national park/game preserve. That’s a hike, but it allows the team to recover from jet lag — while experiencing a long, peaceful drive through the countryside getting a feel for the culture and people while resting and chatting.
As a veteran of about 20 short term mission trips, each one a success in its own right, I’d say this trip ranked near the top. BCC is very kingdom minded, and the fields are “ripe unto harvest” in Uganda, which may prove to be a hub in Africa for sending out young preachers and church planters. “Can anything good come out of Buyera?” is a common saying there. 🙂
At a Charles Simpson leadership conference in May of this year I sat at breakfast with two gentlemen who were involved with training young pastors and preachers near Kampala, Uganda. What are the chances? On the flight from Amsterdam to Uganda, I sat by a very lovely Belgian woman, a nurse, who met her husband on a medical mission to the Congo, just west of Uganda. She married her Canadian-pilot husband, and he currently flies for Uganda Air and they live in Entebbe. She told me Uganda is mostly Christian and the gospel is spreading rapidly, but that the depth of the church is somewhat shallow, with a lot of prosperity teaching, etc.
We found Pastor Steven a grounded student and teacher of the Bible. He and his wife met working for Project Compassion, and the church they attended at that time sent them out as church planters. They have established a nice church campus with a building used for a Christian elementary school, a building for church and school offices, a mission building, and the start of a church building. The campus is clean and well laid out in a good location for growth as Kampala spreads south toward Lake Victoria and Entebbe Airport. But it’s the hearts of these two leaders, their four children and their staff that are the treasures. We plan to help them any way we can as the Spirit leads, with funds and sharing lives via visits. It’s beautiful and refreshing to find God’s Spirit in God’s family in many different parts of the planet — and to experience their love is an inexpressible joy!
[Eight of us experience Prisoners of Light @ Olanchito, Yoro, Honduras Prison ]
There is no way I can describe what happened in there.
As we turned over our passports and walked toward the solid metal door with a peephole, then through that door to the bare, concrete holding area in front of another solid metal door with a small window, prisoners began excitedly whispering and running through the narrow perpendicular passageways beyond.
I’d been inside this prison before, but no one else with me had been except our translator. I hadn’t seen this activity before, so it was a bit unnerving, partly because we had five precious young women with us. But I quickly had inner peace and a spiritual impression that all was well and everything was alright.
We hurried into the hallway, turned left, and followed the narrow passageway lined by some prisoners, until we emerged into the open-air courtyard. It was surrounded by high walls topped with Concertina wire and a guard tower manned by a uniformed guard with a machine gun.
Immediately to our left, seated in many straight rows, were 150+ prisoners who began to clap loudly — applaud thunderously is more like it — our arrival.!?
Totally surprised and humbled by such a warm reception, we waved sheepishly at the clapping inmates. We continued walking to where we were motioned, to our seats at the front left side — very close to the prison worship team.
There was a warm and impassioned welcome to our team by the prison pastor, who is also an inmate. And the inmates echoed his welcome with thunderous applause.
Our Honduran translator Kerlin stood up at the front by the pastor and translated Spanish to English for our team when appropriate or as needed. After their welcoming remarks, Kerlin invited me as the team leader to speak to the prisoners.
I gave them our greetings from the United States, our Arkansas church, and the Covenant Life Fellowship brothers and sisters in Louisiana who had visited before. I had seen enough of their Spirit-filled worship to tell them, “Don’t be surprised if there is more spiritual light in here than out there.” This was followed by loud applause. I told them we experienced a waterfall of the Spirit as they worshiped so freely and passionately, and thanked them for letting us share the experience with them.
I recounted that I had been inside their prison five or six times during the last ten years. We weren’t allowed to visit in 2021 and 2022 due to COVID-19. They nodded appreciatively their understanding and thanks for trying. I recounted how small the Christian group of prisoners was ten years ago, maybe 15 to 20 inmates meeting against the western wall. Most of the other inmates were milling around the courtyard then, with some of them heckling. Five years later, the number was about 50, and you had a small area set aside for worship and meeting. But now!?! …
Trip Report to the Elders
That’s how I started an after-action report to our elders about the fourteen-member team that Harvest Community Church, Fayetteville, AR, sent to support an indigenous pastor. The trip also provided opportunities for our community to disciple believers in another country and culture, and be discipled by them. It was a beautiful experience and what Jesus commanded His followers to do in Matthew 28:19-20, commonly called “The Great Commission.”
You can click on the whole report below and hear the rest of the prison story as well as read the highlights of the trip, mostly recorded from my journal.
There Is Still Room
I must include one more highlight, because it furnished our direction for the entire trip, “There is still room” [at the King’s table]. But this blog has become long enough so I’ll continue that on the following bog.
Godspeed on your spiritual journey wherever you find yourself. May you be spending time with Him each day, knowing Him better and better for the joy that is, and the joy that lies before you. Shalom in Jesus Christ, the Lord.
