My pastor, Pastor Brian Banke and I have started a non-profit, “Vietnam Lutheran Missions” to support my work in Vietnam. People who want to support Vietnam Lutheran Missions can also donate to Community of Christ at Memorial Lutheran Church in Bremerton, Washington and my pastor will transfer the funds to our “Vietnam Lutheran Missions” bank account. The mailing address is Community of Christ at Memorial Lutheran Church; 916 Veneta Ave., Bremerton, WA. 98337
With my Nephew Mike Marsau’s help I have developed this blog site to explain, Why Vietnam and what I plan to do there. Eventually this blog site will be developed further into a web site which will provide more information and also have a way for people to donate to “Vietnam Lutheran Missions” via paypal.
I have enough funds to support myself from my own church and from family and good friends. So all other donors will be assured that their funds will be 100% used to do good works within the community, like food donations for extremely poor people, health care for the same, agriculture improvement projects and for translation work of Christian books and for renting a small restaurant which can be used as both a “soup kitchen” for poor people and a meeting room from which to start a congregation. I am going to have to be extra careful in how we operate this as the Communist Government is not going to be happy to see a white man from America working with local Christians to grow a Lutheran congregation. Please see above information on Government persecution of Protestants. I hope if I am primarily seen as an English Language teacher and a doer of good works for the community and if I can make friends within the local Government of Hanoi that I will not get kicked out of Vietnam for being a “crazy religious zealot”. The good works will become clearer after I arrive and have some time to meet with community leaders.
I am going to Hanoi to teach English. I already have five Vietnamese friends in Hanoi who I have met from previous trips. So I am looking forward to meeting them and making many new friends as well. I will write a monthly news letter and daily e-mails to my friends to let everyone know what I am doing.
Please pray for me that God will bless me and keep me healthy and strong and that my work will result not only in helping poor people and teaching English to college students but in saving souls and building up a congregation of Christians in the city of Hanoi, Vietnam.
