Reflection on Biblical Hospitality

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Dear Ministry Partner,

We arrived in the United States on September 1. Now, it has been two months since then. We have stayed in several homes with our hosts. The warm welcome and hospitality decreased my homesickness. Being away from home and traveling to different places is not easy, but hosting and being hospitable is a more difficult task.

Being a pastor in a house church where the congregation gathers in my house, we understand the difficulty of hosting many guests, especially when they do not know how to serve themselves. Most everything is out of place and there is clean-up to do after the gathering. My wife, who is the main one cleaning and setting up in the kitchen, puts things back in the right places. I always feel awkward when staying at someone else's house because I don't know what to do to comply with the owner's wishes. Most of the time I just sit and wait to be served.

How can a person have a hospitable heart for strangers? By the way of God's love for His people to cultivate a hospitable heart. All of the hosts treated me in a way that was surprising and exceeded my worthiness. I have learned from them that I am to cultivate a heart of biblical hospitality. I must refuse to rely on my achievements or to dwell on my failures. And I must lay aside past rejections and grudges. As the bible said, “Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.” (Romans 12:13).

Most significant of all to me is gratitude: Hospitality becomes grudging and distorted if it does not flow from a life of gratitude. It seems to me that committing to a tradition of hospitality grounded in gratitude, would take us a long way down the road toward faithfully responding to God’s love—as we recognize the value in every human being and come together with respect, integrity, and truth.

Personally, I would like to thank all of you for what you have done and for your prayers. I love you all and wish to see you again in the future. Blessings!

National Director/CCI Vietnam

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Testimonies

"I would like to praise God for allowing me to join the CCI Conference. The topic on Resolving Conflict impacted me so much that I will share the 5 things that I have learned from it:

1. Do not take offense when offense is not intended. Don’t be so quick tempered. It is honorable to overlook a fault in another.

2. Use a soft tone when responding to accusations. Never use harsh words, because they just stir up strife.

3. Learn to minimize the negatives and accentuate the positives. Learn to express thanks for the little things people do. If you cannot say anything positive, then don’t say anything at all.

4. Stop talking. Make the choice to not respond to every accusation. Choose to be quiet and see what happens.

5. Learn to say these three phrases.

I was wrong.
I am sorry.
Will you please forgive me?

CCI Seminar Participant

"I finished Book# 6 “Personal Spiritual Life” a couple days ago. I was challenged by the topic of managing finances and giving. I used to not be good at managing money and spent it just as I wanted. It caused me to have an unpeaceful heart. I started learning because I wanted to glorify God by being well-managed in finances and giving. I was surprised that the more I give, the more I experience a happy and peaceful heart."

CCI Student and Conference Participant

“I praise God for our teacher who taught us comprehensibly. Book#9 “Church History” brings me different emotions. It is evidence of God at work in periods of human history. Many men and women of God were martyred to preach the truth and preserve it. Their sacrifices are an inspiration, and their lives are examples for me. This course challenges me to live and serve until my life rests in Jesus’ hands.”

CCI Vietnamese Student in Cambodia Class

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Prayer Requests & Praises

1. We give thanks to the Lord for providing a Hmong couple to be our Hmong Area Coordinator. Please pray for them as he and his wife are ready for this new position. His role is to train teachers and care for the CCI Hmong classes in the northern territory. Pray that the Lord will help him walk with integrity, keep him attentive to God's leading, and keep him on His path of righteousness.

2. An accelerated class for Hmong teachers is going to start next year. These pastors are from different provinces and had biblical education in different programs. They have churches where they may be a possibility to start classes in 2023.

3. Please pray for God’s provision for teacher transportation funds so classes can be taught continuously and the CCI ministry can be presented and taught in more churches.

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