Pittsburgh: God's plan

Hello all,

It was a truly a humbling experience to be there with other members of DongHanh and other communities. It is even more humbly to be called and reminded that I am a representative of DongHanh Family. I experienced many grace-fill moments during the time leading up and during the time at the assembly. I am grateful that God graced me with the gift of being a part of this family. I am grateful for the prayers of those staying behind, the prayers of QHuong on her retreat. I am grateful for the sacrifices of my children, in every way, they were being asked to do their parts so that I was able to participate in the whole discernment. There was one special moment of grace that I want to share in particular. It was during the Governance session.

When we went over our current reality, it struck me that within CLC-USA, there were so many brokenness (brokenness in the regional structure, brokenness in the make up of the NCC, etc). Yet, it was in and thru this brokenness that God has placed DongHanh family. It was that brokenness that had accepted DongHanh, it was that brokenness that have enriched the life of DongHanh and of me. Through all the brokenness, I saw the Holy Spirit was working. I saw how the Holy Spirit help CLC-USA including DongHanh recognized our inadequacy and also the realization/recognition that CLC-USA must change the structure. I also felt alive because of the organic nature of the proposed starting point; I can see the apostolic aspect of the new structure with its sharing of life.

With regard to the restructuring as a whole, I feel really good about it. I am not so naive as to think that the restructuring is easy, without resistance, but I feel that this is God's plan. If it is God's plan, then all I have to do is to trust in God. As we go deeper into the weekend, I feel less fearful and more hopeful. I am ready to do my part, to be free and let God prune what is not healthy. I feel that I am not alone in this, as I sense the same feeling among all the other communities.

What remains with my heart after the weekend is a sense of hope; a sense of serenity among the discerning body; a sense of great anticipation; Most of all, the sense of surrendering and trusting in God's great providence.

Now I am eager to return to our community and to share the fruit of our weekend discernment.

Blessing,

Khánh