It was a longwalk, very hot but we was worth going to. The museum was pretty intense, very sad and emotionally taxing. To say the least, there are lot of feelings there, very tragic pictures, horrible stories, a lot of hurt and hate expressions – hard to take in.
I remember visiting the Holocaust Museum in Israel and being so moved by it. But if I had to describe another aspect of what I was feeling, it was relief because I wasn’t the “oppresser” or the “oppressed”. Years later, I would visit the Holocaust Museum in Berlin and I felt much closer to the many Jews and minorities who suffered so severely.
Today, being an American visiting the Remnants Museum, was difficult. I am a very gratful American, but still, if you can separate yourself from your national alliance and be human, you cannot help but be overwhelmed by these stories. I probably won’t post the pictures, interested people can google the museum for themselves but seeing the effects of the Agent Orange, reading the stories of brutality, and feeling the pain causes you to be so alarmed by the world we live in. These places reveal the fallness and the evil within all of us.
I think walking away from the exhibits, I felt the enormity of our broken, sinful natures. Throughout human history, we have always succeeded in hurting each other. A lot more could be said here but to move the thought forward, I also felt the great importance of the Gospel. When Jesus teaches us to love our neighor as ourselves and to love our enemies, I see that as a fundamental key to all aspects of life, not just personal politeness in my local context.
Afterwards, we went to dinner at a real interesting place called Pho Bin. It was used as a front for the Vietcong. So downstairs noodles were fed to the American GI’s and upstairs, things like the TET Offesnive were planned. Unbelievable. We headed back to the hotel and had a small team meeting before endinng the first night. I was pretty tired by then so I went to sleep and for the most part, slept well and here I am.
I’m going to try and update the blog but wanted to say hey. Thanks for your prayers, thoughts and love, hope you are well too.
I imagine this was a very emotional time visiting the museum. It also reminds us of the horrors of war. I remember visiting the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. and watching grown men cry over friends that they lost in the war. It was a time of grieving and rightfully so.