5,137 days and counting
by Captain Vong Luangkhamdeng
In 2005, I was commissioned and appointed to lead the Tabernacle Corps in Minneapolis, Minn., which had a Laotian congregation. I was new and young. There was so much to learn, even things about The Salvation Army. But God’s grace was enough for me. Sometimes we learn and grow by doing. In my first appointment, we spoke mainly Lao, ate Lao food and enjoyed being among our Lao people. I loved it very much and did not want to move. But God had a different plan in mind. After two years, God called me to do something which was out of my comfort zone. In the middle of 2007, the Minneapolis Tabernacle Corps merged with the Minneapolis Central Corps. I was concerned I would not be able to handle a merger. I wondered how to go about being a leader to those who spoke English as speaking it was a challenge for me. I also worried that people from the two corps might not get along. I had forgotten this is God’s church and they are His people. After I realized it was all about God, I felt relieved and peaceful. Every day God sent a wonderful leader to help. Years later, we even had a Hispanic congregation added to the corps. Every week, there were people who spoke three different languages who came together in worship. There are still a lot of things to learn, and God is not finished with me yet. But I have seen His hand upon me. He is a faithful God. My prayer is that God will do the same here in Madison, Wis.