Vietnam Evangelical Covenant Church – The Wardrobe of Love trip to Sàng Ma Sáo was the Community Development Ministry’s first trip of 2021. On January 20–21, 2021, ministry members traveled nearly 400 km from Hà Nội to Sàng Ma Sáo commune, Bát Xát district, Lào Cai province, bringing 116 wool blankets, 116 Tết gifts and hundreds of sets of warm clothes to 116 Hmong households in Sàng Ma Sáo and Tung Quan Lìn villages.
See photos: all the photos of the trip (about 35 photos) on the Community Development Ministry fanpage
Why “Opening the Wardrobe of Love”?
Winter in the Lào Cai highlands is always harsh. Severe cold spells, sometimes with ice and snow, make the already difficult lives of Hmong families even harder. Many families lack warm blankets, and children go to school in thin clothes.
Out of this concern, the Community Development Ministry launched “Opening the Wardrobe of Love.” The idea was simple: each believing family opens its wardrobe, picks out warm clothes in good or even new condition, washes and dries them, and sends them to the church office or the Long Biên Covenant group. Things that seem small in our homes can become warmth for a family in the highlands.
Two Weeks of Appeals, Many Hearts Joining In
After two weeks of appeals, the ministry received a great deal of used and even new warm clothing. In addition, friends and believers gave 25,500,000 dong to prepare Tết gifts for the families. The total cost of the program was about 47 million dong.
Each gift, worth about 400,000 dong, included:
- 1 new wool blanket;
- 1 one-liter bottle of cooking oil;
- snacks for the children;
- plus warm clothes donated by families.
In the days before the trip, the church office became a place for sorting and packing. Each blanket and gift bag was carefully stacked and counted so no family would be missed.
A Journey of Nearly 400 km to the Village
Early on January 20, 2021, the team set out. The road to Sàng Ma Sáo winds steeply with many difficult stretches, and at night thick fog rolls in. Along the way, the team’s vehicle broke down in an area with no roadside assistance. But with a heart to share, the team persevered and brought all the goods to their destination as planned.
Throughout the trip, the team received help from many people along the road and from local villagers. For the team, it was a concrete experience of God’s providence at every stage of service.
The Smiles of Hmong Families
What stayed most after the trip was the eyes and smiles of the villagers. Receiving new wool blankets and Tết gift bags, many were both delighted and shy, their smiles never fading. The team members, who simply “delivered” love from the church to the families, all said it was the image they would remember most.
The ministry believes that through these small gifts, people there could sense the love and blessing that the Savior Jesus brings. God’s Word teaches:
“For there will never cease to be poor in the land; that is why I am commanding you to open wide your hand to your brother and to the poor and needy in your land.” (Deuteronomy 15:11)
What Opening the Wardrobe of Love Means for the Church
The program not only gives highland families more warm clothes, but also helps believers practice God’s Word concretely. Clothes carefully chosen, washed and folded are how each family shows love to people they have never met.
After the Sàng Ma Sáo trip, “Opening the Wardrobe of Love” became an annual program of the Community Development Ministry every winter. At the end of 2021, it went on to serve preschoolers in Mộc Châu, Sơn La.
Pray for the Community Development Ministry
- That God will bless the Hmong families of Sàng Ma Sáo with health and peace through the winter.
- That God will strengthen ministry members on long journeys.
- That God will open more opportunities for the Community Development Ministry to serve society.
Read more in Community Development and Church News. Contact the church office: 0942 248 688 (Zalo available).
