“Happy Good Friday,” the smiling lady greeted us as we took our seats for breakfast at the hotel. It was the day that the GEI board members were to arrive for meetings. We had come early to meet with team members ahead of the board meeting and help with preparations.

We had stayed at this hotel before, but we didn’t remember this smiling lady and her puzzling greeting. We were also surprised that she spoke such good English.

“Happy Good Friday to you, too,” I responded, remembering that it was Easter weekend. She introduced herself to us as Maidae and inquired as to our satisfaction with the hotel service and if she could help us in any way.

“We are wondering if it is possible to have at least one vegetarian option available at breakfast time,” I said. “You see, we have a group of nine coming in this evening, and all of them are vegetarian. There are very few vegetarian options on the regular menu.”

“Let me ask the cook,” she replied, “but I am certain we can have something available for you.”

Maidae smiled at us as we returned that evening with our group of board members and helped them check in. We went over to speak with her. “So you are Seventh-day Adventist,” she greeted us, her voice so low that I could barely hear her.

“Yes, how did you learn that?”

“One of your group told me. I am a Christian, too!” she smiled broadly. We continued to visit while the group got checked in. She shared that she was the assistant manager of the hotel and that she had cooked all afternoon to make us something special for breakfast the next morning. As we visited, we learned some of her story. She was originally from Vietnam, but her family had immigrated to America when she was young. She had become a Christian and returned to Asia as a missionary where she served in several Southeast Asian countries. At one point she was imprisoned and deported for her religious work. But her heart belonged to the people here, so she returned. She had to be very discreet in her activities to avoid being deported again. We were sisters in Christ! I gave her a hug, and we prayed for her.

All weekend long, Maidae prepared us special breakfasts and showered us with extra care. “You are my family,” she told us.

On Sabbath morning I told her that we were going to worship and asked if she wanted to join us. Tears welled up in her eyes. “I can’t,” she whispered. “I will just have to go out in the garden and worship there.” Over the course of the weekend, our bond grew. Here was a Christian sister starved for fellowship because of the situation in which she found herself.
Please pray for Maidae that God will protect her as she ministers in that closed country. Pray that we will be able to minister to her in ways that will not jeopardize her safety but will fill the longing of her heart.

“Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other” (1 Thess. 4:9).

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