I was the representative from my church in Lebanon County to help with the Vietnamese relocation.  The family that I was responsible for was originally from North Vietnam.  They were Catholic and had fled when the Viet Cong had taken over North Vietnam. So they were actually religious refugees twice.  Their story is as follows:

The two women who were head of the families that I sponsored grew up on a farm in North Vietnam.  It was a family farm that raised pigs, chickens, vegetables and had a rice paddy.  It was a happy place.  One of their favorite childhood games was like “pick-up sticks.”  Only, they threw up an orange and picked up chopsticks.

They valued their Catholic faith. When the Vietcong took over North Vietnam, the family fled south. When South Vietnam fell in 1975, they decided they would have to flee again or be shot.

They got on a small boat that took them to out into the harbor to a larger evacuation ship.  To get on the larger ship, they had to tie the small children in the family to their backs and climb a cargo net that hung over the side of the ship.  Those who could not hang onto the cargo net fell in the sea and drowned.  Apparently there was no way to pick them up. Fortunately, my family members all made it.

They were sent to Ft. Indiantown Gap, north of Lebanon and many churches in this area sponsored them. They worked hard here and availed themselves of educational opportunities.  They attended ESL (English as a Second Language) classes and learned to read even though some of them were not literate in their own language.  One of them, Dao Thi Pham was honored as the “English as a Second Language Student of the Year.” I value their friendship and applaud their hard work.

“I will always be grateful for the fact that this country opened its arms to welcome us, nurture us, and give us the opportunity to become who we are today…”

Recently, I received messages from them that I would like to share:

“ 42 years ago, today, a 19- year old stood on a Vietnamese Navy ship slowly departing for the unknown. Future uncertain. The only certainty in his mind was that he is leaving and that he probably will not see this land, the land of his country, again.

42 years later, that once 19-year old is now blessed with a loving family, freedom and success in life. He cannot help but stare in wonder at the gifts God has bestowed him. A gift of love through his family, and all the people along the way that have touched his life through their kindness, and left an indelible mark. So he prays that God blesses all the people in his life and grants them Peace and Love as he loves them. And a prayer of thanks to Him who has been so loving and generous.”

And

Dear Mrs. Funk:

Almost forty years have passed since the dramatic events of April 30, 1975 transformed us into refugees, and ultimately Americans.

While some of our memories are still steeped in pain and nostalgia, I, myself, prefer to count the blessings that God bestowed upon us from the day we reached these shores. I will always be grateful for the fact that this country opened its arms to welcome us, nurture us, and give us the opportunity to become who we are today, to work hard and succeed, each in accordance to his or her own abilities and efforts. Most of all, I am grateful for the people that I had the blessing to know. Ordinary people who showed extraordinary love and kindness. Ordinary people who took in perfect strangers and treated them as their own. Ordinary people who demonstrated, with their actions, the way of God.

I recall myself as a young man, self centered and selfish. The kindness that was accorded to me certainly changed my outlook of how life should be. This has prompted me to alter my ways, to try to be worthy of such kindness by being kind and loving. Not just to my own family and friends, but to others as well. A lesson well learned, I hope.

I now understand that this land, with all its faults and flaws, perceived or real, still has the most generous people on this earth, bar none. We are always first to provide aid when disaster strikes. And we provide this humanitarian aid even to our enemies. God’s Word personified.

With love, Chau