Last summer I read an excerpt from a memoir titled, Where the Wind Leads, by Vinh Chung, a man who, as a young child, along with his family, fled the dangerous, hopeless situation in Vietnam in the summer of 1979. Drifting in a fishing boat in the South China Sea, without food or water, they were rescued by a World Vision Aid ship. From the ship they went to a refugee camp in Singapore, were later sponsored by a Lutheran church in Fort Smith, Arkansas and came to the United States.
Their family of ten eked out a modest living, and Vinh describes his life as divided between school, work, and church. He says, “Work gave me discipline and kept me out of trouble; church gave me community and a strong faith.” These refugee children are graduates of some of the most prestigious universities in our country, hold advanced degrees, and are a dazzling success story.
In 2002, while a medical student, Vinh returned to Vietnam to visit relatives. He was stunned at the poverty in which they lived, and realized this could have been his life if not for the series of events that brought him to the United States and the opportunities available to him.
Vinh goes on to reflect on a verse from the Gospel of Luke, in which Jesus said “When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.” (12:48) He had wondered who Jesus meant, because he didn’t think it was his family. As he saw it, they had been given nothing, entrusted with nothing. But after the visit to Vietnam, he finally understood who Jesus was talking about: him. He was the one plucked from the sea and granted asylum in a nation that offers great opportunity. Yes, he worked hard, but that hard work was possible because of a blessing he did nothing to deserve. And that blessing is to be passed on, in any way he can.
He finishes his story as follows: “My story is true for all of us, whether you arrived in this country by boat or by birth: Much has been given to us–and much is required. That, I believe, is what it means to be an American.”
I get a lump in my throat reading this, and am moved by these simple, eloquent words. Vinh Chung now serves on the Board of Directors of World Vision. If this is what it means to be an American, what then, does it mean to be a Christian?
Your thankful friend in Christ,
Mary Rogers