| |
To all my Young
Companions,
It is Friday
night, and I have difficulty focusing on my first letter to all my
Young Companions. I suppose I am just like any other young person - I
desire to go out and to stay out late. I want to hang out at the
mall, the coffee shop, eat at a restaurant, or go watch a movie. I
sway as the city lights blend into the disco lights.
Focus, Hường,
focus, I remind myself. If I keep “daydreaming” about what is out
there, I will have nothing to turn in to cha Long on Monday.
Concentration and reflection I attempt again.
From the Youth
Gathering in the summer of 1999 in Kansas City and from the
unforgettable times with nhóm Chiên Con in Amarillo, I heard God’s
call to work with the youth.
Reflecting on the
Youth Gathering in Kansas City took me back to the journey, The Walk
to Emmaus. On this journey, I met the fun and lovable young people
whom I now dedicate myself to serve. I enjoyed spending time in
fellowship with them. I recall everyone was so excited to see each
other even though we never met before. It reminded me of a song, “I
don’t care, who you are, where you from, or what you did, as long as
you love me.”
We opened up our
hearts to each other and shared our tears and joys with love and
understanding. I felt God pulling all of us together, uniting in His
love. The most memorable night included the mass prepared by the
youth, and mass was breathtaking. In addition, I cannot forget Kansas
City by Night, an event for talents and wit to come alive. I enjoyed
MCing with Phương Anh and Thanh, who once couldn’t suppress his
excitement and spontaneously yelled, “T́nh Yêu!” His energy and
excitement reflected well the energy among the young people at that
event.
For those who
don’t know me, my name is Thu-Hường. I grew up in Amarillo, Texas, a
small and quiet town located in the Panhandle of Texas. This town is
known for its great steak, which is free if one can eat 72 oz. of
steak. In the Vietnamese community, everybody knows everybody, and we
all live close to one another and tend to pull closer to each other.
Currently, I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to pursue my career.
My first
experience with Dong-Hanh was when I was 14. Going to nhóm weekly
meetings was nothing more than an opportunity to meet my friends and
an excuse to get out of the house (sounds familiar guys?!?). Later
on, we had a retreat in Wichita Fall, Texas, led by cha Thành. I
thought cha sounded funny when I first heard him speak. Actually, I
was shocked because cha looked “Caucasian” but spoke Vietnamese. As
you can see, I focused more on the delivery than the content of the
message. (Sorry cha Thành, you sound great to me now.) This was my
first time going to a retreat, a silent retreat. Yikes - it was
hard! Cha said, “Keep the silence to yourself with God, for the whole
weekend.” Great! It was too late to leave now.
The retreat’s
theme was “Tôi đi t́m tôi” or “Who am I?” That weekend turned out
amazing and valuable (thank you cha Thành) because I learned about
God’s inspiration and unconditional love. God eased our pain and
sorrow. He replaced our broken and hardened hearts with a new and
genuine heart. I remember we cried a lot, and shared a lot about our
deepest feelings. That weekend was the first time I encountered God.
God implanted the seed of love in me. That seed had been sowed,
nourished, and watered by the life of Dong-Hanh.
As time went by,
I developed a deep love for the Dong-Hanh ministries. I have been a
part of Dong-Hanh for more than 15 years. I have received many gifts
from God, one of which was nhóm Chiên Con in Amarillo. I formed this
group in February, 1998, with 30 youth members. Most members were
from my Sunday confirmation class. After they finished confirmation
class, there was no class to advance into. They desired to get
together so they could continue to know more about God and to share
their life experiences. With their inspiration and with God’s
support, I formed the group. Their enthusiasm encouraged me to be
with them every weekend. At first, everyone guarded his or her
feelings, and didn’t want to open up much. Their timidity and
discomfort kept them apart for a while. After a few months, however,
we became closer to one another. Everyone participated more and
became more comfortable in sharing their thoughts and feelings. I am
grateful for the trust and the openness which các em had willingly
shared with me.
Our first group
retreat was the Come and See led by cha Long. This was our first
journey together with God. His circle of love turned us into a loving
family. We started to call each other mom, dad, brothers and sisters,
uncle, aunt, etc. We lived on for more than a year and a half, but
eventually (and inevitably), the original group started to split up.
Most members had to move away. To survive, we held each other and
cried like we cried the night we washed each other’s feet. We
promised to always be a family, regardless of where we were. Our
hearts and minds would always belong to our family in Amarillo, we
vowed. The adults were surprised by our action and by the love we had
for each other. One day, I, unfortunately, had to break their hearts
too. I had to leave them to move to Tulsa. I felt bad and guilty
every time I thought about them. My family - you know who you are - I
love you and miss you very much. You are all important to me, and I
will never forget you. My dearest các em, I believe God’s purpose in
forming and separating us is so that we could love more and work
harder toward His greater will.
My answer to His
call in helping the youth is solidified. Last October, at the ExCo
meeting in Montreal, Canada, cha Long asked me to present the proposal
of the youth vision of 2001. Các cha and các anh chị officially asked
me to join the Youth Ministry. I knew this role was a big
responsibility, but I believed in the vision, and I believed that with
cha Long, anh Đạt, thầy Nhàn, and the Dong-Hanh youth, we will have an
enjoyable and productive year in the name of Christ. So, here I am!!
Being Coordinator for Dong-Hanh youth ministry is a new vocation for
me. A call in the middle of the night, similar to God’s call for
Samuel, I suppose. Well, here I am, Lord. I don’t know much, but I
have a big heart and two little hands to serve you and your people.
I admire cha Long
and anh Đạt for their kindness and generosity in serving our youth for
such a long time. At times, I am doubtful but I remember that I am
not doing this alone. No doubt, God will see to it that I have help.
Our vision this
year is to unite all the individual groups from various regions to
develop a common and structured outlet to build relationships among
members. We formed a council representative group called Youth Team,
which will give spiritual leadership and guidance. Youth Team will
help us coordinate programs, retreats, and youth gatherings. The
other vision we have is to update the Young Companions Corner column
of the Dong-Hanh Publication. We ask for your participation. We want
to use Young Companions Corner to communicate and to share your
testimonials, news, and upcoming events from all regions. I believe
we are all called to serve our friends from Dong-Hanh youth. My
desire is to work with all of you to accomplish our visions. With
teamwork, we can spread excitement to all of our young companions.
With His help and our commitment, we can carry out God’s mission and
glorify his His name.
I look forward to
working with all of you. This year is going to be a blessing for us
all.
With God’s Love,
Thu Hường
|
|
