Mom's Testimony

What made Mom who she is right now?? Let's take a step back and hear Mom's inspiring testimony……

Mom and her ex-husband used to live in Vietnam. Her ex-husband was a big influence in her life. Her ex-husband was placed at the temple when he was 11 years old by his mother and slowly he became a monk. He wanted to become a monk when he saw this famous monk who visited his village. The ex-husband saw how the monk was worshiped by the people and taken care of, so he wanted to follow in that monk's footsteps because he was poor. The ex-husband denied his mother because he was embarrassed that she was poor. His mother passed away and at that time he felt really guilty. He felt lost and he gave up being a monk…..he gave up his religion. The ex-husband decided to suicide by burning himself in public. He wanted to burn himself because that was how the other monk's were protesting against the government at the time so he became famous. Other monks were doing it to make political statements but the ex-husband may have been depressed. The burning didn't happen because the matches were wet, but he became well-known to the public ever since this incident. At this time, the ex-husband wanted to repent. He met Mom and got married with her. This was his second marriage. During this period, the communist controlled Vietnam and Mom was caught in jail trying to escape. One day he wandered off to a near-by church and got exposed to God in a deeper level. Her ex-husband would visit Mom at the jail everyday and bring her food along with a bible verse. Slowly, he became a Christian while Mom was still a non-believer. Her ex-husband would always compare Mom with the Christian women whom he met from church.

Mom didn't believe in God until she experienced Him on her own. Her first prayer to God was when she escaped while the sergeants were following her. She made a conditional prayer "God, if you are true, let them not find me." Mom believed at that time but not wholeheartedly. She went back to her ways and made good money. Ten years later, there were these 2 American missionaries whom Mom was with. They were caught and the sergeants were following Mom. There was a tragic incident that happened during this time. She was worried about many things and got paralyzed. Mom used up all her resources to try to cure her legs. She prayed to God for her to be able to walk again and she promised to serve him completely. Mom was very persistent in trying to recover. She used a piece of the window steel as a walking cane to help her stand up. Praise the Lord! At that moment, Mom was able to stand up on her own. This is one of God's miracles…..Mom accepted Christ! She said "these are no longer my legs but it's HIS legs." Wow…that was powerful!!!

Mom used to own a restaurant. She was very hard-working. Mom earned about $2,700 per month so she was financially stable. She was very focused in working and slowly neglected her husband at the time. Her husband's ex-girlfriend came to visit him and he decided to divorce Mom. They left Vietnam and went to England. Mom was very hurt and she wanted to reconcile their marriage. She was willing to give up her restaurant business for him, but unfortunately, it was too late. Mom prayed and prayed for comfort, strength, and clarity. God answered her prayer with Isaiah 54:6 " The Lord will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit- a wife who married young, only to be rejected," says your God. " Mom was encouraged and was no longer asking "Why is this happening to me?" She was able to continue on with her life.

As time passes, Mom immigrated to California and was working with the Autistic kids in Huntington Beach, CA for 2 years. She had only 3 prayer partners whom she trusted to share her feelings to. One of Mom's prayer partners prayed for her which reminded Mom of the "living water"- reaching out to others. Mom went to seminary at Rhema in Oklahoma where she first heard about the Vietnamese workers in Malaysia being mistreated by the employers from a fellow seminary student , so she was unsure if that was God's calling for her to help them. Mom prayed about it and going to Malaysia became evident after going to the next Sunday's service.

Mom moved out to Malaysia on her own in 2003 with some financial support from Robert (close friend) and her prayer partners. Mom sacrificed all she had in California. She left her comfortable life in Irvine, CA to be in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Mom missed her family a lot especially her son (Evan), grandson (Ethan) and her daughter-in-law (Linda). Mom used all she saved up to come out to Malaysia. The first year was very hard for Mom. During the first three years of mission work, she got help from local churches who were also trying to reach out to the Vietnamese workers. Mom also received financial support from her students who she taught in Thailand's refugee camp who are now in Australia and other places. Later Mom got connected with Pastor Sabastian Huynh through Robert. During the third year of Mom's ministry, Vincent got involved and he went to Malaysia with Sabastian as a vision trip. Later Owen and Winnie joined Vincent on another vision trip. Now here we are on this mission trip with our small group!

Our organization aims to educate others about the plight of the marginalized and the voiceless and to offer ways to help. We have already organized a successful dinner fundraiser as well as our very first mission trip and plan to hold more in the future.

Thank you for your visit and we hope you leave blessed and inspired by Mom!

"Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked." Psalms 82:3-4