Today is Monday, September 1st, 2014; Karen's Korner #2891

My sister gave me a clipping from one of those magazine inserts in newspaper, with this thought, "I think this one would make a good Karen's Korner.

So here it is as we celebrate Labor Day; in part:

DRIFTING TOWARD HOPE

Written by Vinh Chung

More than 30 years ago, Chung and his family were refugees seeking a better life in the U.S. But it wasn't until he returned to Vietnam that he understood what it means to be an American.

He and his family, along with 83 other refugees lay 'half-dead' in a fishing boat after fleeing their native country. On the sixth day at sea, a miracle happened for all of them as a World Vision aid ship plucked them out of their boat. They were taken to Singapore, and then to a Lutheran Church in Fort Smith, Arkansas to meet their sponsoring family.

According to Chung, "we arrived with nothing, unable to speak a word of English. My father went to work in a fiber-glass factory earning $90 a week to support our family of 10." The family's time was divided between school, work and church. Together, he and his siblings hold six doctorates and five master's degrees from such schools as Harvard, Yale, Georgetown, University of Pennsylvania, and NYU.

It was while Chung was in medical school in 2002 that he returned for the first time to visit relatives who still reside there. He was shocked by the poverty. He writes, "In the Gospel of Luke, 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).' I used to wonder who Jesus meant, because I sure didn't think it was my family. The way I saw it, we had been give nothing, entrusted with nothing."

It was while Chung was in Vietnam that he finally understood. He (his family) was plucked out of the South China Sea; he was granted asylum in a nation where education is available to everyone, with prosperity attainable for anyone. "While I worked hard to get to where I am today," he wrote, "the humbling truth was possible because of a blessing I did nothing to deserve. And that blessing is something I must pass on, in any way I can."

He concluded, "My story is true for all of us, whether you arrived in this country by boat or by birth:  Much has been give to us------and much is required. That, I believe, is what it means to be an American."

****** 


Back