THƯ CÁM ƠN VÀ XIN GIÚP NHỮNG NGƯỜI NGHÈO Ở VIETNAM

Thư 1: NGÀY 11/12/12

Chi Kim Ha men,
 
So goi la thu Thanksgiving den de chia se voi chi.  Neu chi nhan duoc thi lam on cho So biet tin voi nhe!  Lan dau tien goi nen khong biet co toi chi hay khong?
 
So rat vui vi duoc tam su voi chi qua dien thoai.  Tu khi di Viet Nam ve vao dau thang 11, 2012 So da cau nguyen nhieu voi Chua xin Chua goi an nhan den cong tac voi So.  Chua da cho co Vi Thuy goi So va sau do lai duoc lien lac voi chi.  Viec Chua lam rat la lung va chung ta khong biet lay gi de den dap tinh thuong vo bien cua Chua.  Chua da mang chi den voi So trong luc So rat can su giup do de lam xong ngoi nha cho ho co cong an viec lam va cac em co lop de hoc noi que huong Viet Nam yeu dau cua chung ta. 
 
Cau chuc chi luon an vui trong tinh thuong cua Chua va Me Maria.Neu chi muon them chi tiet thi xin chi cho So biet tin voi nhe!.  Cam on chi that nhieu. 
 
Sr. Hang
 

THƯ 2 BẰNG TIẾNG ANH

DEC 12, 2012

Thanksgiving 2012

Dear Benefactors and Friends,

We are preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas. We thank God for the many graces and blessing that we have received the past year. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you far and near for your love and support in my ministries for the non-profit organization of Friends of the Poor. I am very grateful to you and I ask God to bless you for your generosity.

I would like to share with you the trip it took back to Viet Nam from June – Nov, 2012. I traveled back and forth from South Viet Nam to North Viet Nam to see if I could stay in North Viet Nam. I lived quietly in North Viet Nam for 2 months in order to feel my way. I was very scared every time I heard the dogs bark at night.

Fr. Trinh kept telling me that I would be OK under his protection. They had to see him before they would see me, but I was still afraid because I was not registered to live there. I was very careful not to be seen by the communist because they might ask me to leave. I waited until my last week of staying in North Viet Nam to register. I was thinking if they did not want me there I could go back to South Viet Nam to wait until I had to return to the USA. 

Two officers came to see me. I believed that the Holy Spirit was with me at that time because I was not afraid at all. I talked to them very calmly and shared with them about my ministries from North to South Viet Nam. After meeting with them I was very happy and relieved because they told Fr. Trinh that I could stay as long as l wanted. I returned to the USA on Nov 1st, 2012. I hope to go back to serve the poor in North Viet Nam in the future.

While I was there I lived in the parish. I walked around the village to visit the elderly. Many of them live by themselves in very poor conditions without any medical care. I brought Holy Communion to the elderly and those who were homebound due to illness. My heart went out to them and I wished I could have done more to bring joy to them as they near the end of their lives on this earth.

I had a chance to visit the people who live on boats; they have no place to be buried when they die. They go from place to place to fish to earn their living. They work very hard, but they have great difficultly finding fish to catch because of the chemicals that run off the rice fields and pollute the water, killing the fish. Their children have no opportunity to get an education. 

I met a beautiful girl of 15-years-old and she did not know how to read or write.  She washed the dishes in a hotel. Many of these young girls got involved in human trafficking because of poverty. I was glad when this young woman agreed to stop working in the hotel in order to return to her village. I hope to send her to the sisters there, who will teach her how to read and write. In the future, she can also learn to sew which will give her a livelihood. I am so happy because I plan on helping young girls in situations like this to have a better future.

With donations from St. Timothy Catholic Church in Blaine, MN, and a generous donation from another donor, we raised over $10 thousand. We used these funds to lay a foundation for a school building. We bought materials and recruited volunteer laborers from the village to build a place for sewing and catechism classes for the children. The parish has ten classes that meet but they have only two rooms to meet in. The rest of the students have to study in the small church, which is very noisy, making it hard to learn. The laborers worked very hard to finish the foundation before I left North Viet Nam

It will cost about $130 thousand to build three floors where poor women can learn a skill. These skills will help them get jobs to provide for their families. It will also prevent young women from getting involved in human trafficking. This building provides a place where the children can attend classes to deepen their faith by learning catechism. We also can use the space for distributing rice and medicine to the poor.

A family gave us a house to use for unwed mothers. It is not yet being used because I still have to be careful. I must take small steps, because the government is very pro-abortion. My work with unwed mothers could be seen to be in conflict with the government so I may I have to wait for three years before the other sisters can join me, to be on the safe side. I need to take my time to study the situation and make sure they will allow us to continue our ministries there. 

God’s people are crying out for help. They need help in many ways and I need your prayers and financial support to carry out this new mission that God calls all of us to be a part of. I want to bring His merciful love to the poor and suffering in Viet Nam. I believe that “The Lord hears the cry of the poor” through benefactors like you.

Thank you for taking time to read this newsletter and thank you in advance for all of your love, prayers and financial gifts. May God bless you and your family with many graces and blessings for your love and generosity.  Have a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Sincerely in Christ,

Sr. Rose Hang Vu, RGS
333 10th Street NW  Apt # 214
New Brighton, MN 55112
Tel: (651) 428 3320
Email: rosehvu40@hotmail.com
 
Your gifts can be tax deductable if your check payable to Friends of the Poor.