Hello. My name is Hai Tieu, and I’m honored to have been asked to share my experiences as a refugee and a Christian. Let me say that this story isn’t so much about me; it is more about how God made Himself the center of my life and how He has changed me.
First, a little bit about my background. My family and I immigrated here from Vietnam in 1978, when I was seven. In the chaos and confusion that followed the war, my parents, along with their seven children, left their country of birth and sailed toward Thailand on a small fishing boat. After five months of living in an over-crowded refugee camp, we were sponsored by a church group in the U.S. Faced with an unfamiliar language, culture, and food, I felt as if I was a young tree that had just been uprooted.
I grew up in a Buddhist family. In fact, I’m the only one in the family who later became a Christian. I’m also the only one in the family who likes baseball. When you think about it, following Christ and watching baseball are quite similar. It may take a while before anything exciting happens. Such was the case for me on my journey. I was first introduced to Christ when I was in college. At the time I was working with children in an after-school program at a Lutheran school, where the pastor first told me about Jesus. Because I was stubborn and had no guidance from home on this matter, I wasn’t ready to accept Him. My thinking was: why would I want to change my life when I was already content with who I was? Little did I know until years later that my experience there offered a double blessing. That was where the idea of becoming a Christian was born and that was where I considered teaching as a career.
Fast forward a few years. That giant cross off the freeway led me here today. I started going to Lake in 2001, and I remember the first few times I went to services. I used to sit way in the back, sang the worship songs, and listened to the sermons, yet I didn’t really feel connected to the church or to anyone. In fact, it was easy for me to slip in and out of this place without speaking to anyone. It wasn’t until I joined an adult Sunday class here at Lake, called Crossroads, that I really felt connected and where my faith was nurtured by the group leaders.
My faith was further cemented when I went on two short-term mission trips: one on a prayer journey to Thailand and Cambodia in 2009 and the other to teach English in Taiwan in 2010. One of the lasting images from my prayer journey was of me sitting quietly along a beach in Pattaya, where some 30 years earlier, our family had destroyed that small boat so that the Thai authorities would have no choice but to allow us on land. Both of these trips taught me how to look at the world through the eyes of Christ and to care for the things that He cares: the injustice, the vulnerable, and the least among us. Initially, I went on those trips thinking I could make a small change in the people I would eventually meet. In the end, I didn’t change anyone, but God changed me. You see, I used to think that if I surrendered my life to Him, I would then lose my freedom to do what I want and to be who I am. Ironically, it is through Him that I’ve gained my ultimate freedom. I’m free from the bondage of sin. And it is through Him that I’ve gained my new identity and purpose. My identity isn’t in myself but is in Christ. And my purpose in life, whether that be at work or with friends and family, isn’t in pleasing others, but in glorifying God alone. Such is the case when you begin to put Him at the center of your lives.
In closing, I would encourage those newer to the faith to find a small group with which to connect. It will strengthen your faith. To those who can do short term mission, I would strongly encourage you to jump at the chance. It will forever change you. Further, I would encourage all of us to be a mentor to someone and have someone be a mentor to us. Being a mentor to someone helps us to grow, while having someone be a mentor to us will both strengthen and challenge us.
My journey with Christ is far from complete, and if you know me at all I’m nowhere near perfect. But I can proudly say that once-young tree is now mature, growing on American soil and nourished by the living water of Christ.