Helping the people we love – our families and our friends – comes naturally for us to do. But going the extra mile to show LOVE to people we do not know – we don’t even speak their language – people who are not and may never be in the position to repay us, that makes one beautiful story.

This is Mr Tong and here’s his beautiful story.  If I were to describe it, this extraordinary man created a piece of heaven here on earth.

Abortion is legal in Vietnam and statistics would have it that abortion rates are way higher than birth rates in the country.  One wonders – where do the bodies of the dead babies end up?  Referred to as “products of conception”, they are discarded as medical waste; we were told.

One construction worker from Vietnam spent all his savings, bought a piece of land, turned it into a cemetery, and since 2001, he has been giving proper burial to aborted babies from abortion clinics in Vietnam.  Day time, he works.  Nighttime, he makes his rounds to the hospitals to collect remains of aborted babies so he could bury them in his cemetery.

This is the resting place for our little angels, that piece of heaven on earth built by Mr Tong

But he did not stop there.  Mr Tong asked himself – why bury dead babies when he could find a way to save them from getting aborted?  So he started frequenting hospitals again, not to collect aborted baby remains; this time, to speak to the pregnant mothers to convince them to change their mind about getting their babies aborted.

Mr Tong would ask the mothers to keep the babies, that they could just leave the babies with him, and that he’d take good care of them as if they were his own.  And when the mothers’ lives improve, they could take their children back.  He turned his home into an orphanage.

To date, the orphanage has been home to children below the age of 12.  Some of the mothers volunteer to look after the kids.  This way, they can somehow spend time with their kids plus Mr Tong could really use some extra help in raising the children.

This October, Pres and I are planning to visit the orphanage and bring the kids some fresh clothes, toys, and school supplies.  Also, we plan to visit the cemetery so we can bring fresh flowers and say our prayers for our little angels there!

We have written to Mr Tong and since Mr Tong does not speak English, we were told (and we do not know Vietnamese), a very dear friend from Hanoi helped us translate our letter to Mr Tong!  Some friends from Singapore are helping us raise funds for this charity event.  We are forever grateful for the untiring support our friends are giving us!  Let us send our love to these kids in Vietnam!

 

“Part of the journey in life is slipping and falling along the way; in these times, true friends are the ones who pick you up and dust you off.”  ― Ken Poirot