Thy

Thy came into our lives in a most unusual way. One Saturday afternoon I was working on the computer when I received a call from my friend Dawn. Dawn was enjoying coffee at a Western restaurant when a Vietnamese lady entered with a young girl. The lady told the restaurant owners that she had found Thy beside the river. The 11 year old girl, whose home is over an hour away, was wandering unfamiliar streets in search of work. Her family could not afford to care for Thy so they sent her away.

Thy lived with us for over two weeks. While we worked to track down her family and then to get her into an orphanage, we started to bond with the sweet girl. Over and over I told myself, "This is a temporary thing. Thy isn't going to stay with us. She can't stay with us. Don't get attached." Of course that is easier said than done.

For Thy, her time with us must have seemed quite strange. Up until several weeks ago, she had lived in a leaky one room house with seven other people and only one bed. She ate mostly rice. She had to stay home from school because her family couldn't afford uniforms and school fees. She ran from her father, who was violently abusive when he came home drunk.

Then Thy found herself with "rich" foreigners, a young couple with weird customs, an unfamiliar language, and strange food. But there were certain perks to Thy's new living situation. She got new clothes, toys, and books. She had trips to the arcade, the movies and the beach. I can't imagine all of the emotions that must have been rumbling around inside of the tiny thing--fear, joy, anger, confusion, satisfaction, loneliness....talk about a roller coaster.

All the while, I found myself totally inadequate to handle the situation. My friends reminded me that even though I don't speak Vietnamese and I don't have a degree in counseling, I do have love. And when you're hurting, what you really need is someone to love you.

Right now, Thy is transitioning into a nearby orphanage in Danang (I say "transitioning" because it has been a difficult process), but in early 2010 she will be back under our care. Orphan Voice is renovating an orphanage only five minutes from our house. Our office will be relocated there, so we'll be able to see Thy and 30 of her friends every day. We are calling the orphanage "Promise House"; for Thy and others like her, we pray that it will be used to fulfill the Lord's promise to give His children "a hope and a future".