My Journey
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
Firstly, I would like to thank you for reading my story. Secondly, to those who don’t know about me, or want to know more about me: I am Br. Thuy Nguyen SDB, and I am a Salesian of St. Bosco. I’d like to share with you my experiences of things that I have gone through in my life, especially my times in Malaysia refugee camps.
As I think back to the past, when I was about 8 or 9 years old, my father took me to my uncle’s house in the countryside, when he knew that my uncle was about to escape Vietnam with his fishing boat. My uncle told me that I was too young to go by myself. So I came back home and after two or three weeks, we received terrible news: my uncle’s boat sank as soon as it got out of the border of Vietnam. The accident, in which I would have died, confirmed me that God had protected me and I thanked God for letting me live till today.
When I was about 11 years old, my dad took me to one of the convent in Saigon City so that I can join them. I was really scared to think of joining a convent and that I have to leave my family. Fortunately, after a talk with the priests, my father took me home.
Fifteen years of age, I was in the middle of year 10, and my father asked me if I want to escape on a boat of one of my uncle. I said that I would try, and I was glad because my father let me decide big thing like that. I tried and usefully escaped from Vietnam after three attempts.
That was November 1987, when my uncle’s family and I escaped together with others, altogether 54 people, crowded on a small wooden fishing boat 12 by 3 metres. Leaving my family behind, the reality did not hit until after a week staying in the camp, all the saddest feelings in my heart started building up which made tears swelled in my eyes when I wrote the first letter back to Vietnam.
There was a Catholic church in the camp as well as Buddha temple and other churches of different religions. My uncle’s family and myself went to the church in the camp, after church, my uncle asked for us all to join the Vietnamese Youth Group there, and none of us would dare to say anything to against his decision, so we joined the youth group reluctantly.
As a shy boy, I still remember clearly the moment standing in the lines of the kids of my age; I was so nervous and scared that I wished that no one would speak to me and leave me alone. I thought I was the most timid boy in the world. Time passed by and I got along with my friends well. After almost three years staying in the camp, with many friends, the youth group turned out to be an environment where we had lots of fun, it would have been a very boring time in the camp without the youth group because there was not many things we can do, no places that we can go inside the camp. The youth group became part of me in which I found my life filled with joys and laughs, hope and strength was given to me to overcome all the hardships in a refugee camp. Almost three years full of good memories with the youth group, good times with friends, camping, swimming, having all the fun in the games that the leaders voluntarily gave us, as well as sad times when I have to say goodbye to my friends. I really liked those volunteer leaders who helped us running camps and activities. To me, they were heroes and they forever remained in my heart.
You can see that being a leader or a youth worker is not just anyone, if you become a leader; you actually become one of the models for young people and can change their life, just as those leaders in my refugee camp has help me to change my life.
In 1990, I came to Australia, and I thought of the youth in the camp provided me a healthy environment where I can enjoy life with my friends and learn things. At the same time I want to do something in order to return what I have received from that youth group, I joined in the local youth group, the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Association, Toma Thien in Keysborough, Victoria, where I served and had fun as well for ten years.
In the period of 1997 to 1998, I thought about my life and constantly asking God to show what I should do, and the result was that I joined the Salesians of Don Bosco, a religious order who work with and for the young, especially the poor and the abandoned youths. Now, I am already over 30 years of age and I am sure by now that God is always beside me in my journey, and He will always beside me always in the time to come too.
I want to share all this to you with all my heart and want to let you know one thing that: if you do anything to help young people, even it is a small thing; you are already a leader, someone who have the power to change someone’s life. And as a leader you and I have Jesus as our greater leader, he will always lead us so that we can come to Him.
At the bottom of my heart, I would like to suggest that you would think carefully about doing something, committing yourself to help the young, to take it seriously and with a strong hope in Jesus Christ’s help, you will have peace in your heart and a happy life even in this life, not mentioning about the life after this life, an eternal life with God. I am confidently saying this because after 14 years with the Youth Movement, I found it is very clear that whoever commits themselves to the youth group, their life will flourish and they have peace in their heart wherever they go. As I reflect about all the leaders in the youth group in the past, they are likely to have a life full of happiness and joys, I can’t say that it is simply a “lucky thing” but to thank God that He has touched their life and my life in a special way.
Whenever we are wounded in life, God always wants to heal our wounds, however He give us freedom to say “yes” or “no” to His healings. Just as the blind man in the gospel, Jesus cured him but remember one thing that Jesus did not heal his eyes straight away, He told him to go to a river nearby and wash his eyes… And so our life, we are invited to come to Him through serving our brothers and sisters.
May God be with you now and always!
Br. Thuy Nguyen SDB
Firstly, I would like to thank you for reading my story. Secondly, to those who don’t know about me, or want to know more about me: I am Br. Thuy Nguyen SDB, and I am a Salesian of St. Bosco. I’d like to share with you my experiences of things that I have gone through in my life, especially my times in Malaysia refugee camps.
As I think back to the past, when I was about 8 or 9 years old, my father took me to my uncle’s house in the countryside, when he knew that my uncle was about to escape Vietnam with his fishing boat. My uncle told me that I was too young to go by myself. So I came back home and after two or three weeks, we received terrible news: my uncle’s boat sank as soon as it got out of the border of Vietnam. The accident, in which I would have died, confirmed me that God had protected me and I thanked God for letting me live till today.
When I was about 11 years old, my dad took me to one of the convent in Saigon City so that I can join them. I was really scared to think of joining a convent and that I have to leave my family. Fortunately, after a talk with the priests, my father took me home.
Fifteen years of age, I was in the middle of year 10, and my father asked me if I want to escape on a boat of one of my uncle. I said that I would try, and I was glad because my father let me decide big thing like that. I tried and usefully escaped from Vietnam after three attempts.
That was November 1987, when my uncle’s family and I escaped together with others, altogether 54 people, crowded on a small wooden fishing boat 12 by 3 metres. Leaving my family behind, the reality did not hit until after a week staying in the camp, all the saddest feelings in my heart started building up which made tears swelled in my eyes when I wrote the first letter back to Vietnam.
There was a Catholic church in the camp as well as Buddha temple and other churches of different religions. My uncle’s family and myself went to the church in the camp, after church, my uncle asked for us all to join the Vietnamese Youth Group there, and none of us would dare to say anything to against his decision, so we joined the youth group reluctantly.
As a shy boy, I still remember clearly the moment standing in the lines of the kids of my age; I was so nervous and scared that I wished that no one would speak to me and leave me alone. I thought I was the most timid boy in the world. Time passed by and I got along with my friends well. After almost three years staying in the camp, with many friends, the youth group turned out to be an environment where we had lots of fun, it would have been a very boring time in the camp without the youth group because there was not many things we can do, no places that we can go inside the camp. The youth group became part of me in which I found my life filled with joys and laughs, hope and strength was given to me to overcome all the hardships in a refugee camp. Almost three years full of good memories with the youth group, good times with friends, camping, swimming, having all the fun in the games that the leaders voluntarily gave us, as well as sad times when I have to say goodbye to my friends. I really liked those volunteer leaders who helped us running camps and activities. To me, they were heroes and they forever remained in my heart.
You can see that being a leader or a youth worker is not just anyone, if you become a leader; you actually become one of the models for young people and can change their life, just as those leaders in my refugee camp has help me to change my life.
In 1990, I came to Australia, and I thought of the youth in the camp provided me a healthy environment where I can enjoy life with my friends and learn things. At the same time I want to do something in order to return what I have received from that youth group, I joined in the local youth group, the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Association, Toma Thien in Keysborough, Victoria, where I served and had fun as well for ten years.
In the period of 1997 to 1998, I thought about my life and constantly asking God to show what I should do, and the result was that I joined the Salesians of Don Bosco, a religious order who work with and for the young, especially the poor and the abandoned youths. Now, I am already over 30 years of age and I am sure by now that God is always beside me in my journey, and He will always beside me always in the time to come too.
I want to share all this to you with all my heart and want to let you know one thing that: if you do anything to help young people, even it is a small thing; you are already a leader, someone who have the power to change someone’s life. And as a leader you and I have Jesus as our greater leader, he will always lead us so that we can come to Him.
At the bottom of my heart, I would like to suggest that you would think carefully about doing something, committing yourself to help the young, to take it seriously and with a strong hope in Jesus Christ’s help, you will have peace in your heart and a happy life even in this life, not mentioning about the life after this life, an eternal life with God. I am confidently saying this because after 14 years with the Youth Movement, I found it is very clear that whoever commits themselves to the youth group, their life will flourish and they have peace in their heart wherever they go. As I reflect about all the leaders in the youth group in the past, they are likely to have a life full of happiness and joys, I can’t say that it is simply a “lucky thing” but to thank God that He has touched their life and my life in a special way.
Whenever we are wounded in life, God always wants to heal our wounds, however He give us freedom to say “yes” or “no” to His healings. Just as the blind man in the gospel, Jesus cured him but remember one thing that Jesus did not heal his eyes straight away, He told him to go to a river nearby and wash his eyes… And so our life, we are invited to come to Him through serving our brothers and sisters.
May God be with you now and always!
Br. Thuy Nguyen SDB