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Tom Tune's News From Vietnam
July, 2012
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Hello From Vietnam
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Our work continues to progress and I am encouraged by all the good things that are happening. Hai is doing a wonderful job as our preacher in Can Tho. The folks in Singapore taught him well.
One of the things that all leadership in a church must do is look out for the brethren God has entrusted into their care. Leadership in the church is a "pro-active" position. Even preachers, who are trained to be "studious," must be active among the brethren. We can't just wait for one of them to miss to go after them. We have to be taking an active interest in them all the time.
 On the first Sunday in June, our attendance was low. Hai and I talked about it and I encouraged him to set aside time every day to visit church members and new people. That week, we went together and I showed him how to do this. The following Sunday, we had seventy in attendance (see the picture). What you cannot know from the picture is that we couldn't get everyone in the building, so ten of the seventy were seated outside the window. I said to Hai: "See what a difference visitation makes?"
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Visitor from Singapore
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Helping to support many of our children is Lee Muihoong from Singapore. In June, she visited us with several sisters in Christ from there. In part, she wrote the following about her trip:
Sister Margaret with her wealth of teaching experience shared with some sisters how to teach a children's Bible class while discussions were carried out with Tom with regards to the setting up of the English school.
The following day was spent visiting 30 of the 56 children some of us are supporting to go to school. As they came mainly from the river, we had to do this using the church boat. It was indeed a most enriching trip; I think it encouraged both the visitors and the visited. We saw the impoverished conditions some of these kids are living in; it really made me wonder why we have so much to complain about in Singapore. Most live in sheds with shabby roofs and some 'walls' formed from zinc or wooden boards. The following day was spent briefing the sisters on the hows of running the informal school and keeping ourselves busy searching for tablet chairs and a printer. Our experienced teachers Lai Keng, Margaret and Magdalene worked hard all afternoon to share with the Vietnamese sisters more ideas on how to conduct children's Bible classes. We also had the opportunity to interview a young man who is keen to study at the Bible college in Singapore. However, his English needs lots of polishing and Tom will be looking into that. When this first hurdle is through, the next hurdle will be to get a sponsor for him.
Muihoong also made a comment I had not thought much about before. Most of the time, the children in their own homes are dressed very shabbily. But when you see them at church, they dress uncommonly well! She wrote: Something I thought admirable in these people is the respect they have in coming to worship our Almighty Sovereign God; despite their material lack, they came in their Sunday Best!
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Our History
| Tom Tune has been doing mission work in Vietnam for nearly a decade. He has established two churches, one in Saigon and another in Can Tho. He has also founded "Tom's Kids," a project devoted to educating poor children. "Tom's Kids" is administered by Amazing Grace International, Inc., a Virginia Charity.
Tom has been a missionary since 1961 when he and his family went to Hong Kong. There he established two churches and published a variety of literature in both Chinese and English -- including a hymnal. He has worked in Guyana, the Mediterranean, Fiji, and The Cook Islands.
The Work at a Glance: * Tom Tune has been a missionary for 50 years. * We have 145 children in school. * 2 students studying at Christian Universities in the States. * 2 students graduated from Bible college in Singapore. * 3 Students currently in Bible College in Singapore. * Have established 2 congregations in Vietnam in 5 years.
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English School and Introductions | 
We have begun our English school. Though the teaching has begun in a formal way, it is a pretty informal gathering. Mainly, it is informal because we do not have the kinds of materials to make it a proper formal setting - like chairs and desks, but we are pressing on and making do.  I've begun introducing you to some of our children. The photo is of Khanh. He's in the middle. His younger brother is Khang. Khanh is going to school in our program. He is 9 years old and lives in this hut with his parents. His little brother is five and we hope to add him to our rolls soon.
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Our Needs . . . and a Thank You
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We have lots of needs. God has, however, blessed us with good, hard-working people and gracious supporters. Currently, our biggest needs are the following:
$7,000 to complete the education and transportation expenses for Uyen who is finishing up her college education at Faulkner Christian University in Alabama.
$8,000 to furnish our English school. We have the building bought and paid for. We just need to furnish it so it can be recognized as a proper school.
I appreciate all of you who are giving to make this work possible - particularly paying the tuition for these students.
You can give online with a credit or debit card. Just go to www.amazinggraceinternational.com, click on "Your Donations" at the top right, and then, under "Educating the poor," click on "Donate Now."
As always, thanks again for your help. Steve Hawley is with me now. Look for the account of his visit in our next newsletter.
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Sponsoring Congregations: Tom Tune's work is overseen by the following churches:
Farmington church of Christ
145 Hawkshaw Street, Farmington, KY 42040
(270) 345-2690 -- http://www.farmingtonchurch.org/
Wills Point church of Christ
302 Corky Boyd Ave., Wills Point, TX 75169
(903) 873-3106 -- http://www.wpcoc.us/
Support for Tom should be made out to Pacific Missions and sent to 8008 Limerick Lane, North Richland Hills, TX 76180.
You can send a poor child to school for $15 a month. Send your tax deductible contributions to Amazing Grace International, P.O. Box 8453, Falls Church, VA 22041. Mark contributions for "Tom's Kids" OR go to their website www.amazinggraceinternational.com.
Write to Tom Tune at Tom@Dorcasue.com
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