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Report From Vietnam:
Current News about Tom's Kids and the Growth of the Church
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Beginning Notes From Mike Tune
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By far our biggest news is the graduation of Uyen Tran from Faulkner, University in Montgomery, Alabama.  Because the church was so young in Vietnam, Dad believed it would need the equivalent of several spiritual B-12 shots to succeed. It would amount to sending several of the young converts away to schools to receive focused instruction in Bible. Others would need not only that, but also a better education to be able to get good jobs and help pay for the church's needs. Some students were sent to Four Seas College of Bible and Missions. Others were encouraged to go to the University in Vietnam and Dad arranged for their support. Ngan Huyng was brought to the United States to study at Harding University. Dad met Uyen Tran when she was about 16 years old in Saigon. She is a cousin of Stefann's wife (Stefann is the preacher in Saigon). After her baptism, Dad arranged for her to attend an intensive course at the Sunset International Bible Institute in Lubbock, Texas in 2008. She did well. Through the generosity of Faulkner University, Dad arranged for her to attend there to study business the next year. You have to understand how difficult this was for her. First, English was not, her native language. She had to study and practice English to even get the chance to come to the United States for this study. Second, because Christian Colleges have a Bible class requirement, it means that students have to take more hours to graduate than normal. Seldom do students finish within four years. Third, you have to take courses when they are offered and if you can't, it might delay your course work another year (since some courses are offered in alternate years). Uyen, however, completed her work in four years which meant that she took full loads, often 21 hours in a semester. Near the end of her studies (about the last year or so), she traveled between the campuses of Faulkner and Alabama State to get all the required course work in. We are so proud of her! Four of us traveled to Montgomery for the graduation. Because she will be working with the church in Saigon, the WestArk church of Christ in Fort Smith, AR has been a main supporter for Uyen, though other individuals also contributed. They oversee all the mission efforts in Saigon. Jerry Canfield, who serves on their missions committee made the trip to Montgomery. Additionally, Judy Jones, a long-time supporter of the work in Vietnam made the trip from Oklahoma City, OK. My brother, Tim (from Jacksonville, FL) and I also made the trip. Additionally, Tim and his wife Bettye provided Uyen a vacation for a couple of weeks in Florida before her return to Saigon. It was a delightful occasion. |
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Our History
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For ten years Tom Tune served as a missionary in Vietnam. He established two churches, one in Saigon and the other in Can Tho.
He also founded "Tom's Kids," a charitable project devoted to educating poor children. "Tom's
Kids" is administered by Amazing Grace International, Inc., a Virginia Charity.
Tom Passed away on February 5th of this year. This newsletter is to bring you up-to-date on the work he began in Vietnam and to
give you the plans for the future.
Tom served in missions from 1962, 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 also worked in Guyana, the Mediterranean, Fiji, and The Cook Islands.
This newsletter is published by
Amazing Grace International, Inc., a Virginia charity.
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Introducing...
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I want you to get to know some of the  students we are sending to school in Vietnam. These are the Tran children. All three are in school, paid by the generous donations of our supporters. The oldest is Tran (first and last names are the same)and she stands in the back on the right in her school uniform. Her mother is to her left. Tran will be in the 8th grade. Her little brother (in front of her) is in the first grade and her little sister attends nursery school.  They live in the house you also see pictured here with their parents who farm for a living. You are making a difference in the lives of these young people, for whom an education would not be possible without your help.
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Remembering Dad
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I received a call from Marshall Ashley a little while back. Marshall has a law practice in American Samoa and was one of the leaders of the church when Dad went there so many years ago. While there, Dad instituted a bus ministry and the church grew by leaps and bounds. Recently they dedicated their new building and Marshall related the following: "At the dedication I asked one of the families to come up on the stage. It was just one family, but in American Samoa, that can be a large one - and this one was. From that one family sprang our phenomenal growth. All of that started with some little kids who were swimming around your Dad's boat. Tom said: "Hey, why don't you kids go to church with me Sunday? I'll come and pick you up." He did and they did, and that's how it all got started.
Dad had a huge impact on the lives of people, drawing them to the Lord. He met them like we all meet people, in different times and ways, but the difference was that, eventually, Dad would always say: "Let's go to church." I know the song says: "We don't go to church, we are the church!" But we do go to church and frankly, lives will never be changed until we do, and until we ask others to join us.
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Amazing Grace: Our role and Yours
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Amazing Grace International, Inc. is a Virginia non-profit that has, from the beginning of Tom's Kids, administered the tuition money for the Vietnamese students. Tom's Kids was Dad's brainchild, but Amazing Grace made possible the record-keeping as well as the tax-deductibility of all the contributions.
Amazing Grace has two programs really: First, we have for over twenty years advertised Bible correspondence courses in the newspaper USA TODAY. Our ads now appear twice a week and we have enrolled students from every State in our United States. Thousands have taken our course, which is unique for its lessons on
*the importance of Christianity in world history,
*how to understand the Bible
*and what following Jesus specifically means in day to day living.
Our second program is Tom's Kids. We intend to continue to oversee this project, enabling poor children to receive an education and opening the door for God's people in Vietnam to reach these students with the gospel. Dad was right: A strong church must be an educated church and the hope of the Church in Vietnam will lie in young people who, with your help, "increase in wisdom, stature, and in favor with God and man."
It takes $15 a month to send a child to school, provide for uniforms, books, and sometimes medical care.
If you are already giving, thanks so much for your gift. All contributions are tax-deductible.
If you are not currently supporting, could you pick one of these (send a child to school, help with operational expenses, or pay a teacher's salary)? Please send your donation to:
Amazing Grace International, Inc
P.O. Box 8453
Falls Church, Virginia 22041
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