 Report From Vietnam:
Current News about Tom's Kids
and the Growth of the Church
September 2013
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
August 15 was a bittersweet day, as you may be able to tell by this photo. Everyone is putting on a happy face, but there is some sadness there.
That was the day Ngan Huynh returned to Vietnam. Some eight years ago, Dad (Tom Tune) brought Ngan to this country to study at Harding University. She completed her degree there, then went on to Oklahoma Christian University to get her MBA. Ngan (center) was sponsored by Debbie Austin (on the right). Debbie was Dad's niece and her home in Springfield, Tennessee often served as a home base during those years. On the left is Leecia Penrod, a long time supporter of mission work in Vietnam.
Ngan returns to work in Can Tho under the sponsorship of Body and Soul Ministries (www.bandsministries.org), directed by Dr. John Bailey. Her task is to provide more organization for our English school there, and to attain for it an official status, as well as to help with the church. Most of what follows in this newsletter (in italics) is from her first report.
|
|
|
|
Our History
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
This is a picture of the
congregation  in Can Tho the last Sunday in August. Hai preached and we had a total of twenty-nine that day, up from the week before. We had three visitors, none of whom had been to church before. They are Miss Nhanh's students. We went to their house the previous Saturday. This is part of our outreach. We visit in the homes of all our students in the English school, as well as in the homes of those children whose tuition we provide. The three visitors were Hien, Thao, and Thuy. They agreed to come to church so Sunday Miss Yen picked two of them up by the motorbike, and the older sister rode her bicycle to church.
|
|
The three sisters - Hien (10th grade), Thao (8th grade), and Thuy (6th grade) - attended Sunday school, then our worship assembly. Miss Phuong sat with them in assembly and helped them to sing hymns. The three girls live with their grandmother and great-grandmother (who is 87). Their parents deserted them about nine years ago. The grandmother works at a coffee shop as a cleaning lady. The picture above was taken at the girls' home with their grandmother and great-grandmother and members of the church in Can Tho.
|
|
Baptism
September started on a great note with our first baptism since Tom passed away. Nhung Ngo was one of Tom's Kids, supported by Amazing Grace when she was in High School. After graduation, as she went on to college, her parents could not afford for her to stay in school. Her house was an hour away by motorcycle. In order to keep her in school, she has been living in the church building and there, she has been studying with Miss Phuong. She learned the gospel and was baptized on September 2. The picture here is a group shot of all who went to the river for the baptism. The papers some are holding are the hymns we sang at riverside before and after the actual baptism.
After Nhung was baptized, we cooked a special dinner for her to welcome her into a family of God. I remember when I was baptized, Tom took me to a special dinner at a nice restaurant ( Tom often took people to eat after he baptized them). I thought it was a good idea to buy some food, cook and eat together. We cooked duck meat with potato and green leaves and rice noodles. It was very delicious and we were so happy to have one more sister in Christ.
|
|
English School
Since public school started at the end of August, most students come to English classes in the evening from 5 PM - 8 PM and the whole day on Saturday and Sunday. We limit the number of students to 15 per class because of the limitation of classroom size and tables. The teachers use the same books the students use in public school to teach. Last week, a 75 year-old man took his grandson to the English class. He said that one of his grandson's public school teachers recommended us to him. (See pictures above). There are seven teachers in our school and a total of 150 students representing nearly every grade. Currently, I am still working on arranging the English classes, preparing school policy, and creating student records system on the computer that allows us to easily manage students' data and the English classes.
|
HELP SEND A CHILD TO SCHOOL
When Dad went to Vietnam, it was to oversee the building of a medical missions ship for Partners In Progress. As the days stretched by, and he traveled from his hotel to the shipyard, he began to notice far too many children on the streets. Asking about them, he discovered that while schools were available, all cost money.
Back then, a child could have two uniforms and pay his tuition for $12US a month. So Dad chose some children and paid their tuition. His friends joined in and, eventually, the project spread. Dad would invite the children and their parents to worship on Sunday, and so began the amazing growth of the church in Vietnam. When he moved from Saigon to Can Tho, he continued that work and it grew so large that the administration of those contributions was undertaken by Amazing Grace International, Inc. Several of those children are now adults, have gone or are going to University or Bible College. Today, there are nearly 200 poor children whose tuition is being paid, who are learning English and Bible and coming to know the Lord.
You can help this work continue with your contribution of $15 a month per student. Contributions are tax-deductible and can be sent to:
Amazing Grace International, Inc
P.O. Box 8453
Falls Church, Virginia 22041
The Charity is directed by Mike Tune, Tom's oldest son and minister for the Church of Christ in Falls Church, Virginia.
Thanks for taking the time to read and catch up on the work.
|
|
|
|
