“This is an American religion”, thought Le Thai, as a fellow student at Texas Tech University told him of Jesus Christ. “It’s not as personable and intimate as the ancestor worship I’ve experienced in my homeland.”
So instead of Jesus, Le chose to continue praying to his deceased grandmother, who had loved him dearly, and he took comfort in praying to his mother, who had passed away when he was a child. That was what he had always been taught, and that was what he believed.
From his birth in Saigon, South Vietnam, Le Thai’s life was rooted in Buddhism. “My family would go to the pagoda to worship, especially during the Tet holidays. We would burn incense and ask for good luck. We worshiped our ancestors.
“Perched on top of our house was an ornate altar with statues of Buddha and pictures of our ancestors Annually my extended family would gather and commemorate the death of my grandmother by burning incense in front of an altar and by asking for her protection over our family. While these practices may seem strange to you, memories of those days bring back many happy feelings.”
When Le was seventeen years old, his father sent him to the United States to go to college. Money was always a problem during these school years. His father had no surplus, so Le worked two jobs in the summers to eke out a living. He also changed schools a few times, ending up at Texas Tech University.
It was there he first heard about Jesus Christ. But the Vietnamese culture had powerfully shaped Le’s thinking. In his homeland major decisions were rarely made individually. Decisions were made by the consensus of the whole family. And his family would not tolerate his converting to a foreign religion.
Then in 1975, South Vietnam fell to the communist forces of North Vietnam. Overnight he lost both family and country. His father couldn’t escape and died soon afterward.
“The Christmas season in 1975 was especially difficult for me,” Le remembers. “The dormitory was deserted of all my American friends. Foreign students were allowed to stay on campus, but meal service was not provided. With no place to go, nothing to eat, and no home to visit, we ended up crowding around the TV set. Most of us were a homesick bunch, thinking of happier days we’d spent with family and friends back home.”
Le faced an uncertain future. While other foreign students would finish their studies and return home, he could not return to his homeland. He was an orphan without a country. And though he was living in a land of abundance, Le was barely surviving on a poverty-level income. Cold pork and beans from a can were his staple.
But an even deeper hunger gnawed at Le. He was starved for love. How he longed to be back home with his father and able to speak with him one last time! Even his prayers to his dead mother and grandmother brought no relief. Le was truly alone in the world.
During the Christmas holiday a college friend stopped by the dorm, inviting Le to his home for Christmas. The thought of home-cooked food excited Le. And to be in a home with a gracious, kind family… Le accepted the invitation without hesitating!
Upon arriving at the friend’s home, he was immediately struck by the warmth and friendship the family displayed. They even presented him with a Christmas gift—a new pair of pants. In that loving environment, Le’s friend shared with him the true meaning of Christmas, telling him the good news of Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection. Le was still unsure.
The two friends returned to school, and over the next few days they read and discussed the Gospel of John. This part of the Bible intrigued Le. He pondered and questioned what he had read. “I wonder if God is real and if Jesus is truly God. I wonder if he would help me. It’s hard for me to accept the miracles of Jesus I’m reading about. My scientific mind-set makes it hard to believe that they are more than fairy tales.”
But God’s Spirit had been cultivating the soil of Le’s heart and removing roadblocks. He realized that neither Buddha nor his ancestors had helped him, and it was now time to decide for himself whom he would follow.
So on January 8, 1976, Le Thai bowed his head and prayed—not to his grandmother or to his mother—but to his eternal Father in heaven, the Father who sent his Son, Jesus, to save people—to save Le Thai.
Le Thai was no longer an orphan.
You might wonder what has happened to Le since 1976. Today he is an anesthesiologist, a student at Phoenix Seminary, and an active member of his church. And God has given him a family of his own—a wife and two sons he loves dearly.
Mike Nappa & Dr. Norm Wakefield –
True Stories of Transformed Lives
Galatians 6:9-10
9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. 10 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.
New Living Translation
