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Meet Mai

I first met Mai shortly after she started attending the Vietnamese SDA School, one of the schools for underprivileged, at-risk children that ASAP supports within the country of Cambodia. She was sitting quietly on a rustic wooden bench in the crowded, noisy shop-house which had been converted to a classroom. As I studied her innocent-looking, sweet face, I had no clue of the extent of trials and difficulties she had experienced in her life. Later I learned that this precious daughter of God spent many sleepless nights of her childhood waiting for her mother to return home. When she finally returned in the wee hours of the morning from her “night work,” often drunk, Mai dutifully “mothered” her mother into bed. Then Mai would join her rough gang of friends, running the streets, stealing and gambling in hopes of earning enough money for her next meal. Her life was typical for girls her age living in that inner-city, poverty-stricken Vietnamese community within Cambodia. 

Her life took a U-turn when her cousin told her about the Vietnamese SDA School.  She did not know how to read or write a word and did not think there was hope for her to learn, but she went to the school because she heard so many wonderful things. “You get a hot meal for breakfast AND lunch. The teachers are so kind! They sing these beautiful songs, and you can hear interesting stories there,” her cousin shared. Mai found more than food to fill her empty stomach; she found love and acceptance to fill her aching heart.  She found Christian teachers that believed she could learn. She found a God who loves her. This school is known in the community as the Life Changing School, and Mai’s life is a testimony of this. She no longer felt a need to run the streets. She had a purpose in life.

Today, Mai is fifteen years old and giving back to the school where she found safety and hope. She works as the kindergarten teacher in the mornings and studies in 9th grade in the afternoons. She told me, “After I got baptized, I prayed to Jesus to give me a gift. Jesus answered my prayer and gave me the gift to teach. It is a miracle. I thought I would have to wait until I grew up to be a teacher, but God gave me my heart’s desire sooner than I expected!”  I observed her teach in the Kindergarten class, first as a student assistant teacher and a couple years later as the primary Kindergarten teacher. I was amazed by her gentle, loving spirit—amazed because I know this love she has for her students did not come from a nurturing upbringing, but it came, as she so eloquently stated, as a gift from God.

In closing, I want to ask you to reflect on your life. Though you may have had difficulties along the way, as Mai has, you too can learn what love is from the Author of Love. You too, can rise above your difficulties as you raise your eyes to focus on Jesus. May you share the joy that Mai has experienced, the joy of bringing the love of Jesus to those around you. This gift of love from God will turn each act of service you do into a life-changing experience, no matter how big or small it may seem.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:  Please consider supporting a child in the Vietnamese SDA School for only $20 per month (Gift #308).