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When residents in Vancouver, British Columbia, turn on the morning news, they might see Ann Luu, a traffic specialist for CTV. While Luu easily guides them through the day’s traffic congestion, the journey of her own life is one with many complicated twists. It started with a flight from war-torn Vietnam and included a childhood as a newcomer to Canada who didn’t speak the language or know what to expect.
When Luu looks back on her life now, she credits her parents for their hard work and sacrifice, but she’s also grateful to CRWRC and the Christian Reformed Church who welcomed her family to Canada and supported them as they adjusted to this new life.
Luu’s parents, while originally from China, met each other in Vietnam, married, and had five children there. They lived through the Vietnam War and the many hardships it resulted in. Then, in 1979, Vietnam was once again at war– this time against China. Government policies against ethnic Chinese people living in Vietnam became harsh, and many ethnic Chinese became fearful for their lives. Like hundreds of thousands of others, the Luu family boarded a boat and fled for safety.
“The boat from Vietnam went to Malaysia. We were in a refugee camp for about six months,” Luu recalled.
Next they boarded an airplane for the long flight to Canada. While the family didn’t know much about the land that would become their new home, they did know it was peaceful.
“Canada is a big country,” said Kieu Luu, Ann’s father. “Most important, there was no fighting.”
On arriving in British Columbia, the family was met by Ettiena Kruk, who was at the time a member of Living Hope Christian Reformed Church in Abbotsford, BC.
“There were about five families that we were working with,” recalls Kruk. “We picked them up from the airport at the same time on a nice sunny day. None of the families could speak any English. One thing that stuck me, though, was that Mr. Luu graciously held up his jacket to shelter me from sunshine.”
Kruk and others from Living Hope CRC provided the family with a place to live, furniture, clothes for the winter weather, and support as they learned a new language and a new way of life. According to Kruk, a lawyer named John Koot helped the family with legal matters. Others, such as Ann VanRyk, George and Tina Anema, and “a whole slew of others” met with them regularly to teach them how to use appliances, navigate a grocery store, and learn to get around.
“We did it for the Lord’s sake,” said Kruk. “The church was involved in helping refugees, so we got involved.”
They were not alone in this ministry. In fact, hundreds of Christian Reformed churches across the United States and Canada have been involved in refugee resettlement starting in the mid-1970s. Through CRWRC, they originally hosted families from Cuba and those fleeing war in Vietnam and Korea, and have continued over the years to welcome families and individuals from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iran, Sudan, Iraq, Burundi, Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Colombia, Serbia, Guatemala, Bosnia, Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Yugoslavia, Egypt, Pakistan, Vietnam, Myanmar/Burma, Kosovo, Rwanda, and Turkey.
While life for these new immigrants wasn’t easy, they knew that they could turn to those in the church when they had a question or needed support. For the Luu family, their need for assistance from Living Hope CRC gradually waned. They found jobs, had another child, and sent all six to university. Today, the parents are retired and the children are living successful lives.
“We knew how fortunate we were to be here and to live this life,” said Ann. “Thank you CRWRC, for all your work. It is because of you that my family and I are here.”
The experience also had an impact on Ettiena Kruk. “Since I was involved in helping refugees with Living Hope, I kept on being involved. I’ve helped the Free Reformed and the United Reformed churches sponsor families as well,” she said.
Today, there are hundreds of thousands of refugee families around the world in need of resettlement. Several thousand of them will come to Canada and the United States this year. Please prayerfully consider hosting one of them as a congregation and helping them get off on the right foot in their new land.
For more information about refugee resettlement in Canada, click here. Please also consider joining Christian Reformed Churches across Canada in celebrating Refugee Sunday on April 15.
In the U.S., CRWRC is no longer directly involved in refugee resettlement. Instead, CRWRC and Christian Reformed congregations partner with Bethany Christian Services and Programs Assisting Refugee Acculturation (PARA) to assist refugees. For more information, click here.
~ by Kristen deRoo Vanderberg, CRWRC Communications