I didn’t just have a birthday, but a birthweek

The fun just didn’t stop this year. On Wednesday, the dogs barked, and I looked out to the driveway. There was a young woman approaching the door. We get a lot of visitors, fans from the magazines, people who’ve seen us on PBS, seed customers, and just folks who’ve heard about us from others and decide to come see what we’re about. I met her at the door, a beautiful young woman who looked a little Vietnamese. I said hi and she told me I had sponsored her family, years ago.

You could have knocked me down with a feather! Yes, I had sponsored a Vietnamese family of “boat people,” way back in the late ’70’s. Nine people in all. Mom, Dad, and seven children, from a toddler girl to a pre-teen boy. We had bought 80 acres across the road from our farm with a small, older house on it and it was sitting empty. It wasn’t much; it had electricity and a dug well but no indoor plumbing. I figured it was better than a Thai refugee camp! Churches and individuals did step forward to sponsor families, but none seemed interested in nine people. Long story short, the Nguyen family arrived at the Duluth, Minnesota airport one winter evening. They instantly became family. No, I didn’t speak Vietnamese, and they didn’t speak English, but we managed to communicate. Two of the boys were my oldest son, Bill’s, age, one a year younger and the other a year older. They immediately hit it off.

The mom, Xuyen, became my sister and their oldest daughter, Yen, became our adopted daughter from India, Munni’s friend. All studied English as a second language with Mrs. Stebbins, a wonderful teacher who came to their home, as well as teaching the kids at school. We were a huge family!

They eventually moved to Chicago, then to California. I managed to visit them in California once then we sort of lost contact. A few years ago, the “baby” girl, Xua, now grown to womanhood, emailed me, having found information about me online. But imagine my shock and surprise to see Alexis, one of the grandchildren, at our doorstep!

We visited and visited, enjoying every minute, catching up and reliving old memories of the whole family. I was so excited I could hardly sleep that night. Alexis is living and working in the Twin Cities and promised to come for many visits. How exciting! — Jackie