A river of redemption in Vietnam

The Hau River, which flows by the city of Can Tho in south Vietnam, was a watery grave for the husband of a woman named Ket. During the Vietnam War, Vietnamese soldiers forced Ket’s husband to row them up the river. Then they shot him.
Ket, the mother of seven, took her children with her as she searched for the body. She complained to the authorities but was ignored. Her suffering didn’t end. Later, soldiers shot and killed one of her sons.
“She didn’t understand the war. She only knew it had brought her grief,” said Tom Tune, a church member who helped establish a Church of Christ in Can Tho. “In that grief, she engaged in public protests.
“Arrested and tortured, her experience gave birth to a hatred of foreigners — symbols of the war,” Tune said.
That changed after one of Ket’s granddaughters got involved with a program for students initiated by Tune. The church member, who has worked in Vietnam for nearly a decade, launched Tom’s Kids, which provides education for poor children.
One of Ket’s sons began assisting Tune in identifying children to send to school. Ket’s granddaughter is a senior at Harding University in Searcy, Ark.
“When we showed an interest in her grandchildren, she became interested in us,” Tune said. “She started attending our worship services. She came to our fellowships.”
Recently, Ket was baptized in the same river where her husband was killed.
She was one of 14 people baptized after a Sunday assembly in Can Tho.
“She met Christ in the lives of his people, and he has made all the difference,” Tune said. “She is now part of the family of God.”