Huong is a 26 year old girl who was born with cerebral palsy. She lives with her parents and twin sisters in a small, cardboard hut at the top of a hill. The path to their home is long and winding.  Her mother and father have always had to carry her whenever she must leave the house. Once a year, they would take her to the beach, but most of the rest of her life was spent sitting on a bed.  As a Christian family, they have been praying for a wheelchair to relieve the hardship created by their daughter’s circumstances.

When Huong saw us approaching her house with a wheelchair, she broke out in a near-hysterical fit of happiness, clapping, smiling, and giggling. She and her whole family were so happy! The steep terrain around her home prevents Huong from using the wheelchair herself outdoors.  Nonetheless, the ease with which her family can now push her has already changed her life.  That very morning her family took her on a couple of excursions outside the house—something she had done only rarely in the past.  

We all gathered around last night and prayed for Huong and her family. It was a wonderful feeling, helping one person -- just one. But we did more than that yesterday, and you at Free Wheelchair Mission did more than that as well.

We miss you one and all. Today we head back to Saigon, which is inland and therefore less likely to suffer damage if the Typhoon actually hits Viet Nam. We hear there are 250 wheelchairs, and they want us to assemble them. Time to get out the gloves!

God Bless,

Don & Laurie