Faith in a New Land: A Story of Immigration, Belonging, and the Local Church
At World Relief Chicagoland, we believe migration provides avenues through which God moves and draws people to Himself in ways that have a generational impact.
Through Kimmy’s journey, we invite you to discover and celebrate the legacy of this movement—one you’ve been part of through your partnership with World Relief as we’ve worked with local churches to build communities of belonging for over 45 years in Chicagoland.
Each Sunday morning, Kimmy arrives at her church, which meets in a space shared with World Relief Chicagoland. Her warm personality and her hugs exude a sense of welcome and care to others. She’s ready to worship, serve, and let others in her church family know they belong.
Decades ago, she sat in this very building as a newcomer to the United States. She and her husband were without family. She was unsure of the language, the customs, her future, and her faith. Now years later, she’s an elder in this church. Her family sits beside her. Their story of faith and migration are intertwined.
A JOURNEY BEGINS
As a child of an American soldier and a Vietnamese woman, she was adopted by her mother’s sister three days after birth. Her aunt and uncle raised her as their own. They cared for and protected her in a tough environment. When she was a young adult, she decided that if the opportunity came, she would migrate to the U.S. through the Amerasian Homecoming Act. This was a program designed to provide an immigration pathway to the U.S. for Vietnamese people with American servicemen fathers.
Kimmy dreamed of coming to the U.S., living in a big house, and getting an education. At age 20, she and her husband, Huy, embarked.
As their journey began, they had to spend six months at a Processing Center in the Philippines. It was a difficult time. Resources ran thin. The food was strange and foreign. Kimmy often second guessed her plan, but Huy reassured her.
She remembers attending a Christmas church service at the processing center, where a missionary preached in Vietnamese.
“I didn’t really have a religion or believe anything back in Vietnam,” says Kimmy. “Sometimes I would go to Catholic Church, sometimes I would go to the [Buddhist] temple. Wherever my friends were going, I would go. But I remember the people at that service were so warm and so welcoming to me.”
This was not the first time during her journey that God would beckon to her through a local church.
Each week, people’s names and their destination city in the U.S. were posted on a wall when it was close to their departure time. Late in 1989, Kimmy got word that their name and city had been posted! She ran over to see for herself. Sure enough, their names were listed beside a place she knew nothing about: Chicago, Illinois.
They arrived at O’Hare Airport on February 20, 1990. World Relief Chicagoland, alongside a vibrant Vietnamese church community composed largely of former refugees who had been here since the late 70s or 80s, were ready to welcome them.
FINDING FAITH
Kimmy recalls the support she received from World Relief in the early years – assistance with initial practical things like clothing. She learned English through local classes and watching WTTW. But the thing that ended up changing her life the most was an invitation to a be in relationship with God and God’s people.
A World Relief staff member at the time, Than, often invited them to activities in a local Vietnamese church that gathered in Uptown, Albany Park and other neighborhoods.
“Honestly, the only reason I came was because that guy was so persistent!” Kimmy said laughing. “He kept calling. I remember one time he came to the door, and I hid in the apartment like nobody was home. But eventually I was like, okay…”
Kimmy was 20 years old at the time. She and Huy began joining church activities like volleyball games. Their involvement deepened over time. Kimmy went to Bible studies and read the Scriptures in Vietnamese.
She found immense comfort in Psalm 23 . “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not fear.” Meditating on this passage, she realized that while she lived through the war and its aftermath in her childhood, God was with her. Even before she knew him.
Kimmy came to faith in Jesus officially during a Bible study in a church member’s apartment, crammed full with about 50 people. After that she went through a season of immense spiritual growth.
“They gave me something to study—not really a curriculum, but something to help me understand the Bible and Jesus more before I could be baptized. During that time, I was really eager to learn. I had a real hunger to know more about the Bible and about Jesus.”
As refugees and other immigrants from Vietnam continued to arrive in Chicago through the early 90s, Kimmy got involved in the church’s ministry of welcome. She would ride along to pick families up at the airport, visit them at their apartments and so on.
A year after their arrival in Chicagoland, their daughter, Lihn, was born. Kimmy’s newfound faith would one day be passed to her.
ROOTED AND RISING
Kimmy’s dream had always been to become a teacher, and while that specific hope didn’t come true, she is proud of her career and family. For 22 years she was employed at a lighting company–working as a team lead, learning computer skills, and earning the respect of her peers and supervisors. She continues to work in production today.
They have raised two kids. Lihn is the first college graduate in their immediate family and is now pursuing a master’s degree in English, with hopes of becoming an educator. Her son, Thoa, is finishing undergrad and has an interest in the legal field.
A few years ago, while searching for a new church home, the family found their way to their current church and back to World Relief Chicagoland. In addition to meeting in a space shared with WRC, the church continues a legacy of welcoming newcomers. They’ve hosted holiday meals for students in World Relief English classes, formed Good Neighbor Teams to befriend and welcome families from Syria and Ecuador, and collected supplies like backpacks and blankets for families seeking asylum.
As an elder, Kimmy brings her own experience of migration, adjustment, and faith into the church’s leadership and activities. “Even though my English is not that strong,” says Kimmy, “this is not a barrier for the leaders. From the beginning they’ve valued me, included me, and encouraged me. I’m not the same person I was in my 20s when I first came to World Relief and to the church,” she reflects. “God has trained me through trials.”
As we look back on over 45 years of partnership with the local church in Chicagoland, Kimmy’s testimony reminds us God is with us in the darkest valleys. And that even when difficulties abound, we are to fear no evil.
Thank you for being part of this mission. Let’s keep building communities of belonging, together.