Recalling of once escaping from Vietnam to come to America, I was in Cambodia getting ready to cross the border to come to Bangkok, Thailand. From there, I could file papers to come to America. For some reason, I was left there and stayed with a family for over a month during the school year of eleventh grade. They then brought me back to Vietnam through the illegal route for business people, those who crossed the country illegally to come to Cambodia to buy things to sell to make a profit in Vietnam. Since it was an illegal crossing, therefore, crossing often took place when it was dark.

All night long, a group of people, including myself, walked and ran after a soldier who led the way. It seemed like we ran on a rough field that sometimes I heard a cry of a child that the mother falling into a ditch because of not being able to see in the dark. Every ten or fifteen minutes, we got stopped by a group of soldiers asking for money. Each time we stopped, each time we had to hand them some money. This was all night long walking and running in the dark.

The Word of Life was absent in this part of the world that the light of Christ couldn’t brighten the way of life for those who lived in it. Some ran away from it to find freedom of worship. Others escaped from it for the honor of human rights. Still, others hoped to have a better condition of living. Since the Word of Life couldn’t take root in this part of the world, people had no sense of brightening the light of Christ by helping and journeying with the people whom they were entrusted to care for.

We are living in a country of respect for the freedom of religion, freedom of human rights, and freedom of civil rights. The Word of Life and the Light of Christ have a stand in this country but have we opened up ourselves to allow the Word of Life to take root in our lives and the Light of Christ shines on our way in this walk of life? Without the Light of Christ, we would live in darkness; and without the Word of Life, we would be hungry from a poor living condition. Have you experienced darkness in your spiritual life, or rather the absence of God in your spiritual life? Have you ever graved for the Word of Life? Who is Christ for you? May the Word of Life and the Light of Christ continue to be present on your spiritual journey here on earth.