Written by Father Martino Nguyen Ba Thong

After the first five articles were released, I received "complaints" that the stories of this journey have not been as interesting as those of my previous trips! Goodness knows I am not a mystery writer writing a best-selling thriller! The purpose of my trip was not to find subject matter for a new story full of suspense and excitement; my articles are a collection of little anecdotes of occurrences  throughout my journey. Although these stories may be what draw you to this forum, as I once said, what you read is really only about 80% of the story. The remaining portion consists of things I cannot share because they are private, and are not relative to my purpose of writing the story!  Many of you had questions after you read the fourth "unbelievable story," asking "within those two hours, Father, can you tell us what you said to the two girls?"

Even though she felt that she had hit rock bottom, she still believed in God and still prayed to Him. She prayed that He would somehow get her out of here-out of the place on earth where demons gathered-the place that was ‘hell' to her. She prayed that she can reunite with her family. She didn't care if she starved to death; she didn't care if she was beaten to death by her father, all of that seemed better than this terrifying place.

My dear friends, only 37 children were rescued from that place of darkness, that prison they were kept in, the place that was like hell. The thought of 37 freed children, in comparison to the staggering 30,000 who are still imprisoned in the brothels, pierce through my heart. How can I, a Vietnamese, not take it personally, when the majority of those young girls are my very own people--Vietnamese?

True Stories