Heroes... Welcomed, needed, appreciated

Like beauty, heroism is usually better seen than told. When you look on either, you know it for what it is without having to be told. But the telling is no less important, because the hearers are enriched. This letter is about some unsung heroes, and we think you will be richer for the reading.

At the top of the list is a couple who have given $25 per month to ECR for more than 10 years. They never miss a month, and they never seek thanks. They have put three young people through college - all the way through. They said that since their own child, who is autistic, cannot expect to go to college, they wanted to extend that opportunity to another child and turn the obstacle a blessing. 17 full scholarships were awarded in July 2009 for the current school year.

Our Board members are my heroes. They support ECR financially, prayerfully and consistently. None have ever been paid a dime. They pay their own expenses to attend our annual meetings, give regularly and generously to the program, enlist others to give, and have never asked anything in return. They take joy and pride in helping. They change lives and never receive any accolades - or ask for them. Add our seven Directors to the list.

Rev. Hiratani and FBC Pearl City teamed with ECR several years ago to buy and refurbish a home for blind children in Saigon. They invested $20,000 in that project. Now, because of them, those kids still have a home, a school and a business that helps meet their life needs. Add about 200 church members to that list.

Trang Diep - you probably don't have any idea who Trang is, but some us know first-hand about the nearly two years she spent working to arrange corrective scoliosis surgery for Hong-Diem, and how that young girl could stand up straight for the first time in her 15 years. Add Trang to the list.

I could go on like this for pages and pages, because this sort of heroism has gone on for years and years -- people making life bearable, often wonderful, for people without hope. Since 1994, when we began the annual medical teams, 136 volunteers have joined in 14 teams that have treated over 17,000 patients (actual, honest counts). Ask one of the heart valve recipients what they think of these volunteers. Ask the local doctors, nurses and staffs what they think of the people who came on their own, gave of themselves and paid their own way. Ask some of the 124 college graduates how much they appreciate the scholarships the Vietnamese Baptist church in San Antonio and others provided, or ask Phuc's mother how important his yearly anti-seizure meds are to them. "Heroes," every one of them will say.

There is one more collective hero to put on the list - the people who give to ECR so that all this can happen. Talk about "unsung heroes"!! We are indeed "encircled by a great cloud of witnesses;" these gracious, generous people are the real heroes of all these stories. They have saved the day many times over. To everyone on that list, we say "thank you."

It's a great time to be a hero!