Welcoming the stranger

The community sponsored a 13-member refugee family from Vietnam.

The family was among the “boat people” of that era and moved into lodging on the monastery grounds after their arrival in the United States. Not only did the community provide housing for the family as their resettlement sponsors but also assisted with school enrollment, learning English, job acquisition, and general orientation to life in the United States. Forty years later and having long moved on to other states, the family still maintains contact with the monastic community.