On New Year’s Day, Pastor Vinh Nguyen led El Monte Vietnamese church youth to a Vietnamese food outlet in the San Gabriel Valley to raise money for people affected by the tsunami disaster in South Asia.

The youth brought attention to the crisis by performances and appeals and by projecting images of the disaster. The zeal of the young people and the images of destruction and of survivors’ desperation moved store customers.

Their efforts also brought attention and interest to the church. Onlookers were impressed at how much the Vietnamese church cared about others in need. The appeal event reminded some people that Vietnamese Adventists host an annual health fair, health seminars and other activities for the community. All those involved felt blessed to be able to help in some way. In one afternoon, the youth raised $1,029 for the Tsunami Relief Fund. Combined with donations given at church, total funds raised by the El Monte Vietnamese church for the effort totaled more than $3,000.