I was born on October 25, 1984 in Nghe An province, the North of Vietnam. Then, my family changed living place. We moved to the South of Vietnam. My family is living in D**g Nai province, Vietnam now. It is nearby Ho Chi Minh City that is the biggest city in Vietnam. My father’s name is Antonio Khoa Huu Dang. He was born in 1960. My mother’s name is Mary Tho Thi Nguyen. She is a farmer too. She is
as old as my father. There are eight members in my family. I am the oldest. I have two younger sisters and three younger brothers. My younger sisters have been married. I was born in Nghe An, North Vietnam. This is one of poor provinces of Vietnam. I grew up in D**g Nai province. D**g Nai is development province of Vietnam. Most local people are workers and farmers. The farmers grow tree crops such as fruit, rubber, coffee, rambutan, durian, mangos, sugar cane, etc. The weather is tropical so it is very warm. It is wonderful to live there. I was baptized at Lang Anh Church in the Vinh diocese. Then, I studied catechism at Xuan Binh parish when my family moved into it. I participated in teaching catechesis there. I was a catechist. This is the nurturing and developing environment for my vocation. I went to elementary and high school there. When I finished high school, I left D**g Nai province and moved to Ho Chi Minh City in 2003. There, I studied at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities to major in journalism. I studied journalism that is my dream. I studied it to improve my Vietnamese writing skills and public communication. When I was a child, I had had a dream to become a priest. My family hoped that I would be a priest. When I passed the entrance exam at the university I was able to study and to choose a good job. I am the oldest in my family so I have to help my parents take care of my siblings. I thought a lot about them. I asked my parents about my options and they encouraged me to follow my vocation. I prayed and I made a decision: I wanted to become a religious, and I entered the Congregation of the Missionaries of Faith in 2003. Because my university is so far from the congregation I had to stay in dormitory. Every month, I went back two times to meet vocation director, in the beginning and in the middle of the month. Then, I moved to the inner city; I lived with my brothers there. I graduated the University in 2007. After, I lived in the congregation at Binh Duong province, Vietnam I was accepted into the pre-novitiate for 6 months. After, I went through the novitiate stage for two years. That was a special time for me. My novice class had 9 brothers. In the novitiate I lived, worked and prayed with my brothers together. In this period I did not worry about anything. I had a long time to think about my vocation. In this period, I could practice to live the community life, study the spiritual life and practice pastoral activity at some parishes. My first vows were on August 28, 2010. I was a member of the Missionaries of Faith in Vietnam province, and made three vows: poverty, obedience and chastity. I’m studying the second year of theology at Dominican Study Center in Vietnam. I want to continue learning, but my superior wanted to send me to America to continue. I felt worried because I never went out of my country so I accepted his suggestion. I feel very happy to live here, but I know everything is not easy. I learned English in Vietnam but only little. I only studied English to read some books, and I know that I have some troubles about speaking. It is difficult to me at this time. I believe that the Lord sent me here and that He also helps and leads me. I will try to study each day. I hope that after a short time I can adapt to this new circumstance. I left Vietnam on February 06, 2014 and arrived in the US on February 07, 2014. Everything about the language and the culture are new. However, I received a friendly welcome from everybody at Notre Dame Seminary. I will try to adapt myself into my new life here. I look forward to having the help of everyone in the Seminary Community as I make this transition.
