HIDEAWAY, Texas (ABP) — Baptist churches, sometimes known for holding endless committee meetings and forming factions pitted against each other for slight offences, could learn a thing or two from Trinity Baptist Church of the former Saigon, Vietnam.
According to Jim and Mary Humphries, who led the church from 1966 to 1973, each deacon knew it was up to him to protect the others from attack, so they created a de facto plan of action. No one ever questioned the plan, and it certainly wasn't voted upon.
“There were no coverings over the open windows, so in the event a grenade had been thrown into a window, the deacon nearest the spot where it was thrown had the responsibility to pick it up and toss it out, if there was time,” Mary Humphries said. “If not, he would cover the grenade with his body, so that others, especially women and children, would not be killed. If the grenade landed in the pulpit area, my husband would be responsible.”
The danger of a grenade attack on the church was very real. Saigon was similar to how Baghdad is now, Mary Humphries said, with insurgent violence regularly occurring. A worship service full of American personnel would have made a tempting target.
“Our members faced great danger and even death,” she added. “Each took it as his responsibility willingly.”
After more than 35 years apart, the former congregation of Trinity Baptist Church in Saigon will gather, once again, to enjoy warm fellowship and fond memories of recreating a slice of America in a faraway and dangerous place.
The Humphries are planning a late July reunion for alumni of the congregation. During the Vietnam War, it served English-speaking Christians in the city that had been the capital of South Vietnam and is now known as Ho Chi Minh City.
“The bond formed between military men and women and missionaries who worked beside them has grown through the years and is now stronger than ever before,” Mary Humphries said. “That was a very special time in the lives of all who served together.”
Appointed to the mission field in 1966 by the Southern Baptist Convention agency then known as the Foreign Mission Board, Jim Humphries led the congregation during the Vietnam War.
Along with their children, the couple left South Vietnam in 1973 — two years before the communist North Vietnam government claimed the nation. After Saigon's fall, the American military left the region — substantially reducing the size of the church, since the membership consisted mostly of military personnel.
For Jim Humphries, working as a pastor for military personnel was a “great experience,” and the church provided a home away from home for soldiers separated from their families in the United States.
It “filled a void,” Mary Humphries said.
“We had a wonderful relationship with these folks. They were our family, some actually closer than our physical family. We grew very close to them during their time there,” she said. “They did not have their families with them, and our children were very special to them. Our children loved them, and they loved our families.”
One of the things that helped catalyze bonding between the soldiers, missionaries and other expatriates from the United States was Mary Humphries' heralded cooking skills. Besides sharing American-style holiday dinners in Vietnam, the group had weekly “Friday Fellowship” meetings that the soldiers especially loved.
Every Friday, they would go to the Humphries' house for dinner, eat outside, and sing. Mary Humphries cooked for as many as 100 people at each Friday Fellowship, often serving American favorites not readily available in the soldiers' mess halls.
“We had things like barbecue chicken, spaghetti, hamburgers and hot dogs,” she said. “Sometimes the military could provide steak. Their [the soldiers'] favorite thing was pinto beans and cornbread — that was just a Southern meal that a lot of us grew up on. [The soldiers] could get a lot of other food in the dining hall, but they couldn't get that.”
Sunday worship services also included group participation from the Humphries, musicians and deacons, even though daily grenade attacks threatened each person who attended.
It was a dangerous time, the Humphries said, but their fear did not compare to the needs they saw in Vietnam. They distributed goods sent from churches in the States, taught English and organized ball games with street kids. Dentists and medical specialists associated with the church went into nearby villages to work as well.
Sandy Parrott was one of those dentists. An Army dentist who came to Vietnam in 1968, Parrott said he first met the Humphries through friends while was searching for a hotel chapel in which to worship on Sundays.
Many of the missionaries from outlying areas had moved into Saigon to escape the fighting, and Parrott soon took up with them. He, too, attested to Mary Humphries' culinary skill.
“Mary was a great cook,” he said. “She made all the Southern favorites, so we went over there as often as we could. Mary was a good cook.”
Parrott often pulled teeth and performed routine dentistry on the Vietnamese villagers — and missionaries — who had come to Saigon during the war. He didn't speak Vietnamese, but he had the advantage of suitable medical equipment, running water and even air conditioning.
“Through some [Army] grants, we had a developed portable dental unit that ran on generators,” he said. “The clinic was not modern and up-to-date, but it was a lot better than a lot of my buddies in the field.”
Parrott hasn't been back to Vietnam since he left in 1969, but he'd like to return someday. The Humphries have returned twice, in 1996 and 1998.
After they left Vietnam, Jim took a job working with World Evangelism in Arlington, Texas. He was also the pastor of First Baptist Church of San Marcos, Texas, for 13 years. Now, in order to be close to their son, they live near Tyler, Texas, where the reunion will be held July 27-29.
All former members of the church, which stayed open even during the war, are invited to the event. The agenda includes a “Friday Fellowship” dinner, Saturday luncheon and worship service on Sunday morning.
Mary Humphries said she has tried to contact all of the old members and hopes they'll bring photos and remembrances of their time in Vietnam. Her persistence is one reason why Parrott decided to make the trip — from his home in Minnesota to Texas — for the gathering.
“It tweaked my interest because of the fact that after 40 years, Jim and Mary were able to find me and some of those people who were the beneficiaries of their hospitality and their home,” the dentist said. “We helped them some, and they helped make it easier for us while we were away for a year. They were very kind to us.”
Jim Humphries kept especially good records, Parrott said, which enabled them to locate him. That attention to detail is nothing new, he added, saying the Humphries haven't changed a bit since Saigon.
“I've always been impressed with Jim and Mary,” he said. “For someone after all these years to keep this stuff intact was incredible. That's why the church did so well in Saigon. He was the glue that held everybody together.”
The Humphries are quick to deflect credit, calling military chaplains “the giants of the military” who helped make their lives easier. But even the U.S. government has recognized their contribution. In 1971, Jim Humphries gave the opening prayer for a session of the House of Representatives. He was presented to the house by congressmen Jim Wright (D-Texas) and Bryan Dorn (D-S.C.).
For those in the congregation at Trinity Baptist, such honors were not surprising.
“They put their life on the line on several occasions,” Parrott said. “They were at risk at times…. You don't forget people like that.”
When you're on the other side of the planet from everything else that's familiar, you don't forget a belly-warming meal of beans and cornbread, either.
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