Kim Phuc

As a 9-year old Vietnamese child, Kim was the subject of one of the most famous war photographs ever taken. Everyone who has seen this Pulitzer Prize winning picture remembers it and never forgets it. A powerful testimony to her spirit and her amazing courage, Kim learned to love her enemies and to forgive.

RAS: Robert Anthony Schuller
KP: Kim Phuc

RAS:
Well my guest today is known as the girl in the picture. Her name is Kim Phuc. As a 9-year old Vietnamese child, Kim was the subject of one of the most famous war photographs ever taken. Everyone who has seen this Pulitzer Prize winning picture remembers it and never forgets it. A powerful testimony to her spirit and her amazing courage, Kim learned to love her enemies and to forgive. This is her inspirational message today.

We look at this picture and our hearts immediately start to cry and weep for this 9-year old girl. And we weren’t even there. The 9-year old girl is the woman I’m looking at today. Take us back to that 9-year old girl and tell us what happened.

KP:
First of all, I want to thank God for this opportunity to be here with you and because of His love, that little girl is still alive. And I’d love to share with you that day, what happened to me. We hiding in the temple with another villagers and a soldier, South Vietnam, so for the three days, we hiding in that temple. We thought that is a holy place. We be saved but on the first day as soon as we had lunch and then we saw the column mark they put inside of the temple, it mean the dedicated, the temple was going to be bombed.

So the soldier they shouted to us, children, we have to run out of this place because we would die if we here. So they ask the children run first. And I was the one among them with my brothers, my sister. And I remember as soon as I run, just in the front of the temple I saw the airplane get slower and then I saw four bombs. I didn’t know why I didn’t run but I just look at them. And I didn’t hear the big explosion but bu..bu..bu.. like that. And suddenly the fire everywhere and the fire took burn off my clothes and I was so scared and I kept running and running out of that fire. That has happened to me.

RAS:
Since that day you’ve had a lot of time to try to recover from that event. You’ve had, physically you’ve had what? 17 surgeries?

KP:
Yes.

RAS:
You have, by the grace of God, healed, I think, but I understand you still have some scars on your arms.

KP:
Yes. I got 65% burns and I got 35% to do skin graft. And I stay in the hospital for 14 months.

RAS:
So physically the doctors were able to heal you? But I think the greater damage than the physical burns on the arms is the spiritual and the emotional injuries.

KP:
Yes.

RAS:
How did you recover from those?

KP:
I tell you it’s just really hard to deal with because the war come into our house, in our lives. In fact my family lost everything and I lost my two cousins, three years old and just nine months, baby. And then when I come home from the hospital I have a lots of pain and I saw so many scars over my body and I just asked “why me?” Why that I have to suffer like this? And I just have a lots of pain and trauma and nightmare. And I living with hatred, with bitterness, and I just cry out all the time. And even when I grow up I thought I never have a boyfriend, never get married, even never have a baby because of that scar. But I thank God as I was so wrong. I got so wonderful husband who just love me whoever I am. And I have two lovely boys, Thomas, nine years old, and Stephen, six years old. We are living in Canada.

RAS:
Tell us about your spiritual journey. Because you weren’t a Christian as child, were you?

KP:
No. As a Vietnamese children, a child I was raised in the Cao Dai Religion in Vietnam. They taught me to believe too many gods. Everywhere and everybody is a god and I was very devote in that religion. But then in 1982, when I was 19 years old, after the Vietnamese government they found me, I am that little girl. And so at that time I was in the first year of medicine school because my dream, I wanted to be a doctor. I was so much grateful that the doctor and nurses they saved my life. They helped me to heal the wound and everything. And that’s why my dream just so much, and then I got it in 1982 when I was 19 years old. That is, I was so happy. That is my dream come true.

But a very short time as soon as they found me I am that little girl and so they cut short my study, they not allow me to go to school any more so they can use me for their propaganda to receive the interview from the journalist come over around the world to Vietnam to interview me. So that is so bad for me. It just a slow point in my life. I was not free at all and I couldn’t go to school. And that what happened to me again. I was a teenager. I have no more future and then nobody can help me and that is put me in the point that I wanted to die. I couldn’t carry on that burden because everybody watching me.

And I just spend my time in the library and I want to find the purpose why I suffering again and over again. And then I read all kind of religious books, among them I read the New Testament. But I have the.. so confusing. I have so many questions. But I remember one day I face to the sky and I ask, God, are You real? Please help me. Do You exist somewhere? Please help me. Even I pray to thousand gods, nobody answer my question. I still bitterness, angry and hatred and then I tell you, dear friends, God is real and He answer my prayer. I asking for one girl friend who I can talk with, who I can share with me, and then that is in 1982 in Christmas time. I open my heart to Jesus and I accept Him as my personal Savior. And then sitting there I pray to Jesus Christ and the more I pray to God I obey Him and I walk by faith and God just give me so wonderful peace in my heart. When I read the Bible in Luke 6:27, “love your enemies.” I say, Lord, how can I do it? I couldn’t do it. I have so much scar. And I have so much pain and I was a victim. One thing to another. How can I love my enemies? You know what? I say to myself, no way, Jose. It is hard. I couldn’t do it. But the one thing I just go to God and I pray and I read the Bible and I saw the picture of Jesus Christ. He prayed for those nail Him on the cross. I say, Lord, help me. Help me. You know what happened? Finally I got it and when I got it I don’t want to lose it. I learn how to forgive my enemies who those caused my suffering. That’s why I could able to share with you today and that is so wonderful for that little girl, and then for the rest of my family.

RAS:
Wow! Kim, you’re an amazing human being the way God has touched you and the way you’ve responded. And what happened then? How did you get into Canada, cause where you’re living now, correct?

KP:
Yes. That is a long story but short. In 1986 Vietnamese government they send me to Cuba, that’s why I can speak Spanish, Amigos. And so in Cuba for six years and I knew that I couldn’t stand any longer and I got married to the Vietnamese student. His name Twan and then you know what my.. this is September 11 is my wedding anniversary. But in 1992 after we got married and I managed to go to Moscow for my honeymoon. You can imagine, honeymoon in Moscow? But I have no choice so in Moscow for two weeks. On the way back to Cuba our airplane had a schedule to stop in Gander, Newfoundland about one hour. It’s a life time. I just pray that God open the door for me. I didn’t know anything about Canada but I know that it’s a free country and I want to stay in Canada. And I just pray the Lord open the door for me.

One hour I just stay over in Canada, since then that it’s so wonderful. You know what I had? I just have my camera and my purse that’s it. Eleven years ago I just had nothing but I have a great God is a wonderful, He just provide us everything. Praise the Lord.

RAS:
Now you have your foundation, The Kim Foundation. Would you tell us about your foundation?

KP:
As living in Canada and I know that’s the love of God it just allow me to a life and I really have, like you just sing a song love to another, and I say, “Lord why You let that little girl alive? What the meaning?” And so now I just have my heart for another children who are suffer, victims of war around the world. That’s why I pray that God help me to do something for those children. And then I found the Kim Foundation and I would like to share with you now our project I help the children, orphanage in Uganda. This is my heart. I want to help those children. They can have the place to live and they can have the program to learn, especially they learn how to love another, and they can have the salvation. They can have peace in their heart. That is I cry to another. I am not crying for me, but I cry for another children please help, help them and God Bless you abundantly. Thank you so much.