Before social media existed, the Vietnamese refugees had Marian Day in Carthage, Missouri. And no, not in the "keeping up with each other's gossips" kind of way. But in the "this is our only lifeline and hope" kind of way. Let me explain....

Every August since 1978, Vietnamese from all over the globe have been making their pilgrimage to the 28-acre campus of the Congregation of the Mother Co-Redemptrix in Carthage, Missouri to attend the 5-day-long religious festival to commemorate the "Miracle of Mother Mary at Lavang, Vietnam." 

Though initially organized as a Catholic event in the abandoned monastery in the unassuming town of Carthage (population 15,000), Marian Day has eventually grown to to be the epicenter for 80k - 100k Vietnamese from all over the world to congregate each year.  And many of them are not Catholics.

And upon my first trip to Marian Day in 1998, I soon understood the harrowing reason why this place serves as the only beacon of hope for so many.

As soon as we parked our car and explored our way through the crowded festival under the oppressive August heat and humidity, we could hear the announcer reciting messages through the intercom at the main tower.  At first, these messages were pretty mundane. "Father Huy, please come back to the main tower for mass." But then, the next few messages eerily rendered the air somber.

"Tìm người thân." Those 3 chilling words that preceded the main message served as a signal, an unspoken code, a call to attention for those who traveled across the world to this middle-of-nowhere town for this exact reason. It means: "searching for loved ones."

At this point, if you had scanned your eyes through the crowd, you would notice many tired eyes and ears perk up with hopeful alertness. The announcer always took great care to enunciate these messages slowly and clearly.

"Mother, Jane Doe. Searching for son, John Doe. Separated at sea on April 30th, 1975. Please come to the main tower. I will be waiting for you."

"Brother, So-and-So, searching for brother, So-and So. I lost you when our ship was separated and you were taken to a different army base in 1976."

And yet the messages got even more haunting....

"Father, So-and-So, searching for daughter, So-and-So. You were 5 when I lost you at sea. You have a mole on your left arm. If you are still alive, please come to the main tower. I will be waiting for you."

As you can see, before the convenience of social media allowing us to reconnect with our loved ones at the click of a button, we only had that rusty main tower at Marian Day - our beacon of hope for a real-life "Miracle of Lavang." Over 100 years of this tangled web of geopolitical tragedy were unraveling at this center point of nowhere, USA.

During those 5 days, many found their miracle and were reunited with joyful tears. In fact, that was how my Mom found her long-lost cousin and childhood best friend, and they rekindled their relationship before they were once again separated when Mom's cousin passed from cancer several years later.

But many also walked away deflated with disappointment. Nonetheless, they patiently kept returning, year after year, to this quiet town of Carthage, MO, never giving up hope to find their "Miracle of Lavang."