"And whoever
welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me."
Matthew 18:5 (NIV)
After watching Daughter from Danang, even though they did
not mention Jesus or their faith, I saw many examples of Christ in this
inspiring documentary. In the beginning of the film, they were threating to
kill all the mixed raced children and this reminded me of when in ancient Rome,
before Jesus Christ, there was a method of getting rid of new born children
called exposure. This is when you leave your new born child outside to starve
to death or get eaten by wild animals. It was the head of the household’s legal
right to decide life or death for these helpless children. Babies and children
had no worth in the community like they do now.
Jesus gave children worth. The disciples asked Jesus who
is the greatest in the Kingdom? He replied, “He called a little child and had
him stand among them. And He said: "I tell you the truth, unless you
change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of
heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in
the kingdom of heaven” Matthew 18:1-4 (NIV).
When Operation Babylift commenced, the mothers from
Danang giving up their children so they could be out of harm’s way was only
because of their unconditional love. They loved their children so much they
would send them away to have a better life than they ever could.
References
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZZ4p3WBTf8
I am glad that you chose to relate this exposure situation to this movie. I was thinking the same exact thing while watching this movie. I also found it touching that the mothers were willing to give up their children so they could have a better life. Not many mothers are willing to do that for their children, since they want to keep the child and try to make it through. These women really set a great example in my eyes.
ReplyDeleteIt’s sad that some people would just kill an innocent child in such a horrible way because of their race. I really respect the mother for what they did for their children. It was nice to see at least they got to be reunited even if it did not end well.
DeleteI was very proud of all of the mothers that were willing to give up their children to save them from being killed and so that they could have a better life in America. I'm not even a mother and I still couldn't imagine giving up my future child. I give these mothers a great deal of respect for what they did.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I was adopted as a baby and found my biological mother. She said giving me away was the hardest thing she ever had to do in her life. It takes a lot of courage and faith to give you child to a stranger. Heidi’s mother is a very strong woman.
Delete-Sarah Lampl
It does show how brave and loving of mothers they were to give up their own children. I could imagine it was a very tough thing to do, but it was all in the better nature of their kids because if not they would be killed. Now they can have a much better life without having to worry about all of this that surrounded them.
ReplyDelete-Michael Chack
The fear and the pain the others had to go through of having the child killed or giving them away must have been huge. I respect those women very much, especially because my biological mother gave me up for adoption.
DeleteSarah,
ReplyDeleteI think that the movie briefly mentioned the Vietnamese family’s faith. I remember the shrines that the families were burning incents for. If I am correct, burning incents around a photo and personal belonging is a way to keep that persons spirit alive. In addition, I think that shrines are a part of the Buddhist religion. I like how you mentioned that Vietnam was killing children just like Rome had many years ago. Here is a link to help those that do not know what Exposure was.
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/familyanddailylife/qt/072707exposure.htm
God has always shown his love to all that are faithful to him. I think that the mothers giving up their children were allowing their children to have a better future and possibly know God in the United States. In addition, Operation Baby lift was one way that God was able to help save the children from being killed.
"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse"(Romans 1:18-20, NIV).
Misty Olinger
Thanks Misty I missed that part about the shrines and incents. I went back and watched that part. It’s seemed like a part of the spiritual culture that they really valued.
DeleteAfter seeing the film and reading some of the comments on the blog, I couldn't help but think of the Old Testament story of Moses (in the book of Exodus)how his mother had to hide him (and send him away) in order to save his very life. In the film, we see that a mother's act of selflessness and pure love can sometimes yield very unhappy consequences.
ReplyDeleteI agree because this is what I thought of about this part of the movie. Moses mother gave up her son in order to protect him. She trusted that God would take good care of him and put him in a basket to float down the river. I don't know many women who would do that with their baby. She knew that if she didn't do this he would be harmed. Therefore she put all of her faith and trust in God and placed her baby in the river.
Deletehttp://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+2&version=NLT
That's a good relation. I agree that the mothers sending their children away in order to save their lives is very similar to what Moses' mother did for him. This act reflects the mothers selfless love for their children. Giving up a child has to be one of the hardest things in the world to do, but they obviously cared enough for the children to do what was best for them. This type of love is demonstrated to us by Jesus when he died on the cross for us. It must have been very difficult for him to knowingly go through all that pain, but he loved us enough and cared for us enough to do what he knew was best for us.
Delete"but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
-Nicole Eshelman
"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate." PS. 127:3-5
ReplyDeleteI don't think any one of us can understand or appreciate what either Heidi or her mother had to endure during these most difficult times. Scripture is clear that children are a blessing to be cherished by all whom have the blessed experience to have one. Heidi's mother made what she thought was the best choice for her little child during the war. It turns out to probably be the best choice in the long run and Heidi does seek her out when she is fully grown. Unfortunately the reunion does not go quite as planned, as there have been years of growing apart and cultural differences have been to wide to bridge. However, the Bible is also explicit in the fathers role for the child. I think Heidi's father also should share the blame. Even her step dad in this case was partly to blame because of his lack of presence during the war. I think a large part of the problem was the fact neither the father or the mother in this relationship had a personal relationship with Jesus, thus gave no thought to His statues or principles. Likewise, I don't gather Heidi's adoptive mother had a relationship with Jesus either. Children are very influential, at without the presence of God in the household- I think we see what effect this had on Heidi.