More Than Enough

In 1975, Catholic Charities was in need of local families to host refugees from Vietnam. Back then, local radio was a key tool for them to help get the word out. 

Mary Lou was listening that day. Recently divorced, with three small children at home, she didn’t hesitate. 

“I had a home with far more than I needed,” she recalls. “And these folks needed a place to stay.” 

A young family of four (plus a mother-in-law) moved in just a few weeks later to a full meal waiting for them when they arrived. “I was trying to walk in their shoes,” says Mary Lou. “They’d probably be very tired and hungry and would need a warm supper.” 

Supper that night was pork chops. One good cut for each of them, plus Mary Lou and her kids. The only thing that stood out was what happened when dinner was served. Not knowing any English, the young Vietnamese family instinctively took one pork chop and divided it among the five of them. “They ate every nibble. That’s all they wanted.” 

The young father in the family became a leader among the local refugee community and began helping to bring other families who were trapped in Vietnam into the US.  

“Help a prophet, and reap the prophet’s rewards,” recalls Mary Lou from Matthew 10:41. “Though I didn’t need any reward from it at all; it was the least I could do.”  

Decades later, Mary Lou keeps in touch with the family — who now reside in California. “When they left, I had two sets of nice dishes, so I gave them my nicer set. Who needs two sets of dishes?” 

Years later, long after the family had moved out of Mary Lou’s home, they returned the favor: a new set of good dishes. “I still use them to this day,” she says. 

“Helping others is important,” Mary Lou says. “This is the reason we’re put here. There’s no better way to spend your life.”