Nov. 17, 2008 issue
Florida family’s trauma leads to three baptisms
By Esther Kniss Bahia Vista Mennonite ChurchSARASOTA, Fla. — Members of Bahia Vista Mennonite Church believe they saw God’s wonders one Sunday morning as they witnessed the baptism of a mother and two daughters whose family had been racked by trauma.
Vanna, the mother, had escaped Vietnam at age 18, and is raising two daughters in Brandon: Van An, now a college senior, and Duyen.
Last April, Duyen was a high school senior with a 4.0 grade point average and a scholarship to attend the University of Florida. One night as she returned some books to the night depository of a library near their home, she was attacked and raped.
After being beaten and strangled during the attack, Duyen had multiple strokes and brain injuries that left her unable to see, speak, eat or walk.
After spending weeks in a Tampa hospital, Vanna searched for a facility that would accept Duyen for rehabilitation. She found one in Sarasota, 70 miles from the family’s home.
There she met a receptionist, Emanuel Kennell, who is a member of Bahia Vista. Kennell regularly prayed in the morning, “Surprise me, Lord, today.”
Working in a public facility, he did not openly tell people he was a Christian, so on this particular day he was surprised when a small woman, Vanna, asked him in a timid voice, “Are you a Christian?” Kennell said, “Yes, I am!”
“Do you go to church?”
“Yes, I do!”
“Do you have a minister?”
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