ST. LOUIS — Language is and will always be a way to connect people with their ancestors and culture. And these days, it's not unusual to find children with more than one ethnic background as well. Churches have become the places families send their kids to keep their culture alive.
The Resurrection of Our Lord Catholic Church in St. Louis is a place many Vietnamese families go for religion, culture, and community.
DeLina is a 15-year-old from O'Fallon, Missouri. She goes to the St. Louis church every Sunday to connect with young people like her and stay in touch with her roots. "I think it's important to embrace your culture," says DeLina. "It's who you are. It's nothing to be ashamed of--I love being me!"
Patricia is a 9-year-old who also attends every week to hang out with kids her age and learn Vietnamese. "We learn a lot of stuff here," she giggles. "I can speak another language, and I get to see my friends. "
Nick Nguyen is a father and the Vietnamese Eucharistic Society president. He leads the youth group with these principles in mind -- prayer, communion, sacrifice, and disciple's work. To him, it's about building a community for the kids.
On any given Sunday, you will find kids grouped by age in classrooms, playing school-type games and sharing stories, but many are learning an extra component. In Patricia's class, the kids played hangman with words linked to their culture.
In DeLina's group, teens shared stories and talked about God.
The whole group comes together for drills, singing, and reciting sayings in Vietnamese. It's part of the eucharistic society's lessons. All the members wear outfits reminiscent of a Boy Scout uniform with earned patches and badges. They wear colorful neck scarves that likely vary depending on age range.
"So as parents, I guess we expect our kids to kind of remember who they are," said Nguyen. "That's what we are here to help, to make sure that maybe 40, 50 years later, our kids or grandkids speak somewhat Vietnamese, so they know where they came from. It's very important to us. We want to preserve that."
Even though it means spending all Sunday, and essentially a sixth day in school, DeLina says she looks forward to it every week.
"It's given me a community that I know I can always rely on," said DeLina.