DUNCAN — If the Rev. Christopher Tran were not so busy with his pastoral duties at Assumption Catholic Church, the Duncan Chamber of Commerce might want to tap him as one of its ambassadors.

Though Tran has lived in Duncan only a year, he is very enthusiastic about the area and its people.

He was ordained into the priesthood on May 30, 2008, for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. He was assigned to Assumption Catholic Church in Duncan, where he alternates pastoral duties and visits to Ryan, Marlow, Waurika, Walters and other small area churches with the Rev. Joseph Irwin and Deacon James Conway.

Tran traveled a long journey to get to Oklahoma. He was born in Hue, Vietnam, in 1965. At that time, his homeland was torn by war and the communists controlled everything. He grew up amid death and suffering. His father worked for 23 years for the U.S. government until a day in 1975 when the communists took him away and imprisoned him in a “re-education camp,” leaving his wife and nine children — the oldest not yet 18, the youngest only 2. His family was told he would be home within “three days,” but the three days turned into five years, during which his family did not know where he was. For weeks, the family met the train every day, but the father did not come home.

“We lost everything. Everything we had was gone. All we had was our faith,” Tran said.

By then, Tran was 15, and was himself in danger of being taken by the communists. His family put him on a boat in an attempt to save his life. The young Tran had been an altar boy and had great respect for the priests who celebrated Mass. When he found himself adrift on the ocean without food and water for seven days and nights and with little hope, he promised God that if he survived, he would become a priest.

“All I could do was sing and pray. I prayed to God and told Him, ‘If you get me to the other side I will become a priest for you.’

“My mother learned that my father was hurt badly and was partially paralyzed. He was near death when my mother went to the camp and paid the communists gold to let my father go home with her. She told them he was just going to die anyway, and they decided they had rather have the gold than a dead prisoner,” Tran said.

Tran wound up in Indonesia, where Catholic refugee services arranged for him to be adopted by a family in New Jersey. Coming to America was quite an experience for the teenager, however.

“In America, everybody welcomed me with big hearts. I got a warm welcome. Everybody smiled at me. In America, everyone eats hot dogs, but I could not eat hot dogs at first. Someone gave me a cup of apple juice, and I have never forgotten the smell and taste of that juice. I asked what it was, and they told me it was apple. There are no apples in Vietnam. It was so good, like paradise. The smell, the taste, of apple. Now, I love hot dogs!” he said with a smile. “America — apple pie and hot dogs.”

He finished high school and earned a college degree in interior design and art history, with an eye to becoming an architect, while struggling with shyness and language difficulties. Those dreams were put on hold, however. Tran was separated from his own family for more than 15 years, during which he worked and sent money home.

Tran’s parents now live in the Oklahoma City area, so he gets to be with the family he missed for so long. His father recovered from his injuries in the prison camp and is now strong and happy at 83, Tran said.

In 1987, Tran proudly became a U.S. citizen, and was eligible to serve as a sponsor for his family members remaining in Vietnam. After he got the last of them to America and got them settled, he realized his dream of attending seminary was finally within reach.

He told his priest he wanted to attend seminary and become a priest, too. The priest asked, “When?” and Tran said, “Now!” Within two weeks, he was on his way.

In the years of his journey to the priesthood, Tran attended Blessed John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, Mass. He has traveled to Boston; Seton Hall, N.J.; Hong Kong; Singapore; Rome; New York City and other large cities, dealing with traffic jams and non-existent parking spaces. When he came to Oklahoma City, it was still a large city with tall buildings and lots of traffic, so when he learned he was coming to Duncan, he knew what to expect — or so he thought.

“I was driving down the highway, looking for the big buildings, but I didn’t see any. I kept driving, looking for the city, but I didn’t see anything. For a moment, I thought Wal-Mart was the biggest building in Duncan. In the big cities, people never sleep. Traffic is all honking and yelling and cursing and it takes a long time to get through a traffic light. Here, there’s maybe four cars at a red light. There, I had to learn to parallel park. If you see a parking place, you’d better take it, or it’s gone. In Duncan, I don’t get parking tickets. Duncan made me love small towns. I’m enjoying the small city. Everybody knows everybody and it’s peaceful,” he said.

One of his most memorable moments so far was a Christmas Eve trip he made to celebrate Mass in the Catholic church in Walters.

“I was in the middle of nowhere, and it touched me. It was like the first Chistmas might have been. There were maybe 40 people at the church and these beautiful children celebrating the birth of Christ — a real Christmas ... That was a joyous Christmas in Walters. I didn’t know them, but they left a real joy in my heart.

“I also love to visit with people in the nursing homes. They really need you the most. They touch my heart. Many of them are alone. Being with them, not doing for them, is the most important,” he said.

When he’s not busy with his church duties, Tran enjoys painting in oil — “abstract, like Picasso” — and writing. He’s writing a book, “When the River Ends,” likening people’s lives to rivers that start out strong in their rush to the ocean and fulfillment, but sometimes falter and dry up in the desert of dispair or at the base of an unconquerable mountain of problems, their dreams unfulfilled.

“When I was in Boston, I prayed, ‘Lord, give me a small parish so I have more time to pray and be with you and the people.’ And God gave me this assignment. I’m very happy with what I’m doing,” Tran said.