meet our founder:

Christine Hai’s story is one of resilience, faith, and determination. 

Orphaned at the age of two in Vietnam after the Tet Offensive.  The orphanage that sheltered her from this brutal War was built by American soldiers nearby Cam Ranh Bay. She escaped to America in 1975 and was adopted by American parents from Houston, Texas.

Grateful for her new homeland, she embraced American culture and opportunity, while also facing the realities of loss, discrimination, and the lasting scars of war. Having survived one battlefield, she came to understand that life’s deepest battles are not always fought with guns and grenades, but within the human heart.

Hai graduated from Southern Methodist University with a degree in Communications and entered the corporate world with Milliken & Company. She later became an entrepreneur, building award-winning homes in Atlanta valued from $500,000 to $1 million. Her success was highlighted in Builder/Architect Magazine as a true example of the “American Dream.”

But Christine’s journey did not end with personal achievement. Her heart led her toward a greater God's purpose for her: giving back to Veterans. 

Today, she is the founder of Let’s Be Friends Community, a nonprofit dedicated to serving Veterans, families, and friends by creating spaces of connection, healing, and hope.

Our mission is simple yet profound:

1. Combat loneliness
2. Foster friendships
3. Provide resources

Through collaboration across Northwest Georgia and beyond, Let’s Be Friends Community works to promote healing and reconciliation in peacetime—uniting those who have served with those who support them.

As an author and speaker, Christine now shares her message, reminding the world that even an orphan of war can make a difference. 

God is truly in her story! 

Her published book ; foreword by Former U.S. Senator and Veteran; Max Cleland; tells the powerful story of Hai, an orphan of war from Vietnam. A patriotic American, she bridges the gap between two nations through her life experiences and carries a message of healing. War was Hai’s introduction to life, and after coming to America, she faced another kind of war—a war without a name that everyone faces.

Her story is proof that hardship can be transformed into hope, and that peace begins with friendship.

She currently resides in Rome, Georgia, continuing her mission to inspire, uplift, and bring people together... one veteran at a time, one  friend at a time.