The story of a Vietnamese temple in Chandler, Arizona is a simple illustration how many temples get started in the United States.

There’s not much to distinguish the temple from the surrounding neighborhood, besides a couple of Buddha statues in the front yard. Services began there in February 2006, when Sister Lien Thuy Ngo moved in to the home with two other nuns after they determined a need for a Buddhist temple in Chandler, Chuan said. The nuns previously resided at a sister temple in Tucson, he said.

Fortunately the neighborhood appears to be welcoming.