Greetings from Taipei! My last trip I "promised" a note from our Guest Jonathon Bergam. It was his second trip to VN. The first was with his wife (6 months pregnant at the time) and his 1 year old son! He got busy but did not forget his commitment!!!
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| Nina, Jonathon and Micha celebrating his first b-day at The Father's House last summer |
Vietnam Journal #1
Last time I visited Vietnam was with my family last July. Never having visited Asia before and never really having any compulsion to do so I wasn't expecting the experience I got. It seems we all fell in love with the country, and more specifically with Da Nang City. Since we arrived back in Australia it has been on our minds on and off the whole time. Naturally then, when we began praying as a family, asking God what he wanted for us in the future - Vietnam returned to the forefront on our minds like never before. And so I decided to visit again, with a friend this time - to see what God wanted for my family.
The time we spent in Da Nang and with GIBTK was, once again, enlightening. It seems as though the organization and the team have grown even stronger since we were last there and this was evident through every single project they were a part of.
Tama (my friend) and I spent much of our time with the staff, but also going into the homes to see the projects. We focused mainly on Hal's home this time - after being asked to try and bring some teaching on the value and role of a man in life. Speaking through a translator is always hard and we both found it difficult to gauge the response from the guys, but the feedback they gave us was positive and it seemed as though some of the things we shared they could really identify with. One of the best moments of the trip for me was taking the guys out to play football.
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| Toma and Jon "practicing" football!!! |
Last time it didn't go well for me, but this time we had a lot of fun. What I found out there on the pitch was that all of the language and cultural barriers seemed to disappear. Whilst before I could understand what they were thinking or saying, on the pitch it was all instinctive. I could see their response when they scored a goal or missed a shot - and I could communicate with them in order to receive the pass and work a play. We found ourselves congratulating each other, encouraging each other and at times playfully making fun of each others messed up efforts. It was a wonderful place to be able to interact with them.
Another experience similar to this was when we took them out for coffee. Here we got to sit with them, drink the coffee that they recommended and play Flappy Bird on the iPhone. Again, when we had something like this to do it was amazing to see how the barriers of communication just disappeared and we had a great time. My prayer is that it was in these moments that they got to see the reality of God at work in them.
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| GIBTK team always eager to learn and ALWAYS eager for a photo op! |
Tama and I both loved spending time with the staff, both at the office and also going out for lunch with them and doing small teaching sessions. It was a lot easier for us to be able to interact in English, and I commend them all on how well they are able to speak both languages! Being able to speak another language is a skill I have always wanted; maybe Vietnamese could be my second?
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| Toma and GIBTK team leader the lovely Mrs. Anh. |
Seeing the seemingly endless work that GIBTK does and the genuine heart and passion of the staff for helping these young people get educated and make a difference was the biggest highlight of the trip. What I noticed last time I was there, and again this time, is that GIBTK isn't concerned with simply putting a band-aid on the problems in Vietnam but they are working towards changing the culture of the people who will one day be the politicians, leaders, lawyers, doctors etc. They are working towards creating a sustainable and positive future through the mediums of education and care. Because of this they are making a huge difference throughout the entire country and deserve my full support.
I have a feeling we will be back.
Jonathon Bergman
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Stay tuned for what promises to be an exciting trip. Much of the writing will be from Dorothea and her ladies trip. They left last night for Siem Reap, Cambodia
Sincerely,
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Robert Kalatschan
Giving It Back To Kids
