Todays note is from our Intern Hannah, she has been here for 6 weeks prior to joining us on the teen trip. Please enjoy. (FYI her grandmother is Ann Moore whom many of you know)
I was more than surprised when the Lord said, "Vietnam". That was two years ago, just before I started my senior year of high school. I had gone to Vietnam with my family the summer of my sophomore year, then the Philippines my junior and senior. Truthfully I thought the Philippines was where I was meant to serve, it would have been my first pick anyway. But in time He made it clear, I needed to go back to Vietnam.
For the first six weeks of my two-month trip I was on my own. And by that I mean I lived in an upper room of the GIBTK office, constantly surrounded by the staff. Every day I visited one house in the morning and one in the afternoon (with an absolutely blissful nap in-between). On Sundays I would rest and visit Lotte Mart for food and random supplies.
Early on in the trip a child was born in the Father's House. I was able to meet the mother and her little boy when he was just two days old. When he turned two weeks old I got to hold him, and I got to attend his one-month party. I had a chance to sit down with all of the mothers and hear both their story and their dreams.
Many of them clearly take pride in the fact that they will be able to provide for their child. I met one mother the day she arrived at our house. She was five months pregnant but it barely showed. When I returned in a week she was clearly showing. The reason? Her body knows she is finally in a safe place, no need to hide it from shame anymore. And the proper nutrition she is now getting will help the child grow even more.
One of my favorite things I have been able to do with the kids was a science demo. I'm talking everything from magnets to vortexes and Coke and Mentos. I had poor Van driving all over the city looking for various things I needed for it. Who knew baking soda could be such a hard item to find? Turns out its online only. But when we finally found everything boy did we put on a show.
Oobleck, a candle made out of an orange, "magical" color changes, DIY lava lamp, tornado in a bottle, skewering a balloon, the crazier the better. Maybe that's how I got my nick name, khùng khùng Ä‘iên Ä‘iên (crazy). Before each experiment I would tell them what I was about to do and ask them what they expected. The best part was the look of astonishment when the exact opposite of what should happen, happened.
I think of the classic orphan child story you see on TV and in movies. Words like poor, sad, dirty, hopeless come to mind. And then I look at our kids. They are nothing like that! Many of the children have pasts from which at first you would think they would never recover. Yet here they are, playing happily with the others, respecting the house mothers, taking joy and delight in things.
Each house has an emotions chart and emotional health lessons are taught on a regular basis. There are games for playing and good food on the table. Good
housemothers watch over their daily needs. Watching the love these women have for the children, whom they live with seven days a week, brings joy to my heart.
housemothers watch over their daily needs. Watching the love these women have for the children, whom they live with seven days a week, brings joy to my heart.
So what have I seen in six weeks? I have seen the lame given mobility, children given a loving place to grow up, young boys becoming men and young girls becoming women. I have watched students work toward higher education, met with the recipients of orthopedic and heart surgeries and held a beautiful child whose 15 year old mother chose not to abort.
And yet all those things boil down to one thing: relationships. Between the kids, staff, visitors, wheelchair recipients, mothers and others there is a beautiful network of relationships. Sure we could just drop off the supplies and say "Adios" but whatever good we did would not last. It's when we make the 2+ hour trek back to the far off community a month, 6 months, a year later to see if everything is working or when you sit down with someone again and again that true change happens. When you build a relationship with someone they can see your true heart, and in return they might begin to show you theirs.
><((((º> BBlessed
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