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Thank you for all your prayers and responses. Words of encouragement refill my "tank and give me energy to continue doing what we do. Todays note is written by Julian, my daughter boyfriend. He's a good guy. He took the trip well and was a team player in all situations. His journal captured GIBTK and the "real" Vietnam! Enjoy reading I sure did!
My Trip to Vietnam
"My first few minutes in Vietnam could only be described as sensory overload. As someone who had never left the United States, the sights, the smells, and blistering heat were completely overwhelming as I stepped out of the airport doors in Da Nang. Hundreds of people crowded the street, cars seemed to drive with no sense of direction or order, and the heat felt as if it were one-hundred degrees in the shade. For a split second, I wondered what exactly I had gotten myself into, but luckily, I was about to find that out over the next few days.
As we drove through the crowded streets of Da Nang, the façade of class and luxury quickly gave way to extreme poverty sprinkled throughout. Beautiful buildings and tourist attractions coexisted with dirt floor homes. This became even more apparent as we entered the countryside, where large luxurious buildings stood directly across from small run-down shacks where families struggled day by day to get by. The more and more of Vietnam I visited, the more I began to realize the need of those who live there.
Before this trip, I had a very loose idea of what Giving it Back to Kids truly accomplished in Vietnam. I knew they performed heart surgeries and built a few wheelchairs, but once I visited the many homes they had created, everything began to make sense.
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| Working on a "dream board" exercise |
The children from the homes came from so many different backgrounds but through the program, were all given an opportunity for a better life. They were granted what many lacked at home; food, housing, and an education.
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| Dorothea's Project Legacy classroom |
These children, who may have been previously destined to stay at home and follow in their parent's footsteps, now had a chance to break free from the cycle and make a future for themselves.
Single mothers had the opportunity to keep their children and pursue an education at the same time. Through the homes, GIBTK gave many the opportunities that we constantly take for granted back in the USA.
In addition to visiting the homes, I was able to assemble and deliver wheelchairs to several recipients. No words can describe the feeling of seeing someone that was previously bound to their bed getting to visit their neighbors for the first time in years. One recipient held my hand as I sat on her bed, as she watched the chair get assembled with the biggest smile on her face. It  was overwhelming to see the joy of the recipients of the chairs, and nothing in my life has been nearly as satisfying.
In the end, if you ever get the opportunity to go to Vietnam, take it. As someone who had never previously left the US, I quickly learned just how good we have it. We take so much of the things we have for granted and seeing how things are across the Pacific really helped change my worldview. Giving it Back to Kids is truly making a difference in Vietnam, and I sincerely hope I can come back some time soon."
><((((º> BBlessed
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