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Forgiveness

Forgiveness
Today’s note is written by Tam Tong – our vice president.
 
 First, I need to…. I want to thank incredible teammates for serving at my side in this amazing journey at GIBTK. I am proud to say that GIBTK has a strong and excellent team. GIBTK could not be able to achieve what we have achieved without the contribution from each individual and great leadership from our awesome leader. And my special thank-you to our friends and donors for walking alongside us over the past 20 years. Your time, prayer, encouragement, likes on social media, valuable contribution has made our monthly budget to $80,000 to keep all the programs going (not including programs like heart, orthopedic, wheelchairs, water filters, bikes…). This will never happen without all of you. Thank you so much for supporting our mission of transforming lives.  
 
This trip is a special trip for all of us, a trip to build up the team. We did a team-building retreat for our entire team for three days in Hoi An. When we got together in the first day, we listened to our team’s share about what has kept them at GIBTK. Some of them have been with GIBTK for more than 10 years. Several will be in 10 years soon. Others are new. I heard so many great stories from team members.
 
(Sharing time for team)
 
Giang, our English teacher at Legacy 1 burst into tears sharing a story of a student in her class. She was hurt by his words and disrespectful behaviors. She struggled a lot and wanted to give up her teaching job. But in a training session, Robert said: “You can’t change someone unless you have a real connection with the heart.” Hearing this motivated Giang to find out about his family circumstances. Giang recognized that this boy hurt her feeling because he was hurt. Giang was patient to try different approaches and finally she could build a very good relationship with him. Giang shared: “I thought teachers are those who influence students but now I recognize that students can influence me too. And what comes from the heart will touch another heart.”
 
(Giang (white t-shirt) in tears sharing)
 
I was amazed by how beautiful these stories are. Our purpose was to connect better and to reconnect with our mission, so we had a lot of teambuilding games. There was both tears and laughter! One of the sessions was about forgiveness and the act of forgiveness. Robert shared that forgiveness was not about others, it was about letting go of things and setting yourself free from whatever that has held us back.
 
(The act of forgiveness - letting go)
 
The next day, we sat down to share the key take-away, Huyen - our teacher at Legacy 1 revealed: “The moment I chose to forgive others was the moment I dared to look back at my hurt and healed it. I took off some of the burden on me and I am now happier to think of it.”  
 
(Huyen sharing her take-away)
 
Or a comment from Thuy To - our nurse at Legacy 3: “I am so grateful for this special retreat. We could spend quality time together. We could learn about forgiveness. I learned this lesson over and over, but I haven’t done well with implementation. I just ignored my feelings and pretended forgetting. Every time I think of those hurt feelings, they affect my thinking and my mood. I will never forget the moment Robert carried a purse and started adding bottles of water, phones, and other stuff into the purse until his shoulder tilted sideway because of the weight. This was like awakening moment for me. I knew that I had to learn to forgive. I learn to love myself and build up myself to be able to add values and spread positiveness to people around me. Again, I am so grateful for Mr. Robert.”
 
(Thuy To sharing her thought)
 
Or another comment from Ngan, our life skill and emotional health teacher at Legacy 3: “Thank you for this meaningful retreat. Not just a fun time together, it is a quality time for each other and a time to learn valuable lessons. I have taught the lesson forgiveness to my students several times, but I am so grateful for the way Robert conveyed the message on forgiveness. I had tears in my eyes when Robert talked about his dad and then Mrs. Tam shared about bad words that her family member had for her. The word “stupid” was like a knife killing my heart. I experienced it in the worst way although I did nothing wrong. And as Mrs. Thoa shared, those bad words and bad behaviors toward us will stick with us forever. Whenever I think of what I experienced in my past, I thought I would never forgive those who hurt me. I tried hard to forgive so that I can teach my students from the heart knowledge, but I could not. It was too hard for me. But that night after forgiveness lesson, I thought a lot about what happened in my life, and I made a choice to forgive. This trip has made a huge change in me. I am so grateful.” 
 
(Ngan sharing her thought)
 
And this last note from Hieu Kien: “I was so impressed by the lesson on forgiveness shared by Mrs. Thoa and Robert. I realized that I haven’t been able to forgive those who hurt me. I struggled a lot and beat myself up for long time. I hurt others because I was hurt. I have carried this weight and hurt on my shoulders but didn’t recognize. The lesson has helped me let go to find freedom for myself. I have prayed to God for an answer and God showed it through this lesson. I am grateful.”
 
(Hieu Kien in a stripe t-shirt sharing her thought)
 
"We highly appreciate you and thank you for transforming lives"
 
Sincerely,
 
Robert Kalatschan
Giving it Back to Kids

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