I left California on this adventure to Vietnam with no real expectations and still wondering, to an extent, why I was going. My heart had always been in Africa----Uganda to be specific. I have to be frank and honest and say that I had said yes to my dear friend Dorothea, FINALLY, because she had looked at me with 'those eyes', once AGAIN, asking me this time, to PLEASE come. Maybe I was avoiding being distracted by what the needs were in yet another place in the world or maybe I just thought I couldn't be stretched any further----it is still not clear but I know now that this place is NOTHING like I expected.
The streets are noisy and busy but in a strange, calming way. People seem to have a goal and a mission and they set about it with purpose and calm. No one is angry and you do not sense any strange undercurrents. The streets are clean and there are no surface signs of extreme poverty---or at least the extreme poverty that one sees in Africa, at every turn. But, as you gradually begin to peel back the layers, there is a poverty that runs deep.
People are extremely controlled and their emotions are no where near the surface. It must have taken some time for Robert to gain the trust of the government, the people and the children when he first came. It must have taken some real deep digging to find out where he was being called to serve. BUT, it seems to me now that in place of 'relief' work, what was needed was relationship building and that is definitely what GIBTK has mastered.
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| "Abby" Kelly's lovely daughter |
From the child in the orphanage to the person receiving a wheelchair; from the young woman being supported through an unexpected pregnancy to the young man or woman receiving an education that they would have otherwise been denied, RELATIONSHIPS are being forged and transformation is evident.
I could write story after story but must choose a few for now. I met a young girl at the airport and then again at Carmela's House where she lives. She says she is 12 but looks more like 9 to 10 at the most. Her parents could not care for her so they sent her to live there. We had started the day at another home with asking the young adults and children to go around and introduce themselves and to then say what dream they had for their lives. Speaking our dreams and desires out loud somehow make them come alive. This little one did not hesitate to respond that she wanted to be a doctor when she grew up.
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| Quy with Abby, dreams to be a doctor. In 2008 GIBTK funded a heart surgery for her! "transformation in action" |
What struck me was that she was asked to share first and she is by far the youngest in the home. But the confidence with which she spoke and the beauty of her dream were striking. It was as if she KNEW that she would realize that dream. Without GIBTK, who knows where she would have ended up? The country is full of unwanted children and the paths that they end up taking are not always pretty. This child, because of GIBTK, is safe----she is safe from the streets, she is safe from illiteracy and she is now safe to dream. I cannot wait to see where she goes in the next 15 years but I know she has been chosen for great things and that she will be provided with all the support she needs to attain those dreams.
I have also been moved by the strong desire amongst some of the staff, to seek the Lord and His will in their lives. Two staff in particular are STARVING to talk about Him, to learn about Him. They have been called to work with GIBTK for a reason and I believe that they are destined for leadership roles and will be sharing their faith with the next generation of children here.
God is good and is doing amazing and BIG things through GIBTK. So excited to see it and be a part of it at this small moment in time.
Kelly Boaitey
www.gibtk.org
Robert Kalatschan
Giving It Back To Kids
