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TET.... Lunar New Year, a time to look back and close past and look to the future. Seems like a simple concept. But to be honest I really don't have a clue to the importance Tet time is to the Vietnamese culture.
I made a decision to cut this trip short to go home to Dorothea and my family. But not before I had visited each of our teams families. The last few days were spent in Quang Binh Province.
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| GIBTK team at Hieu fathers home in Quang Binh |
It is where Hieu our wheelchair program manager and Thuy our heart program managers families live. When I first agreed to do this I did not know it is a 7 hour van ride from Danang. A LONG and bumpy 7 hours I might add. What made it even more important is Hieu family moved his wedding date so we could attend.
I made the normal relational building with Govt. Officials and visited our partners, wishing them Chuc Mung Nam Moi ( Happy New Year). But what really meant the most to me was visiting the parents of our team.
Paul and I were just discussing in the U.S. if a CEO of the company our child worked for stopped by with a gift how much it would mean to us. But in this culture it is 10 fold if not 100 fold! But that is not why we do this
These visits give me insight to the backgrounds of the team. Most come from very poor families many are from families much like the ones GIBTK helps. No wonder my team is so devoted to helping the poor. Hummm maybe calling this organization Giving it Back to the Kids was a good
idea after all.
I see how these families sacrificed to send their kids to school. Honestly I am humbled to venture a guess what it meant to send a child to college. Missed meals would be an understatement. I know that me even saying I don't have a clue would fall short to describe how little I understand.
I do admit I enjoy talking about each one of our team members and how they're individual gifts and talents fit into the making of GIBTK. How each one of their kids is part of transforming kids lives for generations to come.
As I looked into the parents eyes this trip I had to wonder why did they make the sacrifice and keep their kids at school when so many in this country opt to pull kids out and have them work or much worse sell their kids off to brothels or other forms of modern slavery. What make them so different? Well maybe best not to try and figure it out, best just to thank God for sending gibtk these world-changers!
All in all this trip is worth it. Though I have seconded guessed myself through much of it. Our trip to Quang Binh was parlayed into a retreat for our team. I am always working so hard to be sure funds given go directly to those we work with.
This trip we did not meet those we work with directly. It has been a trip where I am wondering is it worth it, investing into the team's lives. We did spend a lot of the time training, but... After all I'm here for the kids!!! Right? I guess Nguyen journal really helped me with this. I see how building into the lives of the team truly can and will transform a nation and change a culture. I know I can't do it alone but these young adults are the springboards for generations to come
Thank you for traveling with me through my writing. By the time you get this I will have my Dorothea and kids in my arms and be back to a more normal routine. Or is it more normal? Do I want it to be the norm? The average? Or do I want to live an extraordinary life!!! As for me and my family we opt to live extraordinary!!!
If any happen to have anything left after this favorite of all of us "tax time" and can help with our work you can do so safely online at www.gibtk.org
Again thank you to all
CHUC MUNG NAM MOI
><((((º> BBlessed
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