I once heard a wise saying, “If you want to see God laugh, make your own plan.” This saying advises us to trustingly live divine providence, rather than to just rely on our human ideas and planning. I must confess that I have learned, most often in hindsights, a valuable life lesson of how true the above saying is. God’s plan for me is mysteriously and infinitely better not only for me, but also for all around me. (May be true for you as well).
In regard to our recent exploratory visit of orphanages in Vietnam, our delegated team of three board members surely witnessed divine hands guiding us from the beginning to the end.
1. BEFORE THE TRIP (planning time): At a meeting in Feb. 2019, our Board approved the idea to expand our service to Vietnam. There and then, many questions emerged, some of which naturally were: Where in Vietnam? Which members to go there? How many orphanages to visit?, etc. Soon after the meeting, two board members volunteered to pioneer this mission.
True to her generous spirit, Sarah wanted to bring gifts to whomever she visited. And when it comes to orphaned children, that spirit lit up and hit the roof. With a creative mind, she invited family and friends to support this idea. Her initial hope was quite humble - offering each orphanage, in additional to cash, some dry food, and perhaps basic OTC medications.
Long story short, once Sarah reached out to a few people to seek help, donations came in drove. So many good hearts wanted to help orphaned children. They also asked their own family and friends to pitch in. In the end, people donated thousands of dollars, new and gently used clothes, assorted medicines for children, toothbrushes, chocolate candies, first-aids items, etc. In the end, six (6) full midsized Uhaul boxes of various goods (totally for children) were collected to fly with the visiting team to Vietnam.
Eventually we have three board members went on this exploration of orphanages.
2. ARRIVAL IN VIETNAM: Our flight, after a brief stop in South Korea, arrived at the airport in Sai Gon (aka Ho Chi Minh City) almost midnight. Any visitor entering Vietnam knows that navigating through the Border Customs and the baggages check at the airport is a lengthy and complicated maze (enough said!) We were lucky that all of our luggages and belongings were intact and accounted for.
As we exited the airport, we were hit with a humid, sticky 87 degree weather, even during nighttime. Thanks goodness, we were “cooled off” by the presence of Sarah’s cousins and DJ’s family, both of whom came to welcome and pick us up. We finally got home (Sarah’s cousin) about 1 am. By now, we all longed for a cool shower and a soft bed.
3. VISITING ORPHANAGES: After a short rest to acclimate ourselves to the new weather and water/food, we gathered a group of 15 local volunteers (2 Religious Sisters, 13 friends) to help us prepare for the trip to the orphanages. The five sites which we intended to visit were located way up on high mountains of central Vietnam, about fourteen (14) hours drive from Saigon.
At 5 a.m. on the day of departure, four of us from the U.S. and 15 volunteers loaded many boxes of goodies (see details below) on a privately rented bus, and then headed towards Kontum and Gia Lai. Even at that early hour, the local traffic out of Saigon was congested with hundreds of motorcycles and commercial vehicles.
After the first three hours travelling, our bus stopped at a roadside eatery for breakfast and restroom need. In Vietnam, just as in other developing countries, roadside foodstands or mom-and-pop eateries are quite common. A family, who runs such a eatery, often lives there as well. Each day the family prepares a certain amount of goods, and intends to sell them as fast as possible, after which they retire for the day.
At any rate, our bus stopped a local eatery and, in one sweeping, practically bought ¾ of their daily food and drink (bánh mì, bánh bao, fruits, coffee, etc.). The lady owner was so thrilled for a close “sold-out” and thus had a chance to rest early that day.
Then, after a lunchbreak and about 10 more hours of driving, our bus finally arrived in Gia Lai, a small cluster of agriculture villages, around 7 p.m. With a prior arrangment by Sr. Loan, our group was welcomed by a local church. They allowed us to stay overnight in their parish center. Modest accomodation: No AC, only a ceiling fan; common shower quarters and restroom sinks; sleeping on floor upon straw mat, with all the guys in one big room and all ladies in another nearby.
Soon after our arrival and quick showers, we were treated with a local-style dinner by parishioners. Afterwards, following an evening prayer together, our group loaded off many boxes of goodies / clothes from the bus into a big room, and then together sorted out and divided them for the four orphanages to be visited tomorrow. By now it was getting late into the night, and physically drained, everyone longed for her or his pillow for a much needed rest. (Full disclosure: During the night, the ladies’ hall was relatively quiet, while the guys’ quarter was like an orchestra with all kinds of harmonic snoring). After breakfast, we bidded farewell to the wonderful pastor and his parishioners, carrying with us a heart filled with gratitude for their warm hospitality.
Four Orphanages - Home of Love:
We then slowly headed out to visit the first two orphanages in Gia Lai. The first one was the home for eighty six (86) orphaned children, and the second one cared for 137 children. Both of these orphanages were cared for by the Congregation of “Đức Bà Thăm Viếng”? … These Sisters were natives and they spoke some Vietnamese. Besides these two orphanages in Gia Lai, we also visited two other orphanages in Kontum, a city about 3 hours driving south. Mái Ấm Giuse had 106 children, all without parents, and quite a few of them were also physically disabled or inflicted with various health detriments. This orphanage was founded and still cared for by a former Dominican Brother. The other orphanage, Mái Ấm Mỹ Linh, was operated by a group of Domincan Sisters who cared for 80 children.
Since the time of our visit was summer, little children studied at home while teenage orphans were out working for local farmers or businesses to earn a bit of income.
As we travelled to these sites, some of the roads were normal for bus to go through, while other roads were either unpaved, dirt-muddied or too narrowed, and thus undrivable. On the latter situations, our group had to transport boxes of goodies to the doorsteps of the orphanages either by bicycles or wheeled carts. (SEE BELOW FOR THE LIST OF MATERIAL GOODS WE BROUGHT TO THESE CHILDREN).
One notable characteristic of all four orphanages was that more than 2/3 of children living there were “người dân tộc” (much like Native Americans in the USA or First Nations in Canada). Beyond this simplistic physical difference, all of these boys and girls seemed to get along very well.
At each place we visited, as soon as our bus appeared in sight, some kids playing nearby usually ran toward the entrance gate. Their running with loose flip-flops created enough commotion, alerting the rest of children in the house to also come out. Instinctively they gathered near our bus, eyes wide-opened, politely looking in wonder who the guests are. As we stepped off the bus, we were always greeted with gentle smiles, their tiny hands waving in shyness.
Being in the presence of these orphans, our human world seemed to instantly contract smaller and nearer. We visitors couldn’t help but felt intimately connected to these children, strangers no more. Raw, deep emotions spontaneously welled up from within us: joy of playing with them yet also in pain of knowing how vulnerable these children are, smiling while dressing them with new clothes and also crying while hugging and holding them in arms, etc.
With help from some children, we brought in boxes of goodies and sport games for the children (see pictures), as well as dried food for the orphanage. After setting up and showing them sports games, we played with them. Meanwhile some of us grouped the children together and distributed to each child: fresh milk, chocolate candies, vanilla cake, toothbrush, toothpaste, etc. All of them were very polite and cooperative. Receiving gifts in hands, a child whispered, “cảm ơn cha/cô” while smiling at me/us with pure gratitude and joy.
Seeing a child tear off a bag of M&M and chew each piece in delight … brought tears to my eyes. For that child, those colorful M&M might be the very first time of eating chocolate candy.
For these orphaned children, undernourishment definitely took a beating on their physical growth. Many of them appeared to be much smaller/shorter than normal. For example, both boys and girls looked like typical kindergarten kids here (USA), yet when asked they revealed that their actual ages were 8 or 9 years of age.
Their thin and pale physique, their plain simple clothes, their innocent eyes, their pure smiles, etc. just pierced through my soul all the way to heaven! Even at their tender ages, some of these orphaned children had been carrying a burdened life of losses and uncertainties. Loss of parents and uncertain about their future. Though the Religious Sister in charge and her few volunteer staff had been trying so hard to care for all children, their time and energy were limited for this large number of kids, and their material resources often ran short. At every orphanage we visited, we were told that there were days the children cried in their classes because they went to school with an emptied stomach. Too hungry for a child, and there was no food in the house/orphanage.
The children seemed to understand, being grateful for what and when possibly given to them. Yet, deep down, all of them were silently dreaming of a bit more food for the day, a gentle pat on their back or a loving hug every so often. For babies or toddlers, an embrace in our arms seemed like heaven, inviting their curious eyes and pure smiles.
…
When it comes time to bid farewell, stepping on the bus and looking out the window were heart-wrenching.
Little friends, we pray and promise to come back to you, being purified by your innocence and sharing with you Christ’s love!
· 22,046 pounds of rice; 440 pounds of sugar; 2,100 liters of cooking oil; 264 bottles of fish sauce ; 125 boxes of ramen noodles, each of which has 30 packets; 350 boxes of milk; 110 pounds of chocolate candies; 850 various indiv. wrapped cakes and 250 cans of soda;
· 4 large sized U-haul boxes of children clothes;
· 1,500 toothbrushes and 1,000 tubes of toothpastes; 5 sacks of medicines (which include cough and cold, allergy and itching, pain relievers, fever reducer, etc.); 8 assorted boxes of bandaids with oilment, each of which has 325 pieces;
· 4 sturdy steel swing sets; 4 soccer balls and 4 volley balls (all leather); 8 full sets of badminton racquets, nets, shuttlecocks; 40 foot feather-balls
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