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By Don Dao

Nearing the end of our 2011 Sunflower Mission Work Camp, I think back and realize all the fun I've had throughout this trip through hard work and newfound friendships with not only the other members of our trip, but also with the local children. My favorite of the kids was Khanh, who everyone called Jose because he looked like a cute little latino boy. I miss his coming up to me and squeezing my cheeks and making a pouty face; I miss him coming up behind me and pulling me down by the hand and chanting "Cong Em Di" or "Give me a piggyback ride!" His two-front-teethless grin symbolized to me all the fun and joy of the kids as we played ball with them and their glee when they hung on to the rope swing that me and another workcamp member, Tim, constructed for them. To me, the swing represented our lasting presence at the school, so that each time any of them played on it, they would remember us. I had a wonderful time at the school, and even though I was extremely disappointed and sad that a change of plan in our schedule caused us to not have an official goodbye with the children, I was almost glad that we didn't because saying goodbye to those joyful, innocent faces would be too depressing. Following the finishing of the school, returning work campers Dan, Nanhi, Frenchie, and I, along with new members had the chance to visit the school we completed last year. Unfortunately, many of the kids did not remember who I was or when I had been there, but Sy (Football Boy) and Hao (Chuck Norris), two of the kids that I along with the other returning work campers had developed a close bond with, remembered us and hung out with us from the moment we arrived until we left. I still remember the feeling of sadness as I from the back of the bus watched Sy, who I still remember from both trips with his army hat and school shirt, pedaling as fast as he could behind our bus as we left for what seemed like miles and miles until he was finally just a small waving figure in the distance.

Today, we visited "Heaven and Hell", a series of caves in Da Nang. Later in the day we visited Ba Na Resort and took the 5 km cable car, the longest in the world, up the mountain where we walked to the top. As we neared the summit, I walked by a gathering of people who appeared to be observing a tree until I came closer and saw four monkeys lounging in it. At first, they were aggressive and protective of their tree until we handed out peanut butter crackers. They reached out and grabbed the crackers from our hands and each collected four or five in their mouths before scampering back up their tree. When we returned from dinner all of the kids packed into taxis and headed off to get facial massages at a local barber shop. Thirty minutes later, everyone returned to the taxis rejuvenated and amazed at how smooth their cheeks were and how silky their hair was. I just checked the clock and it is 1 AM here and I need to sleep because tomorrow we fly back to Saigon. Toodles.