and the cycle continues

By Ai Vuong

It’s been well over 12 days since I said goodbye to the Sunflower Mission Workcamp Team of 2011…and a week since everyone has flown back home and returned to the comfort and familiarity of their lives.

But since the moment I bade farewell, I’ve been lost at how to translate into words powerful enough to give justice to the thoughts and emotions that have been swirling in my head. All the photos, comments, and blogs really can’t encapsulate just how darn-proud I am.

There is no amount of words, nor the most heart-felt prose that will ever truly illustrate my gratitude to everyone, so let my words be few:

Dearest SM workcampers, you’ve entered my children’s lives (CoJet, Nhan, Dao, Phap) – and you’ve made everlasting impressions on them. I don’t know how I can adequately describe to all you beautiful people who’ve had a hand in shaping their lives just how this trip has impacted them. And thank you all for reminding me just how fortunate I am to be living this life of mine…how amazing it’s been for me to see the tantamount transformation in my kids.

And I tip my hat off to all the other “youngins” of the trip. I’ll more than gladly chaperone any other event with y’all, if you don’t mind hanging out with an old lady. =]

SM Flashback

By Kim-Tuyen Tran

As I come back to the reality of the grinding life, I kept thinking about those days in Viet Nam. It must be one of my happiest and memorable vacation/work camp. It is much more than a vacation since no vacation can give you such feelings of satisfaction and gratitude. Before going to Viet Nam, I was dreading the heat, humility and the scorching sun. But once we arrived and dove into the wall painting activities, I was humming along like a happy bee and did not let anything bother me. The sweat streaming down my face as I painted the wall were coming down so fast, I did not bother to wipe them at all. We joked about being in a sauna as we climbed up the table to paint the top of the wall. Strangely, we felt very happy and full of life as we sweated and worked together painting, cleaning, moping, and dusting...Anh Tuan walked by and said: "Working hard?", we replied: "No, hardly working, just playing and having a good time here". And that was exactly how we felt, we were very grateful that we had this opportunity to contribute our very small part in this mission. I have made many new friends with the volunteers from America and the group from Viet Nam. It was a privilege working together with Tho, anh Chanh, anh Quynh and felt their dedications. The youngsters in our team (Kody, Uy Viet, Gabby, Nikki, Co-Jet, Nhan, Frenchie, Van) were extremely hard working kids. Watching them played with the kids brought warmth to our hearts, we wished we could go and played like them. Chi Dao and anh Ty took very good care of their team and were meticulous with their works. We kept teasing each other as we worked side by side correcting each other mistakes. And this correction could go on for days if chi Dao had her ways . Anh Ty with his constant "this is weird !!!" had become part of our vocabularies.

At the end of the first day, I took a break and went in the medical room to take a look at the medical team. Dr. Joe and anh Khiem were attending to a room full of patients with sweat running down their faces. Vy, Dan and Nanhi were taking temperatures, blood pressures and occasionally urine sample tests and screened the patients as they come in. We thought our rooms were hot but they were nothing compared to the medical room. This room was stuffy and humid since it was full of patients, they had helped more than 60 patients that day. Seeing Dan struggled to translate symptoms into English was priceless, it really touched my heart to see how hard they have worked while their friends were playing with the kids outside.

I got a chance to talk with Hy and Ai, the 2 U.S. volunteers from Hue's group, who have been volunteered in Viet Nam in the past few years. At 25, they seemed very mature and wise beyond their ages. Seeing them interact with the kids from Hue, you could tell they were dedicated to their causes and have very generous loving hearts. I have much to learn from them and Huy, another Vietnamese volunteer. Everyone loves Huy and we were sad to see him leave us at Sao Viet resort. Huy later came back to see us at the completion dinner and gave each one of us a hand made key chain with our names on it that he made himself. All in all, everyone I met on this trip are very special people and I am so glad I have a chance to share this experience with them. It was a one in a lifetime life changing experiences and hopefully with God's blessings, we will one day come together again to contribute whatever we can for the children of Viet Nam.

50 Foods We Ate in Vietnam

50 Foods We Ate in Vietnam, a set on Flickr.

By Dan Dao

Some of you at home may be wondering, what was the food like on the Sunflower Mission work camp? Now you can check out just a few of the foods and drinks we got to try in Vietnam. Enjoy!

Note: Excuse me if I mispelled/mislabeled any of these. I'm not much of a food expert.

Via Flickr

m0nk3yf3st.

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.

A Note From Dad-Hy.

By Hy Huynh

A series of fortunate life synchronicities have brought me to this very table, in this very coffee shop, in this magically beautiful city of Huế. As I reflect on these transformative years I’ve had while living in Vietnam, I’ve come to understand that my passions have been prominently shaped and strengthened by the countless, inspiring individuals I’ve met along the way.

If you asked me four years ago, I probably wouldn't have been able to tell you that my passions lie in community development, volunteerism, childcare, youth empowerment, and education. But, with one fateful dose of “duyên” that brought me back to Vietnam, to the FHF - Xuan Phu Children’s Shelter, I met over thirty young individuals who would permanently change my life’s course and purpose. And now, I am grateful beyond words to have found another community like Sunflower Mission that believes in these same passions.

It was an honor to join my good friend Ai on the 2011 Sunflower Mission Workcamp- not only to do service for the purpose of education, or to meet inspiring individuals in the Vietnamese-American community, but to also see four of my kids really seize this service-learning opportunity to help them grow into their own skin. Over the past nine days, I was able to observe my kids go through so many first-time experiences, and consequently a multitude of personal changes occurred within them. They have all grown in self-confidence, social skills, perspective, passion- the list goes on and on. I couldn’t be more proud of Dao, Phap, Cojet, and Nhan.

As the kids and I loaded our bags and stepped onto the mini-bus that would take us back to Huế, we all looked back to see the entirety of our Sunflower Mission team waiting to see us off. Each of my kids persistently waved their hands goodbye until after the group left our sight, as if they were desperately holding onto this last memory with the 2011 Sunflower Mission Workcamp. Moments after, I looked around to see all of my kids crying to themselves, each overwhelmed with their own personal joys, memories, and experiences- each probably thinking about the many different individuals who had just touched their lives.

During a ten minute span of bumpy-road, sniffling stillness, I could feel the atmosphere getting heavier with everyone’s emotions, and that’s when I decided to call an impromptu reflection meeting. We all formed a small, intimate circle, each kid wiping away their tears before trying to focus. The mini-bus continued to shake and rattle as we sped up the sinuous mountain roads, which seemed like a fitting metaphor for everyone’s heightened emotions at the time.

I talked to them about how we shouldn’t let these emotions bring them down. They needed to take these negative emotions of sadness, be true to them, and then transform them into positive emotions of appreciation to fuel their motivation to grow and learn. I asked them not to stop here, but to take everything they had learned from this trip back with them to the shelter. Our job was done. It was now their turn to help the younger kids become the best people they could be.

And just like that, I felt this connection and greater understanding of my own parents’ experience, as I was completely overtaken by this powerful sense of pride for my own kids. It’s this one emotion that continues to revitalize and push me in my work and life in Vietnam. Thanks to Sunflower Mission, this emotion is now overflowing in abundance.

There was this long-running “joke” (hopefully) over the whole trip that I was a 25-year old “Dad” for my kids and many of the younger workcampers. Well, as your “Dad”, I just wanted to tell you all how proud I am of all of you, and how proud I am to have been a part of your Sunflower Mission experience. Thank you everyone for taking all of us in like we were already family.

Frenchie Tran's Blog

By Frenchie

Today, I came back Huế and I am very sad and i miss everyone ,really I can not sleep and could not eat for two days. When I return Huế I look at the bag and I see a mango in and I remember david gave me mango. now I like frozen emotionally and feel I need to get back my senses. I looked at the wound in my knee and I remember the days when Britney bandaged for me .i cried a lot when looking at it. Thanks Britney for caring for me in recent days. and now I have a new mother that is cô tuyến , and now I can call her mother tuyen. thanks mother , thank you all for helping me become a better person . i miss and love everyone...
i love you like a fat kid loves cake...

Hello, Goodbye

By Monica Nguyen

"Why does it take a minute to say hello and forever to say goodbye?" ~Anonymous

We left Phu Yen today for Hoi An, and unfortunately, we had to say goodbye to some people in our group. They have each touched my heart during the short time I have gotten to meet them, and I will miss them dearly.

CoJet is a cool girl who is willing to sing Michael Jackson's "Heal the World" once she opens up, and who has a great laugh. Nhan may be shy, but she has one of the brightest smiles that I've seen. Frenchie looks suave when he puts on his black button-up shirt, even when it's a hot day, and he has a great sense of humor. Dao is one of the hardest workers I know. He is very genuine, and his facial expressions are priceless when Nanhi prods him into giving her a hug every morning. Chi Ai, who left a few days ago, can brighten any room or a soccer field with just a dried up tree branch, and Anh Hy is the laidback dad of the young'uns who balances his fatherly support with comical relief. Finally, Anh Huy, who is truly a kid at heart, is very inspiring as he interacts with everyone from the people in our group to all the kids we've seen throughout the workcamp.

Although it has only been a week since I have met these wonderful individuals, I will remember them for a lifetime.