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.

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.

on the cyclical nature of things

By Ai Vuong

As I brush off the cobwebs of my Sunflower Mission Workcamp Adventure Book and carefully etch “2011” on another page, I can’t help but feel a mélange of emotions. At once, this gushing sense of familiarity that both warms and comforts the soul rushes in, as this is my 3^rd consecutive workcamp.

Then, a grand sense of anticipation takes over because…of course, each year is different. However, this year, it’s not about my own experience with the workcamp, but it’s about the workcamp through the eyes of my kids.

This year wraps up my 2^nd year volunteering/working for a children’s shelter in Hue, Vietnam. I had utilized last year’s SM workcamp as an experimental service learning trip for four of my children, all of whom had metamorphosed beautifully right in front of my eyes throughout the duration of the workcamp, so this year I thought…why not do it again? As an integral piece to my Service-Learning program within the shelter to identify kids with leadership potential and instill in them a sense of community service and turn them into active agents in their communities, the SM workcamp serves as their “hands-on training.” The idea is for these kids to engage themselves in an entirely new experience and see the value of giving, then return to the shelter and lead a volunteer club with the other kids at the shelter. What could happen when these kids, who previously have been provided so many opportunities, are the ones to give back to their community?

As the fourth day winds down, under a breezy shady tree, on the pile of sand dunes in front of the newly built school, I took a seat and watched as my kids were stepping out of their comfort zones to mold their own experiences within the workcamp. One, whom I had taken last year, is the most comfortable, so he dived right in, being the charismatic boy that he is. Another, while naturally reticent, has put himself out there and made so much effort that the older sister in me is choking back the pride. My two girls have had more difficulty, as they’re both working through their personal timidity, but today they were playing and laughing right along with everyone. I love witnessing their experiences, as their eyes widen with new sights, new friends, and new ideas. Their curiosity is peaked, and each day brings more things to explore and understand.

Tomorrow is the opening ceremony of the school, and I hope they understand the value of their hard work, why they volunteered their time and energy to lend a helping hand in building this school. I hope the value of the past 4 days of hard work isn’t lost on my kids, as they become part of the hands who will pave a path, carve an opportunity for others.

I took a hands-off (observational) approach to this year’s workcamp because I truly just enjoy watching the other workcamp-ers’ first experiences. Their joy in working under a hot Vietnam summer sun and their energy in entertaining local village kids put a smile on my face, as it reminded me of my summer in 2008, which ultimately lead me to return to Vietnam in 2009 and volunteer in Hue…so that I can now watch my kids experiencing the same workcamp. This Vietnam adventure book of mine has gone full circle…and the pages keep multiplying.