So why I am going to Vietnam? Because the kids are so darn adorable for one thing. I’m not sure I even know why I am going entirely, but here’s how it happened and at least a few reasons why…
Three years ago I went on my first overseas trip to Ukraine where I, along with 9 other students from Azusa Pacific University, lived and worked in an orphanage for two weeks. I wasn’t really sure why I had been chosen to be a part of this trip, but I knew that the only way to find out was to go. To go with an open heart and an open mind. At the first sight of those adorable little trouble makers at the orphanage I fell in love. The language barrier made things very frustrating at first, but after a few days we discussed as a team how our actions could speak louder than our words. We had come to love these children, and the best way for us to do so was simply to be with them. To hug them. To toss a ball back and forth. To teach them new games. To listen to them even if we didn’t understand. I had never in my life felt such a sense of purpose as when I was in Ukraine, like I was exactly where I was supposed to be.
And so I spent the next 6 months or so trying to find a way to go back. Eventually I was successful and the following summer I was back in Ukraine working as a camp counselor for at risk youth for 6 weeks. I got a taste of what it could be like to live there and in my heart and mind began to take a step towards a longer term commitment to serve overseas. Once again I experienced moments where I knew that I was exactly where I was supposed to be, like all of the desires and passions of my heart were fulfilled in those little moments with kids that so desperately needed to be loved.
Upon returning home I spent the next year searching for an opportunity to serve overseas for anywhere from 6 months to 2 years. I knew that this was what I was supposed to do, but as time went on and the perfect opportunity had not presented itself I began to doubt. My prayers for direction seemed to go unanswered, and I felt a little lost. Then one day as I was talking over Skype with one of my dearest friends who is currently living in Da Nang, Vietnam, she said, “You should just come here.” And I began to think about it. What if I went to Vietnam? There are several orphanages in Da Nang that are in desperate need of volunteers. I have been searching to volunteer at an orphanage. I couldn’t get the idea out of my head. This is my opportunity, I said to myself. I had waited as patiently as possible for my opportunity and this was it. So I made the decision, and whether I am ready or not I am going to Vietnam.
To love the least of these. That is why I am going to Vietnam. Because I can’t think of anything else that is worth the next 6 months of my time. Because I want to put myself in situations where I am forced to try to understand other people and their experiences. Because I want to live a life marked by the radical, transformational love that was modeled in the life and teachings of Jesus. That is why I am going to love the orphans of Vietnam.
