Thien Binh Orphanage

Not only was Thien Binh orphanage the last day of the mission trip, it was also the one I was looking forward to most. As I stepped out of the bus and onto the dirt ground, I felt eyes watching me. I turned around to see a familiar face smiling at me. "Chi co nho em khong?" she asked. "Of course I remember you, Vy!" I responded in Vietnamese. This is what I had been waiting for. Soon after, a few other familiar faces showed up beside Vy. Thu came to me with candy she had received from a MEMOber and shared her fruit gummies with me while recounting the story of when I came back last year on 5G and she had received two stuffed monkeys, which she had named Thu and Thu after her name and mine. Hien approached me and told me about how she remembered having a group photo with me, and I guess she was hinting that she wanted another. I didn't mind at all. Look how photogenic they are!

Hien and Thu!

    

Thu! <3

Today was one of my favorite MEMO mission trip days. I don't think I ever stopped smiling when I was with Vy, Thu, and Hien. They were so giggly and playful. Not once did I walk around the orphanage without at least one of them holding my hand, pulling me to meet a new friend or to show me parts of the orphanage I'd never seen before. At one point, we talked about their daily lives and I bonded with them over our similar Vietnamese-Catholic upbringings. They even sang with me some worships songs and then led me into the empty church building to hear me play a song or two from the worship music book.

Hien, Vy, Thu, and new friends!

It is amazing to me that I connect so easily with these girls even with only a couple of hours with them a year. It almost feels as though we could be sisters. And I guess that is the reason I am so passionate about MEMO. When I talk about MEMO back in the United States, there seems to be a disconnect from the people we help, as if they are faceless masses of people from a foreign place far away. What I cannot capture in words about MEMO is that I am really not any different from Vy, Thu, and Hien, and being here in Vietnam with them reminds me of the many individual lives MEMO has come to change. Being involved in an organization that helps people that look and talk like me comes very naturally. When people ask me why I am so active in MEMO, the first thing that comes to mind is, "Why not?
"