Our first week here in Vietnam was spent by Casey and I travelling. We had an amazing trip out to the beach and up into the mountains. I’ve been suprised by how beautiful and diverse this country is. Now, back in Ho Chi Minh City or the old Saigon, we are back into the ministry. Yesterday we visited 2 orphanages and today we met a group of about 75 orphan/street kids in a local park. After only a few seconds meeting them, the kids are climbing and hugging all over us. They are so full of love. Throughout this trip, we’ve played with alot of kids. But the kids here grab your heart in a different way.
The founder is an older wonderful lady named Pao. She began the first shelter 10 years ago from living in Oklahoma. 3 times a year she would come over here and arrange things. About 4 years ago she and her husband moved here full time. Now, they have 10 shelters around the city, plus another 6 infants living in their own house. It was truly inspiring to spend the morning with her today. We organized the kids into some structured games, along with some more crazy ones. Smiles were worn all around!
I’m humbled by these kids and the way they carry themselves. It makes me so thankful to my parents and I can’t imagine growing up without them. The aim of each of these shelters is to create that sense of “family” for each of these kids. This is why they have 10 different locations instead of one large orphanage. The kids come from situations where their parents have abused them, are in jail for drug abuse, involved with prostitution, or have remarried and the new relationship wants nothing to do with anything or anyone from the first marriage. It really breaks my heart to see these beautiful children abandoned and left to fend for themselves. Thank you to Pao who completely and fully devotes her life to giving these kids a family and a hope for the future. Keep up the extraordinary work.
