We got there at around 2 PM. We carried with us a box of toys, 3 soccer balls, 1 basketball, and 6 cases of chocolates. This is the orphanage that we visited first during the trip of 4G. It was very big, so people spread out to different areas to see the kid. Everyone I’m sure encountered different kids and would experience different impacts that the kids had on them. Please allow me to write my own experience, because they have for sure had a small part in my heart from now on. I stayed in the muddy field area to played soccer with the kids. At first, it was just me and a couple of other guys with 3 bigger kids. One of these big kids is called Khang, and he is 17. He was wearing a school uniform, so I asked him what grade he is in, and he said he isn’t going to school. I read his uniform closer and it was an elementary school uniform. He must have stopped after elementary school….Soon, Jonathan, Nam, Kevin, Jerome, Tran, Albert, Long Co, Fritz, and Jeremy joined the field to begin playing. On the orphans’ side, smaller kids began to come out and joined.
Earlier during the day, the sky was pouring. By the time we got to the orphanage, the pouring had given way to smaller drizzle. The muddy field, as a result, got even wetter and muddier. The orphans went straight down and dirty and jumped right in with their bare feet. The rest of us, with the exception of a few, all took off our shoes and joined the muddy game. The orphans wanted me on their team at the start (I felt so loved), so I started the match on their side. Everyone played their heart out on the muddy field. No one was scared of the mud….Well, maybe a little at first. But after seeing all the kids having so much fun, mud became not much of an issue. It was a game that brought joy to both volunteers and orphans. I would never forget Andrew’s amazing charges, Albert’s skills, Fritz’s defensive effort, and Tran’s energy. Tran went for the ball in one of the plays and slipped. Her whole back was covered in mud, yet she stood up and continued to play. The orphans themselves had great teamwork and determination. Every time our team got the ball, they, little or big, all rushed toward us and win back the ball. Minh, a bigger kid on their side, possessed a very powerful leg. Hanh, age 13, was really small, but he worked really hard along with his peers to win the ball back for the team. I scored one goal in this game, but it was during the time that I was on the orphan’s team so the point counted for them. I later moved back to our own team when the orphans get more players. I am sure by now you would be wondering if we won or not. The final score was 6-2 in favor of the orphans. We did better than last year even if we lost, but the main part was that everyone had an enjoyable time.
The game ended when it was time for us to leave the orphanage. I stayed back until the last minute to talk to the kids. They asked me a whole bunch of questions about flying and America. The questions might have been simple, but they will never fade in my mind.
“Where are you going to?”
“Do you take the plane to go there?”
“How far is the flight there?”
“Do they feed you on the plane?”
“Is there a bathroom on the plane? Are the “wastes” being dumped into the water?”
“Do you see us from up there? Do we look like ants from up there?”
They walked Tran and me to our bus. I shook their hands until the moment I got on the bus. We continued to wave to each other until the bus left the orphanage. I couldn’t help but tear up a little bit after grabbing my seat. That two hour visit was short but heartwarming. These kids had suffered so much lost in their lives, but they can still laugh, smile, enjoy life and spread that joy to people like me. They make me appreciate my parents even more since they are still a part of life.
The kids asked if I was coming back next year, and I promised them I will. Good bye for now Khang, Minh, Hanh, and everyone else. See you all next year on the same muddy field.
Over and out.
<3
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