Villages of Hope: Gift Giving Mission in Nha Trang

When my family was in Nha Trang, Vietnam, we had a handful of mission trips. We started with a 3-day dental mission followed by some visits to different villages to hand out donations. My friends and I got to visit and see families in poverty.

As a group, we gave out food, bags of rice, fish sauce, milk, juice, and more for their basic needs.

In my life, I’ve never experienced what poverty was really like. I have always seen it on the internet or on posters but thanks to this opportunity, I was able to see and experience this in person, which I am very grateful for.

People were thin and they really have limited access to basic necessities. Bathrooms were scarce and they had to use the field or the back of the trees when needed. Definitely an eye-opener for us when we think about our priorities and what we take for granted in life.

This experience made me more aware of what goes on in our world and it is pretty upsetting how this happens to more places than people can imagine. With this knowledge, I am honored to help serve those who were in need in Vietnam.

On a fun note, there was a super cute puppy and we love him! We all want to take him home!

I have never seen up close a whole different side of the world compared to what and how we live in the US. They were in hardship but their life is simple. They value what's important and they all have smiles.

You can feel that there were mutual feelings of appreciation and love spread around our group. Each family welcomed us with kindness and opened arms to the gifts we brought. We all enjoyed the moment, and it was a super exciting time shared with everyone there. With the time spent with my friends, our bonds got stronger and greater as the day went on. The families there were so excited and happy, it was ultimately a great day.