Evolving Through Sunflower Mission

by Nanhi Tran-Hodge

Sunflower Mission is celebrating its 20th work camp anniversary. Let me repeat that… 20 work camps. This is my 5th work camp, and it’s Completion Ceremony Day!

I’m sitting here… in front of the newly renovated/built library, in front of a fan, and observing the environment around me. The adults sitting and laughing… “Một Hai Ba, Dzô!” The teenagers standing around and enjoying the relationships they are making on this trip, with their inside jokes and whispers of laughter.

As I am watching everyone, I’m reminiscing about my past trips. My 1st trip was in 2006. I was about to turn 14, and all I knew was that I was taking a trip to Vietnam with my mom. The heat… the sweat… the agony of waking up early while knowing it was summer and the norm is being able to wake up at noon back home in the USA. I remember the sweat dripping almost immediately when I stepped off the elevator of the hotel. I remember the feeling and the thoughts as if it was yesterday. Wait a minute… the same things DID happen yesterday as well as at all of the other work camps I attended! Joking aside, I am happy to see the evolution of SM Work Camps. I’ve witnessed 3 stages of Sunflower Mission Work Camps within 3 different stages of my life: a child, a teenager/young adult, and a fully-fledged, newly married adult.

In 2006, I had a profound life-altering experience with SM. I got to meet children the same age as me but smaller and less fortunate. You wouldn’t think it though, looking at them. They were always happy and making the best of what they had. I remember that I wanted to buy them all candy and chips and pass them out, but my mom said no, since they would swarm me and I would never have enough to satisfy their needs or wants. I witnessed children being happy to be given a water bottle yet not knowing how to open it. Providing them lunch in a small to-go box, and they were so excited to go home and share it with their family of four. Painting the windows and making friends with the local kids. (Shout out to Khanh, the 10-year-old boy that I painted with and became friends with). Those memories have stuck with me to this day.

My attention is caught, and I’m back in the present when little Quynh (7 years old) comes running up to me to say goodbye and asks me if I’m coming back tomorrow. We both shed tears, and I give her my lanyard to remember me by. I take a quick picture with her and give her a last hug goodbye. As I see her walking away with her mom, looking back at me and waving, I start to think about the 2nd stage of my Work Camp experiences. My after-high-school years where I attended 3 more work camps back to back with my friends (no mom this time). Dan and I became even closer, and I was relieved to have such a close friend by my side during these trips. I got to meet and work alongside young students and people who lived in a shelter, and even when they weren’t in the best of situations, they wanted to give back to the less fortunate. We sat on the back of the bus and made memories that will last a lifetime. We always walked past the adults in the front, saying, “Yes” or “Dạ” to all of their “Make sure you drink water…” “Did you put sunblock on?” Or my favorite, “Don’t be too loud back there. We’re trying to sleep.” We were teens. We were having fun! The back of the bus was our turf, and we loved it.

I got to test my independence and saw another side to Vietnam that I’ve never seen before. After dinner, all the teens and a few adults would go out, drink tea and eat Chè, go look at and buy questionable street food. Holding hands to cross the crazy streets and screaming, “Don’t look them in the eye! Walk straight and goooooo!” Laughing when we made it to the other side and claiming that we were starting to blend in with the locals. This is another side of the work camps I didn’t really experience as a child. The family aspect. The lifelong friendships being built alongside building a school. The naps we all took on the side of the building in the mountain breezeway. The inside jokes that I still make to this day with Dan, Lavang, Jonathan, Kody, and more.

It’s time to leave to go to the soccer field. I do a quick look around and notice that everyone is having fun and smiling as well as the underlying exhaustion behind those wide smiles and sweaty brows.

I call out for everyone to head out and make sure they have all their belongings. I’m making sure Emma is okay, Brad has all our stuff, my mom has everything and doesn’t need help, and that Lyanne, Sean, and Noah are good. We have an amazing soccer game and win for the 2nd time in the 20 years of Sunflower Mission Work Camp history! We get back on the bus, and I go straight to my seat… at the front of the bus. I hear myself telling the youngins’, “Great game guys! Stay hydrated!” I’m answered back with, “Yes” or “Dạ.”

As the bus pulls away, I’m asked to make the general announcements for dinner plans and tomorrow’s expectations. I sit back down and carry on my conversation about the past with Bác Thanh and Bác Tuấn.

I look to my left and see my husband… and past him, through the window, the Kien Giang streets. I smile to myself and realize that I’m experiencing a new stage of SM work camps. I’m on the other end of the bus. Guiding the young teens and young adults and hoping they have a safe and fun experience. Making sure that all of my family and friends are getting the most out of their trip. Laughing about being silly and making jokes in Vietnamese and being the “cringey” adult that is slightly embarrassing for laughs. I look to the back of the bus and see my old turf being taken over by the future leaders and volunteers of SM. The SEEDS that Dan and I planted long ago are growing and will continue to grow… to be the brightest Sunflowers of all. Always reaching for the bright sun of a future and planting new SEEDS to continue the legacy. I have a new turf now. It’s closer to the stairs… so I’m totally happy with it!