Lost In Translation

by Lyanne Velasquez

I woke up to another day in a different country, a country with a language I cannot comprehend. I find it beautiful—the confusion of it all. Seeing the kids and their bright smiles made every moment of the journey from Houston worth it. It’s quite sad not being able to fully be involved or interact with the kids as much as I would like to. Despite that, the kids’ smiles, waves, and high fives comfort me. I’m humbled to be in the presence of kids whose fire burns bright. There’s so much ahead of them in life. In this portion of time, our paths have crossed, and the impact they’ve brought to me, I hope, despite being lost in translation, I’ve impacted them even in the slightest bit.

The sweat from the heat and hard work from the staircase to the bathroom murals was all worth it, seeing how the kids look at the paintings and seeing the empty classrooms be brought to life every day with the volunteers and kids. I hope, like the stork flying up towards the sky with the backpack, they gain inspiration and hope to strive towards their life goals. Many people, young and old—no matter how they grew up and in different circumstances—may limit themselves to believe there is a limit to their potential, yet I believe you can make something out of nothing once you set your mind to it.

I hope seeing the murals the volunteers have spent days painting and perfecting provides the kids insight into a future that can be changed through education. I appreciated every second of seeing the full-circle moment during workshops—all the hard work, collaboration, and dedication from the Sunflower Mission leaders, coordinators, support team, and volunteers being brought to life in a tangible way, impacting not only the kids but everyone else as well. I felt inspired throughout the last 4-5 days to, as Bac Thanh said on day one, put your heart and soul into this and see how it unfolds. I believe I did that to the best of my ability, and I’m glad I did.

Starting off lost, I feel I found a way to use my actions and the work I’ve done to translate my gratitude for being able to learn more about Vietnamese culture and having the precious opportunity to be in the same space, providing and gaining life-changing experiences with everyone. My ending thought from this experience is this: pour your heart and soul into everything you do, and be open to the different ways your heart and soul will be filled again.