New Friend

by Sara Akerberg

Hi! My name is Sara Akerberg. I am 10 years old, going to the 5th grade at Condit Elementary School. This is my first time going to Vietnam and with Sunflower Mission. I am going with my mom to see where she was born. I want to learn about the country, its people, and volunteering. 

I was very excited and worried at the same time about going. When I was on the plane I realized how much I missed my papa, my baby brother, Martin, and home. I couldn’t stop crying. I told my mom to wanted go home. She told me to be brave and to give it a go. I would end up having a great time and making friendships that would last forever. So I took a deep breath and told myself that it will be fine. I had my mom, my cousins Zoe, Kyra, and Zak with me so everything will be ok. 

In fact, everything turned around during my first day. It was totally awesome! I didn’t expect to have so much fun. I met a nice boy named Rex who is 11 years old, is in 6th grade going to Tanglewood Middle School. He likes Minecraft and LEGOs like I do. We work so well together. We painted, swept the floors and scraped off the paint. We make a great team! We even made a mini “Grand Canyon” together out of dirt in the front of the school. My loneliness and fears instantly went away. I feel so grateful that I made a good friend while volunteering, which made my first Sunflower Mission trip extra fun and meaningful.