Finding Purpose

I fell in love with Nhu, (the little one standing) when I first arrived to volunteer at Peace Village about 4 years ago. My family and friends know her name and the story of her sweet, spunky style very well.

When I first met her the general consensus among the staff was that she would never be able to walk on her own. I arrived last year amazed to learn that she'd begun to take some short distance solo cruises on her wobbley little legs.

And now she not only walks on her own, she also makes it her mission to walk down the hallway on a regular basis and into the room where those less fortunate live out their days on small beds and cribs. She stands beside them and holds their hands!

What a gift to see that perhaps she's discovered her deeper purpose on this planet, on her own and against all odds! 

I've often felt helpless, and struggled with the very human urge to "fix" things that in my culture seem wrong or unjust. But slowly I'm learning the importance of just showing up, bearing witness to what is, and trusting the unfolding of the life force of LOVE! 

Blessings to you little Nhu, on your new found mission of compassion!! YOU GO GIRL!!!

The Power of One

I met Gary Jost and his wife Kathy at their mountaintop home in northern California while on my way to Viet Nam in 2013.  Although that’s the only time we’ve been together in person, we’ve stayed in touch by phone and email.

 In mid November Gary called saying he’d decided that for the holidays this year he and Kathy were donating $5,000 to the CORE Children’s Surgery Project in Viet Nam and challenging friends to donate enough to match their gift. I was moved by his generosity, sent him the information he requested and didn’t think much more about it. So on December 9th when I opened an email from him listing 23 people who had donated a grand total of 10,770 I was amazed, and quickly realized my Christmas was complete!  I couldn't have asked for a greater gift!  And today, donations have grown to 12,500, enough for 8 surgeries!  

So eight families who have been waiting for a miracle for their child will soon learn that hope has arrived!  And eight children will receive quality surgery and follow up care to correct physical deformities caused by our government’s use of Agent Orange on their homeland years ago. For some this will mean being able to walk on their own for the 1st time. And for others the surgery will increase dexterity making it possible for them to use their hands and fingers. For some it will correct facial defects which cause embarrassment and isolation. But for all it will covey the clear message that there are people in the world who care. While we cannot undo the atrocities of war, we can vow never to forget those who's lives are drastically changed as a result of our countries decisions and actions.

And it’s all happening because one person started the ball rolling! One man who lives atop a mountain in California cared enough about children who suffer from the remnants of war half a world away to make a difference in their lives. He dreamed up a plan and invited others in! The Power of
One, very cool indeed! 

Thank you Gary, Kathy and all who have given to this round of surgeries!  And to all who read this, thank you for caring about the children too!  

Love and gratitude! Paula 

For more information on CORE Viet Nam and the Children’s Surgery Project click here 

Small Miracle - Thank You, Young Living Essential Oils!

Our team’s final clinic was hosted at the Phong Lan School for Handicapped Children in Dalat, Viet Nam. CORE has held clinics there previously, but this year the school was closed for summer vacation so we were expecting fewer kids to show up. Much to our surprise, when our bus rolled up in front of the building it was swarmed by a large group children and families already waiting. In fact some of the children were so excited that when the doors of the bus opened they climbed right on board latching on to us with hugs, smiles and contagious laughter. I thought to myself “It doesn’t get much better than this!”

Inside, the clinic atmosphere was charged with great exuberance and excitement, natural byproducts of a large room full of uninhibited, happy kids. Organized chaos describes it well.

We were in full swing when I noticed a young couple enter with their son who appeared to be around 8. My heart went out to the boy who was noticeably hesitant and extremely hyper sensitive to his surroundings. He could hear but didn’t speak or make eye contact and it was clear that the noise and movement were more than his senses could handle. Knowing that the wait held an added burden for this family, we worked to fit them in ahead of others.

At one point my heart sank when I saw them leave imagining that it was just too much for the boy. When they returned a few minutes later, I realized that they’d taken him out to help him calm down.
It was at that point that I sensed the palpable love these parents had for their son. They were desperate and determined to help him find relief, even if that meant navigating the wait of the  overcrowded clinic.

When the boy’s turn came he was too tense and overtaxed for a chiropractic adjustment, so we ushered him directly to a massage table, his parents by his side.  He tried but couldn’t bring himself to lay face down on the table so we began with him sitting on the edge, feet dangling. Massage therapist, and intuitive healer, Tonya Mayes poured a small amount of Relaxation Massage Oil (very generously provided by Young Living Essential Oils) in the palm of his mother’s hands motioning for her to rub them together and hold them in front of her son’s nose.

As he breathed in the calming scent, his small body noticeably softened and relaxed until gradually he was able to lay his body down on the table.  As he did, he motioned that he wanted oil in his own hands. So we poured a few drops in his small palms which he repeatedly brought to his face taking long deep breaths.

We stood with his parents watching in amazement as his overtaxed nervous system succumbed to the healing power of natural oil and human touch. Tension visibly drained out of his thin and gangly arms and legs making way for peace to take up residence, as he appeared to melt onto the table.  We watched the small miracle of this precious moment in silence. No words were needed.

A spur of the moment decision was made to send the bottle of Relaxation Massage Oil home with the family. The parents repeatedly bowed in gratitude as we marveled at the obvious joy and relief we were experiencing together, human hearts bonding without language.

CORE wishes to thank the folks at Young Living Essential Oils for making this small miracle possible through the generous donation of oils used by our team in VIet Nam. We especially want to recognize Robyn Valentine for her assistance and follow through. Partnerships between profitable companies and not for profit organizations are essential bridges in making the world healthier and more balanced for all. Thank you Young Living Essential Oils!

Love and gratitude on behalf of CORE (Community Reconciliation-Viet Nam)

Www.corevietnam.org

Radical Hospitality

My body’s arrived home, but I’m well aware that I’m not all here. I feel foggy and dazed, staring out my front window at what looks and feels like a different planet. There’s no food being prepared on the street and no groups of people sitting at small tables drinking coffee in front of my house. There are no bicycles filled to the brim with fruit or bread, no children playing or people passing by. There's no symphony of honking horns or near collisions of multitudes of motor bikes. Where is everyone?

My mind wanders back to the way that life in Viet Nam happens in community and out of doors and I imagine that it would be nearly impossible for a person to experience isolation in that culture. Perhaps that’s one of many reasons that American veterans find Viet Nam to be a place of healing.

I asked a young veteran who'd served in Afghanistan and was part of our team what it was about Viet Nam that offered him healing and his response was "It's impossible to be angry here." People are so kind and happy that it's just not an option. 

Another friend who served during the American War in Viet Nam reluctantly returned for a visit after nearly 40 years and fell so in love with the people and the place that he ended up staying 2 years, and during that time his dependence on anti-depressant medication dwindled and disappeared. He found himself happier and more well connected than he'd been in years.

“Radical Hospitality” is what I like to call those subtle encounters where we find ourselves in awe of unexpected generosity of people. It flows naturally and appears when we least expect it, leaving us smiling and feeling included and welcome, and even a little confused about where that unconditional love and thoughtfulness comes from. Our team was blessed to experience this magical, uninterrupted and flawless care of the Vietnamese people where only the present moment mattered.

Despite undeniable and often obscene poverty, there exists an abundance of intoxicating joy and radical hospitality in Viet Nam. While our culture places a high priority on accumulating monetary wealth, the Vietnamese show us that living from a place of simple generosity yeilds a richness that the human heart longs for. They live life from the perspective of what they have, not from what they don't have, and that has the potential to change everything!

CORE Viet Nam offers a great opportunity to experience the radical and healng hospitality of Viet Nam. Trips are planned and led by John Fisher and Vu Duc Anh with utmost care and consideration. For more information visit www.COREVietNam.org or contact John Fisher at 843-651-1086. You're also welcome to write me at pauladaporegriffin@gmail.com and I'll be happy to share more of my recent experience with CORE (Community Reconciliation - Viet Nam.

With love and gratitude! Paula

Hope Becomes Reality

Yesterday's presentations of the Surgery Project gift was held at The War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City with one of my heroes, Madame Dang Hong Nhut officiating the ceremony. For more on her amazing story click here.

About 60 people gathered, mostly children, parents and officials of Viet Nam Victims of Agent Orange organization. Six children who had previously undergone reconstructive surgeries as well the children awaiting the next round of surgeries were both present.

Madame Nhut spoke about the types of surgeries and the impact they have on the children and families. Several were carried forward by parents because they cannot walk. The surgeries make walking on their own for the first time in their lives a reality. Many of the recipients are in their late teens, a critical time in life for becoming independent in living and working.

Asked to address the gathering, I stood looking out at the room full of beautiful, yet burdened faces and felt the weight and importance of offering a public apology for our government's decision to spray Agent Orange on their homeland and their people.

After the presentation Mr. Son, a Vietnamese veteran and American veteran Ray Cocks joined together to provide lively music and celebration.

Those receiving surgeries left the gathering to go directly to pre op appointments as the reconstructive procedures will be preformed sometime within the next two weeks. Please remember these courageous children and their families as they encounter this new and often frightening experience.

Thank you again to all who donated to CORE's Children's Surgery Fund. You have helped to bring hope of a healthy and productive future to these children and their families.

Gifts Flow Both Ways

Gifts Flow Both Ways

My intention was to write a second blog post during our free day yesterday, but instead  found myself going with the flow of life around me so I enjoyed riiding a bicycle in Hoi An, visiting with wonderful Vietnamese friends and climbing beautiful Marble Mountain. Another full day!

Under the great leadership of John Fisher and guide Vu Duc Anh (Anh) we've managed to pack a lot in, and each experience deserves much more than a mention, but time is tight.

On Saturday, We held a simple, but  moving Memorial ceremony at the feet of the beautiful 40 story white marble Quan Am near Da Nang for 4 veterans who've recently passed, all due to cancer caused by agent orange.

The team's humanitarian work has included  gifting a cow to a very poor woman who was so happy to hear she would be receiving a cow that she wasn't able to eat or sleep for 2 days. Through a translator she said she kept thinking it was a dream!

In Hue, The team also presented scholarships to 22 students enabling them to continue their education. In VN children receive free education through grade 5 and after that families must pay for them to continue making it impossible for many. These students are all very hard working, but without the scholarships they could not afford to continue their schooling or pursue their dreams. 

We've held two of three clinics so far. The first was at Friendship Village, a facility started by an American veteran, where young adults affected by agent orange are taught a marketable trade, and also a place where Vietnamese veterans can go for respite and treatment.  The second clinic was held in Hue at a home for the disabled and elderly.

During clinics participants are first anointed with essential oils made possible through a very generous donation given by Young Living Oils. Several drops are placed in the palms which they rub together and then inhale. The healing properties of the plants in the oil help to relax, calm, and release tension, clearing the way to receive healing through touch. Each participant receives a chiropractic adjustment from John Fisher followed by body work from one of our 3 very gifted massage therapists, Tonya Mayes, Valerie Broas and Michael Broas. Time passes quickly, as veteran Ray Cocks plays his guitar and sings for those who were waiting. 

The effects of war on clinic participants are obvious and numerous. Missing and deformed limbs, faces holding years of tension from pain, and scares of bullet wounds provide blatant reminders of the toll of war on the human body. Despite the physical residue of war the Vietnamese people posess a mysterious inherent joy, most likely the result of their willingness to forgive.

Before we began the clinic at Friendship Village, veteran participants were asked where they'd served during the American war. Almost all responded the Central Highlands region highlands, which happens to be where 3 of the vets on our team served. This created a swell of energy as we all sat with the likelihood that former enemies would soon be giving and receiving healing from one another through skin to skin touch. There's not an ounce of doubt that during clinics gifts run both ways. There's a palpable sentiment amongst the team, that we receive much more then we give. That's the healing power of love!

After the clinic, veteran Michael Boras shared the story of asking a VN veteran about what appeared to be a bullet wound in the middle of his back, to which the man responded "American". Then the man proceeded to lay face down on Michael's table in total trust, an amazing gesture of forgiveness!

Memorial Day love from Viet Nam, Paula

From the Land of Love and Healing!

We've been on Vietnamese soil for just over 3 days and already the team is feeling very full! The radical hospitality of these people and this land is truly beyond words, but I'll give it my best try by sharing a couple of highlights in the very short amount of time available.

On our first full day we traveled by bus, boat, and tram to reach the beautiful Perfume Pagoda near Hanoi. At the top of a lush mountain we made our way to the opening of a huge womb like cave todiscover large altars overflowing with incense, flowers and offerings to ancestorrs and Buddhists monks, nuns and novices drumming and chanting. The sounds were mesmerizing as the ceremonial vibrations penetrated the Earth, bringing a sense of healing and protection to a land which has known hundreds of years of war and trauma. Like a prayer from the inside out!

I learned that this is the place of pilgrimage that each Vietnamese Buddhist is expected to make at least once in their life time.  Having traveled through the countryside and seen the extreme living conditions of the people, I can only imagine the hardship and sacrifice it might take for many to accomplish this dream. I was mindful of my own privilege in having arrived in this sacred place with ease, and I also sensed this powerful experience the blessing of our team and the pilgramage we're making.

A beautiful, and talented 26 year old Vietnamese woman named Quinn Pham has a special relationship with trip leader John Fisher. We were so happy that she was able to join us for our 1st 2 days. On the 2nd day she accompanied us to the countryside village where we were welcomed into the very humble home of her grandparents Pham Din Cgang, 89 and Nguyen Thi Quanh 75. Cgang (her Grandfather) was a soldier for decades fighting against the French, and also serving as the personal body guard of General Giep, the most prominent military leader in Viet Nam's war for independence, not only from the Americans but the Chinese, Japanese and French as well. He is a tiny, spry man with an uncontainable spirit and a smile that is beyond contagious. It struck me he seemed to be one of the happiest people I've met, despite the fact that he's seen so much war and destruction of his people and his land. 

Our guide Anh explained it beautifully by saying "The way of the Vietnamese people is not to carry anger from the past into the present. What is in the past is over, so there is not room in our hearts to carry hatred. Love in the present moment is what matters."  

I found myself imagining what the world look like if we all followed the way of Viet Nam, the Land of Love and Healing!

                           

                                    American and Vietnamese Veterans united as friends!