I awoke to a beautiful sunny morning & after hearing the sounds of the traffic singing to each other, knew I was finally home in Vietnam.
I’m not a morning person & due to jet lag I slept in & missed breakfast. Mum is a much better traveller than me & for some reason at her age, she was still able to make the hotel breakfast. Of course, I just had to order room service ;O)
Whilst waiting for room service I was surfing FB; one of my FB friends Laura Beth had shared one of the most moving links about an American who returned a photo to a woman whose father (a VC soldier) he had killed during the war. It was so emotional & I was moved to tears. After all these years he had found her. The gentleman was humble & you can see that he had carried the burden of what had happened for so many years, the lady was so forgiving. The clip also gave me hope in humanity & that forgiveness on both sides is paramount to moving forward.
Viet Photo – A Man Returns
I also thought that if the gentleman could find the daughter of the man he shot during a time of war, then one day I will find my birth mother & thank her for giving birth to me & leaving me at Go Vap orphanage. I first started my search in 2007 & wish I had started sooner. The older I become, the risk of my birth mother still being alive decreases, but for some reason I believe my journey is one that I was supposed to take & if I do not find her, then at least I will be helping the orphans of Vietnam in some small way.
I have already called Peter Hoa Stone (another adoptee who has returned to Vietnam & built his own orphanage) & hope to meet him next week & get advice on how I too can build my own orphanage.
I am now on my way to meet Son Michael Pham (founder of Kids Without Borders), & we will be visiting the younger ‘Teach Me To Fish’ students at Go Vap orphanage.
I can’t wait to see their faces as they think I will be visiting them on Monday!
Love to all!
Kim
xox