Final Mission Letter Dear Family and Friends I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, I arrived home (with all my luggage) on Tuesday night. After a shower, I went straight to bed. It was a total of 32 hours traveling and I since started at 10PM at night, I was glad to see my bed. Somehow I managed to pick up a little head cold but am better as of today. Everyone pitched in and we had Thanksgiving dinner at my house. Tomorrow I return to work. And what is all this white stuff you have on the ground here? I could do without that so soon! Mission Success: The final total number of patients seen at my site was just under our goal of 500. I think we saw 493 patients. Not a bad week. So much more goes into a mission than just the number of patients you see. There were lots of small successes with the special needs patients. And then there are the new friendships you make, the new things you learn, the amazing team members you work with, the adorable children you are help and more. Every mission is different, and special in it’s own way. I am glad I went on this one. Friday night was the dinner with the American Consulate at her home. We had a delicous buffet and open bar. Her home is lovely and comfortable by our standards but over the top by Hanoi standards. We ate out in her garden and she spoke to us about how important Operation Smile had been to establishing relations again with the US and Vietnam after the war. It was the 25th Anniversary of OP Smile being in Vietnam, but the US has only had an Embassy in Vietnam for 20 years. It was the relationship that OP Smile had made by doing cleft palate surgeries that paved the path for our government to establish a communication with Vietnam. From that, more American bodies were returned after the war. She said that when you are kind to someones children, then people appreciate who you are and respect you more. I had no ideas that these missions had been so helpful to the US. I am so proud to be part of this organization. Saturday night was the final farewell party and dinner for all the teams. They held it at the hotel I was at when I first arrived. When we entered, there was a large winter/snow display that you could take pictures in front of. Much to my surprise, the dental students where there waiting for us. They had been invited at the last minute. I was so glad to see them again. One brought me a small figurine of a traditional Vietnamese woman. We took lots of pictures, checked out our Facebook status with each other and then had dinner together. The evening went fast. At the end, a dental student that I had worked with about 5 years ago stopped by to say hello. When he said that I had thought him how to scale teeth years ago, the dental students gave a big smile. We talked about how the clinic had changed and of course took more pictures. I must have visited too long because I missed the bus back to my hotel and had to catch a taxi with some nurses from the UK. Saturday, Sunday and Monday; I visited with my old friends from the previous missions as much as possible. Saturday we went to a craft fair that the Consulate had suggested. I shopped with my husband in Delaware via texting. It was fun for him to get pictures and then tell we what he wanted me to buy. I don’t remember if I told you before, but I had unlimited texting from AT&T for just $30. It worked out so well. I was able to speak to my family anytime and able to contact the friends in Hanoi anytime I needed. I also spent time at Le’s apartment the day I left (Monday). My send off was a dinner buffet with Le, her husband, her parents and of course Cookie. It has become a tradition to go to this really nice restaurant to eat and then go to the airport. Good byes are very hard. There will not be a mission next year so we plan to visit on Facebook. That will just have to do for now. Well thanks for listening to me go on and on. I hope I was able to give you a flavor for what happens on one of these missions. I know that I had lots of love and prayers keeping me strong while I was away. I come away from this experience feeling truly blessed. Thank-you for your support. God bless, Linda
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 12:21:50 +0000
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