I have been on three mission trips before this one, and none have left such a potent impact as Vietnam did. Other trips focused on giving the people medicine, houses, or food, but that was not the main purpose of this mission. The trip, although seeing these corporal necessities as important, surprised me at how much deeper the objective change was.
We didn’t go primarily to give them food or houses, but education and love. And the biggest difference was that, although the people suffered from the government and the way they were taken advantage of, they some how made things work. They figured out how to make their food and build their houses, living off the land instead of the government. It was beautiful to see humans without the artificial and masked culture of America; natural humans and their interactions were surprisingly beautiful. But with this beautiful innocence came the ability to be used and manipulated, and this was so sad to see.
I saw amazing mothers who fought to take care of the children— Fathers who work hard for their food and drink. Children in the more rural Montagnard villages had one, maybe two, pairs of cloths. The elderly got sick and the teenagers married; families started very early. Animals ran wild through the roads, and fields of coffee lined the muddy roads. But through all this, I was surprised to see, not their poverty, but their raw humanity.
They were all just normal families, just like the ones here. The only difference is that they are so suppressed by the government because of there simplicity that they can’t leave. When I realized this, I realized the purpose of the mission. We were not there to cheer people up, or give them a good day. We were on the mission to make their lives better — to help change their lives. This mission is something that changes the lives, culture, and country.
My eyes were opened. The world changes not by haughty arguments and battles of words, but by sacrificing ourselves for those who have nothing to sacrifice. As Catholics, if we wait until we have the chance to convert an atheist in a heated battle, as we always daydream about, we will never do anything; the world changes with our daily death to self, and death to others. I was shown that to bring people into a better life, and a stronger faith. It comes through the liturgy we can bring to them, and the extension of the liturgy, as we spend time with them. Without Christ in the Eucharist, we only act as social workers – instead of Christians! Without Christ in the poor, we act as the pharasies and let the poor rot. This reflected the words of the God made man:

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. And the second is like to this: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” (Matthew 22:36-40)

The beauty in the people was amazing, and it broke my heart to leave. I returned home with a hope to see them again, but also a fear for the villages that would not be fortunate enough to one day receive help. I pray that they one day might receive education and weight in the government.
I hope that the friends I made can grow in their faith and become warriors for liberty. But most of all, I hope and I pray that by the actions of our mission, and the works of future trips, God, above all things, may be glorified.

Matthew P. Harrison II
Seminarian for the Diocese of Charlotte.