Pieces of my Heart

Thiếu Nhi.These two words conjure up memories laid in dusty photo albums and forgotten among worn-out sneakers.  Thiếu Nhi.  That’s what my superiors told me will be one of my ministries or “jobs” in Texas.  I had finished my first year of teaching in Kansas City, Missouri and I looked forward to another exciting challenging year.  Yet, as always, I knew that whenver God asks, He blesses and rewards a hundredfold. 
I had left Thiếu Nhi when I was 15, a Nghĩa Sỹ.  I left because I felt I wanted to try the life of a sister, a nun.  It has been a rewarding journey.  But the years as a Thiếu Nhi was no less “rewarding”.  It didn’t matter thay my đoàn was small.  Or that we “sinh hoạt” on uneven broken black tar parking lots because we didn’t have a church.  Or when it was đoàn’s bổn mạng, our festivities consisted in a 2 inch by 3 inch cake apiece.  Or that some of its huynh trưởng was very Vietnamese, conservative, and considered you a traitor if you spoke English more fluently than Vietnamese.  Which happened to be me and my best friend. 
Somehow,Thiếu Nhi was special because of the laughter that we shared when Anh Hội, our Thiếu Huynh Trưởng showed up bald one Sunday and we all got to see our reflection on his head!  Or the sense of accomplishment we felt when we successfully “cắm lều” and it didn’t fall on on our face during trại đoàn.  Like it did the summer before.  Thiếu Nhi became an indelible mark in my life  because we saw the look of determination on Chị Nhung’s face as she tried to teach us about Thánh Thể when we cared more about that “special him or her”.  I left these treasured Sundays to move to Lincoln, Nebraska, where I began my initial formation as a sister.  I had thought I had left Thiếu Nhi forever.  But God has a sense of humor.
Because I’m in Thiếu Nhi again. 
Looking back on the last years I have with you, Thiếu Nhi of Miền Nam, I feel:  WOW!  What a blessing it has been for me to be with you.  I think:  Thank you Thiếu Nhi!  Thank you God!  And I want to say in the words of St. Paul to his young friend, Timothy, “Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” (1 Tim 4:12)  And this, you have done for me.

Sr. Janine Ngọc Vân, CMR

Dòng Trinh Vương (Sisters of Mary Queen)
469 – 417 – 0123
Email address:  srjanine@yahoo.com
Website:  www.trinhvuong.org
Summer Come and See dates:  July 10 -13, 2008 in Dallas, Texas

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