Letting Go of A 20 Year Dream, Part 2 ~ Day 48

( Part of... Your Dreams Can Change, Part 6)

This blog is a lengthy one to conclude the many chapters of "Dreams," so please keep reading the end of the "rest of the story" :)

One of the hardest things I did was to finally let go of my 20 year dream!

Still today, I truly appreciated the last opportunity to share "the financial idea with my fellow orphans" on that fateful trip to Dallas!  It gave me a conclusion to finally “let go, let God”, and helped me reached the peaceful place I am today.

My presentation explained how we could collectively do something that would help fund the orphanage project.  Quite simply, if we all purchased our gas and our electricity from Stream Energy, they would donate a portion of each person’s bill into our non-profit organization, once it was established.  And the bonus to all the members included an average utility bill that would be 10% below the average rate of all the Texas utility companies that sold gas and electricity!  It was a win-win!!  The orphanage non-profit fund received a donation every time a utility bill was paid, and the person who was paying the bill received cheaper gas and electric.  Also, if the members could get their friends, neighbors, or extend Texas families to purchase their gas & electricity from Stream Energy, they would also get a cheaper utility rate, AND a MONTHLY donation from Stream Energy would be deposited in the non-profit fund every time a utility bill was paid!! 

Wow, a no brainer!

Looking back, I knew little about the multi-marketing business, but I saw that with teamwork and hard work we could easily make this business plan succeed. We had all the right ingredients; dedicated people with a common focus and purpose, who would be driven to success by their dream of building an orphanage.  

All we had to do was commit ourselves to lowering our utility bills, encouraging others to lower their utility bills, and then let the non-profit fund reap the financial rewards.

Perhaps I was naïve to think each orphan in our group would be as committed to this dream as I was.  All we had to do was purchase our gas and electricity from this successful, fast growing, and innovative utility company located right in our own Dallas, Texas, back yard.  What could be simpler?  Do this and we keep our dream alive!!

After presenting this “dream funding idea” to my fellow orphans, I learned much more about the dynamics of the orphanage group, and how each one of the orphans had changed, including myself.

The Cam Ranh City Orphans in Dallas, Texas 1975

After any business presentation, I expect dialogue, questions & answers, and then yes and no decisions on the part of each of the participants.  Each person could choose to participate or not participate, with no hard feelings either way.

To simply say the results were unexpected would be grossly understated.  Not one person in the group was willing to try this money making opportunity for our orphanage dream.  There was absolutely no financial risk to the individual, and only financial rewards for the non-profit initiative, yet not one person had the foresight or the courage to change their utility company.  I was speechless to say the least.  

Indeed, I learned it was more than a business trip, for me!  It was an awakening!!  It was as if I was a total stranger, a foreigner to this Vietnamese group in Dallas, and their way of thinking, and where they were in life, and where I was in life.

I’ve matured to accept and respect everyone’s different journey in life, each with their own American up bringing after leaving the homeland,…to understand that our dreams and desires to help “orphans of Vietnam” may be similar, but how we approach it was completely different.

There are so many wonderful stories and journeys within our group that still need to be told. I pray that each one can share his/her story some day! 

A promise I kept to my Headmaster.

Anyway, this little “business” reunion in Dallas left a very bad taste of sadness and disappointment for me.  Not because the business idea to finance the orphanage dream was rejected, but because of the disconnectedness and underlying “bitterness” among my own orphanage group.

I knew from my experience in Dallas that my own philanthropy journey was not going to be saddled with fear or mistrust, rather I wanted to live with joy in my heart, to help others, like my Headmaster did and to appreciate God’s many blessings.

After gaining these new insights, I was ready to “let go and let God” with a prayer for the two greatest blessings that Pastor Ha, Mrs. Ha, Co Xuan and all the adult staff of our orphanage gave each one of us as orphans, like any good parent gives to their child… ROOTS and WINGS! 

I am forever grateful that God gave me roots as an orphan in Vietnam, and I am equally grateful that He granted me wings at an age when I was mature enough to use them. 

It was time to make a choice and decide where my wings would take me next!  

The possibilities of Dreams are limitless

 After lengthy discussion with my husband, my partner, we both agreed that my dream will end here.  I would write a check as my family’s charitable donation toward the “Cam Ranh City Orphanage” group.  The money was to help orphans and churches in Vietnam, and was to be delivered by the Dallas group when they traveled on a planned trip to Vietnam six month later.  I also closed my 501c3 organization forever.

It is still an important, worthy dream for several in that group, but my supportive husband knew my dream (#4 on my list) that I held near and dear to my heart for 20 years, ended on my flight back to Rome, Georgia, in March, 2010.

I was peacefully done and felt complete with this dream, and said a prayer to let God bless our contribution toward helping others continue the journey.  

Today, I thank God for His many, many blessings He has given to me and my family.

Ready for my next dreams!

With Love & God’s Blessings,

Hai