Epilogue: We are now at home, but we have to ask ourselves, “What did we accomplish?” “Was it of any meaningful value?” This team was a group of very successful people who made a commitment to make their goal significance. Success is often a destination that has never filled the deep longings of one’s life. The success we’ve known is often insignificant wood, hay and stubble to be consumed by fire, revealing only what is of significance. Significance can be defined by each individual’s character, values, virtues, faith and the ability to build meaningful relationships. We all believe that in the end, when we have to give an account of our lives, this significance will be “stored treasures.”
For many who came on this trip, this has been a crossroads. This was a group of real “performers,” who have spent a good portion of their lives trying to stay on the cutting edge. By coming to Vietnam, many were scared of being like a fisherman who might fish all night but, if all didn’t go well, might return exhausted with empty nets. But in our concern for success, we were told to push into deep water and cast our nets on the other side of the boat. Pushing into deep water was hazardous and the risk of failure was great. This might not have seemed like the way to achieve success, but we found our return was so great our boat almost sank!
As we started our trip, we listed our goals: 1) to build friendships, 2) to give the Vietnamese what they wanted most, state of the art medical training, and 3) to share our hearts. We did all of these in a very wonderful way. Seeking success was never listed as our goal, but through the emotions of peace and patience, we truly accomplished all of our goals.
Significance. It is imperishable. It is eternal. Mission accomplished! Thank you for your support!
