Agape

 If you were to force me to describe this project in one word it would be,

agape.

Unconditional love, without condition, care for the other, despite it being difficult, despite cultural, religious, or language barriers. The idea that all persons are deserving and are worth the effort. 

This past week in Coban, in Antigua, and especially in clinic at Ciudad de Esparanza, I have been exposed to what I believe is this idea of unconditional love directly in action. I witnessed medical providers go above and beyond in their responsibilites, to ensure that patients are given the resources they deserve. I have seen students pour their hearts out to the children of Coban, playing football, tag, and creating a community that welcomes togetherness and family. 

Though I was only able to experience this project for a week, I have seen the ripple effect that hope and commitment has on both the community of Guatemala, but also the medical staff and the students.

This experience has allowed me to reflect not only on the culture of a foreign country but also has opened my eyes to the privledge and the emotional poverty that is rampant in my own country and the world today.

There are many, many days in my life where I feel a sense of despair, worthlessness, as if hope is lost. The belief that as the world evolves more and more, less and less people will be willing to speak up, create change, fight the social norms, create that ripple that motivates and influences difference, embody agape. 

That belief I now know is incorrect.

Despite how gloomy the world may seen today, there are numbers of communities and people across the globe that I can’t see or possibly even imagine who are at a constant battle pouring their heart and themselves in order to create a more just and true world. 

It only takes one person to come up with an idea, but it is with a community of individuals where change is made.

Words are nowhere enough for me to describe that I feel that there are truly no boundaries and obstacles that can not be overcome with the action of love. There are of course times of doubt, times where it seems easier to quit. But, despite the doubt and hate, this journey has taught me to turn those emotions into kindness, into an idea, and then into action. Because hate and love are what I believe to be, two sides of the same coin.

Because love is truly a gift that can create real miracles in the world today, I have seen it for myself, and it is something that is especially needed now as the world continues to change.

If there is anything substantial to take from this blog and this experience, 

I ask you.

Love thy brother, love thy sister, and especially, love thyself.

-Vincent Nguyen