Four Chapters of Love

Nguyễn Thùy Yến Xuân

I envision Toronto’s Chien Con with a multitude of accomplishments of which to be proud; an abundance of old and new faces dedicated to each other and to our original mission; a myriad of hands linked as we find our God through ourselves and through one another.

The future of Chien Con begins now.  It begins in its current members and in our dedication.  I dream that every month we may continue to meet with the same enthusiasm and high expectations.  I want to see each member contribute to these meetings:  their organization, their coordination, their creativity, their success, and most importantly to their continuation.

I would love to see our members voice their concerns, their own personal visions for Chien Con and to take the initiative to actualize such visions.  Chien Con needs no single leader.  What it needs is for all its members to understand our mission and to personally accept each member’s role in ensuring we work together to maintain our group.  We could benefit from an improved sense of organization and communication.

I foresee that Chien Con will continue to be the driving force behind many projects.  Most importantly, to the organization and implementation of the much anticipated “Come and See” and “Thalithakoum”s of the future.  That Chien Con will facilitate Dong Hanh’s participation in 2002’s World Youth Conference to be held in Toronto.

I would love to see Chien Con dedicate itself to some special causes or projects and persistently and consistently be motivated to be generous, caring, and sensitive to needs of our community and abroad.

I want to have the community look upon Chien Con and trust that we are a motivated group with a purpose.  That we are a group of wholesome, perseverant, and loving youths; not perfect youths, but youths with loving intentions and good hearts.  The community, the church, and the families will all support us in our goals, our projects, and our visions; both spiritually and financially.  Parents will not hesitate, but encourage their children to participate and be an integral component of Chien Con.  Younger children will look up to the Chien Con members as positive role models and look forward with anticipation to becoming themselves an integral component of this group.

I imagine Chien Con’s dance performance to highlight the annual church Christmas Concert; to be  youthful, imaginative, creative, and full of life.

I dream that our group cohesion may develop into a lasting trust bond; that we may all see each other as friends and value that friendship.  I want to see these friendships flourish within the group and beyond.  I want Chien Con to have fun together, to enjoy being with one another, and to cherish the  memories being made.

Chien Con is nothing but a name without its members.  We are Chien Con and without our love for each other, for the group and for our vision, we are but lost sheep.  We must recognize that we have indeed accomplished a great deal.  We began as a group of youths with nothing more than a shared desire to come together and find God’s peace amidst our busy lives.  Today, I pray that we do not become overwhelmed by the responsibility we have almost accidentally inherited, but motivated to undertake these tasks and aspire to be a model for future youths to emulate.  Let us be the Chien Con we have always envisioned; a group worthy of each member’s dedication and the support of our community.  A group to be echoed in the future winds of change.  We have much of which to be proud.

Never overlook our past accomplishments...
Never neglect our vision...
Never cease to imagine our potential...
The future is now.
The future is forever

Nguyen Thuy Yen Xuan

Toronto - Canada