First Event – Nursing Home Dieu Phap

Hello everyone!

This is a recap of the Mayflower Foundation’s nursing home event, where our team went to Dieu Phap to have small conversations with the elderly!

It was a simple day, yet one that left an unexpectedly deep imprint on all of us.
That morning, we stepped into the nursing home with small gift bags including biscuits, milk, rice, necessities, and some shy, stumbling hellos. No one told us to be solemn, but somehow, we all walked a little softer, spoke a little quieter, as if afraid to disturb the delicate stillness of the place.
Some elders were already waiting. Others sat by the windows, gazing out in silence. And then, some greeted us with warm smiles, like old friends reunited after a long time.
When an elderly woman began to sing, time seemed to slow. Her voice, though frail, carried a weight that words alone could never hold. We all paused—some smiled, others tapped gently along to the rhythm 🎶. The song wasn’t just music; it was a memory, a life’s worth of tenderness folded into each note.
After the gifts were shared, we sat down to have lunch with them. The meal was modest, yet filled with a quiet kind of warmth. One elder posed for a photo with us. Another told us stories — small fragments of a life once full of noise and color. We simply listened — nodded, smiled — and, at some point, realized how deeply grateful we were. Just to be there. Just to share a humble, honest meal.
Then came the tidying — wiping tables, gathering trash, straightening chairs. Nothing grand, yet none of us minded. Each person offered a hand, not for recognition, but because the heart asked for it. We weren’t just cleaning — we were staying a little longer in that stillness, making the space feel a bit more held.
We didn’t walk away empty-handed. We left with soft eyes, trembling handshakes that held on a little longer, and a quiet gentleness that clung to our hearts long after 🌷. And most of all, we left with a quiet certainty: that if we choose to live with sincerity — if we slow down, just a little — we can offer someone a pocket of warmth in the midst of a rushing world. Just a little warmth. But something profoundly real.