Local Group Reaches Denver Tired But Eager to See Pope

After a grueling 26-hour trip, breakdowns and torrential rain, more than 800 Vietnamese-Americans from Orange County arrived here Tuesday, glassy-eyed from exhaustion but still excited in anticipation of meeting Pope John Paul II.

Despite their fatigue from the nonstop bus ride, the group promptly set up sleeping quarters, which consisted of side-by-side sleeping bags on the concrete floors of two local churches.

Then, they trudged to the church gym, where they spent three hours practicing Vietnamese songs and dances to get ready for World Youth Day, a Vatican-sponsored celebration that begins today.

“Even though the bus ride was long and tiring, I think I’m actually gathering momentum the more I think about what’s coming up,” 20-year-old Han Mai of Hunting Beach said Tuesday as she took a break from her singing. Her voice was hoarse, proof “of just how excited I and all the others are about this unbelievable possibility” of seeing the Pope.

Mai and the rest of the Orange County Vietnamese-American contingent have been granted an audience with the Pope, who, when World Youth Day festivities end Sunday, will address the Vietnamese community. It is the only such meeting the pontiff has granted to an ethnic group.

The Pope created World Youth Day seven years ago to recognize and encourage the religious participation of international Catholic youths and young adults, 13 to 39.

He is meeting with 10,000 to 15,000 Vietnamese from around the world--the 800 from Orange County make up the largest delegation--in lieu of the visit to Vietnam, where the Communist government doesn’t recognize the Vatican and will not ensure the pontiff’s safety.

The Orange County group departed from Garden Grove early Monday in a caravan of 19 chartered buses. To pass time, the riders played cards, heartily sang songs, listened to music and slept. Most of the buses arrived here by noon Tuesday.

Four of the buses weren’t as fortunate as they either overheated several times or were lost along the way and reached Denver up to six hours after the others.

The bus carrying a group of North County youths was one of the stragglers.

“I’d like to forget the whole trip experience, but I’m afraid I won’t ever be able to,” said Quang Vu, 17, of Yorba Linda. He and 43 other hot and sweaty riders were sitting on the bus, waiting for the temperature to cool so it could make the last leg into Denver.

According to Vu and other riders, the bus overheated and had to stop three times in the deserts of California, Arizona and Utah. They said the air conditioning conked out and, to make matters worse, the light in the bus restroom went out and the toilet backed up.

“We were hot and things smelled pretty bad in here,” said John Tran, 16, of Buena Park. “Yep, no one is going to forget this bus ride for a long time. I can’t wait till the real fun starts.”

He wasn’t disappointed. Once his bus chugged into the parking lot at St. Vincent de Paul church, Tran and his fellow riders were greeted by cheering, relieved friends and chaperons.

“I know you’re exhausted and hot, so if you need to take a shower, wait several more minutes while we finish setting it up over there,” said Cuong Tran, the delegation’s leader. He pointed to a red and white makeshift tent and several water hoses and buckets nearby.

“They say you shouldn’t have too much material things when you’re on a pilgrimage,” one teen-ager murmured. “We’re definitely on a pilgrimage now.”

No one seemed to mind the spartan conditions they will live with for the next several days.

“I’ve been waiting for this trip for so long that anything, just anything, will be worth it,” said Huong Mai, 27, of Westminster, as she unrolled her sleeping bag on the floor.

“I’m going to meet lots of people and make new friends and everything will be capped off with seeing the Pope,” Mai said. “What can beat that?”

Inside the church gym, a group leader asked that same question in Vietnamese and a crowd replied: “Nothing!”

“The long trip, even the portable showers, just make this whole experience much more memorable,” said Han Mai as she and hundreds of others joined hands to sing a Vietnamese folk song. “And the best is still to come,” she said.