Karen New Year

balancing a bamboo tray while walking game

volleyball competition

This year was a special year as the Karen New Year lined up with the regular New Year. I don’t know exactly what that means, but I guess there’s switches for some reason… No one quite ever explained to me why, this is just what I’ve heard. Usually they celebrate the Karen New Year somewhere else, but this year they changed to celebrate at our school. So, for the last two days they’ve been playing volleyball and dagraw to get the bracket down to the final games of the competition. Then, this morning they had the semi’s and finals, and also different Karen Traditional games. One where they put the flat bamboo trays on their heads and had to walk, tug of war, sack races, and a game similar to the game Crazy Bones we played as children, only they lined up 30 rocks on each side then had 30 rocks that each team threw at the other teams line to try to knock them down. Whichever team knocked over all of the other team’s first was the winner. Some of the men got really intense about playing, and so it was funny to see full grown men getting nervous about throwing rocks.

the 3 year old who has claimed me as his girlfriend since the
first day I got here.

one of the bible college boys playing the rock game.

I did some work around the house this morning, then headed over to the school to see what was going on. I talked to several people, watched several of the games, and took pictures. As I was watching the stone throwing game, three of the students I had taught at the bible institute came and talked to me. They asked if I was lonely because every event they had seen me at over the Christmas season I went to along. I explained that I usually have people with me and once I get to the events I have people to talk to, so I’m not very lonely. They then took it upon themselves to be my friend for the day, so we talked while they waited for their turn to play the rock game, then as they played they checked every few throws to make sure I was still watching. After they finished playing they told me there was lunch provided at the lunch hall, so we went over and they made sure that I got something to eat, ate with me, then washed my dishes and gave me a glass of water. After we finished eating, they took me to where some of the other students were watching/playing the traditional games. The three of them challenged me and three of the girls to play tug of war, 3 against 4. I can say that the girls easily beat them. So, they made us play again, we still won, so they switched sides, added another guy, and we added another girl. We still won. Poor boys…eh I don’t feel too bad, it was their idea. Somehow they then got me to do a sack race against two of the girls, but I came in last. I don’t think I tried very hard.

Setting up the rocks

my tug of war skills in action

After the games were over, one of them started talking to me in Thai about the Karen people. He explained that the Karen people are like Israel in which they have been given chance after chance to better themselves and yet they didn’t listen to God and disobeyed, so here they are today a nationless people with no country of their own to call home. He also explained that the Karen language is in danger of becoming extinct as more and more they are integrating into other cultures. Many have been deported to other countries as refugees, and are integrating into those societies and losing their Karen language and traditions along the way. I have seen this myself as many teachers at my school are Karen, and can speak Karen, however, there are quite a few whose children can’t understand or speak any Karen. Here you have Karen people who are educated, who know both languages, who work here in Thailand and they are neglecting to teach their children the Karen language, culture, and traditions. He told me that he is writing a script for a movie that they will produce at the bible institute that is about two Karen families, one who teaches their children the Karen culture and language, and one family who neglects to teach their child anything about being Karen. The movie is supposed to show the Karen people the importance of teaching their children about being Karen so that the language and culture aren’t lost forever. As I was talking to him I realized the importance of this. Being from America, I am a product of the melting pot. I can’t even tell you all of the different ethnicities that are mixed inside of me, I can guess at a few, but because I haven’t talked to my family about it in a few years I have forgotten. As a result my family hasn’t kept any traditions from out different heritages and has just adopted those that are “American.” It made me sad because I realized what I have lost and what I’m missing out on by losing those things. What will I teach my children about where we came from if I don’t even know? These people are fortunate that they have kept their traditions and culture for so long, and after talking to the boy today I just hope and pray that they will realize how fortunate they are to have such strong traditions, culture, and a language and that they won’t give that up to “fit in” to another culture. Even now, I know that most of my Karen students can speak Karen, but very few if any can read and write it. Sometimes I have found myself being sad when I try to talk to a small child just to realize that they only have been spoken to in Karen so don’t understand Thai, however, now I know that I need to appreciate what the parents are giving that child as they teach them their native language first before Thai or anything else. I also have found myself frustrated at church when communion services and prayers are in Karen, however, now I realize that they need to keep that as part of their culture, so can appreciate that when they do these things and I don’t understand it, I need to rejoice because they are keeping their language, and not be frustrated because they don’t use my second language. I’m a visitor here, and part of that job is to teach them to appreciate their native language and culture, I was able to do that by participating in the Karen New Year and will try to continue to do that by learning about the Karen people, their culture, and some of their language.

just part of the balloons we blew up

We were then called to go to a building to help blow up balloons, I took a handful and blew them up, then did a second handful before leaving to come home and take a nap. They told me there would be things going on from seven until midnight to bring in the New Year, so I wanted to be rested up so I could stay up that late and enjoy the festivities. I rested, and ate supper, then headed back over around six.

singing in Karen

As I was walking over to the school, I was stopped by a group of students who had one boy who they wanted me to talk to. It turned out he was one of the students from a program that has Burmese college age students come over, and study for two years. They learn English, computer skills, and teaching skills, then when they are finished, they are required to go back to their community to serve for at least two years. I talked to the boy for about an hour, about the program, where he came from, what he was planning on doing, my family, what I was doing, etc… He also told me every place he had seen me since I got here which was a little weird, but not creepy as it was his way of showing me he had seen me around and knew about me. It was really wonderful to have a conversation fully in English, we couldn’t use Thai as he doesn’t speak Thai, and I don’t know Karen or Burmese, his other two languages. A little after seven he had to go and get ready for the rope dance, and so I went and found the bible college boys as they had told me they would save a place for me.

the rope dance

The evening started off with having all of the planners go up on stage to be recognized, then they had different groups come up throughout the night to do dances, sing a song, give a story about the Karen people, etc. A group from the home that has the two year Burmese program as well as a children’s home did an amazing rope dance which I had never seen before but was very impressed by it. Some of my students were participating, and I was very proud of them. It took a lot of concentration and knowing where to go and what to do so that the ropes got braided and then unbraided. Throughout the dance they would stop and form a letter, eventually spelling out Karen Unity.

the rope dance

Other events they had were two greased bamboo poles for people to try to climb and at the top was a Karen shirt and some money. One was for children and one was for adults. The first child who went made it up on his second try, but he cheated and used a rag to wipe off the vegetable oil. The first man who went also won, and he cheated as well, using two things of fabric to tie one around the pole making a loop for his foot, then untying the other and making a new loop higher up until he got to the top. They also had some type of Karen wrestling where they were in a pile of straw, and had to hold onto each other’s waist band and try to get the other one down, and then on top of them like our wrestling.

the greased bamboo poles with the prize
of a Karen shirt and Baht on the top

The activities went on until midnight, and then everyone went home. They then gathered at six in the morning for a parade to walk to the school, followed by a service where they were told/reminded of the Karen history and sermons were given by both the Christians and Buddhists as this holiday is seen as a day for all Karen’s to be united despite religion.

I really enjoyed the opportunity to participate in the Karen New Year celebration and to learn more about their culture and people group over the last several days. It has helped me to get a better understanding of the people and students I’m working with and how I can help them as I live here together with them.

 

One of the many Karen dancing groups

Things they don't teach you growing up

Living on my own for the first time without a dad, or the university maintenance staff to fix things that go wrong in my house, I’m learning there are many things I never learned how to do on my own that someone should have taught me along the way. Here are two examples:

1.       How to fix the light bulbs here in Thailand. Since I got back from the trip with the choir the light in my room refuses to turn on. It will flash, sometimes for a second, sometimes for a few seconds before turning back off. I tried tapping it with a book to see if it was out of place, but think it’s either burning out, it’s been too cold for it to turn on all the way, or there are other possible problems light bulbs here could have that I don’t even know about. So, for the time being I just let it flicker and then use a flashlight to do what I need to do. It makes getting ready in the morning take a lot longer, using a flashlight to find things, and I have learned to stay downstairs and work in the evening until I’m ready for bed as the lights downstairs are fine, it’s just the one in my bedroom that won’t turn on.

don't worry, even in the midst of water shooting
everywhere I remembered to take a picture :)

2.       How to fix the faucet when water starts shooting out. See, I came home tonight and there was quite a steady drip coming out of the showerhead, so I tried to just turn the water off all the way, and as I did that the handle came off in my hand and water shot all over me, and as I moved aside it shot across the room, out the door and into the kitchen. I took the handle and tried to put it back on in place but couldn’t get the water to stop coming out. I had already locked my house, and didn’t have my phone in the bathroom with me, so calling someone wasn’t an option. I held the handle in place for several minutes trying to figure out what to do, then decided to try to get it to stay in place on its own, once I got it to stay I ran across the way to my neighbor’s house. She wasn’t home, and I accidentally woke up her husband who was sleeping at 7 o’clock. He said to get the janitor, so I went to his house but he wasn’t home. The neighbors husband ended up calling my neighbor who was at the school and had her send the janitor to my house to help me. He came and turned off the water to the entire house to try to fix the problem, but the handle was really broken and he said he has to get a new one. So, he found a little stopper one and put that in place so I could still use water in the rest of the house, and that one just has a slight drip.

So, those are the two things I should have learned to do, but even now that I have a problem I still can’t fix them on my own and am waiting for someone to come and help me. To shower I have to use the hose that I use to fill the washing machine with. I feel like I’m camping as it has been really cold and I’ve been living in two layers of warm clothes, I use a hose to shower with, and a flashlight in my bedroom. Oh well, such is life, it would be boring if everything worked how it’s supposed to all the time right?

Christmas at Jordan Church

The bible institute performed, here's the angel
telling Mary Jesus is coming

There are two churches in my community, the Sangkla church and the Jordan church. After checking out both of them I have decided to attend the Sangkla church most of the time as more of the service is in Thai, it starts earlier, and there are more students that go there. Plus, it is where most of the foreigners go and I just enjoy that service more than at the Jordan church. However, the Sangkla church had their Christmas on Christmas day, and the Jordan’s was today and it was kind of expected that I go, plus I wanted to see what Christmas was like at the churches here. Turns out the Christmas service was a lot of singing specials, I would say there were at least ten different groups that performed, including the schools choir, the group from the bible institute I taught at, and many groups from the church. There was a message, followed by more singing. When the service was over there was a big dinner outside and they handed out bars of soap as presents to everyone. I sat with the doctor from Burma and his family, as well as an American couple that I attend Sunday evening bible study with and have gotten to know a little bit. Overall it was a good service, a wonderful meal and great company. You can’t complain about any of those things. How blessed I am to be taking part in these things in this community, sharing and growing with them.

the shepherds had bamboo poles that were tied so they
were bent, very creative.



the choir performing

this group was from Norway I believe, but were only here for a
 few weeks as their mom was doing research

School's Christmas

Christmas Tree in one of the 6th grade rooms

Today was the school’s Christmas party. Twenty-six people from Chiang Mai Christian School came to help our school celebrate. Last night we had dinner with them, and helped them roll up towels to hand out to the students. They then came and had devotions with us this morning before school. After the morning assembly the students filed into the meeting hall and one of the teachers from Chiang Mai sang while our chaplain played the guitar. They sang many songs, and took the opportunity to introduce the teachers and students who came from Chiang Mai to the students. After the singing and introductions were over, one of the teachers from Chiang Mai gave a message. At the beginning she asked for a student to go up and help her. One of my older fourth graders, Emanuel went up and she gave him a big stuffed Hello Kitty doll. I’m not sure exactly what she said, but basically instructed him to give it to someone he thought deserved a Christmas present and that would enjoy it, or something like that, I didn’t really understand all of the instructions, just that he was supposed to go and give it to

Santa came to talk to our students, he
seems a lot skinnier than I remember :)

someone. Without hesitation he left the stage and made a beeline for me and handed it to me. I really wasn’t sure what was going on as I didn’t really understand the instructions, so I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do with the stuffed animal, but then she said that it was for me and I could keep it as Emanuel had given it to me because he thought I would like it(or something like that). I felt so honored and special that out of all of the 700 people in the room he chose to give it to me. I also felt a little bad as you could tell every student in the room wanted to be chosen. However, I got the feeling that most of them agreed with Emanuel’s decision to give it to me as many of them commented about it to me throughout the day. I haven’t even been here two months yet and I already feel very accepted and loved here. The school is like a big family and they have adopted me in. Throughout the message she talked about giving our best, she talked about the feeling of giving something to someone that you know they will like and how God gave us his son. In the end she had a second Hello Kitty doll that she gave to Emanuel because he so willingly gave up the first one to give to me.

our teacher playing the guitar and a teacher
from Chiang Mai singing

After the message was over, they split into groups by grade and the teachers from Chiang Mai had songs and games for each of the age levels and then they made angels as a craft project. Some of them were very beautiful and some of them need to learn the meaning of the phrase “part of art is knowing when to stop.”

introducing the people from Chiang Mai

When the group activities were finished the students were each given two coupons for lunch. The teachers had split into four groups to prepare food for lunch. They had set up four stations outside around the edge of the field and students could choose two to eat from. I ended up helping serve the khao mun gai which is rice made with chicken broth and then chicken on top with a sauce and soup to go along with it. I was given a bowl to serve the rice with, so by the time I had served several hundred students my hand was super sore from gripping the bowl in such an awkward way. However, it was a labor of love to serve the students so it was worth a little pain in my hand. It got over it quickly.

the choir performing

After lunch was served to everyone the students were free to go, and the teachers were given an hour before our Christmas party was to start. They had initially been going to do it tomorrow night, but then some weren’t going to be here, so they were going to do it tonight, but those who weren’t going to be here tomorrow had to leave tonight, so we just ended up doing it this afternoon and instead of having a potluck dinner they bought cake and drinks for everyone, but still told me to make the dessert I had planned to make. So, I hurried home and made sandwich apple pies. I had prepared the apples last night, so just had to butter the bread, put them together and cook them. I made a big plate and took it to the party, arriving right at the designated time.

Emmanuel with the Hello Kitty doll leaving the stage

and look where it landed :)

To start the party they had an important man from the community who is connected to the school give a message and pray. Then, they chose one person to start the gift giving process. At the beginning of the month we each drew a name and they called it our buddy and we had to get a present for our buddy that was 500 Baht, about $17. The first problem I had was that I didn’t know any of the teacher’s real names so I didn’t know who I had. Luckily we were in a meeting so I had the teacher next to me go around and tell me everyone’s real names so I would know who I had. The second problem came when I realized I had an older teacher who I had barely talked to because every time I try to talk to her she just smiles at me and doesn’t respond. I then spent a few weeks watching her and making observations on what I think she would like. She is a very classy woman who is always dressed nice and so not knowing her house or what she might need at home I found a bag that was crocheted to give to her, and then gave some lotion from home and I had picked up some chocolate on the trip to give to her as well.

students and teachers from Chiang Mai teaching our
students a song/dance about panda bears

To do the presents they chose someone to go first, and then that person got their present and said a few sentences about who they had or why they chose what they did, then they gave it to that person. That person then got their present and did the same thing for their buddy. It was quite interesting as some had just asked their buddy what they wanted and others hadn’t said anything to anyone about who their buddy was. Everyone all month tried to get me to say who my buddy was, but I kept it a secret until I told one person this week to try to get them to help me and see if what I chose was a good idea or not, but she didn’t really say anything other than to agree the

decorating angels

person that I got was very hard to buy for. When it was my turn I received a present that was wrapped in paper that said “Anniversary Wishes” from an older male teacher at my school who is married to another teacher at the school. It really made me laugh when I saw it. I then got my present and gave the intro speech and gave the present to my buddy.

many students took turns hugging my Kitty

After all of the presents were given there were raffle prizes from the school, so we each drew a number and then got a prize accordingly, there were also presents that the school from Chiang Mai had brought for us, so we drew for those as well. I got a huge mug/bowl from the school, and a little change purse from Chiang Mai. The interesting thing about the gift exchange was that no one unwrapped their presents at the party, everyone kept them to take home and open. It was quite the interesting way to do things. When I got my present home and opened it I had an orange ASEAN polo shirt and a pair of pants that are SUPER tight, so I need to get a longer shirt/dress to wear over it and wear them as leggings because they aren’t very appropriate to wear in public by themselves even though the Thais do it, this American doesn’t really fit into one size fits all Thai pants the same as they do…

one of our teachers helping with the hot glue

After presents were finished, cake and my pies were passed around, and each person got a bottle of juice. The party was then finished and so people talked for a while before heading their separate ways. I was so relieved to have the party finished in the afternoon so I had the entire evening to relax after a long day filled with two wonderful parties. I came home and made a smoothie with my new smoothie maker as a treat. It was very delicious, and I can’t wait to practice and learn some recipes to make delicious smoothies with all of the wonderful fresh fruit that is available here J

pots of soup

one of the food stations

of course I needed my picture with Santa



the next several are students showing off their angels

serving a noodle dish



another noodle dish



me scooping the rice for the students with a bowl



the picnic on the field



the food line for the noodle dish

Apple pies I made for the teacher's Christmas



giving the devotion



the present I received, I love the wrapping paper the best :)

My Snowman

My fridge has a frost build-up problem, so when I got back there was a lot of frost to scrape off. Taking care of a fridge is one of those things that they don’t teach you about, so I’m not sure how to stop the buildup, or if that’s just part of living here… Anyways I decided that it was time to scrape off some of the buildup and what better thing to do with the scrapings than to build a snowman? I used toothpicks for arms and tea leaves for the face and buttons. After taking the pictures I wasn’t sure what to do with it, so I took it over to my neighbor’s house and gave it to him, but soon after I handed over the plate the snowman fell apart and that was the end of that. However, I think they were very impressed with my snowman building skills J Are you?

Christmas Beach and Bus Adventures

getting their feet wet

The competition was held only about half an hour away from the beach. So, the students were told if they did a good job and the teachers had a good feeling about their performance they would take them to the beach. Many students had never been that far away from home and had never seen the beach, so it was a special treat for them. We got there and the teachers said they could have half an hour but not get their clothes wet. These students aren’t really shy and they often wear two or three layers of clothes, so most had changed out of their school uniforms on the bus. I hadn’t realized this, so was amazed when they all had on normal clothes when we got off the bus. We went down to the water, and they waded to their knees. I rolled up my pant legs and joined them. I’m a firm believer that you should never pass up an opportunity to put your legs in the water. We talked and took pictures, and many of them did end up getting a little wet despite the teacher’s instructions… Many of them had brought water bottles down to the water and were filling them to take back as presents, and for people to use as medicine I think for open sores or something like that.

enjoying the beach with a studetn

As it was time to go a lady came around and was selling trees and birds made out of shells. Many of the students stopped to buy them, and as I was walking by one of the sixth grade boys held up a bird and said he was going to buy it for me for Christmas. It wasn’t really that cute at all, and I couldn’t tell if he was serious or not, so I tried to tell him not to waste his money, but he handed the lady the money and then gave it to me. I then had the task of finding a place to keep it safe on the bus and now trying to figure out what to do as a thank you for him as I know he is from a home so probably could have used the money for something for himself, but chose to buy a shell turkey/peacock thing for me instead.

collecting salt water to take home

We all loaded back onto the bus and headed for our next stop, the main city of Kanchanaburi and a stop at the Tesco Lotus(a store similar to Wal-Mart or Meijer). I slept for the first hour or so, but then woke up and was thinking about it being Christmas and being away from home. Everyone in the seats in front, next to and behind me were sleeping, so I had no one to talk to and felt very alone on Christmas. I may have shed a few tears before praying and thanking God for the opportunity to return to Thailand, for the connections I’ve made with teachers and students so quickly, and asking Him to continue to bless my time

on of my favorite students who I found out is an orphan

here and that I could make a difference in the lives of those I’m working with. I made a shopping list of the things that I wanted to buy that I can’t get where I am, such as ground cinnamon, tea, popcorn, syrup, pancake mix, peanut butter, and jelly, and things for my Christmas presents, a blender, and a sandwich maker. When we got to the store the teachers said we had half an hour. I wasn’t sure how I was going to find everything in half an hour, so I hurried into the store, used the bathroom then grabbed a cart and went on a search for the things on my list. After quickly picking out a sandwich maker and a blender without really looking at them I started searching for the

of course I needed a pic of my feet in the water

other things I wanted. I went up and down most of the rows only finding popcorn and was getting a little worried when I got to the second to last row and found where they had all of the foreign type things and pretty much checked off everything on my list except tea which I then found pretty easily. I even found things that I wanted that weren’t on the list I made on the bus. As I checked out it felt so good to be buying things that I can use to make food from home for myself and for others. It’s amazing how just a few simple things can make life in remote Thailand seem more manageable. Now having cinnamon, syrup and vanilla I can easily buy bread, eggs and milk and make French toast. Having a sandwich maker and cinnamon I can easily buy apples, bread, and sugar and make apple pie. A home just doesn’t feel like a home without a jar of peanut butter in the cupboard. Black tea bags are good for those days you just want a plain cup of tea before school, after school, or before bed. MERRY CHRISTMAS to me I felt like saying as I walked out of the store with all of my new purchases.

pretending to drink the salt water

The rest of the way home was going to take around 3-4 hours. I knew that I couldn’t handle sitting at the front of the bus with all of the people who were sleeping for that long without getting homesick. So, when they were getting ready to leave I got on the back of the bus and stood in the aisle and talked and joked with the students in the back the rest of the way home. There were several that I hadn’t really had a chance to get to know yet, so it was good that I could talk with them. After talking with me for a while one of the older boys told me he had to go to sleep because he was Superman and that soon

buying things made of shells

people would start calling him to go and help them. I had been wearing my headband that has a little silver hat on top, so for a while boys who had bought hats on the trip would trade with me and we took pictures with them wearing my headband and I wearing their hat. Some of them were cold, so I went to my backpack and got out my two scarves, and two blankets and they were taking turns using them. As it got dark outside, many of them went to sleep, and I found myself talking with one of the boys that God has really put on my heart lately. He told me that we were nearing his house. Knowing that he stays at one of the homes I asked about his family and if he was

the back of the bus

going to go home for summer break. I then watched as this 14 year old boy almost shed a tear explaining that he had never known his father and that his mom had died when he was eight. However, he said he would never forget where his house was that he had grown up in. Having started the conversation we kept talking about how he went to live in the home with his two younger brothers (who are 8 and 9) that he feels responsible for taking care of. How at his old school he had been in third grade and when he came to our school they put him in Kindergarten and I now forget the sequence of how he progressed month by month through the grades but he ended up

trading hats

doing at least third grade again, and maybe second grade which is why he’s older for a sixth grader. After hearing his story my heart aches for him because he is such a good kid despite all of the obstacles he has faced, and I know that as he grows up he will continue to face obstacles being an orphan and feeling responsible for his two younger brothers. There is a part of me that wants to take the three of them into my home and raise them, but right now I’m not sure how practical that is, and if it’s a part of God’s plan. We’ll see, only time will tell. Soon after we passed the road he said his house was on we stopped at the gas station/7-11 which is the last stop before starting the climb into the mountains where you go miles without seeing a house, where there are signs that say to use the lowest gear possible because of how steep the road is. When on road trips with students every time you stop at a 7-11 no matter what time of day it is they think they have to eat ramen noodles. Here, they sell them in a cup, and there is always a hot water machine that you use to fill the

the boy has my scarf on as a headband, and the girl and I
traded hats, quite the game we had and lots of trouble getting
the pics to turn out

cup with hot water and then the noodles cook themselves. So, after using the bathroom and buying their ramen noodles we got back on the bus and I ended up sitting with another student. Somehow we got onto the subject of his life story as he lives in a different children’s home. He has a mother in Burma who sent him to the home because his father had died and when she got a new husband he said they couldn’t afford to keep the boy. As I hear more and more stories like this from different students I can’t help but imagine what it must feel like as the child who gets sent away. Whose parents can’t afford to take care of them, or who feel unwanted. How much hurt is there in their lives at such a young age? How

7-11 stop means it's time to eat Ramen Noodles anytime day or night

 many of them have experienced true hunger with nothing to eat? How many of them have already had the responsibility of taking care of their families or siblings? How many of them will really make it to finish high school? What will they do for work if they don’t? What will they do for work if they do? Will they go to college? What plans does God have for their lives? Of this I’m sure of the answer, He will use them to do incredible things if they are open and willing to hear His call. When we were 15 kilometers away from the bigger town near us the boy and I started a game of guessing how many mountains there were left to go up and down before we reached the town. We spent the rest of the time counting and joking as he kept changing his answer when we got past the number he had guessed.

I love how happy he looks with his Ramen Noodles. So funny.

We got to the school around 10:30, the teachers waited for most of the students to go home, and the few that were left said they had a ride coming before we left to go to our houses and go to bed. As I laid down to go to sleep I reflected over the day, over the conversations I’d had, over the things I learned about the students, the jokes we made, the wonderful sound of their voices singing at the competition, the feel of the water on my feet and the sand in my toes. Sure, it is always hard to be away on special holidays. However, I’m very fortunate to be here with these students and teachers. I found myself thanking God for the opportunity to be living here, doing life with them, learning from them, serving them, and loving them more and more each day.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!