They Call Me "Teacha"

"Teacha, follow me" said one of the several dozen shorn heads. And then as if they were afraid I wouldn't, six of them grabbed my arms and we headed down a very muddy path away from the Vocational School.

I was a little surprised the kids liked us after we gave them medical exams-something kids in the states can hardly stand; but these girls seemed to have recovered from whatever fright we must have given them.

After a few minutes, we got to an open patch of grass between the corn fields where some of the older boys were playing volleyball and some of the others were engaged in a game of almost-professional soccer with no boundaries.

Since my soccer skills are slightly less than "almost-professional" and because we couldn't all play soccer, we started another game. I won't desecrate the great American sport by calling what we did baseball...but it evolved from that idea.

We didn't have a bat or a ball with us at the time, so we used a long stick to hit a shorter stick. There were two bases, then home. The problem with "home" was that when the kids didn't want to get tagged out, they would take off running across the fields. At first we chased them, but we were no match for their little feet. Especially when we were trying to avoid piles of...uh...stuff.

Another big hit with the kids was playing with bouncy balls inside the school. We had more fun doing that then I've had in a long time...Throwing, catching, chasing, and climbing under furniture with 12 little boys ages 9-11 shouting to each other and rattling off instructions to each other in Karen and Karenni languages. I got more of a workout doing that then I would have had in a month at a gym.

I'm so grateful for the teachers that are investing time and energy in these kids. They are doing a great job caring for both the physical, spiritual, and educational needs of these precious little ones. It was an honor to be called "teacha," even if just for a day.