I had the wonderful opportunity to visit a hilltribe village this past weekend. Our school has a partnership with a village mission center in Tak, in the Northwestern part of Thailand, near the Burmese border. Forty-five teachers and staff travelled a long distance by double decker bus to this rural area. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. These little children were so well behaved and cheerful. We stayed at a center where the children stay so they can go to school. They see their parents every once in a while. We had a very busy weekend playing with the children, planting seeds in their garden, and generally pouring out love. We didn't even speak the same language as all of my hard work of learning Thai did not pay off because they speak a tribal language called Karin. But it was a wonderful experience and the joy on the children's faces when they opened their gifts we brought from our children at the school really brought me to tears. The children took us on a tour of the village and we got to meet some of the people and they welcomed us into their homes. The people in this village did not have much, and most of them are self-sustaining through gardening and growing rice. We went to one family's home that had one room made of bamboo, risen on stilts and under the house was the barn for the pigs and whatever else they own. After the tour, we came back to the center and did some recreational activities with the kids. After dinner, the children dressed up for us and performed on Saturday night. It was so much fun. The next day we had a tearful goodbye as they all waved to us. I know I will go back.
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