Shekinah 2

After meeting the IDPs I hopped back in the truck and headed back to the orphanage. The kids recognized me and remembered some of the games I had taught them from America. They all had the cards with them I had passed out the day before--a school in St. Lewis that had Karen refugees heard about the orphanage and had written letters to give the orphans. They were entranced with reading the English on one side and Karen on the other, each one handmade.

I sat down with Sarah in her hut and brought out my computer. I turned on a voice recorder, pulled up on the screen pictures from the day before and asked her the story of each one. They were remarkably similar: the child was in a village in Burma, their family had to flee their home when DKBA attack was imminent, they ran into the woods and their parents were either killed or they were separated from them. It is a good thing I had the voice recorder because my pencil couldnt move as fast as she recounted what happened, and the spelling of the names was guesswork at best for me. The children were waiting outside for me so after getting the information I jumped up and chased them. We played for hours wrestling, making faces, and teaching each other how to count in our languages. Actually, part of their schooling is basic English so they became my teachers in Karen. I tried posting a video of them doing this but it will have to wait for a faster connection.
When the sun started down and it came time for me to leave, they weren't clingy. They just waved, smiled, and ran off laughing to each other. I think I was the one feeling more at a loss of how to react.

I headed to a town, sat on the edge of a river and sorted through my thoughts as the sun went down. Ill post some more pics here of the orphans...