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Official is Important 

The anticipated highlight of my last trip to Mae Sot was going to be enjoying the children’s Christmas party at the AGAPE orphanage and learning center.  I had coordinated with my friend David and understood the party was to be on the 23d of December.   Well, I got that wrong and trust me it wasn't the only scheduling glitch I had with this trip.  No problem. We were afforded the opportunity to be there while the kids prepared for their Christmas party. 
I had an opportunity to spend several minutes with David this trip with the two of us alone in the cab or his truck.   He shared a bit of his educational philosophy with me which is simply allow them to be as happy as they can be under the circumstances, teach them to respect other people, then worry about teaching them reading, writing and the like.  He tells me any migrant child is always welcome.  He refuses to penalize children for absences knowing that attendance is controlled by the parents who often have circumstances and priorities which make it difficult for children to attend.

Question:   What’s quite affordable and will work to keep these little kids engaged for some time?  Answer:  Bunches of balloons.  They had a blast with them.  At some point I became the designated guy to tie up the balloons the children had inflated.  

Blow the up

Wear them

Due to holiday scheduling I wasn’t able to be there on a school day this time but promise I will return and spend at least one day with them from the beginning to the end of their school day.  I still owe you a recording of their morning songs.

Group Photo's are very easy to arrange at Agape! 

The first article I wrote about Agape is still pertinent, so I copied it to this blog.  It’s just below this one.