The other day, while visiting an elderly friend in an assisted living facility, I struck up a conversation with the manager, Sein. She told me that she was originally from Burma (now Myanmar). I explained that I had lived in Thailand for ten years in the 1990s and had visited the Karen refugees in the jungle on the Thai border on several occasions.
To my surprise, she exclaimed, “I was a Karen refugee! Were you with the people that came with gifts and sang songs with us?” When I confirmed I was, she hugged me tightly, tears brimming in her eyes.
She recounted how she and her family fled on foot, with only what they could carry, through the jungle to escape the Burmese forces. She said that our visit meant the world to them. She vividly remembered lining up to choose a piece of clothing from the items we brought. We could only reach their encampment via longboats, which limited what we could bring. Despite our efforts feeling like a mere drop in the huge bucket of need, hearing her appreciation was deeply moving.
Sein shared that, after some time, her family secured resident permits and moved to Bangkok, where they worked on obtaining visas to the US. After many years here, she graduated from university, married another Karen refugee, and together they have a son. They are very happy and grateful to be here, though the memories of fleeing their homeland remain ever present.
She recounted her fear of being shoeless, having walked barefoot as a teenager in the refugee encampment. She explained that her small stature and thin frame are due to the malnutrition they endured. I told her about our efforts to gather supplies and how we passed them on to a pastor who regularly drove to Bangkok to pick up whatever we had collected. Amazed, she revealed that this very pastor was a friend of her family, and his daughter was her best friend.
Later, she told me that she and her family agreed that meeting again here after more than 30 years was nothing short of a miracle orchestrated by God. Now, when I visit my elderly friend, Sein is always at the door waiting. Seeing her reminds me that every act of kindness, no matter how small, makes a difference. Even when it feels like a drop in an ocean of need, it matters to someone.
“Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.”—Ecclesiastes 11:1