I had waited for years for our son, Victor, to be part of the SoH trip. Unfortunately, I would not be on that trip. In Feb. 2017, a month before his trip took place, I suffered a heart attack. While I was already out and about by the time the trip took place, I stayed home. My most disappointing moment of any SoH trip.

One of the common sights in the village is the seniors sitting around and interacting with each other. While I didn't get to know their names, there were a few I did recognized and looked forward to seeing them again. But the more we visited the school, the less I saw some of the regulars. I imagined the worse had happened.

Like most of the seniors in the village, I recognized Mr. Chen on my second and third trip there. Then the worst fears filled my mind as I didn't see Mr. Chen for nearly 3 years. I had no idea where he lived nor any other member of his family. But in May 2015 I finally saw him again. We were both very happy to see each other. It was the that I learned his family's names and where he lived. I felt so bad that he was just a few meters away all this time and I didn't know.

From that point onward, I made sure I visit his home to see them. It was in my first visit to their home that I discovered how simple they lived. Every trip after that, I handed them an envelope with some money (not a whole lot that would raise any flags, but enough to get them what they needed). The first time I gave them the gift they would not take it. I tried to come up with context to get them to take. Since it was close to Christmas, I shared that in America we celebrate by giving a gift to our friends. He then asked if I knew the real meaning of Christmas. I thought if this was a trick question. Before I could answer, I was blown away by what he said to me. He began to tell me the complete Christmas story. That pricked my mind but I didn't have time to pursue it further.

From that point forward, there was a special bond between his family and mine. When I gave him one of my calendar, he read one of the verses not as someone who was just reading a phrase, but as one who was reading Scripture as devotion. I then asked if he believed. His response was amazing. He said, Of Course! On what would be our last trip to the school before they closed, the Chen family had relocated. I was heartbroken to hear that he had moved. I was almost in tears because we had not said goodbye. I asked the school guard and his wife if they knew where they were. They didn't know. To my surprise and without me asking, they asked other neighbors in the surrounding homes if they know where he was. A few hours later, the guard chased me down to tell me that they had found him and that the family was waiting outside the gate. I was so happy. I got their phone numbers and we have been keeping in touch.

I designed the bag we used to fill with stationary. I put 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 in the shape of a heart. At first, Melissa and I donated most of the items. Our school later helped with the purchase of the items.

In visiting the homes. one of our goals was to expose our students to how the students lived, and for them to appreciate what they have. Some homes where better off than others. At school, they were all the same.

The kettle is specially designed where the center is for the wood or whatever for fire. The rest of the space is to hold the water. Since corn was abundant in the area, they used the cob for fire.