Kay Bierling, a member of First Christian Reformed Church in Denver, Colo., was recently reminded what a small world we live in. She was surprised to discover that a student in a high school class she teaches was someone she and her husband Al had met in 2008 when visiting Mae La, a refugee camp on the border of Thailand and Burma.
Al and Kay, missionaries with Christian Reformed World Missions for 28 years, made the trip to the Mae La camp to teach math and literacy workshops.
In Denver, Kay teaches English Language Acquisition at South High School. Last fall, she was teaching the story of the blind man and the elephant. In order to connect to her students, she promised to show them a photo of her and Al riding an elephant in Thailand.
While searching through her photos, Kay recognized one of her current students, MuYo, in a group photo taken at the camp. When shown the photo, MuYo immediately recognized herself among her many friends. Her face lit up and a connection was made.
About the Author
Sarah Boonstra is the Banner's regional news correspondent for classes Rocky Mountain and Yellowstone.
