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After finishing in section 4, our driver was waiting for us with the truck and drove us to the river to walk across the long swinging bridge that would take us to section 7 A. I have many friends in section 7 A. I had stayed for 2.5 months in the jungle with dozens of the families back in 1995 and I am always thrilled to see them all again. 
Our special friend, Kyi Aung, ran to meet us and grabbed me in a big hug, all the time talking a mile a minute! When he saw Rick right behind me, he hugged him and made him feel as welcome as I did! We walked about 15 minutes into the camp and he stopped at a clearing at the base of a gently sloping hill. A table and 2 chairs were quickly set up on the flat area and he directed everyone to sit down on the slope.
It was really nice not having everyone crowding so closely around the table. A woman I have known for years stood by my side and whenever the children started to press in she would spread out her arms like a barrier and tell them to get back. A couple of the children I had known since birth stood right at my elbow and refused to leave my side and I told her they were fine, let them stay.
Kyi Aung was in charge of
getting the children to stand where Rick wanted them and getting their cards faced the right way for
the photo. He always is such a huge help and seems to have some control over the people there.
They can be an unruly, boisterous lot and are always laughing and shoving to get closer to us.
It amazes me that as poor as they are, with no earthly possessions except their clothes, a few cooking pots and sleeping mats, that they can seem to be so happy. I have known 4 generations of families
in the camps and now some of the young teen age girls are having babies, something that was
unheard of in their culture a few years back.
We finally finished all the registered children who were there and I told Kyi Aung we would register 25 new ones. That is when the parents started pressing in to try and get their child a card. Kyi Aung had slips of paper with children's names and the info we needed for our cards. He had chosen children ahead of time knowing we would only be able to sponsor a few new ones. We have at least 100 children waiting for sponsors and some have been waiting since 2013.
These photos on the right show Pastor Kasu and I during the registration process with the waiting children.
The pastor had told us, "I know you have more children waiting to be sponsored, but please take the pictures. It gives the family hope that their child will be chosen."
When we had finished, I asked Pastor to tell the people gathered there that they needed to be praying with us that God would bring more sponsors to bless their children. Our friend, Kyi Aung, is a Buddhist and we continue to pray for salvation for him and his family. He knows we are Christians and that it is because of Jesus that we are able to help some of the families in the camp.
After our good byes, we hiked back to the bridge with several children and parents coming with us. After many tearful good byes, we got in the truck to be taken back to where the pastor lives. Pastor Kasu told us, "We are so grateful for all that you do for us. If it weren't for your sponsors help, many of our Karen would not be educated. Some of the Buddhist families who are sponsored can now send their children to the school where they hear about Jesus for the first time. Some accept the Lord as their Savior, some do not. But at least the seed has been planted. We know that your pastor is a Godly man. I see "Harvest" on many of the children's cards indicating they are sponsored by your church."
When we arrived at the cut off to his house, he asked us to wait a minute while he ran to his home and he came back with a wrapped package and asked us to give it to our pastor. What a blessing it is to know that our church is helping to make a difference in this remote camp on the top of a mountain in the jungle.
