Ignorance and Prejudice

Recently I have had the honor of getting to know some teenagers whose families are refugees from Burma and some of the surrounding areas. They are a part of the Karen people group. In their home land, they have experienced years of violent and deadly persecution. All of the kids speak Karen as their primary language, and have been learning English since moving to the United States. But they attend public schools right alongside the Americans. It's hard to imagine how hard it must be for them to fit in. Not only do they look different than many of the students, but they also talk differently, and have many other cultural differences to deal with.

But they are resilient and strong. It was amazing to watch a group of about 8 of them last night, learning the sign language to the song "Jesus Loves Me." Not only could they sing the entire song in English (not to mention Karen), but they quickly learned all of the signs and could perform both tasks simultaneously within 20 minutes. It was beautiful. And I think I have awakened something good within them... they were all so excited to learn it, and many of them were even asking me how to sign other words.

Afterwards, I stayed to listen to their weekly Bible study. They are going through Genesis and were discussing the fall of man. One young teenage girl, who I'll call "M," shared with the group that she struggles with anger a lot of the time. Digging deeper, we discovered that she is angry because she and some of her family members are being bullied by the American kids at school. Some of the Americans make fun of them because they are still learning English, and call them stupid. She said that some kids would even use profanity. "M" didn't want to talk to her parents or teachers about it, because she didn't see how it would help. It broke my heart to hear her talk. But I was so glad that she was opening up about it, amidst a group of believers. Please pray for "M," her cousin "S," and the other Karen kids who are unfortunately enduring another form of persecution in their new home. But praise the Lord that these kids have a safe, nurturing place where they can talk and be encouraged.

The kids last night sang "Jesus Loves Me," but I mention now another childhood song that we all need to be reminded of:

Jesus loves the little children
All the children of the world
Red and yellow, black and white
They are precious in His sight
Jesus loves the little children of the world