Kids and Coffee

One day of my travels in northern Thailand was spent hanging out with about 30 kids in an Akka village.  The three Thai friends I was with love kids and are great with spur of the moment ideas.  Nothing was planned and the kids didn't know we were coming, but it turned out to be a wonderful day.  

The kids were apprehensive at first...What are these visitors doing here?

 

The big kids were looking out for the little ones, even when the "big kids" weren't so big themselves.

 

After hanging out for a while, my friend asked if any of the kids would like a snack.  No one hesitated to show us how to get to the snack shop.

 

This is one of my favorite pictures.

 

And here is the smile behind the beautiful eyes in the above picture.

 

After a snack, we headed to an open space to play some games. 

 

Getting ready to play "Tigers and Monkeys," similar to the game, "Sharks and Minnows," I played as a kid. 

 

It didn't take long for a few adults to show up, wondering what was going on. 

 

When everyone was tired out from the games, we had the kids sit down so we could tell them the Christmas story.  Most of them knew Christmas was this time of year but could not tell us why it was a special day.  What a privilege to be able to tell them about Jesus!

COFFEE!

Another day in the Akka village was spent learning about coffee.  Many of the families of this mountain town make their living by growing coffee. 

 

Ama (the grandmother of the friend we were staying with) taught us how to pick coffee.

 

Basket full of beans!

(They look a little different than the finished product we're used to, don't they?) 

 

Then we separated the ripe beans.

 

We sold the 161 kilos/355 pounds of beans picked that day to the nearby factory that processes them.

 

The beans are soaked then spread out on tarps to dry. 

 

They are raked to make sure all sides dry.

 

 Dry beans are bagged and kept for one to three years.

 

After aging, the beans are roasted.

 

Finally, the look we are familiar with!

 

The roasted coffee is weighed and bagged to be sold around the world.

 

We got to taste some freshly roasted and brewed coffee. I thought it was strong and delicious. It was the first cup of coffee ever for my Thai friend in the picture. He added lots of milk and sugar, but the look on his face after the first sip was priceless. I could see him thinking, Why would anyone choose to drink this horrible tasting liquid???!!! He politely finished the cup but later said it made his head and stomach ache. It will probably be his first and last cup of coffee.