Planting a Seed

Kayla Ronning

March 27^th was the Northern Thailand Impact team’s second day in a foreign land. Ten Dalat students worked in the scorching hot sun from nine until twelve, mixing rice husks, dirt, and water to make mud, then they put the mud into bags, which were stacked to make a circular house to store seeds. Once the day rolled closer to noon, everyone dropped their hoes, showered, and went to lunch. Then we would work again from two until six.

 But from noon until two, it was siesta, which is a time of rest taken in the hottest time of the day. In the dining hall, a ping pong table, warped with years of harsh humidity and heat, was being used to battle out the winner of the 2018 Thailand team. Cries of laughter rang throughout the whole building, waking those trying to take an afternoon nap.

“Working to build the earthbag house felt very fulfilling and made me happy to know we were going to help so many people, but it is also fun to build relationships over ping pong,” Melynn Kendrick (12) said after returning to Penang.

The game was quickly interrupted by– “Snowyyyyy!!!!!” This cry followed a little white dog wherever she went, and she, in return, never left the heels of the team. Hands were all over the stray’s body, hoping to get a good pet in. Across the room, Mr. McClary stood up, saying that siesta was over and it was time to get back to work. The joyful students grabbed their gloves and water and were ready to get back in the mud to make an impact.

Everyone on the team had so much fun working and later visiting a farming village. We learned that every dream to make a difference starts by planting a seed. Some people come and water the seed to help it grow roots, which is what we did, but later others will come and help bear fruit. All are important and all make a difference.