Author: Alice Burnett

In 1991, when my husband, Terry, our three boys, and I went to Slovakia on a short-term educational mission, we were foreigners in the land. Needing groceries, we explored the little hole-in-the-wall shops in our new neighbourhood. There … Read more

"Would you be available to sub today?" It was a text message early one morning recently from the principal of the school where I used to teach. I arrived at the school to find that my assignment included three different grade levels — … Read more

When I taught French many years ago, one of the boys in my class failed a test. The next day, his mother came to me and made a startling request: "Mrs. B, would you let Ethan take his test again?" I had never had anyone ask me that before, … Read more

In September of my high school graduation year, ceremonies were over, and I was heading off to the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada. My dad had always wanted me to pursue a higher education, and I looked forward to a new … Read more

When I was very young, I would feel threatened when meeting new people or being in a new situation, so I would resort to an escape technique. Elbow up, I would put my whole arm in front of my face. Under the cover of my arm, I could hide; … Read more

Joe slumped to the floor, the life choked out of him, a victim of a terrible game young people play called the Choking Game or Blackout Challenge. The act of intentionally cutting off the source of oxygen to the brain to induce a temporary … Read more

When the snow finally melts, the water from the tap in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, starts to taste terrible. It's brown and turbid from mud and silt stirred up by the now faster-flowing Red Deer River that intersects our city. Dead and … Read more

One day in November, 2007, our team of staff and teenaged students arrived early at a tiny, ramshackle building in downtown St. John's on the Caribbean island of Antigua. Our mission on this trip was to present the gospel to the elementary … Read more

Thirteen years ago, in the early spring, my husband and I surveyed with satisfaction our recent purchase, a 22-foot travel trailer. After we retired from teaching, we planned to use it to go south, where the winters would be warmer, and to … Read more

As we were walking along one day, my middle-school-aged grandson picked something up off the ground. "What did you find?" I asked him. "A pull tab. Our school is collecting them," he answered. "They make wheelchairs out of them." I … Read more