A Story of Someone Differently Abled

The Gift That Lives On!

Teddy Stallard certainly qualified as ‘one of the least’. Disinterested in school. Musty, wrinkled clothes, hair never combed. One of those kids in school with a dead pan face, expressionless, sort of glassy, unfocused stare. When Miss Thomson spoke to Teddy he always answered in mono-syllallables. Unattractive, unmotivated, and distant, he was just plain hard to like. Even though his teacher said she loved all in her class the same, down inside she wasn’t being completely truthful.

Whenever she marked Teddy’s papers, she got a certain perverse pleasure out of putting X`s to the wrong answers and when she put the F`s on top of the papers, she always did it with a flair. She should have known better; she had Teddy’s records and she knew more about him than she wanted to admit. The records read:

1st Grade: Teddy shows promise with his work attitude, but poor home situation.
2nd Grade: Teddy could do better. Mother is seriously ill. He receives little help at home.
3rd Grade: Teddy is a good boy but too serious. He is a slow leaner. His mother died this year.
4th Grade: Teddy is very slow, but well-behaved. His father shows no interest.

Christmas came and the boys and girls in Miss.Thompson`s class brought her Christmas presents. They piled their presents on her desk and crowed around to watch her open them. Among the presents there was one from Teddy. She was surprised that he had brought her a gift, but he had. Teddy’s gift was wrapped in a brown paper and was held together with scotch tape. On the paper were written the simple words,’ For Miss. Thomson from Teddy’. When she opened Teddy’s present, out fell a gaudy rhinestone bracelet, with half the stones missing, and a bottle of cheap perfume.

The other boys and girls began to goggle and smirk over Teddy’s gift , but Miss .Thomson at least had enough sense to silence them by immediately putting on the bracelet and putting some of the perfume on her wrist. Holding up her wrist up for the other children to smell, she said,
’Doesn’t it smell lovely?’ And the children, taking their cue from the teacher, readily agreed with’oo`s’ and ‘ah`s’.

At the end of the day, when the school was over and the other children had left, Teddy lingered behind. He slowly came over to her desk and said softly,’ Miss. Thomson… Miss. Thomson, you smell just like my mother… and her bracelet looks real pretty on you, too. I am glad you liked my presents’. When Teddy left, Miss Thomson got down on her knees and asked God to forgive her.

The next day when the children came to school, they were welcomed by a new teacher. Miss. Thomson had become a different person .She was no longer just a teacher: she had become an agent of God. She was now a person committed to loving her children and doing things for them that would live on after her. She helped all the children, but especially the slow ones, and especially Teddy. By the end of that school year, Teddy showed dramatic improvement. He had caught up with most of the students and was even ahead of some.

She didn’t hear from Teddy for a long time. Then one day, she received a note that read:

Dear Miss. Thomson,

I wanted you to be the first to know, I will be graduating second in my class.

Love,
Teddy Stallard.
Four years later, another note came;

Dear Miss. Thomson,
They just told me I will be graduating first in my class. I wanted you to be the first to know. The university has not been easy, but I liked it.
Love,
Teddy Stallard.

And four years later:

Dear Miss. Thomson, as of today, I am Theodore Stallard, M.D. How about that? I wanted you to be the first to know. I am getting married next month, the 27th be exact. I want you to come and sit where my mother would sit if she were alive. You are the only family I have now: Dad died last year.

Love,
Teddy Stalladrs.

Miss. Thomson went to that wedding and sat where Teddy’s mother would have sat. She deserved to sit there; she had done something for Teddy that he could never forget.

What can you give as a gift? Instead of giving only something you buy, risk giving something that will live on after you. Be really generous. Give yourself to a Teddy Stallard, ’one of the least,’ whom you can help to become one of the greats.

LOVE,
No grater theme can be emphasized
No Stronger message can be proclaimed
No finer song can be sung
No better truth can be imagined.

Read
Mathew 25:40, 1 John 2:7-10, 3: 13-24

Our History

MARDAP-Mannar Association for Rehabilitation of Differently Abled People was commenced in Mannar (Sri Lanka) District in October 2002 with the invitation of Bishop of Mannar and the concent of Government Agent of Mannar. Our service is mainly Commnuity Based Rehabilitation (CBR).

While I was visiting the d and isabled people in their respective houses I also selected some Volunteers from the community. Preferrence was given to the persons especially families where disabled persons are there.

There are Five Assistant Government Agent Divisions in Mannr District. First we consentrated in Ona division namely Mannar Division.

sr.Josephine Founder of MARDAP in Mannar, Sri Lanka.