On Friday (June 21), Adul Sam-on, one of the boys saved from Chiang Rai's Tham Luang Cave, will turn 15. Last year, two days after his birthday, he joined his coach and fellow soccer players in their exploration of the fifth-longest cave in Thailand. Little did Adul or anyone else know that the previous year could have been his last. So his birthday celebration this year is a testament to the miraculous rescue after an 18-day ordeal in the 10km-long cave.
After the rescue mission that eventually brought all 12 Wild Boar footballers and their coach out from the cave safely, stories and videos abounded, and instantly, Adul was made popular as the "boy who spoke English". Adul happened to be the one who first said hello to the British divers who found them after 10 days in the cave, and was the one who responded "Thirteen", when asked how many there were. Because of this and his endearing smile and manners, the world has known him, many adoring him.
Adul recently received the Global Citizen's Award, presented for the first time by Middlebury College in Vermont, in the United States.
Humbled by this attention, he said: "Every talent and ability I have is from God."
So much has already been said about that incredible moment. To Adul, there was a bigger miraculous rescue that had happened to him -- eight years ago.
Barely seven, Adul was brought by his parents to a Christian Burmese missionary couple, residing in Maesai, Chiang Rai, who founded the Myanmar Community Centre. The centre had been helping Myanmar migrants working near Thailand's border. Thousands of Myanmar labourers work in factories, construction sites or households. The common problem of the working parents is lack of resources for their children. The centre was put up to address this problem. Soon, it expanded to include the children of extremely poor families in Myanmar. Pastor Go Shin Maung and his wife, Yex Kap, accepted Adul as their own, even as his parents and family stayed behind in Myanmar.
The Agape Children's House was Adul's first home in Maesai. Nor Aquino-Gonzales
Adul was cared for not just by the pastor and his family but by a community of Myanmar people. To be plucked out of a poor and destitute place where electricity and basic social services are lacking, and be placed under the loving care of fellow Myanmar people, regardless of their ethnicity, was the beginning of Adul's miraculous life.
For seven years, he stayed at the Agape Children's House, a place supported by the centre and the Maesai Grace Church. He stayed with other kids from Myanmar, aged six to 14, and was cared for by the "house mother", Dawnah, from Lahu, another ethnic community in Myanmar.
"Adul was small and thin," recalled Dawnah. "He diligently attended our morning and evening devotions, reading the Bible and praying. At an early age, I saw how disciplined he was. He loved to participate in competitions, in sports or in school, and he always got an award."
Two years ago, Adul moved to the parsonage of the church where the pastor and his family had been staying. Other older kids also stayed in the same church compound.
"Adul has always been helpful," Yex Kap said. "He would be up so early in the morning and before he went to school, he would sweep the grounds and water the plants."
Adul says that Sunday school has helped him learn more about God. Photos: Nor Aquino-Gonzales
But while almost everyone remembered Adul as the adorable kid, he had other memories of himself.
"When I was young, I was not good. I have a hard heart. I was only seven but I bullied the younger kids. But when I read the story of God in Sunday school, I changed. One day, I told God I want to be a good person. I don't want to hit other people. I don't want to do something bad. How can I change?"
To Adul, his change of heart is another miracle. Today, he continues to play an active role in the youth group of the Mesai Grace Church. He is a strong advocate for the Sunday School Programme for young people like him. He is now preparing himself to teach Sunday school someday.
Next year, he'll be ready to move on to high school. He asks for prayers as he plans, together with his foster parents, where to go, to pursue his education. He hopes one day he can provide a way to enable a better life for his family back in Myanmar.
Whatever he does, Adul will have a bright future. His house mother Dawnah is confident about it.
"He will be successful and helpful to his community, as he has a strong desire to help other people," she said.
The 12 Wild Boar footballers and their coach rested in a hospital in Chiang Rai after they were rescued from Tham Luang Cave last year. Photo courtesy of Chiangrai Prachanukroh Hospital