This report focuses on part of a recently completed New Zealand case study exploring teachers' experiences of effectively supporting students with social, emotional and mental health needs. The participants came from nine diverse faith-based and State school contexts. The findings pertain to the first interview question which invited participants to reflect on and share anonymized experiences of teaching children with SEMH needs. These life-world insights will be useful to Christian teachers and teacher-leaders as they pursue their own contextualized professional dialogue, policies and programmes to engage with this significant educational opportunity, to make a positive difference in students' troubled lives.