a prayer request.

Before I head off to teach ESL this afternoon, I wanted to write a quick prayer request. Please be praying for creative ways to help and get involved in the community. It is hard to know what to do with a large group and particularly how to build relationships with the kids beyond playing soccer everyday. Soccer is fun, but my body is aching with muscle pains and shin splints, and it doesn't promote conversation or deeper relationships. Please be praying for Stephen and I's creativity in connecting with the community each day.

Also, I'll include a few justifications I've been meaning to write about. First, I wanted to explain why we call it Burma rather than Myanmar, which you would see on most maps and in news. Myanmar is the new name given by the military regime in 1989. Officially, the United States and most of Europe has not recognized Myanmar in defiance to the illegitimate rule. By simply calling the country Burma, it can show your opinions of the military and respect those that have been abused by them. Secondly, I thought I should just mention that I'm guessing the spelling of most names written in stories and below pictures. I'm simply writing them phonetically.

Thanks for your prayers!

wonderful news!

God has provided two more opportunities to teach English! There is a group of three little boys that I will be teaching through the summer to help them in school this fall. Mu Poe will be going into third grade, and Day Day and Ta Ne So will be starting kindergarten. I will start meeting with them in June and hopefully meet three times a week.
Next week I am also starting a class two mornings a week for the adults that want to learn basic English. This group will start quite simple--with hellos and how are yous.
Please continue to be in prayer for all we're doing! God has been so faithful.

...

jumping rope with Ba Na Mu and Tha Ku after school

Po Quah with his artwork

all ages come out to play, even Au Sau, the oldest man in the community

the kids eat watermelon, some for the first time
(they weren't sure how at first)

. ...but they loved it.

this is the ESL group singing after we finish the English lessons

the heart behind it.

It's probably best to begin this with an explanation of the state of Burma. A military coup occurred in Burma in 1962, followed by decades of military control marked by oppression and violence. Burma is now under the military regime, the State Peace and Development Council, which continues to put the country under political, economic, and physical suffering. The regime is also responsible for genocide against the ethnic minority groups, seeking to eliminate them. Burma is also one of the worst countries for human rights and has the highest number of forced child soldiers in the world. Still worse, Burma was hit by a horrible cyclone in just weeks ago, with nearly 100,000 feared dead. Currently, the government is refusing international aid and denying visa applications of foreign aid workers.

It's also important to explain how we fell in love with Burma. In the summer of 2006, I had the privilege of traveling to Thailand to do mission work. One day I was able to visit Mae La, a Burmese refugee camp along the Thai-Burma (Myanmar) border. The day I spent in the camp I met Luke, an elderly man who could no longer see to read his Bible, but told me that he prayed for America five times daily. I was struck, realizing that I rarely prayed for my own country and hadn’t even heard of his country.

When I got back from Thailand, I simply couldn’t forget Burma. Five others felt the same way, and we formed a Burma Advocacy Group and began raising awareness and funds. In February 2007 we hosted A Voice for Burma, a semiformal dinner and art auction through which we raised $10,000 to send to a Christian organization working in Burma. This past fall I switched my major to political science in hopes of working for Burma in a political realm someday, and I also led a prayer group for Burma each Wednesday night. Over time, I have realized how much of my heart I left in Burma, while Stephen realized he was becoming more interested each day.

As for this summer, we began praying in November for God to open up doors for us to work with Burma. We contacted many ministries and contacts along the border, but every opportunity was shut in our faces. Until Stephen noticed an email from a church he visited, but didn't attend, in Tennessee, asking for help with Burmese refugees. We contacted the church and discovered a community of nearly 150 Karen refugees, a particular ethnicity from Burma. They had come from Mae La, the refugee camp I had visited, and are living in Smyrna, Tennessee. We now find ourselves in middle Tennessee, engrossed in teaching English and playing soccer.

I spend much of my time teaching English. One of the girls in the community, Naw Gay, became paralyzed without explanation in January and then moved to the United States in April. I am teaching English to her, and any other community members that crowd near the door, three days a week. Stephen and I both teach ESL (English as a Second Language) an evening or two a week. We also play with the kids each day in the afternoon and evening, playing soccer and jump rope. It's been amazing to get to know them all. Since there are only a few who are able to drive, I will also help with driving them to doctor appointments and such. The church we are working with will also plan outings and special events for the kids throughout the summer.

Thus you have this blog--an attempt to share our stories from this summer and hopefully beyond that. Please be praying for the ministry here in Smyrna and in Burma itself; these lovely people long to return to a free Burma someday.