meet thomas.

I want to introduce you to Thomas, knowing that I could never adequately present him to you. Thomas is 61 and one of the three head elders in the community. He is one of the few adults that speak English well, so we met him pretty quickly. Stephen and I have since discovered that he's one of the most amazing men in the community.
Thomas is the father-in-law of Naw Gay, whom I teach English three days a week. This has been such a blessing, both to help Naw Gay and to get to know Thomas' heart. Naw Gay became paralyzed in January due to the unexplained contraction of her spine. She came to America in April without her husband, but with her in-laws. Thomas and his wife, Precious Wah, took such beautiful care of Naw Gay over the first two months before her husband, Htoo Htoo Wah, arrived just last week. Thomas cared for Naw Gay as though she was his daughter and it was a blessing to witness such kindness.
There are many more sides of Thomas. I have had the privilege of hearing many of his stories while I am at their house. Thomas' village was attacked by the military in the late 1970s, and he was on the run in the jungle for nearly a decade. During this time he saw the military kill many of his brothers and sisters and watched horrific scenes. He then made it to the Mae La refugee camp and lived there for nearly twenty years before coming to America late last year.
Thomas is also an incredible artist. Things don't tend to go as planned in this community, and Stephen and I ended up in a meeting of the elders a couple weeks ago. We were all discussing the cyclone damage and where it was and whose family was in those areas. With everyone talking, Thomas just picks up a piece of paper and begins to draw Burma--perfectly. It was incredibly accurate. He then continues and draws the entire world, sketching out the countries. We all watched in amazement.
One last story about Thomas--just last Sunday we had stopped by and were invited in for the community dinner. As Stephen and I followed Thomas to the apartment, he suddenly stops and says, "I wear my wife shoes. I lose mine. I wear Precious, my wife shoe!" We look down to see these heeled, leather clogs with fur around the edges! He is wearing them in the picture above, as well as standing on his tiptoes.
As you think of Thomas, pray for him and his leadership in the rest of the community. Pray especially that they will be able to return to a free Burma very soon. At least twice each week he tells me how much he wants to go back to his land and be free; I tell him that I am praying for it.