Living

My Friends,
I've returned to America today. Descending into Atlanta seemed so familiar since I've done it a dozen times...but viewing the expanse of this country was almost unbelievable! I anticipate that soon I'll be making some adjustments to enter life in this world. (Right now though I'm still living on Singapore time and hence posting this at 3am in the morning!). I'm thankful to have gone, and thankful to be back. I pray now that the things I've seen and known in SE Asia will be a part of me here, that I will learn to live and love more fully than before. THANK YOU for journeying with me and making it possible for me to have gone and grown.

I was looking over some of my earlier posts and through some of my journals from the past 12 months. The strong theme on my heart has been and is that of Hope. So, in concluding this blog I want to speak of hope, to remind myself of truth. I've seen new dimensions to life this year, and I've learned more of what's reality in my own life - the dirt and grief, the grace and joy, the life intended for glory. I want to continue to become more aware of reality in life as we experience it. For what purpose? To live with purpose here and now, to experience reality as it was meant to be, even as it can be because the Father has made a way. We who are kept by God, forgiven and walking in faith, though we wander and struggle, we possess a real hope, that we are going somewhere, to be with Someone. This hope is beyond the physical. It overcomes this world. It compels and draws to the words of life and to works of love. It's rooted in the very Spirit of the True God, His Presence come close. The grace that undergirds it is for those who want healing and find it in the Savior of the World, without respect to nation or station...it's for Americans as well as SE Asians, for the physically oppressed as well as the spiritually dry. It's the thing everyone's craving. It's ONLY true in and through the Risen Christ, the provision of the Father.

Living hope is necessity for the believer. My prayer for us is that we really soak up the truth of who we are in Christ, the Vine, the Living Hope. I look to the day when our worship will transform tribes and tongues, when the world will live Hope until the Day comes when faith will turn to sight and Hope to Presence.

-Asha


"Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful." -Hebrews 10:22

We are born to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus, to an indestructible inheritance. God is guarding this salvation and will reveal it soon. Know, See, Enjoy. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and experience joy that you can't even express! Pass it on. - 1 Peter 1

Heading Home

I'm about to board the plane...goodbye SE Asia. Tough to say goodbye to life here, varied as it has been. Thankful that the Lord never leaves this place. Thinking about contentment in all stations, even in plenty and lack. Wondering what emotions will soon race in my heart...what thoughts? First, dinner. We're heading out the door now. Will write soon, after a 25 hour transit (Singapore-Seoul-Atlanta).

-Asha

Chaingmai...2007

A day in Chaingmai can bring a lot of things...so I'm learning. This little girl is sitting outside the temple on top the mountain, chanting and wearing her tribal costume.

The people still come to the temple, hoping for something promising...expecting luck to carry them through the next year. They walk around the gold-painted square center of the temple in reverence to the unknown, deferring to those who have gone before.

And sitting in a park drinking carrot juice can invite a conversation with local monks from the Chiangmai Buddhist Univserity...what is their hope? I asked them. We talked, we shared, we compared. I want them to understand joy and purpose beyond becoming extinct, non-existent, escaping. We have more than that in store for the future! The alternative is no bliss. Reality is sobering. Grace is enlivening.

brief

...just arrived to Thailand (the last post was written Christmas Day but I could only send today)...pretty weary, emotionally spent, but eager. It was really hard to leave today. Many tears. signs of goodness. grateful

-asha

Possible

It’s really hard to put to typing what’s gone on these past days, but I want to seize this opportunity to send greetings. You may have noticed I’ve been “lingering” for awhile (smile!)…I haven’t been able to post since mid-November. During my last stay in Thailand I upgraded my blog version, and then when I reached Myanmar I found out that the new version was not accessible from this country…

When I got back to Yangon after the retreat, I realized just how much I appreciated those days of rest we had in Thailand…every day since has been like running a marathon. I remember my director telling me that it’s really easy for people preparing to leave the field to start slipping into thoughts about going home several weeks before they depart. She encouraged me to remember while I’m still here that I have been sent here with purpose. I have thought about home…about seeing my family, about what lies ahead. Believe me that I am extremely excited to come Stateside soon and learn and grow with old and new friends in the seasons that will come. But for today, there’s so much going on every moment here, and I am trying to soak Asia up while there’s time. In just a few days I will say goodbye to Myanmar…for now.

My team and I have been learning a lot about waiting, but very actively. We recently concluded our teaching responsibilities in the village and have been researching and praying for ministry direction for the new years to come. God’s ways are higher than ours for sure, so we want to proceed as He leads. One of the highlights for me in these past weeks was taking several of our students (upper teens/early 20s) to a Youth Ignite Conference put on by some guys from Singapore and Indonesia…so exciting, so challenging. Learning that true sacrifice brings the powerful presence of the Lord into our lives. Yesterday I returned from a 3-day journey to Karen State. Met some believers there and was amazed yet again by God’s creative Hand in the beauty of the scenery. Today (Christmas) we ate rice and pork with about 50 children at the “children’s home” we visit regularly…it was such a feast! To watch the kids pray will blow any American away. Such fervor, such conviction that the One to whom they speak is ABLE.

And that’s the thought I want to share with you this Christmas. The angel told Mary, “For nothing will be impossible with God.” – Luke 1:37

I’m about to conclude my journey in Myanmar, and in Asia. I know that with God the things behind and the things ahead are possible, and His grace is sufficient for the days to come as they have been thus far. My hope as we enter this new year – 2007 – is that we be filled with the knowledge of the power of God and trust His goodness. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! This is the day that the Lord has made…REJOICE! Be GLAD.

2 Christmas poems I penned this morning…


THE CHILD
persecuted, preeminent
lowly, lifted up
heavily laden, highly exalted
All men bow
Coming Soon
THE KING




Impossible truth,
Certain hope.
Imperfect lineage,
Perfect sacrifice.
Should not be for us…
But is.
Forsaken…
Risen.
Wonder, world…
Receive your gift.
Wonderful Counselor
who knows our plight;
Our peace child reigns
with mighty love;
Worship Him today,
while He can be found.


***P.S. This oxen carriage is how we got to church the other week… “Sleigh bells ring…are you listening?” Just no snow!

...

L i n g e r i n g...

have you ever tried it?
maybe holding that last morsel of dark chocolate on your tongue
or staying one more second with your face toward the sun, and then another second
or keeping your nose in the center of that rose through one, two, maybe ten breaths
or singing one line of a chorus over and over again
or hanging on that cell through one more word, another thought, another moment in time.

this week i got to linger...in the presence of the Lord.
Graham from the States came out to share with our teams about how much God enjoys us...i know i will never get tired of learning how my Father absolutely loves to have me in his presence. you know, it's amazing but we don't always have to bring him something. we don't always have to have the words. one of my favorite ways to come is through song, just sitting on the edge of the dock watching the tide come in and listening to music and hangin' out with him. and he lingers! and we can too.

thankful for the rest that comes through being quiet, present. i'm in a lot of realms of waiting right now, and he's letting me wait with him. i need him. And there is "no god besides him, who acts for those who wait for him" - isaiah 64:4

i want my prayer in these last weeks out here to be what David said, 'one thing i seek, only one thing i desire; to gaze upon the beauty, the delightful attractiveness of the Lord'. some things in our field, the country, my life, have been very difficult. but when we are well-watered gardens, those things don't have any power over us, nor can the arid influence consume the fertile ground. I really know that intercession allows the watering springs to be Him. and His word is power. So, though i return today to my country and face with my team the unknown in ministry and life and relationships, i will set my face to seek the Lord; i will listen to his voice (I've got a great song by a British worship leader - Godfrey Burtill- that helps me linger on this heart stance). please pray for me to that end.

I wanted to comment on one thing that I learned from my time at the Thai/Burma border before the retreat. I realized that though the adults in the "no citizenship zone" are not free to move past the Thai checkpoints, the children born on Thai soil are given citizenship and oneday can be mobilized...for the glory of the God of Springs. The soil will be changed as time brings hope for a new generation.

This coming Tuesday there will be worship in Yangon. Several different churches are gathering to sing to the Lord songs of praise. The Lord will inhabit, will linger in, the praises of His people. We will be shooting a live VCD that eventually will bring the songs of rejoicing throughout the cities and villages of Myanmar. Pray for protection, for springs of water to shoot out with power.

Rakhine State Pictures

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."


For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place- the Most High, who is my refuge - no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent.

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.

"Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation."

aNOTHER dAY

Today is another day. Another day of life, another day of being built up, another day of being wearied, another day of celebration, another day of reflection, another day to taste of the present, another day to hope for what’s to come.

I did get to go up to Rhakine State. It was awesome! We first arrived to the island capital, Sittwe, which was extremely hot and sunny, very underdeveloped, with electricity only operational between the hours of 7 and 10pm (and this was the capital!). The first night in our motel room I thought Lily and I would die of suffocation, but praise God we made it through, with an hour or so of sleep to spare! During our stay at Sittwe we visited with 2 different villages, each wanting to school their children but struggling to find the resources to compensate their teachers. Walking through their community reveals little more than loving families and kids playing, which, really is gold. There are no real physical comforts to note, there are no jobs for income nor tangible markets for miles. I saw one plastic toy gun in the dirt path, maybe a village toy obtained long ago somewhere. Young and old alike spend much of each day just bringing water to their homes, water from a dirty swamp outside the village. They seem all but forgotten, as the government makes no provisions of support for them. But the families don’t want to leave; this land is their home, and has been for generations. And the great thing to me was their teamwork in talking through what they could all contribute. The fact that they wanted education and valued that was in itself a great asset. Really, I was privileged mainly to listen, and to ask questions occasionally and let the villagers talk. We brainstormed some ways to use the resources they do have and they are going to draft a business plan for their ideas (weaving longyis and running a rice shop) and a building plan for the school house. The local monk who oversees that area is going to subsidize one of the villages with a rice mill he has raised donations to open. This monk is quite amazing, as he has actually said that “Jesus is the Way to [Nirvana]”! My friends working up there have gone out to homes with him and shared the truth, and he assents and says, “Yes, you’ll never get there on your own. Jesus can take you there.” Truly AMAZING…so, we had our community meetings in the monastery, which looks like a miniature golf course with all the giant statues (all you need is the giant windmill for the ball to go through!)…I’ll try to post a picture when I get one.

We had to leave Sittwe earlier than we hoped because of the limited departure options…either Thursday or Sunday, and one of my friends had to be back in Yangon by Saturday. So, we left Thursday and went south to Ngapali Beach…not a bad place to spend a few ‘hang-out’ days! It was beautiful, perhaps the most relaxing beach I’ve been to…with clear blue water, powder white sand, mountains in the distance and rocks close to shore for the waves to hit to make a majestic spray of white. We just rested, which was such a gift to me. In the past few weeks I’ve felt quite tired, worn down, energy depleted, physical health waning. So, to have almost 4 days at the beach to rest and read and run was wonderful. I thank the Lord. We rode bikes, ate delicious fresh fish, read books, swam, went kayaking, hiked up a mountain and found a lake just a few yards from the beach, and then on my last night, when I was lying on the sand and reflecting about a lot…feeling still and needing to know Jesus’ love…I looked up and in the distance I saw a white horse galloping toward me…And it wasn’t a mirage! The horse and rider came right to me and asked if I wanted to ride…[Michaela, I know you would have loved it!] So, into the sunset I rode, and though the horse walked slowly, steadily when I wished it would race, I thoroughly soaked up the views on all sides…waves, sky, sun, people playing futbol on the sand, the promise of nightfall approaching to reveal myriads of stars.
Wow. It was a great time. Also great to go to the Chin/Karen church on Sunday and fellowship with the small but alive group. Pray that Rhakine people would also come to worship the Lord. Pray for unity and a church movement. (Chin, Karen, Rhakine are 3 of the many ethnic groups in Myanmar. Historically, the groups have remained quite separate in their cultures, dialects, worship).

Well, this week in Yangon has flown by. I head to Thailand on Monday to renew my visa and then take a bus to visit our border work for a week before our MTI staff retreat starts. When I return to Myanmar I will only have 6 weeks left. Each day is important.

Celebrate it!
-Soun nhin pyuh (“Winter Snow White”, my Burmese name given by friends)


Day by day His tender mercy
Healing, helping, full and free,
Sweet and strong, and oh, so patient,
Brought me lower while I whispered,
"Less of self and more of Thee."

Higher than the highest heavens,
Deeper than the deepest sea,
Lord, Thy love at last hath conquered:
Grant me now my spirit's longing,
None of self and all of Thee.