Going North

Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice, blessed are all those who wait for him.

For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as He hears it, he answers you. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, YET YOUR TEACHER WILL NOT HIDE HIMSELF ANYMORE, BUT YOUR EYES SHALL SEE YOUR TEACHER. AND YOUR EARS SHALL HEAR A WORD BEHIND YOU, SAYING, “THIS IS THE WAY, WALK IN IT,” WHEN YOU TURN TO THE RIGHT OR WHEN YOU TURN TO THE LEFT…and on every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be brooks running with water, in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. Moreover, the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day when the Lord binds up the brokenness of his people, and heals the wounds inflicted by his blow…You shall have a song as in the night when a holy feast is kept, and gladness of heart, as when one sets out to the sound of the flute to go to the mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel…Isaiah 30

I believe the people of Myanmar will be heard by the Living God. Many are crying out to know true healing, to live as they are created to live, to worship the real God. There’s so much darkness and depression, and sometimes it seems that it is suffocating the light. But the victory is sure, and the mountains will ring with the sound of rejoicing when the Truth is known.

I’m setting out in a few hours for the north of this country, probably a 15 hour bus ride to reach my destination. Pray that my little team would bring hope to the House of Faith there, as they have recently faced discouragement and literal attack. We will visit with students at a Bible training school. This past week I met “Dr. Bill”, an American surgeon who now lives here and has set up a resource center for Christian books to be published in Burmese. I’ve just come from picking up a “truckload” of good books that can be new resources for the students. They’ve asked us to give several “messages”, “trainings”, etc.; we’re doing a Youth Program, and we also want to help them practically with some renovations.

This past week has been nothing short of interesting- full days, exciting relationships, draining but enjoyable bus and “hylux” journeys, divine appointments.

One of my favorite days was teaching English at the Bible College, which is scheduled for Wednesdays. The students come from many directions; their families are poor, and they cannot afford much, but they are eager. Men and women, age 18-25 live and study at the seminary for 4 years. The first graduating class will matriculate in February 2007. So, we had a lot of fun during our English class forming “committees” and planning their graduation ceremony! They planned the venue, the food, the program and decorations, and they had a lot of fun acting out some of the “special numbers”!

Sarah and I met a monk at a bookstore who invited us to his English class. When we got there we found a room full of monks, about 45 or so because they were on religious holiday. They surrounded us and began asking questions in English. When Sarah’s shoe broke on the way back to the bus stop, one of the monks kindly offered his sandal, though most monks don’t wear shoes! These monks invited us to come sometime to their monastery- I will be reading the book “What the Buddha taught” to learn more of their lifestyle.

My first computer class went well – I never in my life thought I would be teaching computer skills! Yesterday I taught on Excel worksheets. These kids come from the rural areas and travel 2 hours for the class. Some are Christian and some are Buddhists.
They have been a part of our classes since last year and are really committed to learning. It is exciting to see their development. Sometimes when they cannot communicate in English I think it’s good that they can talk in Burmese with each other to clarify the concepts.

To hear the children at the orphanage pray would take your breath away. So mighty is their God. Rejoice, for the kingdom of Heaven is made of such as these. I found some children’s books that I hope to share with them. I just gave a Burmese copy of the gospel for children to the taxi driver who brought me home today. He has a 6 year old girl. Her name is MuMu kan. Please pray that the words in that little book will reach her heart and that her whole family will be saved.

I long to share about my trip north when I return in 2 weeks. Jesu tin baday (“Thank You”) for standing in the gap for us here in Myanmar!

I want to say a HUGE Happy Birthday to my mom, whose birthday is Aug. 2, and to my beautiful twin siblings, Isaiah and Rebekah, who turn 8 years old Aug. 3. I love you guys so much and am so thankful for your lives!