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.

Redeeming the Days...Anticipating the Coming Hope

It looks like Christmas and the 4th of July hit Myanmar congruently, as colorful lights hang outside my apartment building, and men, women, and children are lighting sparklers in merriment. Fire balloons are being shot up all over the place…they float high in the sky for several minutes and then fall down swiftly. And yes, some houses do catch on fire!

What is all of this festivity? What is it pointing to?

One of my good friends here is working with some new believers (they come from a Buddhist background), helping them to contextualize the message of Light with their worldview, even incorporating some of their “Buddhist” framework, so that they can be effective lights of spreading news of the Returning Risen One. This is some of what I’ve learned from him and these new believers…

Yesterday (October 6) was the Myanmar Buddhist full moon festival of Thadingyut. This festival concludes the Buddhist lent period and marks the end of the rainy season. Normally, most people here get up early in the morning on Oct. 6, attend a reading of the ancient Pali scriptures at the local monastery (which they can’t understand), then make their way to meet with their parents to offer and receive forgiveness (this last practice is a good thing and something we need to do more!)…after noon they fast from eating (though this really isn’t strictly observed)…the day culminates in the Festival of Lights once it gets dark. This last ceremony is practiced to commemorate Buddha’s descent from the celestial abode. Candles are lit to light the way for his return. The Theravada Buddhist monks blow a conch shell to trumpet the coming of Buddha…

But we know the One who IS coming back, and soon! He told us to keep our lamps lit as we keep watch for Him. When He comes, he will take us back to His Father’s house, the Golden City, where there will be no more tears and we will feast at the Great Wedding.

So…my friends here have decided to claim this annual Thadingyut celebration as a Holy Day looking forward to the return of Christ. In the words of my friend, “If there was any people and country that needed to hear the message of this Hope, it surely is the peoples of Myanmar!”

Last night, during Festival of Lights, I sat in the home of new believers; we had church there. We sat in a circle, read Mathew 24:1-51 and Ephesians 5:8-33. The leader began to light the candles and pass them around the circle one-by-one. We read the Scriptures saying that we are children of the True Light and that we will shine for him. Then we took the Lord’s supper (we used bread, but maybe rice would have been appropriate, as the Burmese “have to have rice to survive”…just like the Bread of Life). We prayed and shared our thoughts and questions with each other. To close the fellowship time the leader chimed the Buddhist bell (usually hit 3 times in the name of the Buddha -and 2 other things that I can’t remember- to begin and end their meditation time), but this time the bell was chimed in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. During the fellowship one lady said she believed in this One who is coming, and she told us that her whole house wants to be baptized.

“I say to you that there will be many who come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of the Golden Land.” – Matthew 8:11

Pray for these young believers. They have many hurdles to cross in understanding the truth, but they are ever eager because the Spirit is drawing them. They want to share the news with their neighbors, too…REJOICE! Pray for accurate Bible translations to be done in the many sub-language groups of Myanmar, with redemptive concepts that make sense to the people. (Even the Burmese translation completed by Judson has some concepts that are easily misunderstood because of the Buddhist worldview…e.g. the word Judson used for “heaven” (literal translation) is actually part of the Buddhist layers of “hell”; the word for “sin” means “criminal” and most people think that does not describe them; and the concept of substitutionary atonement is absolutely unheard of in a religion that says your future is determined by your own actions (cause and effect)…and killing is associated with bad karma (So how could God command Abraham to kill Isaac? And how could God really be God if He killed his own son?)…there are more issues than these, but we must remember that it is the child’s faith that is needed to understand, and all of us who believe today have been given this as a result of grace alone.

So, if you believe Jesus is Savior and Lord, celebrate the coming Wedding Feast with lights and trumpets…knowing that the sun and moon will pass away and the stars will fall from the sky…but the Word of the Lord will remain. Not a hair from you head will perish as you journey home.

I am remembering this verse from Luke 21 (verse 18) daily, and meditating on Psalm 23. I may be going to another state in Myanmar next week, called Rhakine State on the West Coast. There are some villages off the coast that were badly hit by the 2004 tsunami who are in need of finding ways to support their children’s teachers’ salaries. One of the things I studied at Covenant College and actually did my Senior Integration Project on was facilitating savings groups in communities with little resources, trying to promote self-sustainable ways of utilizing the community’s own assets. If I go, it will be a long journey (15 hour bus ride over large mountains with rough roads, and then a boat ride; maybe we’ll take an internal flight one way, we’ll see), and I will need strength and insights for listening and teaching. But I am so eager to go if God opens this door. Thank you for praying and encouraging me in various ways…each week here brings more familiarity with my present environment, but more of a longing for home as well. Love for both grows, and your prayers are part of my sustenance. Thank you, friends. I hope to write again soon.