“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” -1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
On Wednesday, October 14, 2015 my team, along with Team Grace and Outpour Movement, went to Burma. The goal of the day for my team was to go to “Brick Village” and hang out with the families there, to just love on them and have a good time. Team Grace’s goal was to prayer walk throughout the area, and the Outpour team served as our guides and translators. Before we could cross into Burma, we had to go through immigration and be granted access into the country. When we got ready to cross over we met a man named Ko Myo. Immediately my heart leapt in my chest and my spirit rejoiced. He was so kind, welcoming, and funny. One of the first things he said to me was, “I really like your hair. It looks like Bob Marley!” LOL
At the end of the bright, sunny day Myo and I sat outside under a little umbrella at a small table outside a coffee shop. I asked him how he met Ray and the Outpour team. He told me, “Oh, I love to tell this story. It is such a delicious (sweet) story to tell!” He was so excited to tell me all about it. He said that 6 years ago he was laying on a bench half-sleeping down under the bridge at No Man’s Land. (No Man’s Land is a very small piece of land, about ¼ of a mile long and 1/8 of a mile wide, that lies between Thailand and Burma which neither country owns.) He was laying there drunk, feeling hopeless and destitute, wishing that life was different. Then Ray, the co-founder of Outpour Movement, sat down beside him, tapped him on the shoulder, and said, “Hello.” From that moment on his life would never be the same. Myo described his life as if it was B.C. (before Christ) and A.D. (after His death). He said that prior to meeting Ray he had done a lot of things to try to change his country for the better, but they had all been done out of spite and anger. After Ray entered his life, everything he did was done out of love. Ray met Myo when he was in a very dark, unpromising season of life, when Myo thought his life was over and his family was better off without him. But when Ray tapped him on the shoulder and said “Hello,” he felt the unconditional, never failing, overwhelming, embracing love of the Father. Ray was literally the hands and feet of Jesus in that moment, and he has continued to be since then.
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” -John 15:13
Myo walked and talked with our teams all day in Burma. He shared about his love for his country, his upbringing, the things he has gone through, and the many ways he has sacrificed himself for his people, the Burmese. Myo fought for his nation, for his people. He fought with love for justice, peace, healthcare, equality, education, an improved economy, and so many other things. Everything he was given was immediately handed over to someone else for the betterment of their life. He lived, essentially, in a box, yet his life was so rich.
This morning, October 17, 2015, when I arrived at the sports complex at 7:50am to hang out with some of the kids we’ve been working with this month, I learned that Myo was taken to the hospital last night with high blood pressure and the inability to speak. I immediately thought, “Did he have a stroke? God, please take care of my friend!” Then, at 8:40am as I was getting ready to leave I found out that Myo had died. My heart hurt so badly! I was so sad. I was in shock. Yet, I felt peace in the midst of it all. I could think of nothing more than all the love I felt in his presence. I was so happy that he had allowed me to take a picture with him because now I have a tangible representation of Love.
“But now faith, hope, and love, abide these three, but the greatest of these is love.” -1 Corinthians 13:13
Myo had faith that the conditions in Burma could and would improve. And they are. He hoped to make a difference in the life of each person he met. And he did so through love. Myo loved my team and I so well that as soon as I met him I felt like I’d known him for years. He impacted me so much that when I heard of his death this morning, my heart was overwhelmed with thoughts of love.
As I sit and reflect on the short time that I knew Myo, I realize that he has taught me so much. His life showed me just how influential our every word and deed can be. I am thinking about how precious life is, that each day is truly a gift from God that can be taken away in an instant. I am thinking about how the Holy Spirit placed Myo on the hearts and minds of three different groups of people on Wednesday night, and how we all prayed for him and his relationship with the Lord. Yet, none of us knew that the other was interceding for the very same thing. I think about how I can love others better, that God has called me to love others as He has loved me.
My challenge for you and I is this: Walk in love so fiercely that it literally changes the trajectory of someone’s life.
