“If you view the village through your eyes, it will be a hard month. But if you view it through God’s eyes, it will be easy.”
This was one of the first things U.N, our Long Neck Karen village host, said to my team. It was day one of month six and he had told us we would be showering in a well and possibly a river.
U.N is one of those people that you meet and know that the Holy Spirit lives inside of them. He greeted everyone with a smile and knew no strangers. Every night at worship, U.N led the songs and dances for the kids by playing the guitar. He also taught some of the kids how to play. It was obvious that he truly enjoyed being there and that his job was his passion.
As I got to know U.N better, he told me more of his story. He grew up in Burma with his brother, Lokey. They moved to Thailand in 1989 because of the civil war going on in their home country. At one point, they were living in a village on the Thai- Burma border and were told they needed to leave because their village would be bombed. His family packed up and moved to a village five minutes away and were safe from the bombing. “That was God. Only God could protect us from the bomb, only God. ” U.N was full of passion for the Lord, every conversation we had, he would reference the Bible and have hard hitting knowledge for me.
This month, U.N also taught me a lot of things. He taught me how to properly chop down a banana tree, skin it and find the piece of it that you can eat and how to make a cup out of bamboo. All within the same day. Patience was taught too when my teammates saw a HUGE salamander and screamed on top of their lungs for U.N when he realized everyone was safe and it was just a big salamander, he started laugh crying rather than be annoyed with Worship being interrupted.
Our last day in the village, I received the biggest blessing from him, he invited me to go to his home village and meet his family. His excitement as he told me his plan was infectious, my team felt it and it made me even more excited. At his village we had to ride a boat across water to get there, before climbing into the boat, he asked for my camera so he could take pictures of me and I could have the documented moment. That day I had the chance to meet his whole family and his friends. I got to see the place he’s lived for over 20 years and I had a private viewing of what his life used to be like. I fell in love with his family and was told that if I ever wanted to come back, I could. Because I was family now.
U.N is the first adult that the Holy Spirit called me to befriend and get to know on more than the surface level. He once told me “I see the Holy Spirit inside of you. I see that you love like Jesus.” That was the best thing anyone has ever said to me. U.N can speak at least five languages and he uses everyone to change and enrich other people’s lives.
