Ministry in Myanmar looks like rolling out of bed at 7:30, stepping over my teammates who are fast asleep on the floor, walking to the hall to grab the rationed two-tissues, and then outside to the squatty potty. I wash my hands in the pila and head inside to get changed, I put a shirt on that covers my shoulders, jeans that are baggy, dry shampoo gets sprayed in my hair, and I use bug spray as perfume. I head to the living room grab a dish and a fork and walk outside to the kitchen. We eat two fried eggs every morning, and two pieces of bread with jelly. If we are lucky, we get pan fried potatoes too. We head to chapel for morning Devo’s at 8:30. We sing two hyms, I give a weekly 5 minute teaching on a topic, this week was grace. We have announcements and say the Lord’s prayer together. The students have a fifteen minute break, we copy worksheets. At 9 English class begins. Danielle teaches them a Bible verse for the first 30 minutes. Kyleigh and I teach our college students grammar for the next hour. After a fifteen minute break my teammates teach them Bible stories and the students work on listening comprehension and understanding for an hour and 15 minutes.
We have an hour for lunch and make ramen. Kyleigh and I walk to the store (sigh in Burmese) and get coke, iced coffee, and chocolate wafers all for 1,000 kyat, which is about 60¢ in America. The street kids yell hello to us twenty times, because it’s the only word they know in English. The store owner only speaks Burmese but we somehow always understand each other. All in all the trip is 15 minutes. When we return we wash our dishes in the pila and return to class at 1. Next is vocab. We teach new words and review by playing hangman, pictionary, or the flyswat game. After the hours up. Malia runs to the house and grabs her guitar during the break. When class resumes, she teaches the students a new worship song. The class is only 45 minutes. When she finishes someone teaches “Activation” which just means ways we can look more like Jesus, for example, honor, words of life, how to evangelize, and write out testimones ect. Sometimes when class ends for the day we teach the students how to do the Cupid shuffle or the cha-cha slide. It’s 3 and teaching English is over for the day. Sometimes I nap, but usually I get roped into playing volleyball with the orphans.
After volleyball I take a bucket shower with water from the pila (but only if I’m really sweaty). Sometimes I’ll do laundry if I don’t shower. Then it’s rice for dinner. Some nights we have carrots and green beans mixed in other times its eggs and potatoes. After dinner we go to Devo’s at 6:30. We sing, pray on our knees, listen to our teammate speak, and say the Lord’s prayer in unison to end. After Devo’s we have an hour of team time. I then sit in the hammocks with Abby. Sometimes I stargaze with Caitlyn, they are so beautiful here! I go to bed, on my sleeping pad at 9:00. This is my life Monday- Friday. Saturdays we have off, but I usually spend them driving an hour an a half into Yangon city for supplies and wifi. On Sundays we have church from 10-12 and 6-8. I love this place and the simplicity that is life here.
This is our room. This is Agape’s room.
This is my clean bed. This is our home.
This is our stove. This is the shower, dish, and clothing water.
This is our kitchen. This is where we play volleyball.
This is our squatty potty. This is our kitchen table. This is our dog, lil mama.
And these are the beautiful women I’ve gotten to do life with this past month!
