Hola amigos! I am currently in Colombia and LOVING it! I wanted to share some of the amazing God things that happened during my time in Myanmar!
Pioneering
My team spent the first week of this month doing something a little different than what we normally do. The race fondly refers to as ATL, or ‘Ask The Lord’. Which means that instead of going to work with our ministry partner right away, we spent the first week seeking new connections, asking the Lord for direction, and assessing the spiritual climate of Myanmar. This is supposed to be a time spent intentionally listening and tuning into what the Lord is already doing in an area, and it was incredibly fruitful for my team. We were able to see God show up in ways that wouldn’t have been possible if we hadn’t taken the time to intentionally seek His will.
I’m not sure how much I believed in divine appointments before this month, but now I for sure do, because they happened. During our week of ATL my team was able to connect with a church network and spend time getting to know them. The pastor that we connected with was (brace yourself) the husband of the cousin of the mom of my teammates friend from college (confusing right?), who just so happened to be living in Yangon and not his home state (Myanmar has states), hundreds of miles away, AND who just so happened to speak English. He also just so happened to be the head of a church group that spanned over several states within Myanmar.
During our first meeting with him, some of my teammates and I were able to go to a pastor prayer meeting and meet around 20 pastors who serve faithfully in their country. We were able to worship together and hear about their ministries as well as to share about our journey. During our meeting I had a God moment where I just became aware of how many things had to come together for this meeting to happen and the Lord gave me a peace about this being exactly where I was meant to be in that moment.
God opened my eyes to all of the things that He had put into place to allow this meeting to happen, long before anyone on my team had even heard about the Race: My teammate choose to go to a small Christian college after high school to play basketball. She met a girl whose family is from Myanmar, became her friend, and stayed connected with her even after they graduated (which was over 6+ years ago). That friend, happened to still have family living in Myanmar, that her mom was close enough with to contact and set up a meeting, who are Christians, and every still, pastors! They were in our city, they spoke English, they had time to meet.
God put the plans in motion for this meeting to take place years before it actually did, and even before some of the pastors we met had even decided to go into ministry. You could look at all of this and say that it is a coincidence, but I’m not buying it.
The Lord showed up in the short week that we spent intently listening for His direction. To be honest at the beginning of the week I was scared that we would just end up wasting our time and that we wouldn’t learn anything, or find anything, but God was faithful despite my doubts.
Students
This month my team taught English classes in our hosts home to students around our same age (which was a nice change). Every morning my team would take fliers to the bus stations near our hosts house and advertise our classes, and so many people showed up that we almost ran out of chairs! Most of our students are employed, while a few were searching for jobs and hoping that learning English would buff up their resume. Regardless, all of them were driven and extremely hard workers. During one class we focused on practicing interview skills and one of the questions we asked was where do you see yourself in 5 years? And what are your aspirations for yourself? Our students dream of working in IT, or at tech firms, or becoming engineers, bankers or small business owners. It was awesome to hear them speak so passionately about their goals. They weren’t lazy about pursuing these dreams either. Some of our students commuted several hours for work and class every day. Other students worked 6 days a week and on their off day they took university classes. It was crazy.
I was left with the incredible picture of the people of Myanmar as friendly hard workers and dreamers. It was inspiring to learn from them and to see them pursuing their dreams so fiercely.
Hosts
How do I even begin to describe our hosts this month? Teacher Mang is a man full of passion, excitement, and vision. He is joyful and deeply in love with the Lord. Sister Ruth is a loving mother who is funny and such a hard worker. She went out of her way to make us feel welcome and to invest in us during our time with them. And who could forget sweet baby Shellee? She is the most well behaved, happy, adorable baby I have ever met. This little now 9 month old was an absolute joy to spend time with and I miss her so much already. This family served us and loved us through sicknesses and confusing schedules with ease and grace. We celebrated together and lived life together for a month.
In our hosts saw a beautiful emphasis on family. Every night Teacher Mang and Sister Ruth would take baby Shellee and go out for a quick dinner or to see a movie, or just a walk around the block and spend some time together as a family. It is so easy to forget that our first mission field is within our own families and it was really awesome to see our host holding that in such an amazing balance.
Chinese new year
During our week of pioneering my team was living in the Chinatown area of Yangon- during Chinese New Year. Needless to say, it was lit. There were nightly parades, concerts, street markets, and celebrations that took place literally right outside our hostel was. We could look out our window and see the red lanterns for blocks in all directions. People seemed excited and it was cool to see and experience, especially considering we were not excepting it at all.
Cultural exchange night
During our last English class we were able to have a cultural exchange night with the students, where we made ‘traditional American food’ and talked about American culture, and in return, the students brought us some traditional food and taught us about their culture. Our team ended up making the ever classic Mac and Cheese, Southern sweet tea with lemon, and strawberry short cake for our students and they graced us with so many tasty dishes that I won’t even attempt to spell.
We taught our students some dances that people in America enjoy, like Texas two stepping, and the whip and nae-nae (yes, some students did record this. Right now, even as you read this, there is a Facebook live video somewhere on the internet of me and my team of 6 other uncoordinated white people, trying to do the whip and nae-nae. Yes, that thought haunts me) and our students showed us some traditional Myanmar dances!
It was a really fun to learn from each other and to hear about their experiences growing up in Myanmar and just what they enjoy doing. Our students are incredibly generous and even brought some traditional face makeup for us to wear (It’s super cool and serves as make up, sun screen, and helps to keep people cool!).
Mountains
My review: ?????
This month my team stayed in Yangon during how whole month and I didn’t get a chance to see or experience any mountains or beaches here (sad). SO I will leave the mountains of Myanmar up to your imagination and show you instead the STEEPEST and scariest stairs I have ever had the misfortune to walk up. (these were the stairs up to where our hostel was during out time pioneering)
On an unrelated note: Myanmar was HOT. We were in Myanmar during their ‘winter’ or cold season, and it was still in the 90s during most of the time that we were there. For all of you who complain about Florida: Don’t.
Unrest
It’s no secret that there is a lot of unrest in Myanmar right now. The news has been covering on and off the persecution of certain tribes that being persecuted, killed, and driven out of the country. Yes, there is unrest that spans multiple ethnic and religious lines and horrible things are being committed in this country but, not everywhere, and not in Yangon.
What I’ve learned during my time in Myanmar is that all of the states function very differently and things that are happening in one area aren’t necessarily happening in others. In Yangon I saw people of many many faiths practicing openly and living in harmony with one another. Some members of my team took part in street evangelism events during our time pioneering, and there were many churches (as well as pagodas and mosques) scatter throughout the city. This was a wonderful surprise for us to walk into, considering that originally we were told to be very cautious and careful in our efforts to evangelize.
Despite spending a month here I am still super unclear about all that is happening (because it is so complicated), there has been recent changes in government which has been in favor of the Christians, but sanctions still exist and the church is still being persecuted in some areas. The tribe that is the most heavily persecuted currently is a Muslim tribe in the North (the persecution of this tribe is what is mainly being reported on). Prayer needed as these conflicts continue and lives are lost.
Church
Despite all that is happening in the country, I am leaving here so hopeful about the future of this nation. Here, more than my of the other places that I have been, I have seen the church alive, active, and living out its mission of reaching it’s community.
The Christians in Myanmar loves the Lord and they love their country. They are fighting the good fight and they aren’t being shy about it. Our commission to go and make disciples is taken pretty seriously here and it was amazing, encouraging, and inspiring. The Lord showed me that in a place that has been more isolated than most, and in the midst of an ethnic cleansing, He is still there and He is still Lord. His kingdom exists across all country boarders and political lines. It exists in the face of danger, in house churches, in big sanctuaries, and in the hearts of all of His people.
Much Love,
Morgan
As always, I invite you to make my journey, your journey. Here are three simple ways:
- The most important, PRAY.
- Subscribe. (If you want to subscribe to my blog and stay up to date on what God is doing in my life, click the orange “Subscribe for Updates” in the left-hand corner.)
- Share. (If my blog has touched you in any way tell a friend by clicking the “Share with” links to share this on social media.)
