Hola from Colombia! We are now at the end of month 8 and getting ready to jump into month 9! How is that even possible?! 🙂
I’ve been a tad behind on my blog updates…if I’m being honest, sometimes I grow tired and weary of keeping my blog and social media up to date…sometimes I just want to be fully present where I am…Sometimes we also don’t have the best Wifi where we stay…which all results in you getting my month 7 update 2 months after I’ve lived it 😀
So before I get started on my time in Myanmar, let me help you just figure out for a second just exactly where that is…
…just south of China and SUPER close to India, which is why the culture of Myanmar is so widely influenced by Indian culture.
Here’s a little glimpse into our excursion getting from Thailand to Myanmar…we took a long bus ride from Chiang Mai, Thailand (not sure how long it was…at this point, all of these travel days and bus rides start blurring together into one), until we reached a bus station near the border of Myanmar, where we had to pile ALL 26 of our bags on top of what we called a “tuck truck”, and all pile into the back of the truck like cattle.
Once we got to the border of Myanmar, we had to wait in line for at least 30 minutes, then walk across a long bridge to the other side where we once again had to pile all of our things into a small bus station and wait about another 5 hours before leaving on another overnight bus into Yangon, Myanmar, where we would be for our first week in the country. I remember this travel day(s) being hot, sweaty, gross, exhausting, and in general not the most pleasant. It was a really cool experience, though, getting into this new country and experiencing all the ways is was vastly different from the last, despite how close they were geographically.
In my last blog post, I shared a bit about meeting an Indian pastor named “B” the night that my teammate Sharonne and I went out for Indian food…
B took us under his wing and was like a father to us – even to the point of making a doctor appointment for me and paying for everything, including my meds (I was sick our whole first week of Myanmar). He invited us to his home across the river and introduced us to his 3 daughters and adorable grandson. B still checks in on me to see how I’m doing and to let me know he’s praying for me – the Lord gives the absolute best gifts from the most surprising places 🙂
The rest of our first week was spent in the city center of Yangon, which was a beautifully bustling region filled with street vendors, most of which were all selling the same things.
We wondered many times how any of them made any money, and the reality is – much of Myanmar’s population lives below poverty level. Traveling the world really opens your eyes to all that we take for granted in the comfort of the States – seriously, we have SO MUCH (by way of convenience, comfort and resources) compared to much of the rest of the world! They are plenty rich in relationships, joy and community, though! This place practices kindness, humility, hunger for the Lord and for learning like I’ve never before experienced.
Our first week was set apart for the purpose of “pioneering” for ministries that future World Race groups can partner with, since Myanmar’s borders have just recently reopened to travelers. After sending our research back to the Adventures in Missions base, we were told our efforts from the first week were hugely significant in providing future Racers with the assurance of having contacts with several new ministries within the area at which to serve in the future. Pretty cool that we got to be a part of helping pave the way for others to share the love of God within Myanmar down the road 🙂
We stayed in an incredible and unforgettable hostel that first week, where the staff treated us like family (here’s a pic of the super sweet owners)
Here, we met a group of college students who quickly befriended us and took us on a tour of the city, their university and hosted us within their home (SUCH an awesome experience, gifted to us within the first few days of us being in country!) Here’s a pic of the girls (They all grew up together in the same neighborhood and have been lifelong friends! Such a cool story 🙂
While we were out with them that day, we ran into these adorable little monk boys – so cute!!!
Buddhism is the #1 religion in Myanmar, and there are lots of monks and monestaries around. The community helps take care of them by providing food and money to meet their needs. Some individuals join a monastery by choice, but many of the younger children join because of poverty and the assurance of having a next meal provided for them.
Another fun little tidbit, was that we got to celebrate Chinese New Year (in “China Town”) while in the area – and let me tell you, they celebrate!
After the first week of “pioneering”, my team headed about 45 minutes outside of the city to a small little village town, where most of what was sold could be found in a small shack on the side of the road. We were put up in a hotel (in what felt like the middle of nowhere) and experienced the love and hospitality of the hotel staff as though we were (once again) family.
These guys woke up at 4am the morning we left to help us carry our 50+ pound bags down 3 flights of stairs to head to the airport. The night before we left, they celebrated us by giving us little gifts and thanking us for our time there. Our hearts were filled to overflowing!
In the little village where we were staying outside of Yangon, our primary ministry was partnering with a Bible College, along with an orphanage that one of the pastors/Bible Teachers ran. Our first week there was filled with random events, including a wedding that was held at the Bible college and cooking for “Union Day”, which is a holiday to celebrate the different indigenous groups from Myanmar.
Here’s a sweet pic of the happy newlyweds from the wedding…funny enough, they didn’t smile all that much…I don’t think I’ve ever been to a wedding where there was so little smiling…I think it’s just one of those cultural differences though…at least the bride finally started smiling when she shoved cake in the groom’s face 😉
Here’s a pic of the sweet woman we referred to as “grandma”…she couldn’t hold it together while she was giving her wedding speech…and neither could we… :'(
Here’s a pic of the feast we got to partake in at the wedding reception, and where we were first truly introduced to some of the college students we’d be working alongside that month…
Along with the Bible college and orphanage, we were asked to help lead worship one Sunday during church…
And to help out by leading children’s church every Sunday morning…
Here’s a little glimpse into our prep for “Union Day” (which actually fell on our Valentine’s Day) when my teammate Meggo and I baked a cake in a small easy bake oven-like gadget with not enough ingredients in the heat of the day on a rooftop haha.
That day I learned that if you add strawberry jelly to something that doesn’t taste all that great to start with, people might actually like it, and it’ll look a whole lot prettier 😀
In the end, we got raving reviews…and I’m not sure how…pretty sure God showed up in big ways that day lol…and we all of course had a blast.
We were asked to help out with the Bible college graduation and our host took us to the market one day to buy fabric and be fitted for traditional Myanmar dresses, called a “longyi” (pronounced long-jeez).
Fun little story about the graduation was that we were asked to sing a song on stage together. We chose the song “Ever Be” which is about worshiping God throughout our lives regardless of our circumstances – “Your praise will ever be on my lips…” We had witnessed many people singing on stage (at the wedding, at church, at the graduation, etc.) and at the end of every song, they say “Thank you” in Burmese. For our graduation song, Meggo and I were chosen as the point persons to lead the rest of the group (considering the rest of the group wasn’t exactly all that excited to be singing on a stage). I was of course nervous – I hate the stage, I’m not a fan of microphones, and I don’t exactly feel comfortable in front of a crowd. At the end of our song, I was excited to be done, felt pretty proud of our performance, and was trying to confidently follow in the cultural footsteps of all the other singers I’d heard perform. Once our song was sung, I proudly spoke into the mic “Mingalabar!” (pronounced “Minga-la-bah) with a huge bow. Everyone erupted into laughter, because in my nervous-excited state, I had chosen the wrong word of the 2 Burmese words I was familiar with. Instead of saying “Thank you”, I said “Hello” at the very end of our performance, haha! The next speaker got up on stage and commented, “Hello, girls!” 😉
Here we are in our lovely garb!
The sweet group of people we’re pictured with below traveled from the States to be a part of the graduation as well! They are all a part of a ministry called Harvesters International Ministries which helps provide financial support and lift to the ministry we partnered with in Yangon, along with many others. “Harvesters works with indigenous partners to bring spiritual and physical transformation in their own language and culture.” – (check them out here: https://www.harvesters.net)
Finally, get ready for a whole smattering of pictures from our time at the orphanage. We divided into 3 teachers per classroom with the aim to teach our students English…of course our primary goal was to love them like Jesus and hopefully leave them with a little better understanding of who He is. Seriously, these kids were the most attentive, well-behaved and learning-hungry individuals I’ve ever met. They were always on time, always well-engaged, always respectful and super fast learners. I can confidently say that I learned so much from who they are as people that I walked away from them with more of an understanding of Jesus from having been with them.
I got to start off our mornings with a little time to stretch and wake up our muscles and our minds – much needed for me at least! 🙂
This was our entire class – miss them all so much!
We also got to teach them some scripture in English, then had them write it out in Burmese. Their language looks super intimidating (more like symbols than letters) but these kids were incredible at scripture memorization! It was a major priority for the church they were a part of, and it was so beautiful to see how they had the Word tucked away in their hearts and minds.
Teachers + our own personal interpreter – he did an amazing job!
He also brought all of us teachers coffee one morning. Side story: I was sitting there half asleep that morning, half daydreaming half praying about our lunch break so I could go grab some coffee to help me wake up. Before I knew it, he had left the room and come back with coffee…don’t know if you can read his shirt, but it says, “Not to be served but to serve.” I just started crying because it was like the Lord had heard my silent cries for something that really just delighted my heart, and He provided. God really is just the sweetest and the most intentional, even in the little things 🙂
Had some worship jam sessions…these kids are really good on a guitar and even more passionate in their singing!
I just can’t write this blog without posting a pic of this adorable little one…one of the happiest babies I’ve ever met!!! She always had the craziest bed head, haha.
…And remember “Grandma” from the wedding we went to our first week in the village? Here she is again at the orphanage! Apparently she lives right there, along with the pastor and others who help out there. She wasn’t a fan of the camera, but she was willing to let us snap a few pics with her for memories’ sake 🙂
“Agape” was the name of the orphanage…pretty fitting I’d say. If you look hard enough, you can find the name written in the pic below…
Our sad but heartfelt goodbye on our last day at Agape. The pastor who started the orphanage is in front. On that note, let me just share a little snippet about his life…His parents died when he was little, he was raised by family, met the Lord, went to Bible college where he met his wife, had nothing monetarily to his name, the Lord took the reins and did crazy amazing things through this willing servant vessel. He started a Bible college and an orphanage, pours himself out faithfully to his family of 5 children, the students at the Bible college and at least 5 different orphanage locations, and he’s been watching the Lord make beauty out of ashes ever since.
Myanmar was one of my favorite countries so far on the Race. It was such a beautiful gift to have gotten a chance to meet these incredible people. A special shout out to everyone who has supported me on this journey, through prayer, financially, emotionally, relationally…I really can’t, and haven’t, thank(ed) you enough. So here it is, written on a napkin in the crazy foreign language of Burmese…
THANK YOU!!!
