If there‘s one person I can always count on to read my blogs, and be the first one to do so, it’s my mom. And first off I need to apologize because I am not worthy of that devotion and support. I’ve posted 8 blogs over the last 8 months… That’s not a great track record. So please allow me to say to you mom (and everyone else who cares about and supports me) that I am very sorry for not keeping you as updated as I should have. I’m just not partial to sharing these kinds of things on the internet I guess. I’d much rather tell you in person! Therefore, believe me when I say that upon my return and as soon as I get a chance to see you face to face, I will tell you all you want to know about this amazing journey and probably way way more! You just might get sick of how much I talk about it in fact. But I digress. This blog isn’t just an apology. This is a (late) Mother’s Day gift to you mom. An update, but also a letter of thanks and praise to God for the incredible person you are and all of the love you’ve shown me!
Let me start off by telling you where I am and what I’ve been doing. I’m in Yangon, Myanmar! My team and I are working with a local in-house school teaching English and building relationships with people in our area. Our job is to help out the family who runs the school in any way they need. What this looks like day to day Is simply having conversations with students in and outside of the classroom to help build their English speaking skills. But there’s an underlying, not so secret agenda afoot. Our real purpose is to show these students the love of Christ through the relationships we build and to introduce them to our Heavenly Father by the testimony of His grace in our lives. Pretty cool right?
Anyways, the school is run by a husband and wife (along with the wife’s sister) out of their apartment. They are quite simply amazing people. Unfortunately, I am going to refrain from using their real names for now for privacy and safety reasons. I’ll refer to them as John, Jane, and Julie respectively. John and Jane also have an adorable 11 month old daughter. We’ll call her Josie. She is so stinking cute, and a bit of comical genius in my opinion.
“Josie” strolls around the apparent all day exploring, bumping into stuff, and babbling in her baby gibberish. She’s also quite mischievous. She likes to steal Trevor’s pens and wave them around in the air as an experienced orchestra conductor might do. She also enjoys waltzing over to the fan nearest me, exclaiming, “Dah!” and then proceeding to pull the plug out of the wall and run away giggling. Like I said, pure comedic genius. All this to say that in the short time I’ve been here (2 weeks) I’ve grown quite fond to this kid. She never fails to bring a smile to my face and I think I just might enjoy hanging out with her more than any other person on our team.
This has really got me thinking about what it must be like for you parents, pouring your heart and soul into the little creature you’ve created (or adopted). I mean, if I love this little girl, I can’t begin to comprehend how much her parents adore her. Observing John and Jane play with, teach, and raise their daughter is one of the most wonderful things I have ever witnessed. I can plainly see the Love of God pouring out of them. It’s truly amazing. I think the relationship between a parent and their child, the love that exists there, is one of best metaphors you can find for God’s love and the relationship He wants to have with each and every one of us. I suppose that’s why He’s our called our Father.
In all this I can’t help but reflect on how incredibly fortunate and blessed I am to have the mother and father that I was gifted (specifically you though today mom). You didn’t just love me when I was cute and funny, you’ve loved me always. When I was an annoying, lazy, and ungrateful teenager you were still there supporting me, trying to guide me towards better decisions and back to God. When I was sad, anxious, or sorrowful you were always there to cry along with me and try to bring joy back into my heart. And when I insisted on digging myself a deeper and deeper hole regardless of your advice or better knowledge, you were still there standing at the edge extending a hand (and sometimes a rope) when I was ready to climb out. I wouldn’t be here without you. Here alive, or here in Myanmar!
So today I thank you for helping God to mold me into the man I have become, teaching me everything you know, guiding me in my faith, and most of all, for loving me in a way that resembles how God loves His children. If there’s a higher compliment I can give, I am unaware of it.
Mom, I love you to the moon and back! Happy Mother’s Day.
Sincerely,
Your very articulate son 😉
God Bless
