*warning: sappy content*
We weren’t supposed to go to Myanmar, and now I can’t imagine my life without knowing that place or those people. All of the people in this blog have shown me Jesus so clearly, and are some of the greatest people I know. Legit.
This is Jonathan (below, right side). He’s 17 and the son of our ministry hosts there. This guy knows how to laugh, leads with maturity and kindness, and it’s easy to call him friend. His dream is to go to college in the States, and start a home somewhere for homeless kids/orphans. He’s in university in Yangon right now, and runs english classes for the orphanage on Saturdays; his goal is for them to dream big and pursue those dreams. He puts other people first 24/7, even when it means sitting with us trying to get sim cards or slideshows to work for several hours. He’s also very blunt. One time, we were walking down the road and I stopped to pet a lil puppy. He stood there staring at me. My friend turned to ask him if he liked dogs, and with a straight face he said, “I like to eat dogs sometimes.” Then he looked at our faces, started cracking up, and we kept walking. Another day, he asked if I had tried traditional Myanmar food. When I told him no, he asked if I wanted to. I said as long as it wasn’t dog. That night he showed up at our house, and had made food and tea for all twelve of us. After we finished eating, he said, “I hope you didn’t eat too much. It makes me sick. So it’ll probably make you more sick.” It did. Somedays we’d sit and look at memes together. He knows sarcasm, talks about Robert Frost, and isn’t afraid to make fun of us sometimes. Other days, he’d sit and talk about following God wherever he leads, and how we don’t need to be selfish in our prayers because Jesus already provides everything we needs. He is a servant, he is gentle, he is humble, and he is wise. He is a face of Jesus that genuinely wants the best for every person, and I can’t wait to see all the greatness this guy does in his life!!
Lit Se Hliang (left), Jonathan (right)
Let Si Hliang (Messi): I knew I’d be friends with this guy when he took us to a Chinese restaurant night one, and only took his eyes off the soccer game to say, “Sister, who is your favorite soccer team?” He’s wild and free, funny, intentional, and slightly addicted to soccer. He carries himself with compassion and joyful energy. He’s always got a smile of his face and will tell you exactly what he’s feeling. This guy serves us without hesitation; anytime we needed to go to the market, he’d go with us, asking and taking nothing in return. He carried everything for us, including our water jugs, full packs, and groceries. At the market, he introduced us to a lot of his high school friends, who all are getting to know how Jesus loves because of him. Goodness, joy, and patience spill out of him. Earlier this week he invited me and Rissa to play with all the guys here. I was on his team, and even as a teammate, he served me really well, making sure that I would rest when I needed to and setting me up for passes, making sure I was included. Realistically, he wants to be a translator for medical missionaries who come to Myanmar, but it’s also his dream to be a professional soccer player (and y’all, he could be right now, so get this man a scholarship). One night, when we first got here, he came to our house to meet everyone, and ended up asking each of us about how we came to know Jesus. He is finishing high school right now, but will live here for the next three years until he can go home to visit his family in a different state. He encourages people constantly, and as he keeps stepping into the confidence of his faith and who he is, he is going to build up people’s faith tremendously in his lifetime!
Elizabeth. Wow. This girl is my sister. She’s 18 and doesn’t speak English. We became friends playing volleyball together one day, and the next day she gave me a hand sketched portrait. Since then, she’s tried to teach me how to write in Burmese, been my volleyball partner, made me a necklace and a painting, played hide n seek with me, sung songs, saved me seats, braided my hair, and painted my nails. She radiates childlike joy, she loves boldly, and she gives freely. She is a stunning picture of what it looks like to give joyfully, rather than out of abundance. This woman would give a stranger the shirt of her back. She leads worship, takes care of a lot of the kids here, and helps without hesitation. I don’t think I’ve ever been with her and not laughed- for real. One afternoon she was painting a huge planter box with flowers, and when I went to sit with her, she handed me a paint brush. We ended up painting flowers together for about two hours, laughing at our crappy ones and challenging each other to come up with new flowers to paint. She’s witty and quick to make things fun. Her dream is to be a designer and make both traditional and wedding dresses. She’s shown me Jesus in how she loves well, how she pursues people, and how she invites people into her life. Wherever she goes, I know she’ll be loving people radically with the kindness, patience, and joy of Jesus!!
Yes, this is another blog about Myanmar, but I am still in Thailand right now. We have about a week before we leave for Swaziland!
Love,
Cait
