Hello everyone, mingalabar from Myanmar. I have updated you all somewhat recently, but I would like to share a bit about the ministry that we are stationed at for the majority of the month of February.
Where am I?
Our host this month is located in a village outside of Yangon, Myanmar. Yangon (formerly known as Rangoon), is the largest city in Myanmar but it is not the capital. The village we are in is called Tharyarkung Village.
What do I do?
This month we are paired with an organization called Compassion in Action. This organization is a Christian college for about 30 students, an orphanage and also the home of David and Nancy our hosts. Our job here is to teach English to the mission college students in the morning, share a message from the Bible at the worship services each morning and evening, and hang out with the kids from the orphanage whenever we have time. As this is about the fifth month that I have taught English, I feel a lot more comfortable with it and am enjoying it more and more. The other day I taught a class on basic health concepts and I was able to directly put my public health education into practice!
Who is hosting us?
Our hosts here are David and Nancy Biakkung. They are a Burmese couple with three children. They started this mission college about 8 years ago. They have an obvious love for many people and they invite many into their life. We are always welcome in their home, to ask them questions, play with their kids, etc. They have a beautiful family.
Where do I live?
This month, we live on the campus. We live in a simple house next to the college student girls and boys houses. There are three rooms in the house and not really beds so we have set up our sleeping pads and sleeping bags. We have an outdoor kitchen attached to our house with dishes and a nice big table. We have bathrooms out back that are very simple (bucket showers and squatty potties). Right outside of our house is a volleyball court and we play everyday in the afternoon against the college students! It is really nice to be in the place that we work everyday. It really allows us to more deeply immerse ourself into the place we are serving.
What do I eat?
Since we have our own kitchen and cooking supplies we are back to cooking this month. This means cooking and cleaning teams are in action for dinner. I am paired with Brie and we have been cooking simple meals such as eggs and potatoes, fried rice, and vegetable soup! We have our instant coffee packets for coffee in the morning and peanut butter or tomato sandwiches for lunch. The kitchen is quite simple with basically one cooking pot, one stove and just enough dishes and silver ware. We have no fridge, the sink is a wooden board with bowls and we have a bucket to hold clean water. It is the most basic kitchen I have ever cooked in and I think it is helping me to be a much more proficient cook in any situation!
Currency?
The money here is called the Myanmar Kyat. 1 USD= about 1,500 Kyat (pronounced chat).
Transportation?
Similar to last month… we’re not really going anywhere this month. We spend all of our time on this campus, so we just walk everywhere. In terms of trips to the market, we ride in the car with Nancy.
Exercise?
I have decided to add a new category to the typical template that I use for these blogs. The category of exercise is important because I have found very creative spots to exercise int he past few months. This month, I have been running down the road on the dirt path some or around this soccer field! It has been good, but very very hot weather to run in.
Tourism?
I have not done too many touristy things around Myanmar, however, it is a country that has much much less emphasis on tourism than the other Asian countries we have visited. Despite this, I have explored the city of Yangon a little. In the beginning of February, we spent a few days in the city near China Town. It was great timing because we were able to see some of the festivities for Chinese Lunar New Year (2/5) including packed roads with Chinese food stands lining the streets, Chinese lanterns hanging everywhere and even some Chinese dragons charging down the street! Other than this, I have visited the National Museum of Yangon and learned much about the history, culture, arts, and the many tribal groups in the country. It is truly one of the most unique countries I have ever seen.
Other fun things we have done… not touristy… we made some homemade donuts one night with some students and there is a dog here who just had 8 cute puppies. These are exciting things that liven up out time there as well!
