Mae Sot is a town on the border between Burma and Thailand. Because of the circumstances in Burma, many people cross the border to live in border towns on the Thailand side. The Burmese people want to make a better life for themselves and moving is one very good option. But even here in Thailand, the people of Burma are not completely respected, accepted or given the same opportunities. They are a people lost and crying out for more.
When I came to Thailand, of course I expected that I would be working with Thai people. Little did I know that I would have the amazing privilege to minister to and work with people and youth from Burma. These interactions have opened my heart to the plight of the Burmese people. They are wonderful people trapped in a repressive and difficult situation.
My time in Mae Sot, Thailand was spent with Outpour Movement, a ministry that involves many people from the states, World Race Alumni and people from Burma, Thailand and other cultures. Outpour Movement has taken it upon themselves to span the Thai-Burmese border and work to better the lives of the Burmese people who find themselves living at the border and in border towns. They pour their lives into their ministry and these people. They invest in who these people are and strive to give them the opportunities to become something more. They do more then I could ever tell in this blog (outpourmovement.com ).
God knew exactly what He was doing when He placed our team in Mae Sot. He knew exactly how our hearts would be changed and expanded through the Outpour staff and the Burmese people. Through our time in Mae Sot I not only ministered and poured out love and grace but was also given much grace and fed spiritually by my team and the love of our hosts.
Even though it was such a wonderful time, God definitely pressed me through our ministry.
We spent a lot of our time teaching English and working with the children and youth who live at “New Jerusalem” and “The Refuge”. The smiles of those children light up a room. Teaching them was truly a blessing.
I fell in love with children who barely speak my language. A smile and a hug can speak more in a moment then any words could ever say. I learned this as I taught English twice a week at “New Jerusalem”. In those few short days I spent with those children I learned so much. It was extremely difficult when I found out that we would be teaching English yet again. I felt defeated, I felt like God was teasing me. One of the biggest aspects of my life that I was so thankful to give up when coming on the Race was teaching/substituting. It had become the biggest frustration and biggest resentment in my life before I left. I would have been quite happy to not teach English AT ALL on the Race. But God had other plans. Through working with these children I found a new sense of joy in teaching. I love the kids more then I love teaching and the personalities of these children that I get to interact with make it worth it. Seeing them learn new words and concepts is an extraordinary privilege. I love those times when I can see the wheels turning, the concentration on their face and then the lightbulb moment when it all clicks.
These children also love with such abandon; the way we all should love. This type of love opens you up to be hurt, to be crushed and to long for people. But it’s a type of love that is so worth it. When they would run up to me, hug me around my waist and say in Burmese accents, “Hello Teacher Melanie. How are you?”, looking up and smiling with a full mouth of teeth, how could my heart NOT be overflowing?
Teaching the children was the most difficult and yet most rewarding part of ministry this month. The rest felt easy; labour work at the new property for “Famous Ray’s”, painting, planning the bike event. But I learned so much about pushing through the hard things, the things you DON’T want to do.
This month required me to push through frustration, unhappiness and resentment because of the ministry I was asked to do. But it was so worth it. I found a new joy in teaching, a new love for wherever God puts me and the power to push through and find something to love in every situation. Those days when I was sweating through my dress as I taught English…I loved the smiles of the children. When we got soaked biking home from ministry…I loved the fact that I had dry clothes to cuddle up in. God was in it all even when I didn’t feel Him and wasn’t sure I could do it. And He always will be there. He never leaves us or forsakes us.
