June 4, 2017. 7:35am. Thailand.
After a long overnight bus ride, we finally roll into the final stop. My night has been restless, so I couldn’t be happier to finally stretch my legs and use the bathroom. The squad disembarks from our double decker chariot and claim a spot in the bus station. A light rain has begun to fall. After all, it is rainy season in this part of the world. There is a small store that we all spend our final Baht at. Instant coffee gives us a boost of energy to survive whatever is next. Soon, we load onto trucks and head to the Myawaddy boarder post.
We are going to Myanmar today. I feel indifferent about it. It’s been that one country that I don’t have feelings toward. I really know nothing about it, and I haven’t made an effort to really learn anything before I go and live there for a month. But on we will go. We exit through the Thailand border post and walk across a long bridge into Myanmar. Our visas are approved and stamped and we step into Myanmar. At this point, I’m hot, sweaty, and tired. (What’s new?) My team and I were supposed to meet our ministry contact, so my team leader and I walk up and down the street calling out “Henry?” to basically everyone we see. We eventually find him and his wife, Rubia. It doesn’t take long for them to get us two cabs and off we go to a nearby church to worship and get a few hours rest before another overnight bus down to Yangon.
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The next day we woke up at 11am on the floor of Pastor Henry’s office. We had arrived at the Bible college early that morning, and had set up camp on the floor for a few more hours of sleep. Not long after, we met the rest of the Bible college staff and then were introduced to the students. They were going to be our ministry this month. We were to teach them English.
I had taught English before back in Madagascar and loved it for the most part, but some part of me really didn’t want to do it again. I had thought, “I’ve done my teaching and public speaking obligation on the World Race, so I’m all set!” Silly me in thinking that, because there was (and probably still is) so much more to come!
In the course of the month I had the chance to teach preschoolers and college students English. Previously, I hated the idea of teaching in any capacity. The idea had crossed my mind, but was always discarded as something I disliked and did not have a heart for. English in particular was not something I felt passionate towards. Words like “prepositions”, and “predicates”, and “subject” — all those grammar terms have always given me some sort of anxiety. (Sorry mom.) It definitely wasn’t my strong point in school, and now, 4+ years later, I was expected to be able to teach on it. But I did, we all did!
Every day we went and spent time with our students, and I couldn’t have been blessed more. We sang worship together, we laughed (or they laughed at us), and were able to joke around together. Being in the environment of a Bible college, however different it may have been from my own experience, was such a huge blessing to me. Although teaching still had its challenges, I say with confidence that every bit of it was worth it.
Seeing the passion and zeal that these people had for the word of God and for spreading the Gospel to the farthest corners of Myanmar left an impression on my heart. I see Jesus in them. I see His heart and His love for the nations. They want to see the Gospel furthered in their towns and villages. This is their passion. This is their goal. They were a reminder to me why I came on the World Race in the first place; to be a light to the nations and love people with the unfathomable love of Jesus.
In addition to these things, I was blown away by the beauty of Myanmar, in both the landscape and the people. I have not been to a country so green since I was in Ireland. It was like a breath of fresh air! And the people! Never have I met more kind and beautiful people than I have in this country. We were blessed beyond words in the way that they took care of us and welcomed us as family. They made us feel right at home from the moment we first walked across that border till the day that we said farewell.
Overall, this month was an incredible blessing. I went from indifference, to passion and excitement for where God had placed me. It is a reminder to me that God knows far better than I know. And although leaving was hard, it is a reminder to me of the importance of having a “yes” spirit in anything and everything that I do.
