Hi everyone!
I am now in Myanmar (also known as Burma), country #7 of my World Race. Myanmar is quite unknown by many Americans, so here’s a breakdown of the geography, culture, language, and Christianity in this country!
Disclaimer: I’m an outsider and a Westerner, and this is information gathered from the internet, cultural briefings from AIM, and other resources.
Where:
Myanmar, also called Burma, is located in the western portion of Southeast Asia. Myanmar is an agrarian country with a population of more than 50 million, 90% of whom live in rural areas. Much of the country is quite rural.
Natural Resources:
The country’s natural resources include a diverse range of flora and fauna, tigers & elephants, rare birds, butterflies, orchids, and rubies and imperial jade. The Bay of Bengal, just off the southern coast, is a known breeding ground for pearls. Myanmar has extremely beautiful mountains as well as rivers. It is known as one of the most beautiful countries in the world.
Where I’m At & What I’m Doing:
I am in the city of Yangon, one of the country’s largest cities. Yangon is known as the NGO capital of Myanmar, as many relief and humanitarian aid groups are currently housed there during this time in Myanmar’s story.
For the first week of my time in Myanmar, my team and I were “pioneering.” We spent the first week of our month pioneering new ministry opportunities, as this nation is in a unique state. Considering Myanmar’s state, AIM (my sending missions organization) asked us to take a “spiritual step back” to determine the chief needs of the Burmese people. To do this, we will seek out new organizations that need 7 people to help them out. The India / Myanmar border recently opened, so AIM may be sending more teams into the area in the future, dependent upon needs assessments by teams on-the-ground. The ultimate goal in this is to seek the Lord’s guidance, and gain context for what’s happening in Myanmar, and how future teams may or may not fit in there.
For the remainder of my time in Myanmar, my team and I have been working with Compassion In Action, a Christian ministry that houses a missions college. A blog post on our time here is coming soon!
History, Spirituality, and Christianity:
Myanmar has had a long history of coups, wars, and rebellions dating as far back as the eleventh century. Today, the Burmese military maintains forcible control over the ethnic groups who want equal importance in the government and in commerce. The military promises cease-fire; but at the slightest note of rebellion, they attack violently. Consequently, the Burmese have lived in a constant state of instability, defense, bitterness, and fear.
The Burmese are predominantly Buddhists. The traditional goal in Buddhism is to seek the middle path to nirvana, or ultimate peace. Buddhists also aim to do good deeds, which similar to Christianity J
Language
The Burmese language is incredibly complicated (to me, at least) and really cool! Their alphabet looks like this:
To say “Hello” = ming-ah-la-bah!
To say “Thank You” = jay-zu-tim-bah-ray
That’s all for now – blogs coming soon on our ministry here!
