Our Time on the Golden Shore

If you’ve ever read Acts 17 and wondered what it must have been like for Paul to wander through Athens and see all the idols, we can tell you. Myanmar (Burma) is an unashamedly idolatrous country. They have buddhas for every kind of problem you can imagine. If you’ve got a headache, you burn incense and pray to the headache buddha. If you want to have a baby, you serve the fertility buddha. If you want to be rich, you worship the money buddha.

85% of the country is unemployed, half the country starving, and thousands of children have no place to call “home.” The average income is $300 a year. Most of the people can barely afford to feed their families, yet Burma has the largest Buddhist temple in the world. It is elaborately clad in gold and precious gems. People give out of their poverty to furnish their “gods” with beautiful homes, as this giving is their only “sure way to heaven.”

The culture of Burma is definitely more pronounced than China. The women all wear a pale-colored face paint and EVERYONE wears a skirt. That means men too. There is also a strange quiet about the people. As we walked down the streets we found most of the people weren’t talking. They just carried on with their work quietly. We’re not sure if this is a result of the government cultivating fear in them, or if it has always been this way.

Our main purpose in going to Burma was to meet a brother who runs a seminary there. We were optimistic as his emails were very warm. But when we got there, though his English was excellent, we found it very difficult to communicate with him. Although we had a pleasant time, the week was a strange “huh” for us. We’re still not sure how to evaluate our time there. We know God has a purpose for us going, but things were definitely not as clear a as we would have liked for them to be.

Fun stuff that happened while we were there:

• We went to the market and ran into a lady who knew English. She desperately wanted to practice her English with us, so she invited us to have some traditional Burmese food with her (soup made with fish and banana leaf). As we sat and talked, she told us she was formerly a Christian, but now claimed to be a Buddhist. She admitted that she thought Jesus was a god, but one of many. We told her some of Jesus’s claims and how they contradicted what she was saying, but it didn’t faze her. Her eyes were blind.
• While Paula only ate a couple spoonfuls of our hostess’s soup, Jason ate the entire bowl. The result? He found himself up 6 or 7 times in the middle of the night, vomiting. He’s still recovering.
• Jason tried to make a short phone call to his mother on her birthday. In doing so, we discovered that there are NO internet phones in Burma. Zip. Zilch. Nada. No Skype. The only option was to pay $5 a minute to make a phone call to the US. Burma was the most backwards place we have ever been. No cell phones, no Credit card, no ATMS. All media (CDs, DVDs) sold in the country are in Burmese. Motorcycles are not allowed in the capital. Why all this madness? Because they are Neandethals? Nope. Government dictatorship. The government will not allow these things in the country. We had to be careful with our emails and such, for everything is monitored there.
• A lady from the US arrived on Sunday, and we got to tag along with her as she visited a couple orphanages and a Bible college. The orphanages were definitely a bittersweet experience. It was sweet because the people running them are believers and the children get to learn about the Lord that way. But it was bitter as there were SO MANY children in the orphanages, and countless more who have nothing. No food, no home, diseased and dying. The government won’t allow international adoptions, but they won’t care for the children either. It is a very sad situation.

Psalm 10 really comes alive in light of this situation. O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

That is our hope, and that is the orphans of Myanmar’s hope—a God, the one true God, who sees and judges justly. He hears their cries and is quick to save. Save them, Lord! Save them now! For Your Name, do good to them and help them, that they might praise You for your endless mercy, and that all the world might know You are God. AMEN

To view our Myanmar photo album, click here.