We flew from Chattanooga to JFK, Frankfort, Singapore, and Yangon, arriving 37 hours later. In Yangon we were greeted by heat, rising into the high nineties. I removed my wedding band, certain that my hands and feet would swell because of the sharp shift in temperature. I was glad I did. The next day I would not have been able to get it off.
After a day in Yangon, we flew on to Kalemyo, where Brother Kap, IPM’s missionary in Myanmar, met us and took us to a hotel. He was there for a conference, so we attended the last night of the conference meeting. The four-hour service seemed even longer after a long day.
 |
| God's beauty surrounded us. |
The next day we got into Kap’s Land Cruiser to make the journey through the hills to Tedim where we would be teaching for the next two weeks. Rain, road construction, and the twists and turns on a narrow road meant that the 57-mile journey took almost three hours. We were relieved to finally arrive at our destination where we were shown to an ample guest room with a private bath, and luxury of luxuries, the bath had hot water in the shower! We were now in the hills, where temperatures dipped into the fifties at night and hovered around seventy in the daytime, and the hot water was appreciated.
Crowing roosters and beating drums announced the coming of each new day. After a breakfast of scrambled eggs, bread, and coffee or tea, we prepared for our day of classes.
Our teaching day started at 8:45 when we joined the students for fifteen minutes of prayer and singing and then headed to class. Charlie taught the 3rd and 4th years students on Biblical counseling for an hour and a half while I taught the children English. We each had a break and then went to the chapel where Charlie spoke. After chapel we enjoyed lunch. Our afternoon classes lasted 45 minutes. I taught the 3rd and 4th year students on the teaching ministry of the church while Charlie taught the 1st and 2nd year students on Christian stewardship. Then we had some free time which we usually spent getting ready for the next classes.
At 5:00 in the evening, I headed off to teach the children again. This time it was more of a translated Bible club. I had a phenomenal translator who is also musically gifted. He could really get those children to sing. After teaching several songs, I told a simple Bible story which he translated. Some of the older students knew more English and were following me in English. We finished off with a review game and sent the children home at about 6:00.
 |
| The children of my evening class. |
Charlie started his evening class at 6:00 with the graduate students, teaching Baptist Distinctives. When they finished at 7:30, we headed down for supper. Our meals always included an assortment of locally grown vegetables. Other things like chicken or noodles were often on the menu as well. We could not have asked for better food while we were there.
By the time we finished, the children were singing several songs and choruses without the help of the words. When I split them into two groups to sing “Rejoice in the Lord Always” as a round, they tried to out-sing each other. As they walked home at night, I could hear them singing along the way. Thongpi, my translator, requested the words to all the songs we used so that he could continue to teach them to the children. Toward the end, the children began bringing little gifts to me before and after class. My real regret was that I could not communicate with them in their language.
Because it was the dry season, the hydro-electricity was limited and rolling blackouts were part of life. One night you would have power all night. The next night there was none. Some days there would be power, but not on others. So our evenings ended relatively early and the mornings were early as well. It was important to get the most use of the daylight.
As we came to the end of our two weeks, we both felt that we could have stayed much longer. Maybe next time.
