GOD IS GOOD! An update on our time in B*rma

Hello Friends! Adrienne and I just returned from a 10 day mission into B*rma! Setting out last Monday, we travelled with Louise, John-Mark the Video Producer (from MB Mission Fresno Office), Pastor Isaiah (the main B*rmese evangelist and visionary for the MB church planting effort here), Pastor Paul, our amazing translator (fluent in English, Thai, B*rmese, and the Karen local dialect!), as well as Andy, the director of MB Mission South-East Asia. 

The TEAM!

We went as a relationship building team with the B*rmese local church, an evangelistic team to the unreached Karen villages, and an encouraging team for the Christians who exist in isolation and persecution. A big part of the journey for us was to see the people that we would be working with and ministering to in Thailand in their own country, where they are not outcasts. We got to see the people of B*rma in their glory, and experience their amazing hospitality and love! As we walked, people invited us into their homes for food and drink, and we shared the good news with them. Everywhere we were, we were welcomed with so much care; laughter and smiles were rampant!

So, the journey... We started with a 7 day trip through the mountain villages of the Karen people. This meant rising early, usually holding either a school program or a teaching time, then journeying on to the next village, 2-5 hours away (depending on the day!). On arrival, we were met by the people, ate, and rested in the heat of the day. Evenings were spent holding evangelistic meetings and playing with kids, doing Sunday school, and just being together. In a number of the villages, we were the first foreigners they had ever seen! It absolutely blew our minds, how the people gathered to see us and meet us and just stare and smile! Culture there is so amazing - if you meet someone new, you are invited into their house for a meal. When you arrive somewhere, you must greet everyone with a handshake and a smile. We showed God's love and smiled until our cheeks hurt!

I can't even summarize it all! We delivered 3 donated computers to these mountain village's schools, where they didn't have money for even desks or chairs. We sang songs with SO MANY KIDS! We coloured, acted out bible stories, played games, and shared our testimonies. The small mountain churches were so blessed  by our encouragement and prayer, and the people of the villages could see something different about our group - it was amazing to see the way they talked about the 'Christians' who had come to visit. 

One guy we met was so encouraging to me - we met him while he was drunk, but he invited us in and gave us some shelter and water on our journey. After that, he followed us for an entire 2 days, listening intently to the words and growing more and more joyful! At the end of our journey, he took a stack of sermon DVD's back to his village, set up a sound speaker, and started blasting sermons day and night through his whole village! We found out after we left that he had travelled once more to try to find us at the end of our 7 days, and wanted Christians to come to his village and plant a church there! God is so good - in a place where there are hardly ANY Christians, God is making a way! 

(the man on the left with the brown hat is the one from the story)

We finished the trip by travelling by van over the mountains, and encouraging a community of faith in Mindon City. After that, we drove straight south for 10+ hours to Yangon, the capital, and flew back to Thailand. What an amazing time! God showed us that He is our sustainer, our strength, our healer, and our voice. We experienced His provision and the power of His Holy Spirit to build relationships! At times it what exhausting, and we didn't know if we could make it. Climbing mountains in 40 degree weather for hours on end is pretty crazy stuff - and yet, our B*rmese pastor friends sang songs and encouraged us every step of the way! We were carried by His hands through so much, and we've only been here on TREK for like 2 weeks and a bit! We are so excited for what's next - thanks for praying and supporting us! :)

If you want to see more pictures, we have an album of them on Adrienne's Facebook page!
Check It out! God bless!