Back to Yesterday
Whew! I think I'm finally through lagging. We crossed the international dateline last Wednesday, and so we landed in DFW in mid-afternoon on Wednesday, the 15th. Like most of these trips, the jet-lag took a few days to overcome. But yesterday, being the Lord's Day, I propped my eyes open with toothpicks (it seemed) at times and thus had pretty much of a full night's sleep last night. The difficulty of lagging for me is not that I continue to have days and nights turned around, but that I can seldom get more than a few hours sleep at a time. So I'm hoping that a full night's sleep last night has been the turning of the corner.
Short Report
During the Biblical Institutes hour yesterday evening I gave a brief synopsis (overview) of the trip and of how this trip builds hopefully into future ministry in MM. As soon as Chris (our webmaster) has the report up as RA file, readers should be able to access it via the FPCR Website. If the Lord wills, I will bring a longer report, including photos, next week. That report will also go on the website, so readers will have some photos as of next week.
RB
Monday, October 20
Tuesday, October 14
On The Way Home
I am now sitting in the Tokyo Narita airport waiting for this evening's flight. If I've figured my schedule correctly I may be home in time to watch game seven of the cubs v. marlins. I would have expected to type that about the same time or year as I typed "I'm typing this from the permanent space station...." The trip has been a good one, overall. There were some disappointments, to be sure. But there were also some excellent "gains" on this trip. The key gain, IMO, will be the fact that the Falam Psalter is on its way to becoming a reality. Additionally, however, we see a number of improvements in relationships between the various reformed denoms in MM, including the PRCM, URCM, ERCM, and MRPC.
Our Colds During the Last Week
After a relatively healthy trip -- at least for my part -- I managed to come down with a "summer cold" last Thursday. We certainly take things for granted in the USA. There we were in a country that had almost no idea what an antihistimine is. Anyway, just about the time I got over my scratchy throat (which almost had me sidelined last Friday), Mrs Bacon got it. I'm still "sniffling" and using a lot of facial tissues. The trip is quite uncomfortable for Debby, however. We found the "internet room" here at the Narita airport and Matt and I are updating this and that (including, of course, checking the baseball scores), while Mrs Bacon is in the other room nursing her cold.
Speaking of Baseball
Maybe next week, if the Sox and the Cubs end up playing, I can get together with a friend of mine from Mass (RI actually) and fly back and forth to one another's cities to watch the games. That could be fun! Now with the Cubs and the Sox in the series, it would have to go to game seven. And then the game would never end.... A baseball fan's dream come true (or would that be a nightmare?)!
RB
I am now sitting in the Tokyo Narita airport waiting for this evening's flight. If I've figured my schedule correctly I may be home in time to watch game seven of the cubs v. marlins. I would have expected to type that about the same time or year as I typed "I'm typing this from the permanent space station...." The trip has been a good one, overall. There were some disappointments, to be sure. But there were also some excellent "gains" on this trip. The key gain, IMO, will be the fact that the Falam Psalter is on its way to becoming a reality. Additionally, however, we see a number of improvements in relationships between the various reformed denoms in MM, including the PRCM, URCM, ERCM, and MRPC.
Our Colds During the Last Week
After a relatively healthy trip -- at least for my part -- I managed to come down with a "summer cold" last Thursday. We certainly take things for granted in the USA. There we were in a country that had almost no idea what an antihistimine is. Anyway, just about the time I got over my scratchy throat (which almost had me sidelined last Friday), Mrs Bacon got it. I'm still "sniffling" and using a lot of facial tissues. The trip is quite uncomfortable for Debby, however. We found the "internet room" here at the Narita airport and Matt and I are updating this and that (including, of course, checking the baseball scores), while Mrs Bacon is in the other room nursing her cold.
Speaking of Baseball
Maybe next week, if the Sox and the Cubs end up playing, I can get together with a friend of mine from Mass (RI actually) and fly back and forth to one another's cities to watch the games. That could be fun! Now with the Cubs and the Sox in the series, it would have to go to game seven. And then the game would never end.... A baseball fan's dream come true (or would that be a nightmare?)!
RB
Wednesday, October 8
Finishing Up at the City Star
The Old Testament Intro course has only a few days left. We will work on Thursday and Friday (October 9 & 10) and then administer final exam on Monday (October 13). We still have a way to go -- general intro is complete and we are about to finish up the wisdom books tomorrow AM. Hopefully we will able to get to the prophets as well, but as Thang Bwee pointed out earlier -- it is better to understand the material than merely to cover it. The students have been much "livelier" this year than in years past. It is a real treat to be teaching students who are participating in the class and seem to care about the material.
Reformed Ministers' Fellowship
Pastor Cheah of the ERCS has planned a convocation for Friday night for the reformed sem that ERCS and PRCM are developing. Rev. den Hartog will be bringing the exhortation. They have allowed me a few minutes to speak about the future of the ESL school. They hope to "kick off" the ministers' fellowship at the same meeting. This will allow a regular opportunity for all the reformed ministers in the Yangon area to meet together for encouragement and possibly even delivering papers and undertaking mutual projects. It is a joy to see this finally coming to pass as well.
First Pass Finished on Psalter
After just over a year, we have finished the first pass translation of the Comprehensive Psalter (i.e. the 1650 Scottish Psalter divided into 312 Psalm settings) into the Falam language. Hopefully we can get some volunteers to do the digitizing for us between now and next spring and then bring it back for a second pass with a broader committee consisting of several reformed denominations. Then we can "clean it up" for any difficulties of language, decide if we need to standardize on various terms, and hopefully by that time Tha Nei Sum will also have finished making the tunes ready in Tonic Sol-Fa format. This is another exciting development, and one we hope several of the reformed denoms will help us complete next spring.
D-day (Departure Day) Approaching
I think we dread doing the necessary packing, but are looking forward to our return to the US. This has been an extraordinarily long trip with a lot more sickness than in past trips. Up to Monday I had been fine, though Debby & Matt both had bouts of travellers' stomach and Debby somehow got "acute tendonitis" from sleeping wrong until she could not sleep from the pain. We took her to the hospital Friday, where she received some excellent treatment. But finally on Monday I managed to get some heat stroke. It had me pretty well sidelined Monday evening, but by Tuesday I was back up and didn't have to miss any school from it. Now we are getting ready to come home and really looking forward to it. We have two days of teaching, one day of preaching, one day of exams, and a convocation left. There may even be some time left for packing as well.
RB
The Old Testament Intro course has only a few days left. We will work on Thursday and Friday (October 9 & 10) and then administer final exam on Monday (October 13). We still have a way to go -- general intro is complete and we are about to finish up the wisdom books tomorrow AM. Hopefully we will able to get to the prophets as well, but as Thang Bwee pointed out earlier -- it is better to understand the material than merely to cover it. The students have been much "livelier" this year than in years past. It is a real treat to be teaching students who are participating in the class and seem to care about the material.
Reformed Ministers' Fellowship
Pastor Cheah of the ERCS has planned a convocation for Friday night for the reformed sem that ERCS and PRCM are developing. Rev. den Hartog will be bringing the exhortation. They have allowed me a few minutes to speak about the future of the ESL school. They hope to "kick off" the ministers' fellowship at the same meeting. This will allow a regular opportunity for all the reformed ministers in the Yangon area to meet together for encouragement and possibly even delivering papers and undertaking mutual projects. It is a joy to see this finally coming to pass as well.
First Pass Finished on Psalter
After just over a year, we have finished the first pass translation of the Comprehensive Psalter (i.e. the 1650 Scottish Psalter divided into 312 Psalm settings) into the Falam language. Hopefully we can get some volunteers to do the digitizing for us between now and next spring and then bring it back for a second pass with a broader committee consisting of several reformed denominations. Then we can "clean it up" for any difficulties of language, decide if we need to standardize on various terms, and hopefully by that time Tha Nei Sum will also have finished making the tunes ready in Tonic Sol-Fa format. This is another exciting development, and one we hope several of the reformed denoms will help us complete next spring.
D-day (Departure Day) Approaching
I think we dread doing the necessary packing, but are looking forward to our return to the US. This has been an extraordinarily long trip with a lot more sickness than in past trips. Up to Monday I had been fine, though Debby & Matt both had bouts of travellers' stomach and Debby somehow got "acute tendonitis" from sleeping wrong until she could not sleep from the pain. We took her to the hospital Friday, where she received some excellent treatment. But finally on Monday I managed to get some heat stroke. It had me pretty well sidelined Monday evening, but by Tuesday I was back up and didn't have to miss any school from it. Now we are getting ready to come home and really looking forward to it. We have two days of teaching, one day of preaching, one day of exams, and a convocation left. There may even be some time left for packing as well.
RB
Thursday, October 2
Subject: Winding Down
Third Calendar Month
We arrived on the ground in Yangon on 28 August, having left the US on 26 August. There were only two or three days remaining in that month, then we spent all of September in MM, and have now entered October. We now have less than two weeks left (we will actually be on the ground in the US in less than two weeks time, if the Lord wills). Old Testament Introduction began on Monday and I must say that it is not exactly what I expected. It is much easier to keep a Greek class on course. But as Rev. Thang Bwee noted earlier in this trip, it is better to get understanding of the material rather than simply to cover the material.
The Interest in Further Reform
Most of yesterday (Wednesday) was taken up in questions about reformation in the church. Over the three years that I have been coming here, one of the pressing concerns in the reformed churches has become Psalmody. When I first came nobody in the reformed community here had even heard of singing the Psalms beyond the idea of having a Psalm number at the head of a hymn. That is not precisely true. Titus San Ceu Luai had already begun to sing a few Psalms that someone in his church had translated into Burmese. At this point, however, there is practically a clamor on the part of both leaders and members in the reformed churches to have Psalms that are suitable for singing in the churches. So, two of the hours yesterday were spent (at the request of the sem president) explaining three aspects of reformation that have still not taken place in MM. The first reform is that of church polity; the second that of worship; and the third (closely allied to polity) is that of reformed education in the seminaries. Some of the students are even thinking through some of the practical aspects of their professed belief in TULIP. It has been an encouraging trip in many ways.
More Health Concerns
Matt was unable to accompany me to Kalemyo because of a sickness that came upon him on the eve of my departure. It has returned, but this time it seems with even greater strength. He has been confined to bed or his room since Monday. Dr. Tat has prescribed a second generation broad spectrum antibiotic and he is also attempting oral rehydration therapy. Matt seemed a little more "chipper" last evening, so perhaps he will be able to return to duties today. His problem may simply go back to an ingested amoeba or some such, but that is little physical comfort. He has been taking an amoebicide since Monday, hoping that was the problem. Meanwhile, Debby is also not feeling well. She has continued her duties, but has also been feeling rather poorly. We suspected it was something she ate. We finally decided it was the roasted rice and so she has returned to a stricter diet of white rice (steamed rice) instead of the tastier roasted rice. It does seem to have helped her digestion to stick with simpler fare.
A Phone Call in the Night
Last night I received a phone call from Len Thang and Titus Lal Tai Lo. They did not have much to say beyond what they already had said in their email previously. Of course first Titus explained the situation and why they were calling and I answered him. Then he handed the phone to Len Thang who asked the identical questions. I guess it is only true if they have heard me say it with their own ears. This Saturday Moses Dawnga (Tahan Moses) is supposed to be coming to Yangon with an English translation of his new constitution and bylaws. I will look it over and probably bring a copy of it back with me to the USA. He does seem to be trying to do what I've asked him to do, viz. have a board to which he will be accountable, which can tell him "no," and which will be able to meet without his permission. I shall see on Saturday what he has come up with.
Standing in Sandals All Day
Standing in sandals (i.e. no arch support) is starting to "tell" on my leg muscles. They are in knots in several places. It is a relief to sit down for even a few minutes. When I finally finish at the end of the school day I am more and more looking forward to getting in the car and heading for GGI. I've begun doing stretching exercises several times during the day, but it will be good to be able to wear shoes again -- if my feet still fit in my shoes! I have not even been wearing shoes for preaching engagements. The custom here is to preach barefoot and so most of the people would be quite shocked I think, to see someone wearing shoes behind the pulpit. I have only six more days of lecturing before we return home. Of course there will also be a day of final exams and a day of packing after that, and preaching this coming Lord's Day, but the end is in sight.
RB
Third Calendar Month
We arrived on the ground in Yangon on 28 August, having left the US on 26 August. There were only two or three days remaining in that month, then we spent all of September in MM, and have now entered October. We now have less than two weeks left (we will actually be on the ground in the US in less than two weeks time, if the Lord wills). Old Testament Introduction began on Monday and I must say that it is not exactly what I expected. It is much easier to keep a Greek class on course. But as Rev. Thang Bwee noted earlier in this trip, it is better to get understanding of the material rather than simply to cover the material.
The Interest in Further Reform
Most of yesterday (Wednesday) was taken up in questions about reformation in the church. Over the three years that I have been coming here, one of the pressing concerns in the reformed churches has become Psalmody. When I first came nobody in the reformed community here had even heard of singing the Psalms beyond the idea of having a Psalm number at the head of a hymn. That is not precisely true. Titus San Ceu Luai had already begun to sing a few Psalms that someone in his church had translated into Burmese. At this point, however, there is practically a clamor on the part of both leaders and members in the reformed churches to have Psalms that are suitable for singing in the churches. So, two of the hours yesterday were spent (at the request of the sem president) explaining three aspects of reformation that have still not taken place in MM. The first reform is that of church polity; the second that of worship; and the third (closely allied to polity) is that of reformed education in the seminaries. Some of the students are even thinking through some of the practical aspects of their professed belief in TULIP. It has been an encouraging trip in many ways.
More Health Concerns
Matt was unable to accompany me to Kalemyo because of a sickness that came upon him on the eve of my departure. It has returned, but this time it seems with even greater strength. He has been confined to bed or his room since Monday. Dr. Tat has prescribed a second generation broad spectrum antibiotic and he is also attempting oral rehydration therapy. Matt seemed a little more "chipper" last evening, so perhaps he will be able to return to duties today. His problem may simply go back to an ingested amoeba or some such, but that is little physical comfort. He has been taking an amoebicide since Monday, hoping that was the problem. Meanwhile, Debby is also not feeling well. She has continued her duties, but has also been feeling rather poorly. We suspected it was something she ate. We finally decided it was the roasted rice and so she has returned to a stricter diet of white rice (steamed rice) instead of the tastier roasted rice. It does seem to have helped her digestion to stick with simpler fare.
A Phone Call in the Night
Last night I received a phone call from Len Thang and Titus Lal Tai Lo. They did not have much to say beyond what they already had said in their email previously. Of course first Titus explained the situation and why they were calling and I answered him. Then he handed the phone to Len Thang who asked the identical questions. I guess it is only true if they have heard me say it with their own ears. This Saturday Moses Dawnga (Tahan Moses) is supposed to be coming to Yangon with an English translation of his new constitution and bylaws. I will look it over and probably bring a copy of it back with me to the USA. He does seem to be trying to do what I've asked him to do, viz. have a board to which he will be accountable, which can tell him "no," and which will be able to meet without his permission. I shall see on Saturday what he has come up with.
Standing in Sandals All Day
Standing in sandals (i.e. no arch support) is starting to "tell" on my leg muscles. They are in knots in several places. It is a relief to sit down for even a few minutes. When I finally finish at the end of the school day I am more and more looking forward to getting in the car and heading for GGI. I've begun doing stretching exercises several times during the day, but it will be good to be able to wear shoes again -- if my feet still fit in my shoes! I have not even been wearing shoes for preaching engagements. The custom here is to preach barefoot and so most of the people would be quite shocked I think, to see someone wearing shoes behind the pulpit. I have only six more days of lecturing before we return home. Of course there will also be a day of final exams and a day of packing after that, and preaching this coming Lord's Day, but the end is in sight.
RB
Wednesday, October 1
Preaching for Reformed Baptists
Last Sabbath was a typical Lord's Day in MM. We don't speak enough of the language to be able to profit from a worship service, so I generally accept invitations to preach. Next week I am scheduled to preach at the ERC (Evangelical Reformed Church) of Yangon. I preach "through" an interpreter, usually Pasiang. Today I preached in Michael Zahau's Reformed Baptist church. Michael is the man who is doing the lion's share of the translation work for the Falam language Saamhla (Psalter). He has finished at least rough draft translation through Psalm 134. There are some revisions it must undergo and then Tha Nei Sum will finish the "assembly" process by arranging the music (tunes) for the Psalms. Tha Nei Sum is one of the few people in the country who is able to read both staff notation (they refer to it as "stem notes") and tonic sol-fa notation. Pasiang is concerned that they should have the same tunes for the Burmese Psalter as for the Falam Psalter, but I really think his concerns are misplaced. He thinks that if the Yangon classis sings from the Burmese Psalter with one set of tunes and the Kale and Falam classes sing from the Falam Psalter with a different set of tunes that this will cause problems at synod meetings. I think he is borrowing troubles that he need not concern himself with. Synod takes place once in three years. Surely they will be able to figure out which Psalter to sing from if they can figure out which language they are going to use for the synod meeting itself.
We're Losing Some Guests Today
BEE (Biblical Education by Extension) has had some reps here since we've been here. At first it was Carl (Artie) Hunt, and when he went home his place was taken by Tom Arnold and Curtis Thomas. Curtis Thomas is the same man who, together with David Steel, wrote The Five Points of Calvinism and Romans: An Interpretive Outline back in the 1960's. Mr. Steel passed away about 10 years ago and Mr. Thomas retired from the ministry about five years ago. Since that time he continues active with BEE. The organization has purchased or rented -- I'm not sure which -- a facility for the Myanmar Bible Seminary of Henry Mang Hlei Thang. The seminary itself is independent, but Henry and his brother are the cofounders of the Biblical Presbyterian Church. Apparently Messrs Thomas and Arnold have been teaching both there and at "Solomon's School," a place I know nothing about except that it has a pretty Arminian reputation. I think that they are also distant cousins of some sort to Tawk Kap. But Tawk Kap has distanced himself from most of the reformed community at this point. Today Messrs Thomas and Arnold return to the US. It has been a pleasure getting to know Mr Thomas especially. Back in the day, I used to hand out a lot of copies of his book. That was back when we could get most of the Calvinists in Missouri into my AMC Gremlin all at the same time and still have room for the spare tire. We loaded up the Gremlin with copies of The Five Points in Memphis and motored back to Springfield with them, where we handed them out on Arminian Baptist College campuses. Mr Thomas tells a similar story about a time when he, David Steel, and one other man were driving up to visit Lorraine Boettner when he was in Rock Port, MO. They thought that if they had a fatal car wreck it could "wipe out" Calvinism in Arkansas. We were all lonely back in those days. His book was some assurance to me that perhaps we were on the right track in spite of the fact that there were so few of us. There was not yet a PCA and it was questionable whether the ARP would be able to turn the corner and return from its move toward liberalism.
And Gaining Some Others
A couple of ladies arrived Saturday. They are from America and seem to be in the flannelgraph business. Their contacts do not seem to know them. Whenever they have guests they always have to introduce themselves. They did not venture out of the hotel for several days, but invited their guests to come and eat lunch with them in the lobby while they explained how to teach to children using flannelgraph. The Chin for their part seem to be wondering why someone would be using a perfectly good longyi to hold up pictures. For any readers who do not know what flannelgraph is...count your blessings.
Class Resumes on September 29
I think I will continue to have a few students from the URCM for Old Testament Intro, but most of the students will be from RBI. Pasiang will be translating for me. Class will consist of students from various ethnic and tribal backgrounds, so he will translate into Burmese for me. Hopefully we will be able to do General Intro the first week and Special Intro (individual books) the second week. I should be able to guage better after the first few days how much ground we will actually be able to cover. Class will be only 44 classroom hours, so with a translator we will have to rush. If Pasiang uses half the time, it will have to be done in just over 20 hours. If I am not able to cover the material in the first course I will know better how long to take if I should teach it again.
RB
Last Sabbath was a typical Lord's Day in MM. We don't speak enough of the language to be able to profit from a worship service, so I generally accept invitations to preach. Next week I am scheduled to preach at the ERC (Evangelical Reformed Church) of Yangon. I preach "through" an interpreter, usually Pasiang. Today I preached in Michael Zahau's Reformed Baptist church. Michael is the man who is doing the lion's share of the translation work for the Falam language Saamhla (Psalter). He has finished at least rough draft translation through Psalm 134. There are some revisions it must undergo and then Tha Nei Sum will finish the "assembly" process by arranging the music (tunes) for the Psalms. Tha Nei Sum is one of the few people in the country who is able to read both staff notation (they refer to it as "stem notes") and tonic sol-fa notation. Pasiang is concerned that they should have the same tunes for the Burmese Psalter as for the Falam Psalter, but I really think his concerns are misplaced. He thinks that if the Yangon classis sings from the Burmese Psalter with one set of tunes and the Kale and Falam classes sing from the Falam Psalter with a different set of tunes that this will cause problems at synod meetings. I think he is borrowing troubles that he need not concern himself with. Synod takes place once in three years. Surely they will be able to figure out which Psalter to sing from if they can figure out which language they are going to use for the synod meeting itself.
We're Losing Some Guests Today
BEE (Biblical Education by Extension) has had some reps here since we've been here. At first it was Carl (Artie) Hunt, and when he went home his place was taken by Tom Arnold and Curtis Thomas. Curtis Thomas is the same man who, together with David Steel, wrote The Five Points of Calvinism and Romans: An Interpretive Outline back in the 1960's. Mr. Steel passed away about 10 years ago and Mr. Thomas retired from the ministry about five years ago. Since that time he continues active with BEE. The organization has purchased or rented -- I'm not sure which -- a facility for the Myanmar Bible Seminary of Henry Mang Hlei Thang. The seminary itself is independent, but Henry and his brother are the cofounders of the Biblical Presbyterian Church. Apparently Messrs Thomas and Arnold have been teaching both there and at "Solomon's School," a place I know nothing about except that it has a pretty Arminian reputation. I think that they are also distant cousins of some sort to Tawk Kap. But Tawk Kap has distanced himself from most of the reformed community at this point. Today Messrs Thomas and Arnold return to the US. It has been a pleasure getting to know Mr Thomas especially. Back in the day, I used to hand out a lot of copies of his book. That was back when we could get most of the Calvinists in Missouri into my AMC Gremlin all at the same time and still have room for the spare tire. We loaded up the Gremlin with copies of The Five Points in Memphis and motored back to Springfield with them, where we handed them out on Arminian Baptist College campuses. Mr Thomas tells a similar story about a time when he, David Steel, and one other man were driving up to visit Lorraine Boettner when he was in Rock Port, MO. They thought that if they had a fatal car wreck it could "wipe out" Calvinism in Arkansas. We were all lonely back in those days. His book was some assurance to me that perhaps we were on the right track in spite of the fact that there were so few of us. There was not yet a PCA and it was questionable whether the ARP would be able to turn the corner and return from its move toward liberalism.
And Gaining Some Others
A couple of ladies arrived Saturday. They are from America and seem to be in the flannelgraph business. Their contacts do not seem to know them. Whenever they have guests they always have to introduce themselves. They did not venture out of the hotel for several days, but invited their guests to come and eat lunch with them in the lobby while they explained how to teach to children using flannelgraph. The Chin for their part seem to be wondering why someone would be using a perfectly good longyi to hold up pictures. For any readers who do not know what flannelgraph is...count your blessings.
Class Resumes on September 29
I think I will continue to have a few students from the URCM for Old Testament Intro, but most of the students will be from RBI. Pasiang will be translating for me. Class will consist of students from various ethnic and tribal backgrounds, so he will translate into Burmese for me. Hopefully we will be able to do General Intro the first week and Special Intro (individual books) the second week. I should be able to guage better after the first few days how much ground we will actually be able to cover. Class will be only 44 classroom hours, so with a translator we will have to rush. If Pasiang uses half the time, it will have to be done in just over 20 hours. If I am not able to cover the material in the first course I will know better how long to take if I should teach it again.
RB
Thursday, September 25
Less Rain But Not More Sunshine
The rainy season seems to be nearly over. When we first arrived a month ago (August 28th), it rained pretty much every day and sometimes several times a day. Now as we near October, the rain is less often, though it is still overcast on most days. The temperature is also far more comfortable. October is generally considered the first of the "cool season" months -- cool season being a relative term in the tropics. As the rainy season comes to an end, so too does Greek. Tomorrow will be final exams for my third Greek class. Hopefully today we can finish up to the point the exam covers. Old Testament Introduction begins next Monday. Matt and I have discussed the possibility of visiting the national museum tomorrow.
Putting Someone "On The Ground"
Matthew picked up one of those advantix cameras before we left the states. He even got some extra rolls of film, not knowing if he would be able to get them in MM. Sadly, he didn't even finish one roll of film before the camera quit working. I'm not sure what the problem is, but he assures me it is pretty permanent. So since my return from Kale he has been using my digital camera. He's been taking a lot of pictures -- pix I would never think to take -- and perhaps when we return, DV, I'll be able to figure out how to post some of them to the blog.
Some of us have been discussing the possibility of helping with an ESL school here (English as a Second Language). One of the places that has been discussed is the Yangon School for the Blind. They are very nice people over there, and I think that the ERCS plans to put an office there, but the place is really quite dirty. While it would be acceptable for an office -- and maybe even for the students -- I don't see how it would be acceptable for westerners and especially if some of them are young ladies. There are no western toilets in the school; only "level" toilets. Also, the students, being blind, do not always do a good job of cleaning up after themselves when they use the toilet. There are other venues. I hope to talk with Zaw Lin Htun at the City Star. Perhaps he can offer us a good rate. Right now I'm using half the second floor office space and he is charging $17 per day. Perhaps I could use it all and he would charge less. Or perhaps since it will be necessary to have both classrooms and living quarters, we should investigate further the possibility of using the back building at GGI.
The ERCS "office" would double as a library when the ERCS is not here teaching courses. ERCS is the Evangelical Reformed Churches of Singapore. I spent a good bit of time on Tuesday evening with Pastor Cheah of the ERCS. They have been involved in ministry to the Reformed churches here in MM longer than anyone I know of. A number of things are on the minds of the ERCS as well as my own. The first is the very poor condition of theological education here in MM. Pastor Cheah is therefore here for a period of about four months to "jumpstart" a theological institution. It will be a diploma institution, i.e. it will assume a certain amount of knowledge on the part of all those entering. They have also contributed a large number of theological books for a library (to be housed at the blind school -- see above). What Cheah is suggesting, and I personally think it is a good idea, is that the key reformed denoms that have ministries in this country begin to cooperate at the non-ecclesiastical level. This is something that Pastor Bruce Hoyt of the RCNZ and I have already discussed and I think both he and I are agreed on this in principle.
How Cooperation Might Work
Again, this is very much at the "brainstorming" level, but we are looking at possibilities such as diaconal ministries. A retirement home, an orphanage, a theological school, or an ESL school, could be brought under the purview of a joint missions committee or board (I hope that didn't give heart attacks to my Thornwellian brothers). The JCM might then function as a sort of board for these activities. It is quite difficult to convince the various reformed denoms in this country to cooperate with one another on even the simplest of projects. One of the reasons is that they are so recently tribal in their orientation (and still are to a great extent). Perhaps if we were less tribal it would encourage them to look at the bigger picture of what cooperation can do. Now I hope this statement neither offends or leads to controversy, but I am not altogether opposed to tribal loyalties. God organized his people into tribes (i.e. families) long before they had a king to lead them. Whether we may want to admit it about the other tribes, we do all have the same King Jesus today. The problem is not the existence of tribes, but the jealousies of one tribe against another. And that is where we can be a good example to the reformed denoms of MM.
We did not talk about details because it is still a little early for that. But basically, those denoms represented by MTM could probably cooperate with little or no conscientious difficulty with the other denoms involved. We would continue to have our "tribal differences" as surely as the reformed denoms have theirs in MM. Most of our differences cannot be seen from a distance of more than a few feet (a rider on horseback cannot tell us apart). They may be important to us, and so they should be; but outsiders are often at great pains to tell the differences. So, can we at least cooperate to the extent necessary to be an example for the MM denoms? I would hope so. Is there a need for eleven reformed seminaries in Yangon? Is there a need for twelve or thirteen separate reformed orphanages, each with five orphans? It would be a much wiser use of resources, perhaps, if we were to set aside our jealousies for the sake of the kingdom before asking the denominations of MM to do so.
RB
The rainy season seems to be nearly over. When we first arrived a month ago (August 28th), it rained pretty much every day and sometimes several times a day. Now as we near October, the rain is less often, though it is still overcast on most days. The temperature is also far more comfortable. October is generally considered the first of the "cool season" months -- cool season being a relative term in the tropics. As the rainy season comes to an end, so too does Greek. Tomorrow will be final exams for my third Greek class. Hopefully today we can finish up to the point the exam covers. Old Testament Introduction begins next Monday. Matt and I have discussed the possibility of visiting the national museum tomorrow.
Putting Someone "On The Ground"
Matthew picked up one of those advantix cameras before we left the states. He even got some extra rolls of film, not knowing if he would be able to get them in MM. Sadly, he didn't even finish one roll of film before the camera quit working. I'm not sure what the problem is, but he assures me it is pretty permanent. So since my return from Kale he has been using my digital camera. He's been taking a lot of pictures -- pix I would never think to take -- and perhaps when we return, DV, I'll be able to figure out how to post some of them to the blog.
Some of us have been discussing the possibility of helping with an ESL school here (English as a Second Language). One of the places that has been discussed is the Yangon School for the Blind. They are very nice people over there, and I think that the ERCS plans to put an office there, but the place is really quite dirty. While it would be acceptable for an office -- and maybe even for the students -- I don't see how it would be acceptable for westerners and especially if some of them are young ladies. There are no western toilets in the school; only "level" toilets. Also, the students, being blind, do not always do a good job of cleaning up after themselves when they use the toilet. There are other venues. I hope to talk with Zaw Lin Htun at the City Star. Perhaps he can offer us a good rate. Right now I'm using half the second floor office space and he is charging $17 per day. Perhaps I could use it all and he would charge less. Or perhaps since it will be necessary to have both classrooms and living quarters, we should investigate further the possibility of using the back building at GGI.
The ERCS "office" would double as a library when the ERCS is not here teaching courses. ERCS is the Evangelical Reformed Churches of Singapore. I spent a good bit of time on Tuesday evening with Pastor Cheah of the ERCS. They have been involved in ministry to the Reformed churches here in MM longer than anyone I know of. A number of things are on the minds of the ERCS as well as my own. The first is the very poor condition of theological education here in MM. Pastor Cheah is therefore here for a period of about four months to "jumpstart" a theological institution. It will be a diploma institution, i.e. it will assume a certain amount of knowledge on the part of all those entering. They have also contributed a large number of theological books for a library (to be housed at the blind school -- see above). What Cheah is suggesting, and I personally think it is a good idea, is that the key reformed denoms that have ministries in this country begin to cooperate at the non-ecclesiastical level. This is something that Pastor Bruce Hoyt of the RCNZ and I have already discussed and I think both he and I are agreed on this in principle.
How Cooperation Might Work
Again, this is very much at the "brainstorming" level, but we are looking at possibilities such as diaconal ministries. A retirement home, an orphanage, a theological school, or an ESL school, could be brought under the purview of a joint missions committee or board (I hope that didn't give heart attacks to my Thornwellian brothers). The JCM might then function as a sort of board for these activities. It is quite difficult to convince the various reformed denoms in this country to cooperate with one another on even the simplest of projects. One of the reasons is that they are so recently tribal in their orientation (and still are to a great extent). Perhaps if we were less tribal it would encourage them to look at the bigger picture of what cooperation can do. Now I hope this statement neither offends or leads to controversy, but I am not altogether opposed to tribal loyalties. God organized his people into tribes (i.e. families) long before they had a king to lead them. Whether we may want to admit it about the other tribes, we do all have the same King Jesus today. The problem is not the existence of tribes, but the jealousies of one tribe against another. And that is where we can be a good example to the reformed denoms of MM.
We did not talk about details because it is still a little early for that. But basically, those denoms represented by MTM could probably cooperate with little or no conscientious difficulty with the other denoms involved. We would continue to have our "tribal differences" as surely as the reformed denoms have theirs in MM. Most of our differences cannot be seen from a distance of more than a few feet (a rider on horseback cannot tell us apart). They may be important to us, and so they should be; but outsiders are often at great pains to tell the differences. So, can we at least cooperate to the extent necessary to be an example for the MM denoms? I would hope so. Is there a need for eleven reformed seminaries in Yangon? Is there a need for twelve or thirteen separate reformed orphanages, each with five orphans? It would be a much wiser use of resources, perhaps, if we were to set aside our jealousies for the sake of the kingdom before asking the denominations of MM to do so.
RB
Wednesday, September 24
Less Rain But Not More Sunshine
The rainy season seems to be nearly over. When we first arrived a month ago (August 28th), it rained pretty much every day and sometimes several times a day. Now as we near October, the rain is less often, though it is still overcast on most days. The temperature is also far more comfortable. October is generally considered the first of the "cool season" months -- cool season being a relative term in the tropics. As the rainy season comes to an end, so too does Greek. Tomorrow will be final exams for my third Greek class. Hopefully today we can finish up to the point the exam covers. Old Testament Introduction begins next Monday. Matt and I have discussed the possibility of visiting the national museum tomorrow.
Putting Someone "On The Ground"
Matthew picked up one of those advantix cameras before we left the states. He even got some extra rolls of film, not knowing if he would be able to get them in MM. Sadly, he didn't even finish one roll of film before the camera quit working. I'm not sure what the problem is, but he assures me it is pretty permanent. So since my return from Kale he has been using my digital camera. He's been taking a lot of pictures -- pix I would never think to take -- and perhaps when we return, DV, I'll be able to figure out how to post some of them to the blog.
Some of us have been discussing the possibility of helping with an ESL school here (English as a Second Language). One of the places that has been discussed is the Yangon School for the Blind. They are very nice people over there, and I think that the ERCS plans to put an office there, but the place is really quite dirty. While it would be acceptable for an office -- and maybe even for the students -- I don't see how it would be acceptable for westerners and especially if some of them are young ladies. There are no western toilets in the school; only "level" toilets. Also, the students, being blind, do not always do a good job of cleaning up after themselves when they use the toilet. There are other venues. I hope to talk with Zaw Lin Htun at the City Star. Perhaps he can offer us a good rate. Right now I'm using half the second floor office space and he is charging $17 per day. Perhaps I could use it all and he would charge less. Or perhaps since it will be necessary to have both classrooms and living quarters, we should investigate further the possibility of using the back building at GGI.
The ERCS "office" would double as a library when the ERCS is not here teaching courses. ERCS is the Evangelical Reformed Churches of Singapore. I spent a good bit of time on Tuesday evening with Pastor Cheah of the ERCS. They have been involved in ministry to the Reformed churches here in MM longer than anyone I know of. A number of things are on the minds of the ERCS as well as my own. The first is the very poor condition of theological education here in MM. Pastor Cheah is therefore here for a period of about four months to "jumpstart" a theological institution. It will be a diploma institution, i.e. it will assume a certain amount of knowledge on the part of all those entering. They have also contributed a large number of theological books for a library (to be housed at the blind school -- see above). What Cheah is suggesting, and I personally think it is a good idea, is that the key reformed denoms that have ministries in this country begin to cooperate at the non-ecclesiastical level. This is something that Pastor Bruce Hoyt of the RCNZ and I have already discussed and I think both he and I are agreed on this in principle.
How Cooperation Might Work
Again, this is very much at the "brainstorming" level, but we are looking at possibilities such as diaconal ministries. A retirement home, an orphanage, a theological school, or an ESL school, could be brought under the purview of a joint missions committee or board (I hope that didn't give heart attacks to my Thornwellian brothers). The JCM might then function as a sort of board for these activities. It is quite difficult to convince the various reformed denoms in this country to cooperate with one another on even the simplest of projects. One of the reasons is that they are so recently tribal in their orientation (and still are to a great extent). Perhaps if we were less tribal it would encourage them to look at the bigger picture of what cooperation can do. Now I hope this statement neither offends or leads to controversy, but I am not altogether opposed to tribal loyalties. God organized his people into tribes (i.e. families) long before they had a king to lead them. Whether we may want to admit it about the other tribes, we do all have the same King Jesus today. The problem is not the existence of tribes, but the jealousies of one tribe against another. And that is where we can be a good example to the reformed denoms of MM.
We did not talk about details because it is still a little early for that. But basically, those denoms represented by MTM could probably cooperate with little or no conscientious difficulty with the other denoms involved. We would continue to have our "tribal differences" as surely as the reformed denoms have theirs in MM. Most of our differences cannot be seen from a distance of more than a few feet (a rider on horseback cannot tell us apart). They may be important to us, and so they should be; but outsiders are often at great pains to tell the differences. So, can we at least cooperate to the extent necessary to be an example for the MM denoms? I would hope so. Is there a need for eleven reformed seminaries in Yangon? Is there a need for twelve or thirteen separate reformed orphanages, each with five orphans? It would be a much wiser use of resources, perhaps, if we were to set aside our jealousies for the sake of the kingdom before asking the denominations of MM to do so.
RB
The rainy season seems to be nearly over. When we first arrived a month ago (August 28th), it rained pretty much every day and sometimes several times a day. Now as we near October, the rain is less often, though it is still overcast on most days. The temperature is also far more comfortable. October is generally considered the first of the "cool season" months -- cool season being a relative term in the tropics. As the rainy season comes to an end, so too does Greek. Tomorrow will be final exams for my third Greek class. Hopefully today we can finish up to the point the exam covers. Old Testament Introduction begins next Monday. Matt and I have discussed the possibility of visiting the national museum tomorrow.
Putting Someone "On The Ground"
Matthew picked up one of those advantix cameras before we left the states. He even got some extra rolls of film, not knowing if he would be able to get them in MM. Sadly, he didn't even finish one roll of film before the camera quit working. I'm not sure what the problem is, but he assures me it is pretty permanent. So since my return from Kale he has been using my digital camera. He's been taking a lot of pictures -- pix I would never think to take -- and perhaps when we return, DV, I'll be able to figure out how to post some of them to the blog.
Some of us have been discussing the possibility of helping with an ESL school here (English as a Second Language). One of the places that has been discussed is the Yangon School for the Blind. They are very nice people over there, and I think that the ERCS plans to put an office there, but the place is really quite dirty. While it would be acceptable for an office -- and maybe even for the students -- I don't see how it would be acceptable for westerners and especially if some of them are young ladies. There are no western toilets in the school; only "level" toilets. Also, the students, being blind, do not always do a good job of cleaning up after themselves when they use the toilet. There are other venues. I hope to talk with Zaw Lin Htun at the City Star. Perhaps he can offer us a good rate. Right now I'm using half the second floor office space and he is charging $17 per day. Perhaps I could use it all and he would charge less. Or perhaps since it will be necessary to have both classrooms and living quarters, we should investigate further the possibility of using the back building at GGI.
The ERCS "office" would double as a library when the ERCS is not here teaching courses. ERCS is the Evangelical Reformed Churches of Singapore. I spent a good bit of time on Tuesday evening with Pastor Cheah of the ERCS. They have been involved in ministry to the Reformed churches here in MM longer than anyone I know of. A number of things are on the minds of the ERCS as well as my own. The first is the very poor condition of theological education here in MM. Pastor Cheah is therefore here for a period of about four months to "jumpstart" a theological institution. It will be a diploma institution, i.e. it will assume a certain amount of knowledge on the part of all those entering. They have also contributed a large number of theological books for a library (to be housed at the blind school -- see above). What Cheah is suggesting, and I personally think it is a good idea, is that the key reformed denoms that have ministries in this country begin to cooperate at the non-ecclesiastical level. This is something that Pastor Bruce Hoyt of the RCNZ and I have already discussed and I think both he and I are agreed on this in principle.
How Cooperation Might Work
Again, this is very much at the "brainstorming" level, but we are looking at possibilities such as diaconal ministries. A retirement home, an orphanage, a theological school, or an ESL school, could be brought under the purview of a joint missions committee or board (I hope that didn't give heart attacks to my Thornwellian brothers). The JCM might then function as a sort of board for these activities. It is quite difficult to convince the various reformed denoms in this country to cooperate with one another on even the simplest of projects. One of the reasons is that they are so recently tribal in their orientation (and still are to a great extent). Perhaps if we were less tribal it would encourage them to look at the bigger picture of what cooperation can do. Now I hope this statement neither offends or leads to controversy, but I am not altogether opposed to tribal loyalties. God organized his people into tribes (i.e. families) long before they had a king to lead them. Whether we may want to admit it about the other tribes, we do all have the same King Jesus today. The problem is not the existence of tribes, but the jealousies of one tribe against another. And that is where we can be a good example to the reformed denoms of MM.
We did not talk about details because it is still a little early for that. But basically, those denoms represented by MTM could probably cooperate with little or no conscientious difficulty with the other denoms involved. We would continue to have our "tribal differences" as surely as the reformed denoms have theirs in MM. Most of our differences cannot be seen from a distance of more than a few feet (a rider on horseback cannot tell us apart). They may be important to us, and so they should be; but outsiders are often at great pains to tell the differences. So, can we at least cooperate to the extent necessary to be an example for the MM denoms? I would hope so. Is there a need for eleven reformed seminaries in Yangon? Is there a need for twelve or thirteen separate reformed orphanages, each with five orphans? It would be a much wiser use of resources, perhaps, if we were to set aside our jealousies for the sake of the kingdom before asking the denominations of MM to do so.
RB
Monday, September 22
Translations & Dictionaries
I finally have managed to put together some free time Saturday and this Lord's Day. Friday evening Louis Zung Hlei Thang came by the hotel and we discussed two projects in which he would like to have me involved with him. The first is a Falam to English dictionary. He has a 10,000 word wordlist and he wants to have someone fund him to write a dictionary (lexicon) based upon those 10,000 words. I cannot honestly say I am interested in the project. He would be willing to work on the project for a year for $50 per month. Of course I'm not sure what we would have at the end of a year. His second project is a little more interesting to me, but I just don't think we'll be able to work out the details. His brother owns a reasonably well-done translation of the Bible into Falam. But it still contains many typoes, spelling inconsistencies, and the like. It needs a lot of work. His brother wants me to place money on the table and hope everything works out well. I'm more inclined simply to purchase the translation at its present state and get a lot of people working on it at once. I have heard that the TBS has now decided to work with BI on a Falam New Testament. That is strictly the "word on the street" in Yangon and I have not attempted to confirm it.
Native and Traditional Program at the Karaweiq
Matthew and I went to the Karaweiq restaurant on Friday night. It seems like everytime we come to Yangon, the price at the Karaweiq goes up by about 500 to 1,000 Kyats. This year the price was 5,000 Kys for the evening. It is a buffet style eatery with Burmese and Indian food, local desserts, etc. In addition, there is a floor show that features local and traditional dancing, juggling, and puppetry. The program begins with a drum and kazoo band and then features several "national" acts (Burmese, Chin, Shan, Karen, etc.). The soup was spicy, the vegetables pickled, and the noodles fried in sesame oil. I've seen the floor show, but Matthew enjoyed himself. What the performers lack in talent, they more than make up for in intensity and enthusiasm.
Shopping at the Bogyoke Ze
Matthew and I went shopping on Saturday morning. I picked up some Burmese dress shirts (legadhos). We also bought some "knick-knacks" for taking home as souvenirs. While we were walking about, we received help from 10 year old "Henry" and an older gentleman we called "Red Tooth Fred." The red teeth come from chewing a concoction that the Burmese call "kunya," which starts as a betelnut, and then they add whatever they like, including garlic and other "spices." It has the effect of turning their teeth and lips red from the betelnut and causing their breath to smell quite bad -- from the various spices. Fred was actually pretty helpful. When we wanted to know where something was (Bogyoke Ze is large, covering about four by four city blocks), Red Tooth Fred was generally standing within ten steps or so of us. He did not make a nuisance of himself, but apparently made a business of helping tourists find things. When we finally left the market, we tipped him and he seemed very thankful for the small amount we gave him. Henry was not quite so helpful and was something of a nuisance, but he sold Matt some postcards and then couldn't quite deal with the fact that he made his only sale early. He continued to try to sell us anything he could think of. He would go away and then return with something new in his hands. He did have the effect of keeping all the other urchins away. He yelled at them in Burmese (probably something along the lines of "work your own side of the street") and they generally faded away.
Lord's Day at Ebenezer Church & Home for the Aged
On the Lord's Day I preached from 1 Samuel 14 (again). This time I preached to a very small church -- a house-church really -- that also doubles as a home for the aged. The woman who owns the house calls it "Ebenezer." It does not say "church, nursing home" or anything else. Just Ebenezer House. The pastor's name is Bawi Hlei Thang (Boy Lhay Tong). Three or five of the folks in the church are very elderly women. One of the ladies who works there is named Betty Smith (her real name, she says). Her grandfather or great grandfather was a British officer back in colonial days and English is her "native language." She is much more proficient at Burmese, however. She is neither Burmese nor Chin. The ancestry that is not English is Karen (accent on the second syllable). The worship service was in Burmese and Siang Hope translated for me. Ebenezer house is located in North Dagon (cheap rents and very far from the hotel - even farther from downtown). I think the services are generally even smaller than they were this morning, but some of the ERS (Evangelical Reformed Seminary) students came to hear preaching in English.
A Word About the Confusion
Apparently not all my blogs are making the trip from Yangon through the FPCR server to the blogspot. I apologize, and whatever entries do not make it into the blog, I am keeping all the entries on the HD of the laptop and will upload them when I arrive back in Dallas in 3 1/2 weeks time. If my counting is correct, the trip is half over as of today. Still lots of work to be done, though.
RB
I finally have managed to put together some free time Saturday and this Lord's Day. Friday evening Louis Zung Hlei Thang came by the hotel and we discussed two projects in which he would like to have me involved with him. The first is a Falam to English dictionary. He has a 10,000 word wordlist and he wants to have someone fund him to write a dictionary (lexicon) based upon those 10,000 words. I cannot honestly say I am interested in the project. He would be willing to work on the project for a year for $50 per month. Of course I'm not sure what we would have at the end of a year. His second project is a little more interesting to me, but I just don't think we'll be able to work out the details. His brother owns a reasonably well-done translation of the Bible into Falam. But it still contains many typoes, spelling inconsistencies, and the like. It needs a lot of work. His brother wants me to place money on the table and hope everything works out well. I'm more inclined simply to purchase the translation at its present state and get a lot of people working on it at once. I have heard that the TBS has now decided to work with BI on a Falam New Testament. That is strictly the "word on the street" in Yangon and I have not attempted to confirm it.
Native and Traditional Program at the Karaweiq
Matthew and I went to the Karaweiq restaurant on Friday night. It seems like everytime we come to Yangon, the price at the Karaweiq goes up by about 500 to 1,000 Kyats. This year the price was 5,000 Kys for the evening. It is a buffet style eatery with Burmese and Indian food, local desserts, etc. In addition, there is a floor show that features local and traditional dancing, juggling, and puppetry. The program begins with a drum and kazoo band and then features several "national" acts (Burmese, Chin, Shan, Karen, etc.). The soup was spicy, the vegetables pickled, and the noodles fried in sesame oil. I've seen the floor show, but Matthew enjoyed himself. What the performers lack in talent, they more than make up for in intensity and enthusiasm.
Shopping at the Bogyoke Ze
Matthew and I went shopping on Saturday morning. I picked up some Burmese dress shirts (legadhos). We also bought some "knick-knacks" for taking home as souvenirs. While we were walking about, we received help from 10 year old "Henry" and an older gentleman we called "Red Tooth Fred." The red teeth come from chewing a concoction that the Burmese call "kunya," which starts as a betelnut, and then they add whatever they like, including garlic and other "spices." It has the effect of turning their teeth and lips red from the betelnut and causing their breath to smell quite bad -- from the various spices. Fred was actually pretty helpful. When we wanted to know where something was (Bogyoke Ze is large, covering about four by four city blocks), Red Tooth Fred was generally standing within ten steps or so of us. He did not make a nuisance of himself, but apparently made a business of helping tourists find things. When we finally left the market, we tipped him and he seemed very thankful for the small amount we gave him. Henry was not quite so helpful and was something of a nuisance, but he sold Matt some postcards and then couldn't quite deal with the fact that he made his only sale early. He continued to try to sell us anything he could think of. He would go away and then return with something new in his hands. He did have the effect of keeping all the other urchins away. He yelled at them in Burmese (probably something along the lines of "work your own side of the street") and they generally faded away.
Lord's Day at Ebenezer Church & Home for the Aged
On the Lord's Day I preached from 1 Samuel 14 (again). This time I preached to a very small church -- a house-church really -- that also doubles as a home for the aged. The woman who owns the house calls it "Ebenezer." It does not say "church, nursing home" or anything else. Just Ebenezer House. The pastor's name is Bawi Hlei Thang (Boy Lhay Tong). Three or five of the folks in the church are very elderly women. One of the ladies who works there is named Betty Smith (her real name, she says). Her grandfather or great grandfather was a British officer back in colonial days and English is her "native language." She is much more proficient at Burmese, however. She is neither Burmese nor Chin. The ancestry that is not English is Karen (accent on the second syllable). The worship service was in Burmese and Siang Hope translated for me. Ebenezer house is located in North Dagon (cheap rents and very far from the hotel - even farther from downtown). I think the services are generally even smaller than they were this morning, but some of the ERS (Evangelical Reformed Seminary) students came to hear preaching in English.
A Word About the Confusion
Apparently not all my blogs are making the trip from Yangon through the FPCR server to the blogspot. I apologize, and whatever entries do not make it into the blog, I am keeping all the entries on the HD of the laptop and will upload them when I arrive back in Dallas in 3 1/2 weeks time. If my counting is correct, the trip is half over as of today. Still lots of work to be done, though.
RB
Thursday, September 18
Back from Tahan
Note: Pastors report on his trip to Tahan got lost in transit but has now been posted following this entry in its correct place.
Classes Started Yesterday
Classes began yesterday at the City Star Hotel for my Greek students. All returned, including Matthew. We had a brief quiz that covered all our memory work to date (PAI conjugation plus 5 noun paradigms). Then we began on adjectives and the article. Of course, if they have done all their memory work up to now then there is not a lot of new work. We will begin Machen's chapter 7 today, DV.
More On Sending Photos
I tried sending a photo earlier (taken at the church opening at Sadaw village). Outlook express did not like it for whatever reasons seemed good to Bill Gates. So it seems that I will simply keep my photos handy and post them either at the blogspot or on our fpcr website upon my return to the USA.
And More on the Conference in Tahan
The morning sessions were on "The Gospel of Free Grace" and were very well received. The attendees were almost exclusively from the MRPC and the URCM (two reformed denoms) church officers, so that bodes well for the future of those denominations. The state of education here in MM is such that, both within and without the church, there is little emphasis placed on genuine study. The lecturer generally places his notes on a board and the students copy them into their notebooks for future reference or memorization. The approach definitely fits the old definition of a college lecture, "when the notes of the professor become the notes of the student without having to pass through the mind of either one." The really refreshing thing about teaching language is the necessity to break through that mold and actually deal with the students' understandings.
There was quite a bit of discussion both during and after the conference sessions in Tahan. Many of the officers brought notebooks and wrote furiously -- many times when I had not even put anything on the board. Either they were understanding what I was saying or my translator had some really interesting things to say that had nothing to do with me. In any event, they were very much interested in the fact that God alone saves sinners.
I Finally Got My Beard Trimmed
But it took a really long time. The barber (stylist?) had never trimmed a beard before, so it was a new experience for her. It took her a long time and then they couldn't decide if they should charge extra above the usual 80 cents for a haircut. They finally decided that 80 cents was for the whole head. Normally I would have gotten my beard trimmed before I left Texas, but Pres the barber was on vacation that week. Then when I had my haircut before going to Tahan, the barber was unwilling or unable to undertake cutting a beard. In fact, she came over and watched the barber yesterday. So it has been awhile since my beard was trimmed and it tends to look a bit scraggly after a few weeks. U Khin finally suggested I may want to stop by the barber shop.
Did I Mention in a Previous Blog?
One of the men staying in the hotel with me here at GGI is Curtis Thomas. Back "in the day" I used to hand out many copies of his book (along with David Steel) on the Five Points of Calvinism Defined, Documented and Defended. It was a pleasure to get to meet him. It turns out we know some of the same people -- or have known them in the past. When you get to a certain age, I suppose some large percentage of the people you know have already died. He is a very pleasant man and is here teaching at Henry Mang Hlei Thang's seminary. I have asked for the name of the seminary, but he simply refers to it as "Henry's New Seminary." So, I suppose we need to add HNS to our list of reformed schools in Yangon.
It is getting pretty close to 8:30, so I need to put some finishing touches on today's lesson plan and get a ride to the City Star. More later, DV.
RB
Note: Pastors report on his trip to Tahan got lost in transit but has now been posted following this entry in its correct place.
Classes Started Yesterday
Classes began yesterday at the City Star Hotel for my Greek students. All returned, including Matthew. We had a brief quiz that covered all our memory work to date (PAI conjugation plus 5 noun paradigms). Then we began on adjectives and the article. Of course, if they have done all their memory work up to now then there is not a lot of new work. We will begin Machen's chapter 7 today, DV.
More On Sending Photos
I tried sending a photo earlier (taken at the church opening at Sadaw village). Outlook express did not like it for whatever reasons seemed good to Bill Gates. So it seems that I will simply keep my photos handy and post them either at the blogspot or on our fpcr website upon my return to the USA.
And More on the Conference in Tahan
The morning sessions were on "The Gospel of Free Grace" and were very well received. The attendees were almost exclusively from the MRPC and the URCM (two reformed denoms) church officers, so that bodes well for the future of those denominations. The state of education here in MM is such that, both within and without the church, there is little emphasis placed on genuine study. The lecturer generally places his notes on a board and the students copy them into their notebooks for future reference or memorization. The approach definitely fits the old definition of a college lecture, "when the notes of the professor become the notes of the student without having to pass through the mind of either one." The really refreshing thing about teaching language is the necessity to break through that mold and actually deal with the students' understandings.
There was quite a bit of discussion both during and after the conference sessions in Tahan. Many of the officers brought notebooks and wrote furiously -- many times when I had not even put anything on the board. Either they were understanding what I was saying or my translator had some really interesting things to say that had nothing to do with me. In any event, they were very much interested in the fact that God alone saves sinners.
I Finally Got My Beard Trimmed
But it took a really long time. The barber (stylist?) had never trimmed a beard before, so it was a new experience for her. It took her a long time and then they couldn't decide if they should charge extra above the usual 80 cents for a haircut. They finally decided that 80 cents was for the whole head. Normally I would have gotten my beard trimmed before I left Texas, but Pres the barber was on vacation that week. Then when I had my haircut before going to Tahan, the barber was unwilling or unable to undertake cutting a beard. In fact, she came over and watched the barber yesterday. So it has been awhile since my beard was trimmed and it tends to look a bit scraggly after a few weeks. U Khin finally suggested I may want to stop by the barber shop.
Did I Mention in a Previous Blog?
One of the men staying in the hotel with me here at GGI is Curtis Thomas. Back "in the day" I used to hand out many copies of his book (along with David Steel) on the Five Points of Calvinism Defined, Documented and Defended. It was a pleasure to get to meet him. It turns out we know some of the same people -- or have known them in the past. When you get to a certain age, I suppose some large percentage of the people you know have already died. He is a very pleasant man and is here teaching at Henry Mang Hlei Thang's seminary. I have asked for the name of the seminary, but he simply refers to it as "Henry's New Seminary." So, I suppose we need to add HNS to our list of reformed schools in Yangon.
It is getting pretty close to 8:30, so I need to put some finishing touches on today's lesson plan and get a ride to the City Star. More later, DV.
RB
Wednesday, September 17
I Just Flew Back From Kalemyo...
...and are my arms tired! The schedule was hectic and we only had electricity for an hour or two a day. I was able to send a couple of emails, but they were very short and I didn't really have time in my schedule for sending or receiving them. So there has not been a blog since I left. I did find TSO (tessa-oh, not tee-esso), but there are two or three places in the Kale area where email can be sent and received. The trip consisted of preaching and teaching. On the last day (Monday) there was time for some socializing, and I spent most of the day with Siang Hope's family.
The Conference
The conference lasted for four days -- Monday through Thursday. In the mornings we studied "The Gospel of Free Grace" and in the afternoons we studied first the federal theology and then reformed church polity. The conference had a total of 90 church officers in attendance. The most reformed of the churches in MM continue to have some difficulty understanding -- or at least in implementing -- the basics of reformed church polity. We discussed two primary principles of accountable church government -- plurality of elders and parity of elders. There was considerable interest, but not as much time to discuss these things as we would have liked.
The Lord's Days
I was in the Kale area for two Lord's Days -- the 7th and the 14th. Both of them were very rainy (hmm, I wonder if that is where this season gets its name). Not just drizzle rainy, but very hard rains. The first we spent traveling to and from Let Pan Chaung and preaching there. I preached from 1 Samuel 14:1-23, "No Restraint To The Lord." I think more fellowship and festivities were planned, but rained out. The church at Let Pan Chaung presently consists of 24 houses (families). They don't yet have a church building, so they meet in the pastor's home. The Lord's Day I was there they were in his house and in front of his house out to the street standing around the windows, etc. Most had umbrellas. They have purchased the paddy field next to the pastor's house, and plan to put up a building. They can do most of the work themselves by going to the hills and cutting their own wood and having local people help to cut and plane it. But they will need some financial help with things like postings, zinc roof, nails, and a few other things they cannot do for themselves.
The second Lord's Day was in Tahan, where I preached from Hosea 6:4, "Repentance Like The Morning Fog." I did not preach in the evening either Lord's Day. The first day I was literally "under the weather" with a weather induced headache. It turns out that few or none of the Chin have heard of aspirin. On Monday I asked my driver to take me to a pharmacy, where I asked for some aspirin. Once they finally found it, they sold it to me by the tablet (5 Kys per tablet -- two for a penny). I got four, but I only needed two. They knocked the headache right out; but we surely take our western medications for granted. The second Lord's Day I simply rested all afternoon and attended worship in Tahan. One of the English students sat next to me in worship and translated for me.
The Evening Preaching
They referred to the evening meetings as "crusade" preaching. I'm not sure what else to call it. It was nightly preaching, with some singing -- the Chin love to sing -- but the meetings were not full worship services. There were no calls to worship, Scripture readings, etc. I had hoped that the preaching would be illustrative of what we were learning in the AM conference sessions on the gospel of free grace. The intention was to demonstrate how free grace should impact our preaching of the gospel. The evening preaching was much better attended than was the conference because it was open to the public. In fact, most nights it was pretty close to SRO.
Time in Siang Hope's Home
Like many cultures that do not have a written history, the Chin know their genealogies very well and in considerable detail. They find it strange that we use the same word for a grandson who is a son of a daughter and one who is the son of a son. The concept of "in-law" is foreign to them; and they can tell you without having to concentrate who is related to whom and how in their own village. Outside their village -- well, what difference does it make? Very tribal-minded. So on Monday Siang Hope's relatives came by his parents' house by twos and threes to visit and meet the foreigner. Also Lal Duh (pronounced "doo") spent most of the day with us, and Pastor Hmun of Hai Kawl came by for supper. We took time off from PaSiang's family to eat lunch with Len Thang and the pastors of MRPC. They gave an accounting of the conference and it came in only slightly over budget -- a great improvement over past years in which conference expenses have tended to be a bit on the "exaggerated" side of regular.
We continued our afternoon "vigil" at Siang Hope's parents' house, went to see the construction that is going on with their new house, and ate supper in their home. The Chin eat most everything either boiled or pickled. We had rice (of course), baby eggplant which they call bringel, cabbage, lady fingers (okra to southerners), and several other veggies. Quite a spread in Chin terms. Everyone stayed until about 6:30 or 7:00. There was light, i.e. electric power, for a short time, so we had a time of fellowship in Scripture and prayer before I returned to the hotel. It was really an enjoyable day off.
The Church Opening
On Saturday the 13th, I had the privilege to be the official "church-opener" at the new church building in Sadaw village. Some of my readers may have seen pictures of the partially completed building from my January trip. The Sadaw villagers finished the church building and asked me to "cut the ribbon" at the official opening of the building. The villagers built it pretty much by themselves. They did depend upon some expert labor for planing the floorboards and for hewing the support postings, but otherwise they did all the work or financing of the work themselves. Mission to Myanmar, in order to help the village celebrate, bought three pigs and the entire village of about 500 people ate Vawk Sa and celebrated the opening of the new church. The entire "road" (path) through the village was covered with banana leaves and bamboo mats and the people ate and talked about the blessing of having a new church building. Even the dogs ate the bones and I suppose rejoiced, in a dog sort of way. The Chin celebrate with a feast on three "natural" occasions -- the birth of a child, a wedding, and the passing of a loved one. When they can do so, they also make a feast day of the opening of a new church building.
More to Follow
But now that I am "home" I wanted to post to the blog since it has been ten or eleven days since I have done so. I have taken some pictures, so maybe we can also figure out a way to post some of them. Greek class begins again tomorrow morning, so it is nice to have at least a half day off before beginning again.
RB
...and are my arms tired! The schedule was hectic and we only had electricity for an hour or two a day. I was able to send a couple of emails, but they were very short and I didn't really have time in my schedule for sending or receiving them. So there has not been a blog since I left. I did find TSO (tessa-oh, not tee-esso), but there are two or three places in the Kale area where email can be sent and received. The trip consisted of preaching and teaching. On the last day (Monday) there was time for some socializing, and I spent most of the day with Siang Hope's family.
The Conference
The conference lasted for four days -- Monday through Thursday. In the mornings we studied "The Gospel of Free Grace" and in the afternoons we studied first the federal theology and then reformed church polity. The conference had a total of 90 church officers in attendance. The most reformed of the churches in MM continue to have some difficulty understanding -- or at least in implementing -- the basics of reformed church polity. We discussed two primary principles of accountable church government -- plurality of elders and parity of elders. There was considerable interest, but not as much time to discuss these things as we would have liked.
The Lord's Days
I was in the Kale area for two Lord's Days -- the 7th and the 14th. Both of them were very rainy (hmm, I wonder if that is where this season gets its name). Not just drizzle rainy, but very hard rains. The first we spent traveling to and from Let Pan Chaung and preaching there. I preached from 1 Samuel 14:1-23, "No Restraint To The Lord." I think more fellowship and festivities were planned, but rained out. The church at Let Pan Chaung presently consists of 24 houses (families). They don't yet have a church building, so they meet in the pastor's home. The Lord's Day I was there they were in his house and in front of his house out to the street standing around the windows, etc. Most had umbrellas. They have purchased the paddy field next to the pastor's house, and plan to put up a building. They can do most of the work themselves by going to the hills and cutting their own wood and having local people help to cut and plane it. But they will need some financial help with things like postings, zinc roof, nails, and a few other things they cannot do for themselves.
The second Lord's Day was in Tahan, where I preached from Hosea 6:4, "Repentance Like The Morning Fog." I did not preach in the evening either Lord's Day. The first day I was literally "under the weather" with a weather induced headache. It turns out that few or none of the Chin have heard of aspirin. On Monday I asked my driver to take me to a pharmacy, where I asked for some aspirin. Once they finally found it, they sold it to me by the tablet (5 Kys per tablet -- two for a penny). I got four, but I only needed two. They knocked the headache right out; but we surely take our western medications for granted. The second Lord's Day I simply rested all afternoon and attended worship in Tahan. One of the English students sat next to me in worship and translated for me.
The Evening Preaching
They referred to the evening meetings as "crusade" preaching. I'm not sure what else to call it. It was nightly preaching, with some singing -- the Chin love to sing -- but the meetings were not full worship services. There were no calls to worship, Scripture readings, etc. I had hoped that the preaching would be illustrative of what we were learning in the AM conference sessions on the gospel of free grace. The intention was to demonstrate how free grace should impact our preaching of the gospel. The evening preaching was much better attended than was the conference because it was open to the public. In fact, most nights it was pretty close to SRO.
Time in Siang Hope's Home
Like many cultures that do not have a written history, the Chin know their genealogies very well and in considerable detail. They find it strange that we use the same word for a grandson who is a son of a daughter and one who is the son of a son. The concept of "in-law" is foreign to them; and they can tell you without having to concentrate who is related to whom and how in their own village. Outside their village -- well, what difference does it make? Very tribal-minded. So on Monday Siang Hope's relatives came by his parents' house by twos and threes to visit and meet the foreigner. Also Lal Duh (pronounced "doo") spent most of the day with us, and Pastor Hmun of Hai Kawl came by for supper. We took time off from PaSiang's family to eat lunch with Len Thang and the pastors of MRPC. They gave an accounting of the conference and it came in only slightly over budget -- a great improvement over past years in which conference expenses have tended to be a bit on the "exaggerated" side of regular.
We continued our afternoon "vigil" at Siang Hope's parents' house, went to see the construction that is going on with their new house, and ate supper in their home. The Chin eat most everything either boiled or pickled. We had rice (of course), baby eggplant which they call bringel, cabbage, lady fingers (okra to southerners), and several other veggies. Quite a spread in Chin terms. Everyone stayed until about 6:30 or 7:00. There was light, i.e. electric power, for a short time, so we had a time of fellowship in Scripture and prayer before I returned to the hotel. It was really an enjoyable day off.
The Church Opening
On Saturday the 13th, I had the privilege to be the official "church-opener" at the new church building in Sadaw village. Some of my readers may have seen pictures of the partially completed building from my January trip. The Sadaw villagers finished the church building and asked me to "cut the ribbon" at the official opening of the building. The villagers built it pretty much by themselves. They did depend upon some expert labor for planing the floorboards and for hewing the support postings, but otherwise they did all the work or financing of the work themselves. Mission to Myanmar, in order to help the village celebrate, bought three pigs and the entire village of about 500 people ate Vawk Sa and celebrated the opening of the new church. The entire "road" (path) through the village was covered with banana leaves and bamboo mats and the people ate and talked about the blessing of having a new church building. Even the dogs ate the bones and I suppose rejoiced, in a dog sort of way. The Chin celebrate with a feast on three "natural" occasions -- the birth of a child, a wedding, and the passing of a loved one. When they can do so, they also make a feast day of the opening of a new church building.
More to Follow
But now that I am "home" I wanted to post to the blog since it has been ten or eleven days since I have done so. I have taken some pictures, so maybe we can also figure out a way to post some of them. Greek class begins again tomorrow morning, so it is nice to have at least a half day off before beginning again.
RB
Friday, September 5
Last Day of Greek Class Today
Ok, it will not be the "last" last day. But it will be the last day for ten days, while I go to Tahan and the students have an opportunity to "consolidate" their notes, their thoughts, and make sure their memory work is up to date. We have actually made a little more progress in Greek class than I hoped. We have made it up to first declension (a-stem) nouns. Yesterday I placed the various paradigms on the board and told the students to memorize them overnight. I also gave them a large number of vocabulary words to memorize. Of course I do not really expect that they will have all of the new memory work done by Friday, but I told them that it will give them "something to do" for the ten days I will be in Kalemyo/Tahan. Amazingly, we have lost only one student. This was his third attempt, so I rather think that he decided early on he still wasn't "getting it." The rest of the students are doing rather well, actually. My Greek class is the first exposure most of the students have had to the western approach to education.
Burmese education is based on an Asian adaptation of a British approach. Textbooks are outlandishly expensive, given the economic conditions here. So fundamentally everything is based upon the lecturer's notes. It is a classic case of "the notes of the lecturer becoming the notes of the student without having to pass through the mind of either one." The lecturer places his notes on a board one item at a time, and may or may not pass out a copy of his notes to the students. The student copies word for word from the board -- including spelling errors if there are any -- and goes home and attempts to memorize what he has written down. On exam day, parents show up outside the school building or school compound and shout answers to questions through open windows all day (they have the notes, after all). Then, if the student is able to answer 40% or more of the questions correctly, he passes that "grade" or "standard." Do that ten times and you are "ready" for university studies or perhaps a career in medicine.
Under no circumstance is a student expected or allowed to ask a question. That would indicate that the lecturer had not already done a good job of explaining the concept. Or perhaps the lecturer will not know the answer and will lose face in front of the entire class. Of course asking a question would also require the student actually to think about the information he is writing in his notes. As I wrote at the end of the first paragraph above, my Greek class is the first exposure most of the students have had to the western approach to education, including even their seminary courses. Rev. Thang Bwee was fascinated by the approach we take in class. He told me it was the first class he has ever taken in which the concern was with understanding the material more than just "covering" it. He hopes to implement some changes at RBI, but change comes slowly in this part of the world.
One Other Casualty
Matt woke up Wednesday with a "tickle" in his throat and by Thursday afternoon had a good cold bug going. Some of the students are wearing jackets or coats in class, but it did not occur to us that we would need a jacket during August in the tropics. The diet is not well balanced in Myanmar. We do eat a lot of fresh fruit (bananas, papayas, and pineapple mostly, but durian is also in season right now); we eat hot soup at least once per day; and I take a ton of vitamins -- or so it seems. But mostly we eat eggs for breakfast and rice in one form or another for lunch and dinner. Debby eats a lot of chicken -- she is actually varying her diet somewhat this year, eating three or four chicken dishes in rotation. Still it is not what Americans would regard as a "balanced" diet. So Matthew has come down with a cold. I do not know why I am not affected -- my mother would have explained that it was because we got caught in a rainstorm -- it is rainy season. If we had not been caught in a shower, then it was because he sat in a draft. Or because he is wearing sandals rather than shoes. Or some other second cause. I tend to think it is a diet thing, but anyway, he is not feeling well enough to make the trip to Tahan. Oh yeah, some people are advancing a "germ theory," but how could something that is invisible make you sick? His mother is convinced the problem arises from brushing his teeth with tap water. That is a sort of modification of the germ theory. She thinks there are blue meanies in the water.
He probably sounds worse than he really is. He does not complain. But he is struggling with a head cold, so his voice cracks and his head is stuffed up. We discussed Thursday evening whether he should go with me to Tahan. Our concern was not simply whether he would be effective with a cold. We were also concerned with how susceptible he would be to other diseases given a "busy" immune system. We conferred with Dr. Tat Nay Wynn (educated in medicine in the best Burmese fashion), who specializes in tropical medicine. He was of the opinion that Matt has either a head cold or something else. He offered to prescribe some medications, but basically he takes a "don't make it worse" approach to medicine, so he said a little bed rest and a lot of fluid would be the best approach to take -- provided the fluid involved was not the local water. So after weighing the risks and benefits of taking Matt along to Tahan, we decided that it would be best for him to remain in Yangon and recover fully rather than take a risk of exposing his weakened immune system to malaria, typhus, dengue fever, or "who-knows-what." Siang Hope will be with me, so I will still have someone to tote my bags. In fact, Pasiang already asked if I would put him up in the hotel with me, so he will be close at hand anyway.
So I Took Him To Get A Haircut
The haircut was for me. Matt cuts his own hair. He explains that with the "guard" on the clippers that it is impossible to make a mistake. Those sound like "famous last words" to me, so I still let others cut my hair. But at the "Vila beauty saloon" in Chinatown, they give a Burmese massage along with the haircut. Since Matt wasn't feeling very well, I thought perhaps the Burmese massage would help him feel better. Actually, it did; but sick is still sick. A Burmese massage may be worth the trip to SE Asia. It is a combination of shoulder massage, back-rub, shampoo, facial, and chiropractic adjustment. Matt and I are a couple of exfoliated dudes. OK, it may not be worth a trip to Myanmar, but it is definitely worth the buck and a half it costs.
There Is Email Somewhere In Tahan
...if I can find it. I will be there for ten days (longer than any previous trip). I hope to spend at least one day at the New Life Orphanage. Because of the difficulty with the banking system, I have decided to try to bring the funds with me on the aircraft. There are now about 75 orphans in the New Life Orphanage. They should already have rice in the new paddy field. I hope to be able to talk to someone in the Tahan area about raising coffee up there. Siang Hope told me that his grandmother used to raise coffee, but it was only a few plants around their house and it was for their own use -- they never thought of it as a cash crop.
Weekdays will be spent in conferences with church officers of the URCM (United Reformed Churches of MM) and MRPC (MM Reformation Presbyterian Church). Officer training will consist in discussions of church order, public worship, preaching the gospel of free grace, and the like. The evenings -- Monday to Thursday -- will be taken up in public meetings. The public meetings will be for the purpose of preaching the gospel to the local community. Hopefully over the past few years I've built up some capital with the local authorities. We shall see.
And Speaking of Email
Yangon now has broadband internet available. At least it is "kinda broad" band. It is like starband. They place something like a satellite dish or DirectTV dish on your roof and aim it at the nearest tower. There are now three towers in Yangon and connections are available up to 512 Kbps. The advertising flyer says 1MB, but that is crossed out and 512 Kbps written over the top of it. Still, that is a major leap from 9600 bps dialup with email only. One of the commercial plans allows 5 GB bandwidth per month and another is unlimited. They also encourage a single connection and a LAN via hub or router. Admittedly, I only understand every other word of what I just typed -- but I think it is a good thing. A commercial account is allowed 10 email accounts with the 5GB option and 25 email accounts with the unlimited option. As I blogged earlier, the atmosphere seems to be changing here. Earlier this week, as I walked down Bogyoke Aung San Road, a man put a flyer in my hand for a blues concert to be held that evening. Can Ronald McDonald be far behind?
RB
Golden Guest Inn
182, Insein Road,
Block 9, Hlaing Township,
Yangon, Myanmar.
Phone : 951-524642
Fax : 951-526008
Email : goldenguest@mptmail.net.mm
Ok, it will not be the "last" last day. But it will be the last day for ten days, while I go to Tahan and the students have an opportunity to "consolidate" their notes, their thoughts, and make sure their memory work is up to date. We have actually made a little more progress in Greek class than I hoped. We have made it up to first declension (a-stem) nouns. Yesterday I placed the various paradigms on the board and told the students to memorize them overnight. I also gave them a large number of vocabulary words to memorize. Of course I do not really expect that they will have all of the new memory work done by Friday, but I told them that it will give them "something to do" for the ten days I will be in Kalemyo/Tahan. Amazingly, we have lost only one student. This was his third attempt, so I rather think that he decided early on he still wasn't "getting it." The rest of the students are doing rather well, actually. My Greek class is the first exposure most of the students have had to the western approach to education.
Burmese education is based on an Asian adaptation of a British approach. Textbooks are outlandishly expensive, given the economic conditions here. So fundamentally everything is based upon the lecturer's notes. It is a classic case of "the notes of the lecturer becoming the notes of the student without having to pass through the mind of either one." The lecturer places his notes on a board one item at a time, and may or may not pass out a copy of his notes to the students. The student copies word for word from the board -- including spelling errors if there are any -- and goes home and attempts to memorize what he has written down. On exam day, parents show up outside the school building or school compound and shout answers to questions through open windows all day (they have the notes, after all). Then, if the student is able to answer 40% or more of the questions correctly, he passes that "grade" or "standard." Do that ten times and you are "ready" for university studies or perhaps a career in medicine.
Under no circumstance is a student expected or allowed to ask a question. That would indicate that the lecturer had not already done a good job of explaining the concept. Or perhaps the lecturer will not know the answer and will lose face in front of the entire class. Of course asking a question would also require the student actually to think about the information he is writing in his notes. As I wrote at the end of the first paragraph above, my Greek class is the first exposure most of the students have had to the western approach to education, including even their seminary courses. Rev. Thang Bwee was fascinated by the approach we take in class. He told me it was the first class he has ever taken in which the concern was with understanding the material more than just "covering" it. He hopes to implement some changes at RBI, but change comes slowly in this part of the world.
One Other Casualty
Matt woke up Wednesday with a "tickle" in his throat and by Thursday afternoon had a good cold bug going. Some of the students are wearing jackets or coats in class, but it did not occur to us that we would need a jacket during August in the tropics. The diet is not well balanced in Myanmar. We do eat a lot of fresh fruit (bananas, papayas, and pineapple mostly, but durian is also in season right now); we eat hot soup at least once per day; and I take a ton of vitamins -- or so it seems. But mostly we eat eggs for breakfast and rice in one form or another for lunch and dinner. Debby eats a lot of chicken -- she is actually varying her diet somewhat this year, eating three or four chicken dishes in rotation. Still it is not what Americans would regard as a "balanced" diet. So Matthew has come down with a cold. I do not know why I am not affected -- my mother would have explained that it was because we got caught in a rainstorm -- it is rainy season. If we had not been caught in a shower, then it was because he sat in a draft. Or because he is wearing sandals rather than shoes. Or some other second cause. I tend to think it is a diet thing, but anyway, he is not feeling well enough to make the trip to Tahan. Oh yeah, some people are advancing a "germ theory," but how could something that is invisible make you sick? His mother is convinced the problem arises from brushing his teeth with tap water. That is a sort of modification of the germ theory. She thinks there are blue meanies in the water.
He probably sounds worse than he really is. He does not complain. But he is struggling with a head cold, so his voice cracks and his head is stuffed up. We discussed Thursday evening whether he should go with me to Tahan. Our concern was not simply whether he would be effective with a cold. We were also concerned with how susceptible he would be to other diseases given a "busy" immune system. We conferred with Dr. Tat Nay Wynn (educated in medicine in the best Burmese fashion), who specializes in tropical medicine. He was of the opinion that Matt has either a head cold or something else. He offered to prescribe some medications, but basically he takes a "don't make it worse" approach to medicine, so he said a little bed rest and a lot of fluid would be the best approach to take -- provided the fluid involved was not the local water. So after weighing the risks and benefits of taking Matt along to Tahan, we decided that it would be best for him to remain in Yangon and recover fully rather than take a risk of exposing his weakened immune system to malaria, typhus, dengue fever, or "who-knows-what." Siang Hope will be with me, so I will still have someone to tote my bags. In fact, Pasiang already asked if I would put him up in the hotel with me, so he will be close at hand anyway.
So I Took Him To Get A Haircut
The haircut was for me. Matt cuts his own hair. He explains that with the "guard" on the clippers that it is impossible to make a mistake. Those sound like "famous last words" to me, so I still let others cut my hair. But at the "Vila beauty saloon" in Chinatown, they give a Burmese massage along with the haircut. Since Matt wasn't feeling very well, I thought perhaps the Burmese massage would help him feel better. Actually, it did; but sick is still sick. A Burmese massage may be worth the trip to SE Asia. It is a combination of shoulder massage, back-rub, shampoo, facial, and chiropractic adjustment. Matt and I are a couple of exfoliated dudes. OK, it may not be worth a trip to Myanmar, but it is definitely worth the buck and a half it costs.
There Is Email Somewhere In Tahan
...if I can find it. I will be there for ten days (longer than any previous trip). I hope to spend at least one day at the New Life Orphanage. Because of the difficulty with the banking system, I have decided to try to bring the funds with me on the aircraft. There are now about 75 orphans in the New Life Orphanage. They should already have rice in the new paddy field. I hope to be able to talk to someone in the Tahan area about raising coffee up there. Siang Hope told me that his grandmother used to raise coffee, but it was only a few plants around their house and it was for their own use -- they never thought of it as a cash crop.
Weekdays will be spent in conferences with church officers of the URCM (United Reformed Churches of MM) and MRPC (MM Reformation Presbyterian Church). Officer training will consist in discussions of church order, public worship, preaching the gospel of free grace, and the like. The evenings -- Monday to Thursday -- will be taken up in public meetings. The public meetings will be for the purpose of preaching the gospel to the local community. Hopefully over the past few years I've built up some capital with the local authorities. We shall see.
And Speaking of Email
Yangon now has broadband internet available. At least it is "kinda broad" band. It is like starband. They place something like a satellite dish or DirectTV dish on your roof and aim it at the nearest tower. There are now three towers in Yangon and connections are available up to 512 Kbps. The advertising flyer says 1MB, but that is crossed out and 512 Kbps written over the top of it. Still, that is a major leap from 9600 bps dialup with email only. One of the commercial plans allows 5 GB bandwidth per month and another is unlimited. They also encourage a single connection and a LAN via hub or router. Admittedly, I only understand every other word of what I just typed -- but I think it is a good thing. A commercial account is allowed 10 email accounts with the 5GB option and 25 email accounts with the unlimited option. As I blogged earlier, the atmosphere seems to be changing here. Earlier this week, as I walked down Bogyoke Aung San Road, a man put a flyer in my hand for a blues concert to be held that evening. Can Ronald McDonald be far behind?
RB
Golden Guest Inn
182, Insein Road,
Block 9, Hlaing Township,
Yangon, Myanmar.
Phone : 951-524642
Fax : 951-526008
Email : goldenguest@mptmail.net.mm
Wednesday, September 3
September 3rd, 2003
First Sabbath Day in Yangon
Matt and I went by the City Mart on Saturday and picked up some items for Sabbath -- bread, crackers, peanut butter, and such. So we began our Sabbath day with bread and tea, praying for the day and for the services that would follow. I was scheduled to preach at Grace URCM in North Dagon. We arrived just before 10:30 and so we also attended the Sabbath school service where Saya Andrew taught on Lord's Day 11 from the Heidelberg Catechism. Of course we undestood very little, as the entire lesson was in Burmese. The congregation is in Burmese, but most of the congregants are Zahau Chin, Indian, or Karen. The only language they have in common is Burmese, the national tongue of Myanmar. I preached from 1 Samuel 14, Jonathan's Faith in Trying Circumstances. We spent the remainder of the day in the GGI in various Sabbath day activities. We missed our home church.
First Day Greek Class
Class began on time Monday AM with sixteen Greek students. There are two younger men from RBI (2nd year students I think) who will have trouble. But if they are steadfast in their studies, they will be able to handle it. Their only problem is that they have so little English. The class is divided roughly half and half between students from RBI and students from the URCM (United Reformed Churches of Myanmar). Most of the students from the URCM are already in ministry at some level, either as pastors or sayas (teachers). Some of the URCM students also attended my Greek class last Januay, but they will benefit from a review, I am sure. The sixteenth student is Matt. He has decided that he will also benefit from the Greek (as long as he has to be there he may as well do the work). Actually, he is taking on a bit of work in doing this, because I do give homework -- as the students will attest. I had meetings scheduled for Monday evening, but both were "no-shows." Thawna did call to explain that he was held up at another meeting, but wanted to reschedule. Puii simply does not speak English and I was unable to work out a time to reschedule for a translator to be present. She said she would attend my meetings in Tahan.
Greek Class Goes On
Amazingly there were actually more students the second day than there were the first. Rev. Thang Bwee attended class the second day as well as the first. I only expected him to attend the first day because he wanted to introduce all his students to me. But apparently he decided that he could benefit somewhat from the classes as well, so he came the second day. I handed out notes on the first day. My notes are designed around the Machen textbook. There are numerous places where the student must choose the correct answer or fill in a blank etc. It is really as much a workbook as a notebook. But in MM, everything the student works with is a "notebook," so these have come to be known as my notes. Also in the MM education system, it is not uncommon for the professor to hand out a syllabus or notes or something similar so the students can better follow along. Second day I noticed that several of the students had gone to the expense of having my notes "bound" into a single notebook or workbook. Some had a GBC type binding and others were more professionally done. The average cost (yes, I asked) was 500 Kys. That doesn't sound like very much unless you consider that is roughly what a MM worker makes in a day.
The reason we had more students the second day is that Titus (Lal Tai Lo) decided to come down to Yangon for class. I expect it cost him around 15,000 Kys and three days or four to make the trip. It is very difficult for the buses to run during the rainy season (the roads are all dirt or other unimproved material in that part of the country), so he likely had to walk or take a "chariot" for a good part of the trip. This Titus is from Cicai village -- there is a picture of him at our website from my January trip poking a potato or other vegetable into my mouth at a feast in Cicai. It turns out he is cousin to the URCM's Rev. Khup, who studied Greek with me in January and is also in class this time as well. Khup was very happy to see him. They sat together at the same desk yesterday. Titus has apparently had some Greek in the past, because he was catching on very quickly to our first paradigm (present indicative active verb endings). Burmese, like English, is an uninflected language. So it generally takes awhile for someone to catch the idea if it is his first language in which verb and noun forms change. Tomorrow -- second declension nouns!
Outside Class Other Ministry Concerns Continue
I am sending this blog from MM and it is being "cut and pasted" by the FPCR webmaster and Blue Banner editor, Chris Coldwell. Because it is coming, though indirectly, from MM, there are some sensitive issues that it is best not to explain in much detail. But I will say only that it is much more difficult for me to transfer funds from one place to another within the MM banking system than it has been previously. So it took until yesterday for us to find a way to send the financing to Tahan for the upcoming conference with the URCM and MRPC church officers. I do not yet know if it was entirely successful. I will ask Titus Lal Tai Lo to make a call to Tahan today and see if the funds arrived. The folks at the AWB (Asian Wealth Bank) were very understanding and worked with me through Siang Hope, my translator. But, in a word, many things have changed. Those changes helped us decide not to use the Yoma Bank as we have in the past.
Len Thang's cousin Paul came by the hotel in the evening. I did not know that he was Len Thang's cousin. I only learned that fact yesterday. I met Paul on my last trip to MM. I know him through Robert Thawm Luai. Nevertheless, it turns out that Paul is pretty well connected in the Tahan area, and has offered to write some letters of introduction for me to some of the local officials in the Kalemyo/Tahan area. He promised to come back by the hotel before Friday with the letters. That pretty much covers the first two days of classes. Today (Wednesday) will be the last day of the first week I've been in MM. U Khin, the hotel proprietor and general "fixit man" in Yangon, has agreed to get airplane tickets for Matt and me and Siang Hope. Generally one must wait until the day before leaving to buy tickets, however, so I don't expect to see them until Friday. Since there are two of us going, perhaps the rules will allow us to take two nationals instead of only one. If so, then maybe Titus can return to Tahan with us. We shall see.
RB
c/o Golden Guest Inn
182, Insein Road,
Block 9, Hlaing Township,
Yangon, Myanmar.
Phone : 951-524642
Fax : 951-526008
Email : goldenguest@mptmail.net.mm
First Sabbath Day in Yangon
Matt and I went by the City Mart on Saturday and picked up some items for Sabbath -- bread, crackers, peanut butter, and such. So we began our Sabbath day with bread and tea, praying for the day and for the services that would follow. I was scheduled to preach at Grace URCM in North Dagon. We arrived just before 10:30 and so we also attended the Sabbath school service where Saya Andrew taught on Lord's Day 11 from the Heidelberg Catechism. Of course we undestood very little, as the entire lesson was in Burmese. The congregation is in Burmese, but most of the congregants are Zahau Chin, Indian, or Karen. The only language they have in common is Burmese, the national tongue of Myanmar. I preached from 1 Samuel 14, Jonathan's Faith in Trying Circumstances. We spent the remainder of the day in the GGI in various Sabbath day activities. We missed our home church.
First Day Greek Class
Class began on time Monday AM with sixteen Greek students. There are two younger men from RBI (2nd year students I think) who will have trouble. But if they are steadfast in their studies, they will be able to handle it. Their only problem is that they have so little English. The class is divided roughly half and half between students from RBI and students from the URCM (United Reformed Churches of Myanmar). Most of the students from the URCM are already in ministry at some level, either as pastors or sayas (teachers). Some of the URCM students also attended my Greek class last Januay, but they will benefit from a review, I am sure. The sixteenth student is Matt. He has decided that he will also benefit from the Greek (as long as he has to be there he may as well do the work). Actually, he is taking on a bit of work in doing this, because I do give homework -- as the students will attest. I had meetings scheduled for Monday evening, but both were "no-shows." Thawna did call to explain that he was held up at another meeting, but wanted to reschedule. Puii simply does not speak English and I was unable to work out a time to reschedule for a translator to be present. She said she would attend my meetings in Tahan.
Greek Class Goes On
Amazingly there were actually more students the second day than there were the first. Rev. Thang Bwee attended class the second day as well as the first. I only expected him to attend the first day because he wanted to introduce all his students to me. But apparently he decided that he could benefit somewhat from the classes as well, so he came the second day. I handed out notes on the first day. My notes are designed around the Machen textbook. There are numerous places where the student must choose the correct answer or fill in a blank etc. It is really as much a workbook as a notebook. But in MM, everything the student works with is a "notebook," so these have come to be known as my notes. Also in the MM education system, it is not uncommon for the professor to hand out a syllabus or notes or something similar so the students can better follow along. Second day I noticed that several of the students had gone to the expense of having my notes "bound" into a single notebook or workbook. Some had a GBC type binding and others were more professionally done. The average cost (yes, I asked) was 500 Kys. That doesn't sound like very much unless you consider that is roughly what a MM worker makes in a day.
The reason we had more students the second day is that Titus (Lal Tai Lo) decided to come down to Yangon for class. I expect it cost him around 15,000 Kys and three days or four to make the trip. It is very difficult for the buses to run during the rainy season (the roads are all dirt or other unimproved material in that part of the country), so he likely had to walk or take a "chariot" for a good part of the trip. This Titus is from Cicai village -- there is a picture of him at our website from my January trip poking a potato or other vegetable into my mouth at a feast in Cicai. It turns out he is cousin to the URCM's Rev. Khup, who studied Greek with me in January and is also in class this time as well. Khup was very happy to see him. They sat together at the same desk yesterday. Titus has apparently had some Greek in the past, because he was catching on very quickly to our first paradigm (present indicative active verb endings). Burmese, like English, is an uninflected language. So it generally takes awhile for someone to catch the idea if it is his first language in which verb and noun forms change. Tomorrow -- second declension nouns!
Outside Class Other Ministry Concerns Continue
I am sending this blog from MM and it is being "cut and pasted" by the FPCR webmaster and Blue Banner editor, Chris Coldwell. Because it is coming, though indirectly, from MM, there are some sensitive issues that it is best not to explain in much detail. But I will say only that it is much more difficult for me to transfer funds from one place to another within the MM banking system than it has been previously. So it took until yesterday for us to find a way to send the financing to Tahan for the upcoming conference with the URCM and MRPC church officers. I do not yet know if it was entirely successful. I will ask Titus Lal Tai Lo to make a call to Tahan today and see if the funds arrived. The folks at the AWB (Asian Wealth Bank) were very understanding and worked with me through Siang Hope, my translator. But, in a word, many things have changed. Those changes helped us decide not to use the Yoma Bank as we have in the past.
Len Thang's cousin Paul came by the hotel in the evening. I did not know that he was Len Thang's cousin. I only learned that fact yesterday. I met Paul on my last trip to MM. I know him through Robert Thawm Luai. Nevertheless, it turns out that Paul is pretty well connected in the Tahan area, and has offered to write some letters of introduction for me to some of the local officials in the Kalemyo/Tahan area. He promised to come back by the hotel before Friday with the letters. That pretty much covers the first two days of classes. Today (Wednesday) will be the last day of the first week I've been in MM. U Khin, the hotel proprietor and general "fixit man" in Yangon, has agreed to get airplane tickets for Matt and me and Siang Hope. Generally one must wait until the day before leaving to buy tickets, however, so I don't expect to see them until Friday. Since there are two of us going, perhaps the rules will allow us to take two nationals instead of only one. If so, then maybe Titus can return to Tahan with us. We shall see.
RB
c/o Golden Guest Inn
182, Insein Road,
Block 9, Hlaing Township,
Yangon, Myanmar.
Phone : 951-524642
Fax : 951-526008
Email : goldenguest@mptmail.net.mm
Monday, September 1
FIRST DAYS IN MYANMAR
Arrival in Myanmar
We arrived in Myanmar on Thursday morning. Our plane was not only on time; it was actually a little bit early. Going through immigration and customs was an entirely different experience this trip than it ever has been. First, because of the SARS concern in this part of the world, the health department had a screening system set up. We filled out forms while still on the aircraft, documenting where we had been and whether we had come into contact with any SARS victims. We filled out the form on the aircraft and then handed it in to the authorities at the terminal, who took our temperatures and gave us forms saying we were admitted by the health department.
Second, somebody apparently bought a lot of computers for the Myanmar government. Entering through immigration has never been easier or faster for me. In fact, had it not been for the fact that our trunks were among the last to leave the plane, we would have been completely through the immigrations/customs process at the airport in record time.
Finally, in the past the Foreign Exchange Bank has been located just past immigration and it has been mandatory for visitors to Myanmar to purchase $200 worth of Foreign Exchange Currency (FECs). FECs are denominated as US currrency and can be spent only in Myanmar; and there are no refunds. It has the effect of assuring that every visitor will spend at least $200 on the trip. Inflation being what it is here, it is no longer difficult to spend $200 in Myanmar, however. There was no notice or sign; the kiosks were simply not manned. I asked one of the customs officials about buying FECs and he simply informed me that if I really wanted to purchase some, there was still a branch of the Foreign Exchange Bank at the airport. It was clear that he could not think of a reason why someone would actually want to purchase them, though.
Three Cars, Six Trunks, and Five People
We had sufficient luggage that the small cars used even by hotels was not enough. U Khin (proprietor of the Golden Guest Inn) had two cars to take us to the hotel, but we also had to hire a "town ace" minivan to carry us all. Siang Hope and his cousin came to the airport to see us in, so there were five people in addition to our luggage. We ended up with five pieces of "carry on" luggage, plus six trunks full of books and clothes. We did our best to "max out" the weight allowance on our luggage. Each piece was supposed to be only up to 70 lbs. We tried to make sure that when we left our house that each of them was at least 67 lbs. and as close to 70 lbs. as we could get without going over the limit. The baggage handlers at the airport definitely earned their tips from us. We arrived at the hotel with all bags intact.
Matt, Pasiang, his cousin, and I went into town to pick up a few incidentals. We stopped by Blazon, Super One, and one other shopping "mall" before finally finding everything we needed. We also dropped my Greek notes off at a printer who made copies for each of the students who will be in my Greek class next week. By the time we finished up with the shopping and other errands, neither Matt nor I could keep our eyes open. I was falling asleep at every stoplight. So we returned to the GGI, where I fell asleep by four o'clock and slept the clock around.
Meeting With The City Star Establishment
I spent most of Friday meeting with the managers of the City Star hotel. The City Star is conveniently located near downtown Yangon in an area called Sule Plaza. Pasiang and I spent most of the morning in meetings with Zaw Lin Htut. We negotiated a room rate that was $3 per day lower than what we paid last year and for a larger meeting room. More importantly, we only have to pay for the days we are actually using the room. Last year the negotiations were handled by a different national and the terms were much less favorable. We met in a sleeping room in which the bed had been removed and tables put up. There was barely room to move. We had to pay to keep the room "reserved," which meant that they were charging us for the days we were out of town and the weekend days as well. So we went into this negotiation already knowing what changes we wanted to see. We actually have a regular meeting room this year -- the same room where we held final exams last year. We are paying $3 less per day and we are paying only for those days we actually use the room.
Other Changes in Our Working Environment
Of course I have been here only a few days, but so much seems to me to have changed. Everything seems more open than in the past. I do not mean that there has been open and evident repression in past years. But there is such a thing as "atmosphere" in a city or nation that one may not notice when he is located there every day. It is the "atmosphere" that seems to have changed. People still stare at us because it is unusual to see westerners on the street (especially dressed in Burmese attire), but when we smile they smile back; when we joke they laugh. The Myanmar people are very friendly -- that has not changed. Perhaps as the trip progresses I will be able to put my finger on the change with greater accuracy. Friday closed with a very profitable meeting with Rev. Thang Bwee of Reformed Bible Institute. We discussed curriculum, future plans, financing, and had a very good time of prayer together before he left.
Saturday's Sad Meeting
MTM decided last spring to sponsor up to six theological students to attend the RBI of Rev. Thang Bwee. Though six students came down from Kale, only five stayed. Those five students requested to meet with me on Saturday at 11:00. The meeting lasted for nearly two hours, so it is difficult to summarize in a paragraph. The students originally came to Yangon with the idea that they were going to be learning the Bible in English -- or so they said. I asked them if they already know English and each of them replied in the negative. They seemed genuinely surprised that I would then ask how they expected to understand what they were studying if they did not speak the language in which they expected to study. They assured me, however, that they would be able to learn English as they studied. They did not know that Rev. Thang Bwee visited me on Friday evening. They also apparently did not know that I had copies of their transcripts and educational records. I encouraged them to stay the course for the coming year. Their request of me was that we sponsor them elsewhere. I told them that was not going to happen. They were, of course, free to attend school anywhere they wish. But MTM will not sponsor them at any school but a reformed school. This means higher standards and a more vigorous curriculum. It also means that it will not be simply a school where students can come to learn English and pretend to be doing church work. There is nothing wrong with having an English school (we hope to have one), but it is not identical to studying for the ministry and should not be confused with that. Anyway, I pointed out to the students that they have a history of quitting one school after another for several years (I knew this because I had their academic records in my hand) and that regardless of the academic requirements of their study, there are spiritual issues of faithfulness and steadfastness involved. I explained that it would do their souls positive harm to continue the habit of quitting in the face of difficulty and encouraged them to stay the course. Of course, one of the advantages of being young is that young people possess all wisdom. So they simply explained that their reason for coming to me was not to gather counsel, but simply to gather funds for a different school. At one point I even explained a possible basis for their request. I said that by next Friday I would prepare an English comprehension exam for them. I would commit to sending them to a school where courses are taught in English if they passed the exam. But if they failed the exam, then they would have to commit to staying at RBI until the end of the school year. Of course, even as I suspected, they could not make such a commitment because they knew themselves that they could not pass such an exam. They had not even thought through how they would get home or what they would do once they arrived there; they simply wanted to quit. I could not conscientiously leave these six youngsters on the streets of Yangon without any knowledge of how to get home so I gave them busfare, but also explained that my gift should not be construed as an endorsement of their plans (or lack thereof). So, finally, I prayed for them that God would not hold this against them, but would forgive it for Christ's sake and that even as John Mark eventually became useful to Paul's ministry that God would also make these young men useful for the ministry in his own time and in his own way.
Why Send Home Willing Workers?
In a word, because there is a difference between a willing worker and a willful worker. Calvin quoted Augustine as saying that the three indispensible virtues for a Christian minister are humility, humility, and humility. When a man claims to have been called into the ministry but already thinks he knows more than his teachers how he should be prepared for the battle, he is not yet in the place of a disciple. He still has not learned the first lesson of discipleship. Part of the problem with these five young men, I am convinced, arises from a false idea of a call to the ministry. They have been encouraged to drop out of "secular" school in order to follow the ministry. They have left first one school then another as they have been able to convince sponsors that there was a problem with the "school." Of course there is not going to be a perfect school this side of Jordan. But they have been encouraged to think that their assessment of a school has a greater validity than the assessments of their elders and sponsors. Such pride in such young candidates is a harbinger of worse things to come. The requirements for the ministry are both spiritual and academic. One without the other is not much use. The school and the presbytery have a responsibility to assess a man's academic gifts to determine if he really has the gifts requisite for the ministry. But there is also a responsibility that falls to the churches to assess a man's spiritual potential for the ministry. If a man has a history of quitting under pressure or of not finishing work assigned to him or of not working well without supervision or of being unwilling to do difficult or unsavory work, his problem is not fundamentally academic. His problem is fundamentally spiritual and should be approached as a spiritual problem requiring repentance. And that is the solution that these young men must eventually hit upon. Their problem will not be resolved by years of emotional therapy, but by repentance granted by the Spirit of God. Lest I give the wrong impression, however, I do not think that this particular problem is specific to MM. It is a problem that runs through many churches in many countries.
Which Brings us to Sabbath Eve
Matt and I went to the Junction Eight to pick up some supplies for the Sabbath Day. In addition we got some "incidental" items that we forgot to pick up last Thursday, while still in the fog of jetlag. I've asked Matt to keep track of his incidental expenses for the next several weeks so we will have an idea of how much teachers should expect to spend on those items while they are in MM teaching. Tomorrow, DV, I will be preaching at Grace URCM from 1 Samuel 14:1-23. What can two hope to accomplish where 600 have been unable to advance?
RB
Golden Guest Inn
182, Insein Road,
Block 9, Hlaing Township,
Yangon, Myanmar.
Phone : 951-524642
Fax : 951-526008
Email : goldenguest@mptmail.net.mm
Arrival in Myanmar
We arrived in Myanmar on Thursday morning. Our plane was not only on time; it was actually a little bit early. Going through immigration and customs was an entirely different experience this trip than it ever has been. First, because of the SARS concern in this part of the world, the health department had a screening system set up. We filled out forms while still on the aircraft, documenting where we had been and whether we had come into contact with any SARS victims. We filled out the form on the aircraft and then handed it in to the authorities at the terminal, who took our temperatures and gave us forms saying we were admitted by the health department.
Second, somebody apparently bought a lot of computers for the Myanmar government. Entering through immigration has never been easier or faster for me. In fact, had it not been for the fact that our trunks were among the last to leave the plane, we would have been completely through the immigrations/customs process at the airport in record time.
Finally, in the past the Foreign Exchange Bank has been located just past immigration and it has been mandatory for visitors to Myanmar to purchase $200 worth of Foreign Exchange Currency (FECs). FECs are denominated as US currrency and can be spent only in Myanmar; and there are no refunds. It has the effect of assuring that every visitor will spend at least $200 on the trip. Inflation being what it is here, it is no longer difficult to spend $200 in Myanmar, however. There was no notice or sign; the kiosks were simply not manned. I asked one of the customs officials about buying FECs and he simply informed me that if I really wanted to purchase some, there was still a branch of the Foreign Exchange Bank at the airport. It was clear that he could not think of a reason why someone would actually want to purchase them, though.
Three Cars, Six Trunks, and Five People
We had sufficient luggage that the small cars used even by hotels was not enough. U Khin (proprietor of the Golden Guest Inn) had two cars to take us to the hotel, but we also had to hire a "town ace" minivan to carry us all. Siang Hope and his cousin came to the airport to see us in, so there were five people in addition to our luggage. We ended up with five pieces of "carry on" luggage, plus six trunks full of books and clothes. We did our best to "max out" the weight allowance on our luggage. Each piece was supposed to be only up to 70 lbs. We tried to make sure that when we left our house that each of them was at least 67 lbs. and as close to 70 lbs. as we could get without going over the limit. The baggage handlers at the airport definitely earned their tips from us. We arrived at the hotel with all bags intact.
Matt, Pasiang, his cousin, and I went into town to pick up a few incidentals. We stopped by Blazon, Super One, and one other shopping "mall" before finally finding everything we needed. We also dropped my Greek notes off at a printer who made copies for each of the students who will be in my Greek class next week. By the time we finished up with the shopping and other errands, neither Matt nor I could keep our eyes open. I was falling asleep at every stoplight. So we returned to the GGI, where I fell asleep by four o'clock and slept the clock around.
Meeting With The City Star Establishment
I spent most of Friday meeting with the managers of the City Star hotel. The City Star is conveniently located near downtown Yangon in an area called Sule Plaza. Pasiang and I spent most of the morning in meetings with Zaw Lin Htut. We negotiated a room rate that was $3 per day lower than what we paid last year and for a larger meeting room. More importantly, we only have to pay for the days we are actually using the room. Last year the negotiations were handled by a different national and the terms were much less favorable. We met in a sleeping room in which the bed had been removed and tables put up. There was barely room to move. We had to pay to keep the room "reserved," which meant that they were charging us for the days we were out of town and the weekend days as well. So we went into this negotiation already knowing what changes we wanted to see. We actually have a regular meeting room this year -- the same room where we held final exams last year. We are paying $3 less per day and we are paying only for those days we actually use the room.
Other Changes in Our Working Environment
Of course I have been here only a few days, but so much seems to me to have changed. Everything seems more open than in the past. I do not mean that there has been open and evident repression in past years. But there is such a thing as "atmosphere" in a city or nation that one may not notice when he is located there every day. It is the "atmosphere" that seems to have changed. People still stare at us because it is unusual to see westerners on the street (especially dressed in Burmese attire), but when we smile they smile back; when we joke they laugh. The Myanmar people are very friendly -- that has not changed. Perhaps as the trip progresses I will be able to put my finger on the change with greater accuracy. Friday closed with a very profitable meeting with Rev. Thang Bwee of Reformed Bible Institute. We discussed curriculum, future plans, financing, and had a very good time of prayer together before he left.
Saturday's Sad Meeting
MTM decided last spring to sponsor up to six theological students to attend the RBI of Rev. Thang Bwee. Though six students came down from Kale, only five stayed. Those five students requested to meet with me on Saturday at 11:00. The meeting lasted for nearly two hours, so it is difficult to summarize in a paragraph. The students originally came to Yangon with the idea that they were going to be learning the Bible in English -- or so they said. I asked them if they already know English and each of them replied in the negative. They seemed genuinely surprised that I would then ask how they expected to understand what they were studying if they did not speak the language in which they expected to study. They assured me, however, that they would be able to learn English as they studied. They did not know that Rev. Thang Bwee visited me on Friday evening. They also apparently did not know that I had copies of their transcripts and educational records. I encouraged them to stay the course for the coming year. Their request of me was that we sponsor them elsewhere. I told them that was not going to happen. They were, of course, free to attend school anywhere they wish. But MTM will not sponsor them at any school but a reformed school. This means higher standards and a more vigorous curriculum. It also means that it will not be simply a school where students can come to learn English and pretend to be doing church work. There is nothing wrong with having an English school (we hope to have one), but it is not identical to studying for the ministry and should not be confused with that. Anyway, I pointed out to the students that they have a history of quitting one school after another for several years (I knew this because I had their academic records in my hand) and that regardless of the academic requirements of their study, there are spiritual issues of faithfulness and steadfastness involved. I explained that it would do their souls positive harm to continue the habit of quitting in the face of difficulty and encouraged them to stay the course. Of course, one of the advantages of being young is that young people possess all wisdom. So they simply explained that their reason for coming to me was not to gather counsel, but simply to gather funds for a different school. At one point I even explained a possible basis for their request. I said that by next Friday I would prepare an English comprehension exam for them. I would commit to sending them to a school where courses are taught in English if they passed the exam. But if they failed the exam, then they would have to commit to staying at RBI until the end of the school year. Of course, even as I suspected, they could not make such a commitment because they knew themselves that they could not pass such an exam. They had not even thought through how they would get home or what they would do once they arrived there; they simply wanted to quit. I could not conscientiously leave these six youngsters on the streets of Yangon without any knowledge of how to get home so I gave them busfare, but also explained that my gift should not be construed as an endorsement of their plans (or lack thereof). So, finally, I prayed for them that God would not hold this against them, but would forgive it for Christ's sake and that even as John Mark eventually became useful to Paul's ministry that God would also make these young men useful for the ministry in his own time and in his own way.
Why Send Home Willing Workers?
In a word, because there is a difference between a willing worker and a willful worker. Calvin quoted Augustine as saying that the three indispensible virtues for a Christian minister are humility, humility, and humility. When a man claims to have been called into the ministry but already thinks he knows more than his teachers how he should be prepared for the battle, he is not yet in the place of a disciple. He still has not learned the first lesson of discipleship. Part of the problem with these five young men, I am convinced, arises from a false idea of a call to the ministry. They have been encouraged to drop out of "secular" school in order to follow the ministry. They have left first one school then another as they have been able to convince sponsors that there was a problem with the "school." Of course there is not going to be a perfect school this side of Jordan. But they have been encouraged to think that their assessment of a school has a greater validity than the assessments of their elders and sponsors. Such pride in such young candidates is a harbinger of worse things to come. The requirements for the ministry are both spiritual and academic. One without the other is not much use. The school and the presbytery have a responsibility to assess a man's academic gifts to determine if he really has the gifts requisite for the ministry. But there is also a responsibility that falls to the churches to assess a man's spiritual potential for the ministry. If a man has a history of quitting under pressure or of not finishing work assigned to him or of not working well without supervision or of being unwilling to do difficult or unsavory work, his problem is not fundamentally academic. His problem is fundamentally spiritual and should be approached as a spiritual problem requiring repentance. And that is the solution that these young men must eventually hit upon. Their problem will not be resolved by years of emotional therapy, but by repentance granted by the Spirit of God. Lest I give the wrong impression, however, I do not think that this particular problem is specific to MM. It is a problem that runs through many churches in many countries.
Which Brings us to Sabbath Eve
Matt and I went to the Junction Eight to pick up some supplies for the Sabbath Day. In addition we got some "incidental" items that we forgot to pick up last Thursday, while still in the fog of jetlag. I've asked Matt to keep track of his incidental expenses for the next several weeks so we will have an idea of how much teachers should expect to spend on those items while they are in MM teaching. Tomorrow, DV, I will be preaching at Grace URCM from 1 Samuel 14:1-23. What can two hope to accomplish where 600 have been unable to advance?
RB
Golden Guest Inn
182, Insein Road,
Block 9, Hlaing Township,
Yangon, Myanmar.
Phone : 951-524642
Fax : 951-526008
Email : goldenguest@mptmail.net.mm
Saturday, August 30
FLIGHT TO MYANMAR
The Plane Left on Time
The van picked us up on time at 8:00 AM on 26 August. We had plenty of time to check our baggage even with all the new security measures at DFW airport. Both Debby and Matthew were wearing "tennis shoes," so they were required to remove their shoes before being able to advance through security. The security guards were professional and friendly and did their work with dispatch. Even after making it through security, we still had about an hour left before boarding began. I love traveling, but don't care at all for airports. I don't like the fact that they are so large and it is usually necessary to drag bags around in order to keep them from being lost. Some of that has changed, but I still don't like airports. As it turned out, however, our departure gate was just across from the security gate, so dragging "carry-on" luggage around the airport was not an issue...at least not in Dallas.
But The Power Port Was Not Where They Told Me
American Airlines moved us from the seats we originally picked to this row because this row supposedly had power ports. That would give me the opportunity to work on my laptop during the flight. This row did not have the power ports, however. But there was an extra one in the row behind me, so the gentleman that would normally have been using it was kind enough to allow me to stretch my power adapter all the way back to his seat. As a result of his kindness I've been able to get a good bit of study and other preparation done while on the plane. As I write, we have been on the plane for about nine hours and are just about to cross the international date line into tomorrow, just east of the Kamchatka peninsula. Mrs Bacon has been able to get a little more sleep this trip than the last. One reason for that is that this trip has been a little bumpier and so she has taken some Dramamine (or its generic equivalent).
How to Buy Five Seats for Three People
The key is not to be on a "full flight." And that is completely outside the control of the consumer, of course. Our 777 had about 40 or so unsold seats in economy class. The seating in economy class is two seats port, five seats amidship, and two seats starboard in each row. The seats are designated AB, CDEFG, HJ. We reserved seats C, E, and G. On a full flight, someone would have been willing to accept the singles left between us. But on a flight with 40 unsold seats, the likelihood is quite high that nobody will want the two seats designated D and F. That is not a certainty, of course, but it worked for us on this first leg. I've done nearly the same thing on the next leg -- Tokyo to Bangkok. If there are a similar number of unsold seats, then we will have a little extra space for spreading out. If the flight is sold out, well, perhaps we can talk the other passengers into "trading seats" so we can sit together. And that is exactly what happened on the United leg from Tokyo to Bangkok.
I Woke Up Over Danang
An American Airlines attendant met us with a wheelchair for Mrs Bacon when we came into Tokyo. He then managed to set a new land speed record getting us to the United transfer desk. I thanked him after I caught my breath, but by that time he may have been miles away. United was also very kind to Mrs Bacon (she may be the first person to travel half way around the world without having to take more than 10 steps). They used a special bus to allow her to ride to the aircraft (it loaded from the tarmac rather than via jetway), then the bus actually rose in the air and the door opened to form a gangplank onto the aircraft. Coming off the aircraft in Bangkok (where I am writing this paragraph) was a similar experience. But this time the aircraft actually used a jetway so it was not necessary for her to have the special bus. Still there was an attendant who met us at the gate with a wheelchair and took us all the way to the Thai Airways transfer desk. At some point subsequent to that a Thai Air attendant came by with a wheelchair and left it parked next to us for Mrs Bacon to use to get to the aircraft tomorrow. I hope he will also return and show us where the elevator is, because I'm sure our flight will leave from one of the lower level gates (it always does). I had a fairly upset stomach while in Tokyo, I think as much from sleep deprivation as anything else. I slept most of the trip from Tokyo to Bangkok and did not actually wake up over water at all. That seemed to help. When I woke up I was refreshed and my stomach was no longer upset. But I also do not have my days and night reversed yet, so here I sit at 2:30 AM local time feeling like it is mid-afternoon -- which, of course, it is in Dallas.
Bangkok Airport Is Basically One Large Duty Free Shop
Bangkok, Thailand is the SE Asia hub for most of the airlines that service this area. It is very busy during the day and at night those travellers who have been stranded sleep against walls or in "day rooms" that cost dearly. Or some of us go to the airport restaurant and plug the laptop in to charge the battery and wait in nice cushioned chairs and drink Nescafe all night. But for those who love to shop, the second level is just basically one long duty free shop selling mostly Scotch whiskey and cigarettes. Of course, there are also the dried food stands, the internet cafes, and the espresso shops. Bangkok may not be Vanity Fair, but it gives VF a run for the money.
RB
The Plane Left on Time
The van picked us up on time at 8:00 AM on 26 August. We had plenty of time to check our baggage even with all the new security measures at DFW airport. Both Debby and Matthew were wearing "tennis shoes," so they were required to remove their shoes before being able to advance through security. The security guards were professional and friendly and did their work with dispatch. Even after making it through security, we still had about an hour left before boarding began. I love traveling, but don't care at all for airports. I don't like the fact that they are so large and it is usually necessary to drag bags around in order to keep them from being lost. Some of that has changed, but I still don't like airports. As it turned out, however, our departure gate was just across from the security gate, so dragging "carry-on" luggage around the airport was not an issue...at least not in Dallas.
But The Power Port Was Not Where They Told Me
American Airlines moved us from the seats we originally picked to this row because this row supposedly had power ports. That would give me the opportunity to work on my laptop during the flight. This row did not have the power ports, however. But there was an extra one in the row behind me, so the gentleman that would normally have been using it was kind enough to allow me to stretch my power adapter all the way back to his seat. As a result of his kindness I've been able to get a good bit of study and other preparation done while on the plane. As I write, we have been on the plane for about nine hours and are just about to cross the international date line into tomorrow, just east of the Kamchatka peninsula. Mrs Bacon has been able to get a little more sleep this trip than the last. One reason for that is that this trip has been a little bumpier and so she has taken some Dramamine (or its generic equivalent).
How to Buy Five Seats for Three People
The key is not to be on a "full flight." And that is completely outside the control of the consumer, of course. Our 777 had about 40 or so unsold seats in economy class. The seating in economy class is two seats port, five seats amidship, and two seats starboard in each row. The seats are designated AB, CDEFG, HJ. We reserved seats C, E, and G. On a full flight, someone would have been willing to accept the singles left between us. But on a flight with 40 unsold seats, the likelihood is quite high that nobody will want the two seats designated D and F. That is not a certainty, of course, but it worked for us on this first leg. I've done nearly the same thing on the next leg -- Tokyo to Bangkok. If there are a similar number of unsold seats, then we will have a little extra space for spreading out. If the flight is sold out, well, perhaps we can talk the other passengers into "trading seats" so we can sit together. And that is exactly what happened on the United leg from Tokyo to Bangkok.
I Woke Up Over Danang
An American Airlines attendant met us with a wheelchair for Mrs Bacon when we came into Tokyo. He then managed to set a new land speed record getting us to the United transfer desk. I thanked him after I caught my breath, but by that time he may have been miles away. United was also very kind to Mrs Bacon (she may be the first person to travel half way around the world without having to take more than 10 steps). They used a special bus to allow her to ride to the aircraft (it loaded from the tarmac rather than via jetway), then the bus actually rose in the air and the door opened to form a gangplank onto the aircraft. Coming off the aircraft in Bangkok (where I am writing this paragraph) was a similar experience. But this time the aircraft actually used a jetway so it was not necessary for her to have the special bus. Still there was an attendant who met us at the gate with a wheelchair and took us all the way to the Thai Airways transfer desk. At some point subsequent to that a Thai Air attendant came by with a wheelchair and left it parked next to us for Mrs Bacon to use to get to the aircraft tomorrow. I hope he will also return and show us where the elevator is, because I'm sure our flight will leave from one of the lower level gates (it always does). I had a fairly upset stomach while in Tokyo, I think as much from sleep deprivation as anything else. I slept most of the trip from Tokyo to Bangkok and did not actually wake up over water at all. That seemed to help. When I woke up I was refreshed and my stomach was no longer upset. But I also do not have my days and night reversed yet, so here I sit at 2:30 AM local time feeling like it is mid-afternoon -- which, of course, it is in Dallas.
Bangkok Airport Is Basically One Large Duty Free Shop
Bangkok, Thailand is the SE Asia hub for most of the airlines that service this area. It is very busy during the day and at night those travellers who have been stranded sleep against walls or in "day rooms" that cost dearly. Or some of us go to the airport restaurant and plug the laptop in to charge the battery and wait in nice cushioned chairs and drink Nescafe all night. But for those who love to shop, the second level is just basically one long duty free shop selling mostly Scotch whiskey and cigarettes. Of course, there are also the dried food stands, the internet cafes, and the espresso shops. Bangkok may not be Vanity Fair, but it gives VF a run for the money.
RB
Monday, August 25
Myanmar Standard Time
I've already set my watch ahead 11.5 hours to Myanmar Time. Lord willing, we will leave the house here in Rowlett tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM when the van comes by to pick us up. Liftoff from DFW airport is scheduled for 11:50. We finished up all our packing this afternoon. The three of us are allowed six trunks total at 70 lbs per trunk. Each of our six bags weighs in at between 65 and 70 lbs. In addition we are bringing pretty close to the maximum in carry on weight as well. We anticipate landing in Yangon (Rangoon) at approximately 9:05 AM Thursday MST (9:35 PM tomorrow night in Dallas).
Fifteen Pounds of Books?
Well, fifteen pounds is about the weight of the two laptops we are carrying in with us. But between those two laptops we are actually carrying in about 3,000 volumes of Christian literature altogether. Additionally, most of the weight we are taking in by our luggage is also books. They consist of the books and notes I will be using for the classes I'll be teaching for the next seven weeks, along with some children's books for the ESL (English as a Second Language) school. There are also a number of TOEFL preparation books and practice exams. All in all, it would be impossible to place a "price" on the volumes we are taking in by laptop and physically. We are praying that God will use them to edify and strengthen in grace his church in Myanmar.
Staying Current with MTMBlog
It is my intention to send Blog updates back to the US through Chris Coldwell. He will not be able to send you the individual emails notifying you of the update, so you may simply want to check the website from time to time (every other day should keep you abreast of most of the news). Why not place this in your bookmarks or "favorites" in your browser now, while you're thinking of it? Lord willing, next time you hear from me, it will be from Yangon, Myanmar.
RB
I've already set my watch ahead 11.5 hours to Myanmar Time. Lord willing, we will leave the house here in Rowlett tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM when the van comes by to pick us up. Liftoff from DFW airport is scheduled for 11:50. We finished up all our packing this afternoon. The three of us are allowed six trunks total at 70 lbs per trunk. Each of our six bags weighs in at between 65 and 70 lbs. In addition we are bringing pretty close to the maximum in carry on weight as well. We anticipate landing in Yangon (Rangoon) at approximately 9:05 AM Thursday MST (9:35 PM tomorrow night in Dallas).
Fifteen Pounds of Books?
Well, fifteen pounds is about the weight of the two laptops we are carrying in with us. But between those two laptops we are actually carrying in about 3,000 volumes of Christian literature altogether. Additionally, most of the weight we are taking in by our luggage is also books. They consist of the books and notes I will be using for the classes I'll be teaching for the next seven weeks, along with some children's books for the ESL (English as a Second Language) school. There are also a number of TOEFL preparation books and practice exams. All in all, it would be impossible to place a "price" on the volumes we are taking in by laptop and physically. We are praying that God will use them to edify and strengthen in grace his church in Myanmar.
Staying Current with MTMBlog
It is my intention to send Blog updates back to the US through Chris Coldwell. He will not be able to send you the individual emails notifying you of the update, so you may simply want to check the website from time to time (every other day should keep you abreast of most of the news). Why not place this in your bookmarks or "favorites" in your browser now, while you're thinking of it? Lord willing, next time you hear from me, it will be from Yangon, Myanmar.
RB
Thursday, August 21
The Visas Have Been Issued
The wait was something like 8 weeks, but we just received notification that our visas have arrived at Global Passport. We can come by sometime today or tomorrow and pick them up. I know that there are many who read this blog who have been praying for this (and other) aspect(s) of the journey. First, we praise and thank God for your prayers and for having so many people who continue to be interested in the missions enterprise in these days. Second, we thank God for inclining his ear to your prayers and answering from heaven. We confess, along with you, that he is the God over the heavens and the earth and does whatsoever pleases him. Therefore we rejoice that it has pleased him to move the "king's heart" (Prov. 21:1) in such a way that entry into Burma is now going to be allowed from Thursday next week.
Laundry Means More Books
We have arranged our luggage in such a way that three people taking the maximum weight ends up giving us nearly a quarter ton (420 pounds to be exact -- one more trunk would get us almost right at the quarter ton mark) for bringing items into Burma. Normally on a six week trip one might think most of that would be clothes, but in this case it is primarily books. We are taking in text books for my classes, some books we hope to have translated, and some books to begin "stocking the library" of the ESL school. This is possible because we can take very few clothes and have them washed in a Burmese laundry. Thus most of our weight can be taken up with books. By the way, if there are any readers who would like to help us out with books, send suitable English language books to:
Mission to Myanmar
c/o First Presbyterian Church
8210 Schrade Road
Rowlett, TX 75088
Please do not send new books unless you don't have any used ones and try to make sure that they would suitably reflect on the glory of Jesus Christ (no, they do not have to be "religious books" to do that).
Speaking of Burmese Laundries
The expense of having laundry done in Yangon is minimal. They even do our socks, though they don't wear socks themselves. The Burmese typically wear sandals out side the home and slip them off and "go barefoot" inside the home. Sort of the opposite of what we did as children back in the good ol' summertime in the 50s. Since they are not really that familiar with socks, the laundry treats them like any other piece of clothing: washing, ironing, folding, and placing inside cellophane wrappers. For some reason, it has not occurred to the laundry that I use in Yangon that socks come in pairs (you know, like feet). So each separate sock is folded and wrapped. Cuts down on sorting time for them, perhaps. Tee shirts come back folded on cardboard as though they were brand new.
Rainy Season in Yangon & Kalemyo
Yangon has been "declared" by WHO to be malaria-free. I guess that is better than Texas, which is experiencing another outbreak of west nile virus this year. But in Kalemyo and Tahan, this is the mosquito season and it is not a malaria-free zone. Neither is it a typhus free zone, nor a Japanese Encephalitus free zone. Of course I would prefer not to have any of these diseases myself, though something like 60% of the population in and around the area we will be ministering are infected. We trust God, but make use of means. Unlike King Asa, who trusted in doctors, we trust in God and make use of doctors. I received a different prophylaxis for typhus this year. Three years ago I received the shot, but it is of shorter duration. This time I took the capsules, which are a little more time consuming (4 capsules, one every other day), but because they use a weakened virus they also supposedly last longer. Also, instead of taking mefloquine for malaria this trip, we are trying a different drug called malarone. The malarone is more expensive and is administered daily rather than weekly, but supposedly does not have the "mood altering" effects that have been associated with mefloquine. MEDICAL DISCLAIMER: I am not a medical doctor and don't even play one on TV. But there are some who play doctor on the internet, who claim that mefloquine is mood altering.
As some of the readers have heard me say, "safety is not the absence of danger, but the presence of the Lord." I ask that you pray for me, not for safety, but for boldness. An overconcern for safety will sometimes rob us of the boldness we ought to have for the Lord's sake. Through the book of Acts, there is not a single instance of a prayer for safety. Rather, when persecution arises, the church prayed in the book of Acts for boldness. It is a wise pattern. After all, the purpose of persecution is not simply to hurt us; it is to stop us. Thus whether we struggle against principalities and powers or simply against the sin that so easily besets us, our prayers to God should be that he would enbolden us by his Spirit.
RB
The wait was something like 8 weeks, but we just received notification that our visas have arrived at Global Passport. We can come by sometime today or tomorrow and pick them up. I know that there are many who read this blog who have been praying for this (and other) aspect(s) of the journey. First, we praise and thank God for your prayers and for having so many people who continue to be interested in the missions enterprise in these days. Second, we thank God for inclining his ear to your prayers and answering from heaven. We confess, along with you, that he is the God over the heavens and the earth and does whatsoever pleases him. Therefore we rejoice that it has pleased him to move the "king's heart" (Prov. 21:1) in such a way that entry into Burma is now going to be allowed from Thursday next week.
Laundry Means More Books
We have arranged our luggage in such a way that three people taking the maximum weight ends up giving us nearly a quarter ton (420 pounds to be exact -- one more trunk would get us almost right at the quarter ton mark) for bringing items into Burma. Normally on a six week trip one might think most of that would be clothes, but in this case it is primarily books. We are taking in text books for my classes, some books we hope to have translated, and some books to begin "stocking the library" of the ESL school. This is possible because we can take very few clothes and have them washed in a Burmese laundry. Thus most of our weight can be taken up with books. By the way, if there are any readers who would like to help us out with books, send suitable English language books to:
Mission to Myanmar
c/o First Presbyterian Church
8210 Schrade Road
Rowlett, TX 75088
Please do not send new books unless you don't have any used ones and try to make sure that they would suitably reflect on the glory of Jesus Christ (no, they do not have to be "religious books" to do that).
Speaking of Burmese Laundries
The expense of having laundry done in Yangon is minimal. They even do our socks, though they don't wear socks themselves. The Burmese typically wear sandals out side the home and slip them off and "go barefoot" inside the home. Sort of the opposite of what we did as children back in the good ol' summertime in the 50s. Since they are not really that familiar with socks, the laundry treats them like any other piece of clothing: washing, ironing, folding, and placing inside cellophane wrappers. For some reason, it has not occurred to the laundry that I use in Yangon that socks come in pairs (you know, like feet). So each separate sock is folded and wrapped. Cuts down on sorting time for them, perhaps. Tee shirts come back folded on cardboard as though they were brand new.
Rainy Season in Yangon & Kalemyo
Yangon has been "declared" by WHO to be malaria-free. I guess that is better than Texas, which is experiencing another outbreak of west nile virus this year. But in Kalemyo and Tahan, this is the mosquito season and it is not a malaria-free zone. Neither is it a typhus free zone, nor a Japanese Encephalitus free zone. Of course I would prefer not to have any of these diseases myself, though something like 60% of the population in and around the area we will be ministering are infected. We trust God, but make use of means. Unlike King Asa, who trusted in doctors, we trust in God and make use of doctors. I received a different prophylaxis for typhus this year. Three years ago I received the shot, but it is of shorter duration. This time I took the capsules, which are a little more time consuming (4 capsules, one every other day), but because they use a weakened virus they also supposedly last longer. Also, instead of taking mefloquine for malaria this trip, we are trying a different drug called malarone. The malarone is more expensive and is administered daily rather than weekly, but supposedly does not have the "mood altering" effects that have been associated with mefloquine. MEDICAL DISCLAIMER: I am not a medical doctor and don't even play one on TV. But there are some who play doctor on the internet, who claim that mefloquine is mood altering.
As some of the readers have heard me say, "safety is not the absence of danger, but the presence of the Lord." I ask that you pray for me, not for safety, but for boldness. An overconcern for safety will sometimes rob us of the boldness we ought to have for the Lord's sake. Through the book of Acts, there is not a single instance of a prayer for safety. Rather, when persecution arises, the church prayed in the book of Acts for boldness. It is a wise pattern. After all, the purpose of persecution is not simply to hurt us; it is to stop us. Thus whether we struggle against principalities and powers or simply against the sin that so easily besets us, our prayers to God should be that he would enbolden us by his Spirit.
RB
Tuesday, August 19
Finally -- Word on the Visas
It has been over two weeks since my last Blog entry because I kept thinking that I would like to have some definite news on the visas to report to the folks who read this. We have "worn out" the expeditor with our continual calling, but we finally received word from them this afternoon that the Myanmar embassy plans to send the visas out tomorrow (Wednesday 20th Aug). By the time it is sent fed-ex to Dallas, we should be able to pick them up on Thursday (21st Aug). It seems that the visas took much longer than usual to process this trip -- and so they did. The reason, it turns out, is that business visas must actually be approved in Yangon rather than at the embassy in Washington or New York City (where folks were even literally in the dark last week). We have said all along that the issuing of visas is in God's hands (Prov. 21:1).
Here in Texas, where summer ends on Thanksgiving Day, I was quite concerned that my lawn would burn up with nobody to take care of it. My wife and son will both be with me, so I put in a sort of "poor man's sprinkler system" with hoses and oscillating sprinklers strategically placed so that the loss of pressure would be compensated by the proximity of the sprinklers. Anyway, in the process of doing that I had opportunity to meet with Julio Calles who will be mowing the lawn and replacing the sprinklers to the right positions during my absence.
Of Coffee -- the Mountain-grown Kind
For some time we have been considering what it would take to get some sort of ag product for the chin people to raise in their "high jungle." Some have tried mushrooms, but with little success for the churches. In the Yangon area it is possible for the people to find various kinds of work and even to start businesses, but up in the jungle that is harder to do. So, on my last two trips it occurred to me that the climate (tropical mountains) would be a good place to try coffee. The problem is that I know nothing about growing coffee and knew nobody that could advise on it. I did know that it requires a forward looking vision, because it takes about three years before one makes any money from coffee plants.
So, as I was talking with Julio Calles (see above), he mentioned that he was originally from El Salvador. When he was a child two groups of people came to his village. One group consisted of "teachers" from the Sandanista of Nicaragua, who taught them how to carry guns and hate the government. The other group consisted of missionaries who taught them how to read and love the Lord. Julio's father was converted by the gospel preached by those missionaries and long story short, eventually made his way to the USA. When Julio was a child his father, who had a Protestant work ethic because the missionaries preached a full-orbed gospel, learned to raise coffee in the mountains of El Salvador. Well, that may be some time down the calendar; but don't be surprised if coffee is one day associated with the Chin the way tulips are with our Dutch brothers today.
ESL, EFL, TOEFL
At present we have at least six volunteers to teach in the English school, if we are actually able to get it going. The fact that the Myanma government seems willing to give me a business visa is a good sign. I will be talking with government officials this trip, attempting to negotiate a venue for the school, and basically arranging for the school to open, DV, in summer 2004. At this point, the Myanmar government now considers me a businessman and as long as I have someone on the ground in Myanmar (i.e. a businessman) who is willing to invite me, I will be able to come to Myanmar for longer than a few weeks. I stopped by the half-price bookstore and picked up a lot of teaching ESL books and some TOEFL practice tests to take with me to Myanmar on this trip.
Learning Myanma
It is quite difficult to learn the Myanma language. It's script consists of two distinct "alphabets" with many, many "diphthongs" and vowel sounds we don't use in English. My son has managed to download some fonts and some sound files and lessons that we intend to install on one of the laptops. Hopefully we will find some folks in Myanmar willing to help us out.
Thank you for all your prayers. It seems that the visas are "on the way." We're looking forward to meeting with our orphans and teaching for several weeks in Myanmar.
RB
It has been over two weeks since my last Blog entry because I kept thinking that I would like to have some definite news on the visas to report to the folks who read this. We have "worn out" the expeditor with our continual calling, but we finally received word from them this afternoon that the Myanmar embassy plans to send the visas out tomorrow (Wednesday 20th Aug). By the time it is sent fed-ex to Dallas, we should be able to pick them up on Thursday (21st Aug). It seems that the visas took much longer than usual to process this trip -- and so they did. The reason, it turns out, is that business visas must actually be approved in Yangon rather than at the embassy in Washington or New York City (where folks were even literally in the dark last week). We have said all along that the issuing of visas is in God's hands (Prov. 21:1).
Here in Texas, where summer ends on Thanksgiving Day, I was quite concerned that my lawn would burn up with nobody to take care of it. My wife and son will both be with me, so I put in a sort of "poor man's sprinkler system" with hoses and oscillating sprinklers strategically placed so that the loss of pressure would be compensated by the proximity of the sprinklers. Anyway, in the process of doing that I had opportunity to meet with Julio Calles who will be mowing the lawn and replacing the sprinklers to the right positions during my absence.
Of Coffee -- the Mountain-grown Kind
For some time we have been considering what it would take to get some sort of ag product for the chin people to raise in their "high jungle." Some have tried mushrooms, but with little success for the churches. In the Yangon area it is possible for the people to find various kinds of work and even to start businesses, but up in the jungle that is harder to do. So, on my last two trips it occurred to me that the climate (tropical mountains) would be a good place to try coffee. The problem is that I know nothing about growing coffee and knew nobody that could advise on it. I did know that it requires a forward looking vision, because it takes about three years before one makes any money from coffee plants.
So, as I was talking with Julio Calles (see above), he mentioned that he was originally from El Salvador. When he was a child two groups of people came to his village. One group consisted of "teachers" from the Sandanista of Nicaragua, who taught them how to carry guns and hate the government. The other group consisted of missionaries who taught them how to read and love the Lord. Julio's father was converted by the gospel preached by those missionaries and long story short, eventually made his way to the USA. When Julio was a child his father, who had a Protestant work ethic because the missionaries preached a full-orbed gospel, learned to raise coffee in the mountains of El Salvador. Well, that may be some time down the calendar; but don't be surprised if coffee is one day associated with the Chin the way tulips are with our Dutch brothers today.
ESL, EFL, TOEFL
At present we have at least six volunteers to teach in the English school, if we are actually able to get it going. The fact that the Myanma government seems willing to give me a business visa is a good sign. I will be talking with government officials this trip, attempting to negotiate a venue for the school, and basically arranging for the school to open, DV, in summer 2004. At this point, the Myanmar government now considers me a businessman and as long as I have someone on the ground in Myanmar (i.e. a businessman) who is willing to invite me, I will be able to come to Myanmar for longer than a few weeks. I stopped by the half-price bookstore and picked up a lot of teaching ESL books and some TOEFL practice tests to take with me to Myanmar on this trip.
Learning Myanma
It is quite difficult to learn the Myanma language. It's script consists of two distinct "alphabets" with many, many "diphthongs" and vowel sounds we don't use in English. My son has managed to download some fonts and some sound files and lessons that we intend to install on one of the laptops. Hopefully we will find some folks in Myanmar willing to help us out.
Thank you for all your prayers. It seems that the visas are "on the way." We're looking forward to meeting with our orphans and teaching for several weeks in Myanmar.
RB
Saturday, August 2
Work Progressing on Saamhla
The word "saamhla" is not Burmese, but Falam Chin, a word that has been "coined" within the past eighteen months. One of the key projects we have been working on is getting the Psalms translated into metrical versions for the Falam Chin speaking people. It is our hope that with the advent of a metrical Psalter, Saamhla, the people of the villages will begin singing the Psalms. In fact, one of the things that the MRPC has asked me to speak to them about in the upcoming conference in Tahan is how they might better incorporate the Psalms into their corporate and family worship. We are not "hurrying" this project to completion. While we take the existence of numerous Psalters for granted in our country, we should also remember that it took Calvin and Beza from 1539 until 1562 to complete a Psalter for the French Reformed of Geneva. It is far better to sing a few well crafted and well translated Psalms than to sing 150 "ditties" that are little better than loose paraphrases of the Psalms.
Ultimately, of course, the success of the mission in Myanmar will depend upon the Holy Spirit applying the sweet doctrine of his free grace in Jesus Christ to the souls of the elect there. But hand in hand with that gospel, there must be Psalter and Catechism. It is our hope to be able to teach the next generation of preachers in that country to preach both expositorally (hence we are taking numerous copies of Perkins' The Art of Prophesying into the country on this trip) and catechetically. The doctrines of Scripture must permeate his people; and what better ways than the singing of the Psalms and the memorization and recitation of reformed catechisms.
The Chin people, for the most part, do not read our western musical notation (what they call "stem-notes"). They are able, however, to sing making use of a system of notation called "Tonic Solfa" (no, it has no discernible relation to the boy band). Here is an example of what Tonic Solfa notation looks like. Michael Zahau, one of the Reformed men we know in Yangon, has thus far complete translation of about 45 selections from the Comprehensive Psalter, all in common meter. Rev. Tha Nei Sum and missionary Hrang Zawn have done an additional 50 complete Psalms into the Falam tongue. Hopefully by the end of 2003 we will have the funding in place to mass produce the first Falam language Psalter (Saamhla) and distribute it among the Chin tribes via colporteurs.
RB
The word "saamhla" is not Burmese, but Falam Chin, a word that has been "coined" within the past eighteen months. One of the key projects we have been working on is getting the Psalms translated into metrical versions for the Falam Chin speaking people. It is our hope that with the advent of a metrical Psalter, Saamhla, the people of the villages will begin singing the Psalms. In fact, one of the things that the MRPC has asked me to speak to them about in the upcoming conference in Tahan is how they might better incorporate the Psalms into their corporate and family worship. We are not "hurrying" this project to completion. While we take the existence of numerous Psalters for granted in our country, we should also remember that it took Calvin and Beza from 1539 until 1562 to complete a Psalter for the French Reformed of Geneva. It is far better to sing a few well crafted and well translated Psalms than to sing 150 "ditties" that are little better than loose paraphrases of the Psalms.
Ultimately, of course, the success of the mission in Myanmar will depend upon the Holy Spirit applying the sweet doctrine of his free grace in Jesus Christ to the souls of the elect there. But hand in hand with that gospel, there must be Psalter and Catechism. It is our hope to be able to teach the next generation of preachers in that country to preach both expositorally (hence we are taking numerous copies of Perkins' The Art of Prophesying into the country on this trip) and catechetically. The doctrines of Scripture must permeate his people; and what better ways than the singing of the Psalms and the memorization and recitation of reformed catechisms.
The Chin people, for the most part, do not read our western musical notation (what they call "stem-notes"). They are able, however, to sing making use of a system of notation called "Tonic Solfa" (no, it has no discernible relation to the boy band). Here is an example of what Tonic Solfa notation looks like. Michael Zahau, one of the Reformed men we know in Yangon, has thus far complete translation of about 45 selections from the Comprehensive Psalter, all in common meter. Rev. Tha Nei Sum and missionary Hrang Zawn have done an additional 50 complete Psalms into the Falam tongue. Hopefully by the end of 2003 we will have the funding in place to mass produce the first Falam language Psalter (Saamhla) and distribute it among the Chin tribes via colporteurs.
RB
Thursday, July 31
.
Why Not Just Pay the Nationals?
The first trip I took to Myanmar was rather startling, especially given what many would consider a reformed worldview. There are, it turns out, at least eleven distinct reformed denominations in Myanmar, all but a handful of those denominations among the Chin tribes. One of the first things that my travelling companion and I noticed was the extent to which Christian missions in that country resembled nothing more than a Ponzi scheme. In fact, a group of Baptist missionaries was very quick to explain to us at breakfast one morning how little we understood about missions. "The way it is done," he explained in nearly condescending tones, "is that western Christians send money to the locals who do the actual work of missions."
Yes, indeed. That is the way Christian mission work has operated in Myanmar for the nearly 200 years since Adoniram Judson first came. However, it is not the manner in which it ought to be done. There is an excellent short article by Craig Ott in the EMQ from about 10 years ago called Let The Buyer Beware. In that article, Ott depended heavily on the Nevius method (see Blog from yesterday, Jul 30). Ott began his article with the warning, "A careful study of the history and theology of missions will, however, reveal that financial support of national pastors and evangelists is fraught with dangers. In fact, such well-intended subsidies often weaken receiving churches and undermine world evangelization in the longer term. Think twice before you start supporting nationals in your missions giving, and consider the following dangers." He then listed nine dangers or warnings that accompany the idea of just "Paying the Nationals" to do missions. In fact, in many respects the modern concept of "nationals to nationals" is a retrogression to the old missionary/colonialist approach to missions.
The article is worth the read.
“There are no closed countries if you do not expect to come back”
RB
Why Not Just Pay the Nationals?
The first trip I took to Myanmar was rather startling, especially given what many would consider a reformed worldview. There are, it turns out, at least eleven distinct reformed denominations in Myanmar, all but a handful of those denominations among the Chin tribes. One of the first things that my travelling companion and I noticed was the extent to which Christian missions in that country resembled nothing more than a Ponzi scheme. In fact, a group of Baptist missionaries was very quick to explain to us at breakfast one morning how little we understood about missions. "The way it is done," he explained in nearly condescending tones, "is that western Christians send money to the locals who do the actual work of missions."
Yes, indeed. That is the way Christian mission work has operated in Myanmar for the nearly 200 years since Adoniram Judson first came. However, it is not the manner in which it ought to be done. There is an excellent short article by Craig Ott in the EMQ from about 10 years ago called Let The Buyer Beware. In that article, Ott depended heavily on the Nevius method (see Blog from yesterday, Jul 30). Ott began his article with the warning, "A careful study of the history and theology of missions will, however, reveal that financial support of national pastors and evangelists is fraught with dangers. In fact, such well-intended subsidies often weaken receiving churches and undermine world evangelization in the longer term. Think twice before you start supporting nationals in your missions giving, and consider the following dangers." He then listed nine dangers or warnings that accompany the idea of just "Paying the Nationals" to do missions. In fact, in many respects the modern concept of "nationals to nationals" is a retrogression to the old missionary/colonialist approach to missions.
The article is worth the read.
“There are no closed countries if you do not expect to come back”
RB
Wednesday, July 30
Politics and Travel
Monday President Bush placed a trade embargo on Myanmar (Burma). In response, the Myanma government seems to have dug in their heels. Here is a news article on some of the repercussions. And here is another. This may place a new perspective on the delay that we've experienced in receiving my visa for this upcoming trip. Of course the two things may be totally unrelated, too.
I ordered 15 copies of William Perkins' The Art of Prophesying, but 11 of the copies were placed on backorder. Hopefully they will all be in by the time I leave -- and hopefully the political mess will be cleared up a little bit before I go.
Also, Chris Coldwell, the webmaster for the FPCR website, has put up some new information regarding my last trip to Myanmar. There are five new powerpoint presentations (available via HTML at the website) there. Thanks, Chris, for the hard work -- especially in reducing the size of the photos so that they would download the same day, even at a 56K connection.
Another interesting thing happened this week. I received an email from a pastor-friend in the ARP, who reminded me of John L. Nevius' work in China at the end of the nineteenth century, that he called Methods of Mission Work. There is a copy on the web (click the title in previous sentence). This is one of those works still available in plain vanilla ASCII following the original internet specs. Nothing fancy -- beyond being divided into pages, there is no formatting. But the info is all there. And this is a system that will work well in Burma, in my humble opinion.
RB
Monday President Bush placed a trade embargo on Myanmar (Burma). In response, the Myanma government seems to have dug in their heels. Here is a news article on some of the repercussions. And here is another. This may place a new perspective on the delay that we've experienced in receiving my visa for this upcoming trip. Of course the two things may be totally unrelated, too.
I ordered 15 copies of William Perkins' The Art of Prophesying, but 11 of the copies were placed on backorder. Hopefully they will all be in by the time I leave -- and hopefully the political mess will be cleared up a little bit before I go.
Also, Chris Coldwell, the webmaster for the FPCR website, has put up some new information regarding my last trip to Myanmar. There are five new powerpoint presentations (available via HTML at the website) there. Thanks, Chris, for the hard work -- especially in reducing the size of the photos so that they would download the same day, even at a 56K connection.
Another interesting thing happened this week. I received an email from a pastor-friend in the ARP, who reminded me of John L. Nevius' work in China at the end of the nineteenth century, that he called Methods of Mission Work. There is a copy on the web (click the title in previous sentence). This is one of those works still available in plain vanilla ASCII following the original internet specs. Nothing fancy -- beyond being divided into pages, there is no formatting. But the info is all there. And this is a system that will work well in Burma, in my humble opinion.
RB
Monday, July 28
This morning I received a post from Rev. Moses Van L. Dawnga. Dawnga is the administrator of the New Life Presbyterian Orphanage. They are presently putting in this year's first rice crop in their new paddy field. The powerpoint presentation that shows the paddy field is a rather large file (it doesn't fill a CD-ROM, but it comes close). Thus Chris does not yet have that particular file up on the website, but perhaps it will be shortly. The objective with the paddy field is for the orphanage to move as much as possible toward self-sufficiency. Our design in helping them with the paddy field was to teach the orphans the importance of labor plus giving them a certain degree of independence respecting the price of rice in Myanma. Of course, many of the orphans are still too young to be much help in the planting season, but their turn will come in time.
Dawnga is eager to learn more about the reformed faith. I will teaching each day of a five day conference on 1) the gospel of free grace; 2) reformed church polity; and 3) the federal theology. Myanmar is an overwhelmingly Buddhist country, so we anticipate a number of baptisms when I arrive. If my "calculations" are correct, there should be something on the order of 30 paedobaptisms and 20 adult baptisms. Of course, one of the things we need to teach the officers is the ability to consider the credibility of an adult profession of faith. There is a long history of "rice Christianity" in Burma, and the last thing we want to do is contribute to that atmosphere. Thus, our approach up to now has been somewhat different from the typical evangelical missionaries who come to Burma. We believe the best way to bring these people out of poverty is to teach them the value of labor and service to neighbor. Simply offering them western largesse on the basis of them "professing Christ" is precisely what has caused the people to remain in poverty in spite of the gospel being in the country for nearly two centuries.
By preaching a "full-orbed" gospel, i.e. one that affects the entirety of the professor's life, we expect to see the people adopting both Christ and Christian values. Adoption of Christian values means that they will do their work to the glory of God. When they no longer work simply to keep a subsistence living, but do their best all the time to glorify the living God, we believe that the world's goods -- at least a competent portion of them will flow to these people, along with the blessings of God.
RB
Dawnga is eager to learn more about the reformed faith. I will teaching each day of a five day conference on 1) the gospel of free grace; 2) reformed church polity; and 3) the federal theology. Myanmar is an overwhelmingly Buddhist country, so we anticipate a number of baptisms when I arrive. If my "calculations" are correct, there should be something on the order of 30 paedobaptisms and 20 adult baptisms. Of course, one of the things we need to teach the officers is the ability to consider the credibility of an adult profession of faith. There is a long history of "rice Christianity" in Burma, and the last thing we want to do is contribute to that atmosphere. Thus, our approach up to now has been somewhat different from the typical evangelical missionaries who come to Burma. We believe the best way to bring these people out of poverty is to teach them the value of labor and service to neighbor. Simply offering them western largesse on the basis of them "professing Christ" is precisely what has caused the people to remain in poverty in spite of the gospel being in the country for nearly two centuries.
By preaching a "full-orbed" gospel, i.e. one that affects the entirety of the professor's life, we expect to see the people adopting both Christ and Christian values. Adoption of Christian values means that they will do their work to the glory of God. When they no longer work simply to keep a subsistence living, but do their best all the time to glorify the living God, we believe that the world's goods -- at least a competent portion of them will flow to these people, along with the blessings of God.
RB
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