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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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