One thing I learned in Myanmar....

and its not what you think... 

I recently returned from 2 weeks in Southeast Asia. A team from my small group at church went to visit a church plant, emerging businesses, and a few orphanages in the Republic of Myanmar, and I was fortunate to go along. I know many of you reading this have visited Third World Countries, and some of you have even lived and worked there. This was my first trip to a true Third World Country and I expected to come back and be forever changed, hating commercialism and Starbucks. But the day I returned, after 38 hours of traveling, I had to take my youngest to music class and hit Starbucks on the way to help me stay awake. It didn't take long for me to settle back into my completely American life, but I can say that I haven't completely forgotten my time in Myanmar.

I learned many lessons, the following are some of  my thoughts on how my trip has affected my role as a mom, specifically a homeschooling Mom:

 We are all called to something. Some are called to live full time in foreign countries and some are called to be in suburban America.  Personally, I feel called to be a stay-at-home homeschooling mom.  The important thing is not what our calling is, but what we do with our callings.  I have grown to love the country and people of Myanmar, but it doesn't serve my family well if I devote all of my time and energy thinking of and advocating for them. Honestly, doing that instead of focusing on my family does have an appeal. I can think of so many ways that I could work full-time fundraising and advocating for them.  But, God has called me to care for the little people in my home, and He expects me to be "all in".  As I was exposed to so much outside of my world, God gave me a renewed love for my home and family. I know it seems strange that this experience would turn me to my home rather than further outside my home, but I learned to focus on these three little lives that I can influence, and hopefully, they will follow Christ with a global mindset. As I focus on them and nurturing them and their love for Christ and others, there are many ways they can come along side me and we can love the people of Myanmar and Colorado together. 

You see, I realized that sometimes doing the "BIG" is easier than the day to day caring for the home and family. It is certainly more exciting! This past week as I was pondering it all I read this in Oswald Chambers My Utmost for His Highest: 

"It does require the supernatural grace of God to live twenty-four hours of every day as a saint, going through drudgery, and living an ordinary, unnoticed, and ignored existence as a disciple of Jesus. It is ingrained in us that we have to do exceptional things for God—but we do not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things of life, and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people—and this is not learned in five minutes." 

So, my challenge to you, dear reader, is to "be exceptional in the ordinary things of life", and may God cause you to see the ordinary as extraordinary for Him! And stay tuned for more on Myanmar...

Myanmar...finally!

I wrote this post just after arriving in Myanmar, but I couldn't get it posted from the hotel.  I know many of you prayed for us daily, and I am so grateful, we definitely felt your prayers!

Myanmar

We arrived today, went through customs, took an interesting ride to our hotel and settled in.  After lunch, Jenn, Tyler and I went for a walk around our hotel.  Wow!  There is so much to take in.  The traffic is crazy, many cars, taxis and buses. (Don't let this car fool you, lane driving is NOT the norm here) Oh, the buses!

 They are often very crowded and all very old.  There is a young man or two who hang off the bus shouting the route the bus is taking and then assessing the waiting crowd for who might want to get on or off the bus.
  It is also very dirty.  Lots of garbage and dirty standing water. Looking around, it is overwhelming to see so much filth and I begin to think my superior American thoughts about how much needs to be done to clean up the place, to make it like America.

 A park near our hotel

 The drainage ditch just outside the park

Who would even want to put that much effort into it?  It is disturbing to think how anyone here could even have hope given the living conditions and prospects for a future.  As the American that I am, I want to fix it, make it all better, but is it really better if an outsider tells you how your country should live?  Last night someone from our team asked a local pastor we partner with, how old Yangon is and he answered that the Buddhists just celebrated the 500th Anniversary of their large pagoda here in Yangon.
 Schwedagon Pagoda

 So the city is OVER 500 YEARS OLD.  With years of oppression by Kings, Westerners, and their own government, its no wonder the place is dirty with broken down sidewalks. If worrying about things like ethnic cleansing, or finding a job or business to feed your family are the first things on your mind, surely you aren't phased by a little garbage on the street.  I realized that the things I think about as a person who has all of her physical needs met and exceed by a grotesque amount, I can't even begin to think like the Burmese people. But there still must be ways to help. Now, I have just 10 days left to learn as much as I can about these people,what their dreams and desires are and how we, as extravagantly blessed Americans can come alongside them or even help from behind.  Please pray for our team as we are here, that we would be open to God's call and direction, that we would follow the Holy Spirit and not try to blaze a trail before Him. That we would be kind, loving and generous to the people here.  And that I would not try to impose my American values and expectations upon a people who are not Americans, but who are a people made in the image of our God, a people who have had a completely different journey than I, a people who God loves with the same passionate, amazing, pursuing love with which He loves me.  I pray that the Burmese people will know that love.  That God would bring a revival into this nation, to its leaders and to all the people.  May many want to love serve and give to this county. 

(Look close to see what is on the back of this bike)

Getting to Asia

Our journey started in Denver on Thursday afternoon just before 1:00pm.  We flew to LA and then transferred to the International Terminal to check in and again go through security to board the flight to Singapore.  Waiting in line for security, we were surrounded by people from many different countries.  My travel mates were worried that we would miss our flight as we had a short time and we were at the end of a very long line.  I was anxious because as I looked around at all the people, I knew they all had a story.  I wondered where everyone was going and why.  Were they US residents going home to visit family that lived thousands of miles away or were they just visiting the US.  Were they full of joy or heartache.  We all looked very different, were going different places for different reasons but we were all made in the image of the same Creator God.  It was eye-opening to stand there in line and look around to see the nations right there before me.  It reminded me that God loves all people and He wants us to work together to bring His Kingdom to earth.  Again, I was humbled that God would allow me to be there, taking it all in, rejoicing in how He made us all so different, but yet so similar.  

We made the flight just in the nick of time, they were making the last boarding call as we ran up.  Of course, one of us got flagged in the security line to have her bag checked slowing us down even more, but we made it.  The flight was uneventful, I think we were all too excited about what was to come to sleep , which was a big mistake.  The Asian people we encountered on the flight, both flight crew and passengers were all so friendly and beautiful.  I am in love with the people of the southeast part of this continent! 

My bags are packed, I'm ready to go...

My bags are packed and I'm ready to go.  I started this post on Wednesday night, the night before flying out to start this journey and finished it sitting in my hotel in Yangon.  There was too much going on in my mind, too many emotions were rattling around that I coulnd't write.  Thinking back about the last week, here is what I was feeling as I prepared my bags, my family and my heart for this trip  I was feeling like a fraud.  As a completely imperfect person, I felt unworthy to be going on this trip.   There are so many more people who are better teachers than I , better organizers, better lovers of people than I, but still I am going.  I am a woman who sometmes yells at my kids, who resents my husband when he wants to be served, a woman who sometimes just wants to be alone to do what I want to do.  I am selfish and a sinner, and I thought, "what good can I possiby do?".  I was also terribly excited,  that God planted in me a seed to go to the world.  TO see his people outside of the US, to love His people from all over the world.  I was also excited that God had placed me in a small group with others who have a desire to share God's love with the world and that I get to do this thing with close friends.  But, I have to admit, on Wednesday night,  as I tucked my kids in bed and talked with them about being gone for two weeks, I had to wonder if this really was such a good idea

Now that I am here, I am SO VERY THANKFUL for this opportunity to see His people, to hear about their lives and their journeys to following Christ.  It was hard to say good-bye to my family and all that is comfortable for 2 weeks and step out into the unknown.  I have never been away from my babies for that long and I know I will miss them terribly, I already do, but I know we will all learn from this trip so here I am, sitting in a hotel room in Yangon, Myanmar already feeling so blessed.      

I think this sums up how I was feeling as I packed for my trip and prepared my heart for what God would teach me through this trip and what God would have me to do while in Myanmar.  We serve a mighty God who can use anyone, including a messed up housewife in a cul-de-sac.  He can also use a people who are a very small minority of Christians in their country - I know we will speak to each other, that we will learn much from each other. in the next two weeks.  

Life in the Burbs

When we moved to our little slice of suburbia, in a cul-de-sac no less, I thought we had it all.  That we had achieved THE American Dream, I mean, what could be more American than living in a cul-de-sac?  And thankfully, we have a great one with great neighbors and I do love our cul-de-sac.  But over the past 3 years, God has shown me more, that there is more to this life and to His Kingdom, than just what is in my cul-de-sac or my home.  I began to pray about what could happen from my home.  I wanted to know how I could change the world make a difference from my home, but can you really make a difference from a cul-de-sac?  I sure hope so!  My family and I are on a journey to live out the gospel where God has planted us, right in our cul-de-sac!  We pray that as we live our daily lives the lives of others will be touched.  My husband and I pray that even though we live what looks like the American Dream, our children will not go through life with American Blinders on, but that they will care about their neighbors here in our town, in the city near us, in other parts of the country, and other countries of the world.  We hope they would not be so focused inward that they never look past the cul-de-sac to see someone in need of food, shelter, clothing, or love; that they would know that their parents' lives were changed because of the gospel, and that it has the power to not only change their lives, but lives all over the world.


So, while we live in a cul-de-sac, we hope to also live outside our cul-de-sac!  Come along on our journey as we make family memories, share our lives with neighbors and friends, and share the love of Christ with the world around us.  We certainly aren't perfect, we mess up daily, but we know that we are loved by Him who is Perfect, Jesus Christ!