Shan people briefing

Today we have a long term worker teaching us about the Shan Burmese people. Here's some of what they face.
They are 5-6 million Shan, persecuted heavily within Burma due to the fighting of the state of Shan against the Burmese military ruling junta. They want independance, and they were promised it years ago... But it hasn't come.
In the name of Burmese buddhism, a chedi was built in the area above Mae Hong Son, and 6 people including one little girl were incarcerated alive inside. Their screams could be heard for ages and the mother of the child has gone insane...
The Burmese army are using rape as a ethnic cleansing weapon against the Shan. Gang rape is so common.
The Shan are seen as even more Buddhist than Thai! Shan monks recieve a lot of respect. Social life revolves around the temple. Festivals are buddhist, becoming Christian means social ostracism.
Funeral rituals are extremely important to the Shan, a church has disintegrated because people left as they thought the church conducted funerals as if they were for animals. Christians need to work out how to do a good honoring funeral. A shan buddhist funeral has a cremation around noon in the forest, the guys have chopped wood, girls have made paper flowers, after the burning the drinking and gambling begins till late into the night. One of the first things a Shan person wants to know is what will happen to their physical body after they die.
They are buddhist fundamentally with an animistic overlay. For monks, the more precepts they follow, the more spiritual power they have. The spirit shamans say they get their power from Buddha.
The majority of people come to Christ after seeing a power confrontation between God and the animistic spirits- such as exorcism or healing. But after it, they still have Buddhist worldview at their core- so they may go to church to make merit now, instead of the temple.
The Shan believe suffering is life, a gospel without dealing with suffering would be of no interest to them.
They believe spirits are dead bad people wanting incarnation...interestingly they fear going out at night when a Shan dies unless they're Christian because they say the Christian has no spirit who will haunt them.
Effective sharing must be relational evangelism, if you argue apologetics and win publicly you have made them lose face and shamed them.
One pillar of Buddhism is detachment, you aim to have a cool heart always. You will become what you worship and if you worship a statue with eyes that can't see, hands that don't feel...the possibility of true relationship available in Christianity is attractive.
Pray for:
Protection for immature church plants
100,000 Shan of Chiang Mai- they are often illegal immigrants

Www.surehope.net
Www.shanland.com

Nupo cont'd

All this was before 9am. At 9 bible school began. One man had walked 6 hours from his village within Burma to come to the meeting. He was a type of Karen even the Thai pastors had never seen before. We shared short testimonies with the bible school after they had taught.
Then we walked down to the Nupo Refugee Camp. No one stopped us entering and actually it felt a lot like a village - except that the population of 20,000+ can't leave. It was an eye-opener, and this is one of the nicer camps.

Nupo Bible School

After a bone jarring pothole slamming last stretch of road we skidded to a stop beside a bamboo hut- the Bible School. We slept on the bamboo stage under mozzie nets and it was relatively comfortable even though Jenny had turned into a baby zombie by that time.

In the morning, the village rose with the chickens and we could hear the muslim prayer call echoing from the valley as well as see the orange robed Buddhists monks chanting as they walked in single file. Josh was difficult to wake and I could hear the villagers say to the Thai pastors, 'oh your poor friends must be tired from the travel'.
After breakfast of noodles, we went to pay a visit to the village cheif. He was surprisingly young- the Karen elect their cheifs based on education among other traits- and he was the only born-again Christian in the village he led.

We heard some of his struggles, he invited my church to return and partner in ministry there and we prayed for his family, especially his new baby. Fairly important meeting, I thought.

Burmese Refugee camp- on the road.

On monday Jenny, Josh and I- the triple j team are going to a camp. It is 4-5 hours drive to Mae sot and then another 4-5 up the mountains to the camp where displaced Karen people live.



Ive heard the road up there has 1992 bends in it so I've packed drammamine!

New digs

Due to a sudden shuffle in the office accomodations, I suddenly found myself with a week to find a new place to live. Thanks be to God, provider of last minute accomodations for impoverished females, I now have a cute little townhouse I'm sharing with two others.
Amazingly, a flood of gifts has also ensued and almost all my plates & cups were free, thanks to Albert who moved back to the States, and Jeow, my Thai friend who just loved this brown ceramic set so much she bought too many and has given me the extra.
The house is still kind of bare, but we have extra mattresses for visitors to crash out on!





And backyard i share with my neighbours who happen to be my friends already.

Cornerstone language school in difficulties...

Over the last few weeks I've noticed a few symptoms that my language school is in financial distress...but it was only last week via an email communique that I found out that they are trying to sell assets to clear debt and pay the teachers. Today I started up classes again and last time I spoke with my Khruu (teacher) before I went to China she was trying to enrol in university for a master's course. Today I asked her how it went and she said it she had passed the entrance exam but could not afford the fees (about $1000). She thought she would have enough, but then she wasn't paid in time so she's says 'mai pen rai, next year'. I went to speak with another Khruu who I am good friends with and found out that the teachers haven't been paid for two months or more...it puts quite a bit of strain on their families.
There's been a lot of history with this language school. It was opened by the same guy who opened Grace International School (the major international school for missionaries in Chiang Mai) because he saw two reasons why missionaries were leaving Chiang Mai - lack of schooling for kids, and lack of cultural adaptation (especially language).
For a while it operated with Thai Christians teaching foreign missionaries and apparently teachers were becoming Christians e.t.c Then it was sold/handed over and here the problems seem to begin and the view gets muddled. Though the new owner claims Christianity, it seems many actions & business deals have caused people to doubt it.
Since I don't know anything about what really went on behind the scenes I can only say what I see now...that many old staff have left, many of the students have left, and some teachers have taken the curriculum and are now teaching it on their own (which is copyright infringement)...leading to my teachers now not getting paid.
Seems a little unfair that the teachers have to suffer for management mistakes of the past. If ever there was a business as mission opportunity ready for take over, this would be it.

Relationships- talk by Dean Sherman

Just to explain, i went to Solomons Porch church and heard this talk so I took notes on my blog app. My note-taking style can be pretty cryptic though.
Love is usually thought of as confusing- linguistically, cross-culturally etc. Actually, its clear- 1 John 3:16 -this is love, jesus laid down his life for us, you do the same for others...
Heart of Good relationships: the cross.
The problem is not that we are only human, its that we are selfish.
The answer to selfishness is service- not withdrawing yourself to try work it out.
You can get along with anyone- you just both need to be humble.
Unity is corporate humility.
The truth: If you have trouble maintaining relationships, check your truth meter. People don't want to be near someone who speaks love and acts otherwise. NT truth has 2 meanings- what is right & what is real. Jesus was the truth-he was real.
Romans 10:9 love must be sincere. Relationships are only as deep as they are open & transparent. Sex is the symbol of intimacy & transparency, our culture mistakes it for the actual intimacy.
The world says truth is defined by love- they love each other so it's ok. But love is defined by truth.
1 John 3:17-18 actions speak louder than words. Love chooses the highest & best. Love is a choice more than a feeling.
God will never tell you to marry someone you don't love...He is the author of romantic feeling. Marriage is not a gamble or only hard work...God who can keep you from falling can keep you married. Keep commited by choice and feelings will follow. Choose what is love to the other person (except with kids, you got to do things to kids that they don't think is love).
Choose what is appropriate for the occasion. 15 yr olds can love deeply but its not appropriate, you can love a non-believer, but your household will be torn...its not wrong, but its not the best for you or them.