Reflections from Myanmar

Well, it has been over a week since I got back from Myanmar. I am not sure if it was because I had a really challenging week or if the flight was really that bad...but I have really struggled getting over this jet-lag. We traveled over 39hrs and flew over 27hrs. Nasty!

This Myanmar Trip reflection is going to be short and sweet. Because of the lack of internet I was unable to keep posting blogs each day. However, I have over 10pgs of journal notes. Instead of posting all of these I have decided to just share a short summary.

This was my first opportunity to return to a mission location that I had already visited. Both trips were incredible and had their own unique elements. Since my first trip in the fall of 2005, I have wanted to go back to Myanmar. As I entered the country, I remembered my heart breaking for this people group and how much I fell in love with their culture on the first trip. This second trip was no different. It was awesome learning about the various traditions, especially those centered around Buddhism. The people were extremely kind and loving. Even more so then most of my Christian friends. On this trip, I loved the basketball (coaching & playing), the food, the massages, the hotel...but most importantly I love the people.

Our typical day looked like this:
Early Breakfast 8
Coaching Clinic from 9-12
Lunch 12-1
Coaching Clinic from 1-3
Basketball Games 4-6
Shower and Rest 6-7
Dinner 7-9
Devotion Time 9
Bedtime 10

I was excited to see so much progress on the bball court in comparison from my last trip. Their basketball skills had improved and they gave us a run for our money in the games. Well maybe not, we still crushed them by over 40.

One of the greatest aspects of this trip was the fact that Sean and Rob came with me. I have really grown to love these guys. Sean is a high school basketball coach and Rob is a student at Tulane University. Both of them are members at our church. I had a blast getting to know these guys better over basketball, wierd food, massages, and long flights. It was excellent! I know that God is going to do great things in each of their lives through the lessons that were learned on this trip.
Throughout the week God opened up doors for us to share the Good News one on one and around the dinner table. I believe that we were faithful to the mission and many seeds were planted. Most of our opportunities came when the coaches and players asked us about our faith. We were given an opportunity to be in Myanmar because of the government and basketball. The basketball federation would love to grow in their basketball ability and compete with other nations, possibly improving in order to compete in the Southeast Asia Games. One of our guides shared with me that it is not illegal to be a Christian in Myanmar, but the government restricts all proselytizing. I was amazed at how God used the game of basketball as a tool for us to build relationships with the people. Here are a few friends that I will be praying for until I am able to return again: Swan, Sue, Lance, Victor, Zarni, Arthur, Diana, Nigel, Kenneth, Jessie, Austin, Omah, Kg Sett, Japanzee, Sun Dai, Swie.