Myanmar Itinerary and Prayer Requests

CHCC Myanmar Young Adult Missions Trip – Dec. 29, 2013 to Jan. 11, 2014

“Bringing Christmas to the Village”

Pray each of the CHCC team:

David Ohnemus, William Banks, Max Beattie, Randy Howard

Candace Tupper, Jessy Baugh, Britt Fluth, Katie Sessler, Sage Kouyoumdjian, Jayson Daum

Jason Bollback, Ryan Fuller, Ari Baugh, Alyssa Snow, Lauren Lamparter

Sunday, Dec. 29^th, Depart for Yangon from LAX at 11:25 p.m. on China Airlines #CI-0007, connecting in Taipei with China Airlines #CI-7915 arriving in Yangon on Tuesday, Dec. 31^st  @ 9:50 a.m.

Prayer Requests:

• Major Travel Mercies - Everyone on-time with Passport!, Planes safe and on-time, everyone gets some sleep on the 14 hour flight to Taipei, no one picks up any health related issues on the plane.
• Access to Myanmar – Immigration and Customs clearance for us and our supplies (including our 25 audio bibles) goes smoothly

Tues, Dec 31 - New Year’s Eve in Yangon, meet local partners, visit tourist areas, dinner.

Prayer Requests:

• Everyone acclimates quickly to the weather and food.
• A healthy and safe stay in Yangon.
• Team gets to know our local partners and ‘guides’ and integrates them into our team.

Wed, Jan 1  – Fly to Lashio, Myanmar, check in with local partners and finalize detail plans (currently on YJ-751 departing @ 11 a.m. arriving at 13:55 p.m.)

Prayer Requests:

• Travel mercies – safety, luggage and supplies transferred cleanly, plane on-time, transfer to hotel.
• Organizational meeting with our local partners and Wa Bible School Superintendent goes well.
• Good sleep and continued health of team before we begin work the next morning.
• Team members are responsive to opportunities, divine appointments along the way.

Thur, Jan 2  – Travel to local Wa Villages with Wa Bible School Students (Local Young Adults).  We will be in two groups, to bring “Christmas to the Village”.

Prayer Requests:

• Acceptance in the village by the local leadership, village chief.
• Our crafts, games, stories of Christmas are understood, exciting, and lead to a deeper understanding of why Christmas is so special.
• Our CHCC team and the Wa Bible School Students bond quickly, learn from each other on how to “Bring Christmas” to these rural villages.
• Health of our Team as they adapt to the local food.

Fri, Jan 3 - Travel to local Wa Villages with Wa Bible School Students (Local Young Adults). 

Prayer Requests:

• 2^nd day of working in the villages might go better from the 1^st day’s learnings.
• Team members get over jet lag (3 night sleeping in Myanmar).
• Special relationships form between the CHCC Team and with members of the Wa Bible School Team.
• No injuries or health issues appear.
• Other villages hear about our teams and request us to come.
• Our presence might give the Wa Bible School Students the boldness and the opportunity to lead individuals to Christ.

Sat, Jan 4 – Spend most of the day at the Wa Orphanage in Lashio working with the children.

Prayer Requests:

• A truly special day as we work at the Orphanage on special projects.
• The children truly feel special and blessed because they are in the family of God.
• CHCC Team members begin to see how their presence has allowed God to work in them and others.
• Always pray for the health of the team…..

Sun., Jan 5 – Worship in Lashio, we will have a ‘singing’ opportunity, a praying opportunity, and possibly a preaching opportunity.

Prayer Requests:

• Worshipping in a different language brings the CHCC team closer to the God of the universe.
• Our presence encourages the Young Adults at the Wa Church.
• Our songs, prayers, and words inspire the local congregation to GO.

Mon, Jan 6 – Travel to Hsipaw by van (1 ½ hour drive), check in, explore the city.  Meet up with David Ramer…… Booked at Lily’s Guest House No. 108, Aung Tha Phay Road, Hsipaw, +958280077). 

Prayer Requests:

• Transportation to Hsipaw via vans works smoothly and safely.
• Lodging in Hsipaw works as planned and we find good places to eat.
• David Ramer and his guide arrive on schedule.
• We find a great opportunity to share Christ in Hsipaw.

Tues, Jan 7 – Store gear at Mr. Charles Guest House and then Trek to Palaung villages (4 hour walk) and spend the night.

Prayer Requests:

• Health and stamina and good weather as we ‘trek’ to remote Palaung villages.
• Good guest houses in the villages to stay.
• Acceptance by the Village Chief and binding of the evil spirits that wish to keep us out of these pagan villages.
• That our music, art, sports, stories, and ‘joy’ might be attractive and open the doors to opportunities to share Christmas in a non-Christian village.

Wed, Jan 8 – Continue trekking …. Overnight in Village

Prayer Requests:

• The CHCC Team handles the difficulty of sleeping in a rural village without amenities.
• Health, clean food, bottled water, and rest.
• Special relationships grow quickly among us and the villagers.
• The CHCC Team learns even more about themselves in this remote location.

Thur, Jan 9 – Trek back to Hsipaw and spend the night at Mr. Charles Guest House, 105 Auba St., Myo le Quarter, Northern Shan State, Hsipaw, Myanmar, +958280105

Prayer Requests:

• The team conversations are bubbling over with how each saw God show up during our time in the villages.
• Safety and good weather for the trek back to Hsipaw.
• Good rest before beginning the trip home.

Fri, Jan 10 – Drive to Lashio and fly back to Yangon; on YJ-752 departing at 16:50 arriving at 19:00.

Prayer Requests:

• Critical Travel Mercy for our vans to Lashio and the plane back to Yangon to be on-time.

China Airlines #CI-7916 to Taipei, connecting with China Airlines #CI-0006 arriving at LAX on January 11^th at 12:40 p.m. 

Prayer Requests:

• Travel mercies for the long trip home and specifically that we make the tight connection in Taipei.
• Continued health of the team so they can get back into school/work quickly.
• The experiences of this trip might continue to work in the hearts of all the team and those that get to tell their stories to back home.

Thank you for your prayers! Stay Tuned for Pictures :)

 

The Thankfulness Project

Wednesday’s are my hardest and longest days this year. I have four different classes, a five-hour lab class, and chapel. Because of these commitments, I am usually looking at a day of about ten or more hours of class. As a Chemistry/Biology/Pre-Med major, this commitment should be somewhat expected, but not enjoyable.

Since today is a Wednesday, I woke up this morning absolutely dreading the start of the day, because it seems to never end. Despite this, I got up bright and early at 6:20, showered, and was ready to go at 7AM. Every morning at 7AM I go out to my dorm’s balcony and spend a half an hour talking with God and reading my Bible. Well, in being that I was particularly tired this morning, my time seemed to move extra slow. While debating whether to take the time with God or sleep an extra few minutes, I threw myself a pity party about the day that I was approaching.

I am so grateful, that I decided to listen and take that time to be with God. I truly believe that God will redeem the time that we spend invested in him and in relationship with him. The verse that I was led to this morning was in the book of Philippians:

“…for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. 

                                                           Philippians 4:11-13

Well you can imagine my reaction to this verse, talk about being humbled!! The devotion that I was reading continued to express that we as humans attempt to look beyond the now, to a “better time”. We often think that once we finish this class, once we are out of high school, once we have a solid job, once we are married, etc. life will be better and more fulfilling then it currently is. Where this can be detrimental, however, is that always looking ahead can cause us to miss out on the moments of life. God wants us to be present in the moment, today, and to help us to overcome the human tendency to look past and miss out on the moment.

This could not have come at a better time because I had just finished praying for God to help me make it to tomorrow, because tomorrow will be better and easier. God’s response was: no! Enjoy today, you can find contentment today despite your weariness, fear, and lack of strength. I am strong enough and will bring you through it, lean on me, seek joy, and be thankful for the moments that I give you today.  

Therefore, today, my project will be making notes of all of the moments where God is present. Each time I feel like complaining, I am going to look for joy and be thankful. God is present in every moment.

I want to challenge you to take on this Thankfulness project as well. Experience Jesus in each moment, and I promise your life will abound with joy.

The Connection of Unity and Grace

Acts 2:42-47: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

The fellowship of the early church, once Jesus had ascended to heaven, was to live in a community that anticipated the imminent return of the Savior. All of the teaching they had came directly from Jesus’ ministry, and was explained by the apostles—they did not have the Bible as we have access to it today or all the different factions, denominations, and divisions that exist today. They were a unified body.

This past semester I had the ability to study the major events of the church history, spanning the two thousand years that the church has been in existence—beginning about fifth century and continuing to present time. Many common themes flow through the transitions that the church has gone through as people have nit-picked details and argued about the minor, grey areas that have nothing to do with the validity of one’s salvation. It was this detail nit-picking that caused the factions and divisions to develop amongst Christians, throughout history.

These divisions were not always carried out in the most “Christian” manor—as seen in the notorious crusades—but these splits have lead to the formation different denominations and religions in existence today. In looking at the modern, American, Christian church, this split in ideology has evidenced itself in the amount of existing churches and the separation that develops because peoples alliance is wrongly, first and foremost to their home church, when it should be to Jesus Christ.

The division that the body of believers is experiencing as a result of the alliances that people are making with individual churches, has confused the concept of what a “Christian” is. People on the outside are not drawn to the grace of God because there is so much confusion and condemnation between groups that call themselves Christians.  It is when the church begins to heap condemnation on each other, and forget the humanity and fallibleness that we as humans innately possess, that Christians gain the negative reputation as judgmental and non-understanding. And it is this reputation that has caused Christians to turn against one another and nonbelievers to want absolutely nothing to do with Christianity.

As a believer in Christ, I have seen the damage that judgmental-ness can cause, and have been the subject of judgmental-ness from other, fellow Christians. For what it has done to me, I can only imagine how it makes people, who don’t share my belief in Jesus, feel. I do understand that we are all human, and that humans are, by our nature, going to make mistakes. However, as people who claim freedom from sin in the grace of Christ, we should strive to bring reconciliation and unity rather than condemnation and confusion. Through the grace of Christ, Christians have the ability to be a united body, and not be separated by allegiance to certain pastors or specific institutions.

It is ultimately to Jesus Christ that our allegiance should belong, and he is whom we should strive to replicate our lives after.

1 Corinthians 3:1-9 Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.  You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings? What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.

It is through God that we are saved, and for God that we should, then, live.

The Depth of Reflections

I really do love summer, so much. Even when it feels boring and like I am doing the same thing everyday, time away to process and reflect is much needed. Since being home, I made a decision to cut down on social medial use and take an introspective look at my life and my relationship with God. I have taken a break from Pinterest, Tumblr, and other sites for 30 days, of which I am a little over half way through. God has really met me in this time of commitment to reflecting on him. What I have been learning about is, loving his people more. One of the ways that this lesson was enforced was through the book, Crazy Love, by Francis Chan. I realized that I want to like in a heaven-minded way and to love others I encounter as if they are Jesus, himself.  

            To live in a heaven-minded way, is to become more conscience of the dimension of God and his intimate involvement in the lives of his people. It is easy to push God far away, only letting him into life in the form of the ritual dinner time prayer or a quick word before you fall asleep, and forget that he hears all of our thoughts, knows the desires of our heart, and, more importantly, is walking this journey of life right along side of us. In becoming heaven-minded, we are also becoming God conscience and are then able to reflect and build a relationship with, the person of God, as we move throughout our day. Therefore, opening us to a deeper and more fulfilled relationship with our Creator.

            Secondly, loving others as if they were Jesus is a difficult task and will only come from someone who is heaven-minded. Jesus was the one who noticed the least, the mundane, and the socially unacceptable. This can be exemplified in many ways, but at the core is not being to busy in our daily lives that we seam roll past the people that are a constant part of life. It is doing the dishes that are left behind and forgotten about, even when you will not gain recognition. It is offering a hand to the lady outside of Bed, Bath, and Beyond who is holding her screaming child over one shoulder, her return item in the other, trying to get the attention of her wandering four year-old, and trying to close the trunk of her car. Or, swallowing the urge to take back something that you don’t feel someone truly needs to borrow, and giving it willingly, because you know, in the scope of eternity, it truly doesn’t matter if it is in your possession. Becoming conscience of people and treating them as Jesus, takes much more effort than living out the image/reputation based culture that we live in. Our culture is constantly concerned with how we look and how much we possess. What sets those who love Jesus apart from the world is that second glance and show of grace that we give to the people we encounter.

            Jesus noticed everyone: the short man in the tree, the bleeding woman who touched the fringe of his coat in a crowd, the leper who was entirely covered in diseased, oozing wounds. Jesus proclaims that whatever we do for the least of these is what we are doing directly for him. Tell me, how could we change this world if everyone took a moment to recognize and show grace to the people we encounter in life everyday, weather we feel they are deserving of it or not. It will not always be easy, but love them like Jesus. 

Embrace Weakness

 Coming home to Orange County from the bubbled community that is Westmont, I am again confronted with the image-based society that I live in. Here, everyone puts up fronts, weakness is not embraced but rather, condemned, and everything must look perfect on the outside. I have grown up in this, and held together my shiny outside and performed, seemingly, close to perfection.

In the face of many life-impacting events this semester, I found that I, out of habit, would push feelings down into my core and present a shiny, nothing-bothers me, veneer. However, as all veneers will eventually be worn off to show the less-than-perfect underside, the community of people that Westmont placed around me caused it to get pulled back, little by little.

The mission statement of Page Hall, something that was determined the summer before school began, was: Redeemed by Grace, Rooted in Christ, and Rejoicing in Weakness. Its amazing how God knows what people will need and prepares to meet us in the time where we will need him the most.

It was the third part of this mission statement: Rejoice in Weakness, that was the most vital to my life this semester. 2 Corinthians 12:9 appeared everywhere, once six different times in a week. God’s power is made perfect when we are weak, and if we embrace this, it becomes easier to let the veneer wear off. This is my goal: to be open and not hide the hurt, but rather allow healing to come from God, despite my own weakness.  

Like a Book

             I cannot believe that I am finished with my first year of college. It has been the most exciting, most memorable, hardest, and amazing year of my life.
God answered many of my prayers in brining me to this amazing community of Westmont College and brining into my life some of the best friends I have ever had. I know that I am truly blessed by this.
            Yesterday was the transition, from my freshman dorm, Page, back to home. Although this is sad transition, it is nice to know that the journey is only beginning, rather than ending.
            My roommate and I were talking before we left school, and we decided that college is like a book. It is made of chapters, and each chapter holds a new adventure. It is similar to a book, in that the first chapter (or, in this case, year)  is where you are introduced to the characters. It is in the following chapters, however, once the introductions have been made, where the adventures are able to begin and be more fully embraced. Continuing in this book analogy, then, the summers are like a footnote to the chapters, they allow the good times to be expanded upon.
            In thinking like this, the time away from the community at Westmont will not be sad, rather, it will be an expansion of the experiences and adventures that will be different. Summers will be nice and relaxing, without the parameters of school work. With this mindset, I am looking foreword to enjoying the now and seeing what God has planned for this summer.

Blue Like Jazz

Today I was able to finish a book that I had been reading over the past few weeks, Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. You may have heard of it because it was also recently made into a movie.

The book is fantastic. Miller is very honest in his struggle to believe in Christianity and reconcile it with his feelings and experiences in the world. From being raised in the church, in the same way I was, he had grown up experiencing the world through the stereotypes of a typical, sheltered, sometimes, judgmental Christian.

 For those of us that are in the same boat, of being raised with stereotypes, I think this book offers a refreshing perspective on Christian spirituality. I also recommend it to non-believers, because it emphasizes the humanity of us Jesus followers. I think that Christians are sometimes placed on this pedestal, and when we mess up and act like the broken, even stupid humans that we innately are, the world says: See! You are no better than me! Why should I change my beliefs?

It is when we embrace the fact that we are God’s broken masterpiece that we can be true examples to the world of the hope that we have in Jesus. We are still broken and human, but we are set free, in the process of healing, and embrace the purpose that our creator has for us.

I think that this short excerpt from the book says it the best:

            “In a recent radio interview I was sternly asked by the host, who did not consider himself a Christian, to defend Christianity. I told him that I couldn’t do it, and moreover, that I didn’t want to defend the term. He asked me if I was a Christian, and I told him yes. “Then why don’t you want to defend Christianity?” he asked, confused. I told him I no longer knew what the term meant. Of the hundreds of thousands of people listening to his show that day, some of them had terrible experiences with Christianity; they may have been yelled at by a teacher in a Christian school, abused by a minister, or browbeaten by a Christian parent. To them, the term Christianity meant something that no Christian I know would defend. By fortifying the term, I am only making them more and more angry. I won’t do it. Stop ten people on the street and ask them what they think of when they hear the word Christianity, and they will give you ten different answers. How can I defend a term that means ten different things to ten different people? I told the radio show host that I would rather talk about Jesus and how I came to believe that Jesus exists and that he likes me. The host looked back at me with tears in his eyes. When we were done, he asked me if we could go get lunch together. He told me how he didn’t like Christianity but how he had always wanted to believe Jesus was the Son of God.”

~Blue Like Jazz, 115

I am so sorry if a Christian hurt you. Unfortunately, as much as we strive to be, we are not always the best representatives of Christ. However, we are broken masterpieces created with a purpose to bring glory to Christ, despite our weaknesses. I pray that you will meet Jesus and see how he can make your life different; he loves you more than you could ever imagine.

And if you get a chance, read the book, Blue Like Jazz!

Happy Easter!

Today we celebrate the victory that God had over death in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The best part of this victory is that Jesus is alive, even today. I think that sometimes it is easy for us to get caught up in the moment of Jesus being raised from the dead, and almost forget that Jesus is as alive today as you and me are. And, he promises us that he is coming back for us soon!

Before Jesus’ crucifixion, he ate a final meal with his disciples and he foretold the things that were going to happen to him.

Jesus said to them, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you may know the way to where I am going.” John 14:1-3

Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to heaven, where he is preparing a place for each of us. Those of us he takes early in death, have places that were finished early. For the rest of us, Jesus is still working, and he promises that he will be back soon to bring us.

The way to this place, eternity, is through belief in Jesus as one’s Lord and Savior. In Romans it says, if you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth, then, you will be saved. Jesus has always loved you and wants you, more than anything. Belief in him is the only way to everlasting life.

The first Easter marked the beginning of the free entrance to God’s presence, through the gift and grace of Jesus Christ. I am so thankful for the grace that God has given to me through Jesus, and the sacrifice that Jesus gave on the cross at Calvary. I cannot wait for the day when I will be united with my Savior. I pray that you all will come to know this grace and be able to spend eternity in the presence of God.