Sunday with the Karen
General FBC Missions, Karen Project Team 2008 February 5th, 2008 by ElizabethThe following is a letter from Brett;
We’ve settled in and been on the move since we arrived.
Yesterday we spent a great morning in the Karen Baptist Church. I was expecting to preach and ended up preaching, dedicating a baby and serving communion. Todd gave his story how he met Christ and sat on the platform with me through the whole 3 hour service. We had a great interpreter who emulated the qualities of his name, Tender.
After church we had lunch with the whole congregation, it was great. This church is primarily comprised of displaced Karen people who have emigrated or been driven from Burma. Some legal, but most illegal. There was also a smattering of Europeans who work in local NGO’s.
After lunch we met with the pastor and elders of this great little church. They informed us of their efforts to serve the Karen people and evangelize their community and even more remote parts of Thailand. I must say I was impressed.
First they have a program much like an ongoing VBS that attracts about 300 kids. They teach the Bible and share the gospel, they have computer classes and offer piano lessons. This is all done in a building about the size of your garage, assuming you only have a 2 car garage.
Second, they have adopted a village in a more remote part of Thailand, (I won’t even try to spell or say the name) where they have built a small church and have one person in place to reach out into the village. As far as they know there are two Christian families in the village, the rest Karen who have historically been Animists. It is their goal to place about 7 more people in this village and surrounding villages.
Lastly, they have opened a dormitory for Karen kids who need access to education and their parents are unable to support this effort. The dormitory houses 50 kids, all who sleep on the floor! They feed, care, educate these kids 10 months a year and they return home between semesters. All of these projects are ambitious and reveal a real heart for God and the lost. They asked us to consider partnering with them, both financially and with volunteers, more on this later.
(photo below - FBC Team and Mae Sot Church “family”
Most of you know, but I will take a little time to explain the reason we are here. The Burmese government is systematically driving a minority people out of Burma, the Karen. When Great Britain left Burma this put those people who were supportive of their occupation at great risk. The Karen were left the most vulnerable. In essence, this cleansing has been taking place since 1948 but has become much worse since the late 1990’s. Now most Karen are living on the run being pursued by the Burmese army. Many try to flee to Thailand, but they are not welcome, hence they are really living in no man’s land. Robert has been working to meet the needs of the Karen by coordinating his efforts with others who are committed to this good work.
Our purpose in being here is to gain a better understanding as to how 1st B can be involved in a meaningful way.
Yesterday after church we met with a group that is best described as the Karen National Health Association in exile. These men and women served the health needs of the Karen State and have now moved their headquarters to Thailand to be able to continue their efforts. In short they establish small clinics in the areas of the Karen State that are stable enough to allow a small bamboo building to be constructed. In areas that are not stable, due to impending military invasion, they send in back pack medics to do their best to meet the pressing needs of the people. Our church has supplied the money to establish one clinic and we have supported the efforts of the back packers as well. In fact on this trip we brought amputation saws, forceps, suture, stethoscopes, dental tools and money for this great group of men and women.
We met in a “headquarters” that would best be described as “beyond depressing” if one only looked at the trappings… concrete garage in a slum, people sleeping on on the ground in garages all around the office, cooking in the street, poverty like this fat guy has never seen. When we entered the office we were greeted by well educated, articulate men who have given their lives to serving their people. The inside of the bunker was filled computers, maps and files, smiling people who man this headquarters 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Their leader showed a very compelling and professional done PowerPoint that explained in great detail their strategic efforts. Needless to say we were impressed, humbled and motivated to find a way to make a difference.
Today we visit a clinic and the leader of the backpack medics, more on that later. Lots more to say but have to run, off to visit a clinic built to meet the needs of the Karen here in Mae Sot that have no other options. Then we meet with the director of the back pack medics and learn more about that branch of the effort.
In Christ,
Brett for Steve, Todd and Bill