I was at Calvary Midtown when I heard about Myanmar ministry for the first time. During announcements, the pastor was sharing about Agape Orphanage and the kids. My heart was touched, and immediately I wanted to be part of the team to go and serve those kids. However, Calvary usually sends a team in December or January which is not the best time of the year for a student. Then, I prayed and I asked God that, if He wanted me to go, He would open the doors for me to join a team.
After a year, in God’s perfect time, He answered my prayer! Praise the Lord! Again, during the Sunday service at Calvary Midtown, the pastor announced they decided to send a team during Spring Break. I was thinking: “This is it! This is my chance to go!” I was so happy and convinced that I should go. When I finally signed up to go, I had about a month to raise the funds for the trip. In my heart, I knew God would provide but my mind was conflicted and struggling to trust in God’s provision. I prayed a lot during that month. I also wrote letters to my friends and prayed more. I knew God is powerful and I knew He had opened this door for me to go, I just had to believe He could do it. You know, when God works, He is perfect. God provided not only the full amount of funds that I needed but also a great team in which I found encouragement and support during these uncertain times. I was so convinced that God really wanted me to go, but for what? What am I going to do there? I had no idea how God would use me there or even why He chose me to go.
All the preparation process for the trip was amazing. We as a team collected donations for the kids such as activity books, clothes, shoes, etc. We got together to pack and to pray for the trip. We were encouraged to learn more about Myanmar culture and language, and how the gospel was first preached on that place by our team leader. I believe God was using that time to prepare our hearts for our future experience in Myanmar. And that was amazing!
My experience at the orphanage changed my life completed. Despite my limitation on expressing into words what I felt during the trip, I want to share one story. Before the trip, I was meditating on 1 John 4:18a which says: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.”
And during the trip, I experienced this love in such an amazing way. When we arrived at the orphanage, the kids immediately connected with us. They embraced us, and they chose us and stayed with us for the entire week, by our side all the time. They were our companions, they were our friends and our protectors in a way. They always checked if we were okay, if we needed water. It was just a clear representation of God’s love and care for us. Love without fear, just simply love in action. This experience changed me. I was at the orphanage to serve those kids, but honestly the kids served and ministered in my life more than I could ever expect. Before going to the trip, I did not know what to expect. Now, I praise God for the opportunity to experience and see God’s love in action. It is powerful and as Paul says: “For Christ’s love compels us”. It does, indeed.
I chose this photo because these three little girls were my inseparable friends during the trip. We called ourselves a “squad” because we stayed together all the time. They loved me so much and I love them back. It was so hard to say good-bye. I will never forget our time together, and I pray to God to bless their lives always. They certainly have my heart. I hope to see them again. Maybe in Myanmar again or maybe just in heaven. God is Good!
Sharing Testimony
Besides the orphanage, Calvary also sponsors a seminary called International Calvary Theological Seminary. We as a team were invited and had a chance to share our testimonies with the students. I had no idea what to say to the students and so, I just prayed God to put the words in my mouth. As soon as I finished my prayer, I remembered my dad’s story and I decided to share it with the group and the students.
My dad is an orphan too. He was raised in a large and poor family. He had to work as a kid to help his mom and his siblings. At age of 16, my dad accepted Jesus. However, his family was not pleased. My dad passed through many difficulties because of his faith in Jesus. He was rejected by his family but not by God. After a while, my dad decided to join a seminary and to become a pastor. The interesting fact is my dad joined a seminary built by Americans, similar to the one in Myanmar. And today, I can relate to those students even more. I thank God for churches and seminaries around the world. Those are seeds and in God’s time, they will grow and produce fruit. I am a fruit, and today I can share my story with others and plant new seeds.
When I decided to go to Myanmar, I had no idea that my dad’s story would be so similar to the ones we heard at the seminary. I had no idea that our presence would have such impact in those students’ life. At the seminary, I felt as I was seen my dad’s story all over again but now God was acting in Myanmar. That moment was such an encouragement to me and I hope my words were also an encouragement to the students to continue in their studies and learn about God. Our God is not limited, He is powerful and He can use us! No matter if you are in the US, Myanmar or Brazil, God takes good care of his sons and daughters. His love never fails!
It’s called Myanmar Agape Orphanage. This lead me to believe they brought in orphans. During my first visit in February 2015, I soon realized I was mistaken. Though there are kids there that lost their Mom & Dad, and with no extended family able to take care of them, many of the kids only lost one parent or even had both living. There are many factors that bring the kids there. Most is because of severe poverty. Their families just can’t take care of them. Sometimes, sadly it is because of drug or alcohol addiction.
That’s not the only aspect that makes this Orphanage a bit strange. The nationals that run the orphanage have a much bigger vision than simply helping kids that are in a hard spot. They have an eternal perspective in mind. They give the kids more than a home to sleep in and food to nurture them. And, though they labor to get them the best education possible to help end the cycle of poverty, the root for why this orphanage exists goes even deeper.
You can get a picture of it at 6am in the morning. It is then you hear the sounds of 100 or more children not just singing, but singing with deep heart conviction to their God. As I walked to see them, the singing turned to praying. Finally, entering the room where they were all praying, as I looked around I didn’t see any of the workers – not a single adult. These kids woke up on their own to sing praises to Jesus and pray. They pray for the sick among them. They pray for their country. They pray for their schooling. And, they pray for Calvary church. It is absolutely humbling hearing 100 kids from 5 – 18 praying so fervently for God’s will to be done.
That is why this orphanage exists. To raise up a generation, that apart from being at the orphanage, would be walking in darkness. They give this kids the light of Jesus. Jesus gives these kids a vision to shine that light brightly in a dark country. I’m thankful for this hope they give the kids and the vision they give them.
On my first visit one girl in particular stole my heart: Faybee. She was a beautiful sweet 12-year-old, and was so thankful to have someone that could spend extended time with her. Once home my family quickly agreed to sponsor Faybee. We would write notes that we exchanged with the workers on Facebook. We prayed for her and she prayed for us.
Though my wife wasn’t looking forward to the long flight there, this past March she was eager to meet Faybee in person. That week with her was so special. We enjoyed her company and even got to do a video call with our kids to hang out. As we “adopted” Faybee into our family, you can imagine how devastated we were when we learned she returned back to her family a month after we left. Faybee’s father had died over 10 years ago, and for the past 10 years she and her brother were in Agape Orphanage because her Mom could not afford to take care of them. Now that they were older, they could be of more help and assistance to their Mom and remaining family.
Though we shed tears that we might not ever see Faybee again or even hear from her, we also quickly came to realize this is the hope of Agape Orphanage. To plant the love of Jesus and the gospel light in the kids, and as they go back to their hometowns and even families, they would bring that light and love of Jesus with them. We will greatly miss Faybee, but we pray for her daily. Knowing, she has a hope for her family and town that they desperately need.
I had no idea what God had in store for me when I heard the words “Hey, what do you think about going on a mission trip with me to Myanmar?” My first reaction was a mix of fear (Do tsunamis reach this place? What do I have to offer a trip like this?), excitement and wonder about a place and people half the world away, and doubt that it would ever happen. It happened and no tsunamis! God made it happen! It took some convincing.
I have three kids and a husband that would certainly struggle without mom around….so I thought! All of them insisted I go and that they would be fine….and they made out quite well with some help from grandparents and friends. My laundry even managed to get done! (Thanks Mom!) Money felt like a barrier but God worked that out too. I had to humble myself and ask for support. I’m much more comfortable being in the position of giving. Asking for help was hard but once I did it, the donations on top of prayers and words of encouragement rolled in. Receiving and the feelings that accompanied were a gift. I learned a lot about the generosity of the people in my life and felt a love from friends, family, and acquaintances that I never opened myself up to experiencing. My health challenged me. Eight days before my departure my daughter was diagnosed with Influenza B, then came my turn three days later. As each day passed I felt worse. The day before leaving I had serious doubts about being able to make it on that plane! Why would God work on my heart and open all of these doors only for them to be closed? My heart was sad. Prayers were prayed and a doctor got me in, gave me medicine and the green light to travel. The flight was long and hard. When I woke up on the second day my illness passed! Even when things are hard it doesn’t mean God is closing a door.
Going to Myanmar is right up there with my life’s best moments… accepting Jesus into my heart, getting married, having children, and watching my son hit his first homer. Just when you think your heart has reached it’s capacity for love and joy, God surprises you again. Gods timing was perfect! I was starting to feel a little stagnant in life. I settled into the whole mom thing and teaching gig. So now what? In my mind I knew these roles were important and served God but the “umph” behind it all was not so “umphy”. Then….Myanmar happened. On that first morning I received my very first hug from a girl that shared my name. It was as if God arranged this meeting. What are the chances? Two Judy’s! Days passed and many hugs and laughs were shared. Days later I learned more about Judy’s story. She has special needs. Interesting….I teach special education. God for sure arranged this. That moment felt like a huge hug from God with the message “You are where I need you to be, doing what I need you to do.” The sad thing about Judy is her education is done. When you stop passing tests you stop being educated in Myanmar public schools. Thankfully the orphanage plans on keeping Judy. She will become one of the adults who help the orphans. Upon my return I got straight to work on expanding the opportunities for my students at the high school. I spoke at a faculty meeting (Me speaking in front of a large group of people = train wreck!) and am in the middle of opening more doors through new initiatives at my school. After hearing Judy’s story I feel driven to maximize and develop new opportunities for my students with special needs. They have the law behind them, giving them these rights, they just need people advocating and developing it. The “umph” is back in my job!
There is no explaining the passion, love, and faith these very small children have for God. You have to see and hear it to really understand. When they sing, read scripture, dance, and pray, they do it with every ounce of their beautiful souls! It made me rethink how limiting I have been as a parent with my own three children. I hugely underestimated their capacity to worship and understand God and his teachings and to take action and be the hands and feet of Jesus. I “micromanaged” their faith. When I returned home that all changed and now I have three children who all made a savings envelope so they can go to Myanmar. Immediately when they get $1 from the tooth fairy, money in an Easter egg, birthday money, etc…. they place it in their envelope and excitedly tally their new total and figure out how much the still need to raise. These are children that love to shop. I am shocked and overjoyed at the spirit of giving that has grown so much in such a short amount of time in them.
For every step of my journey, a lesson from God happened. My heart is full and I am thankful.
They tell you before you go to Agape Orphanage in Myanmar that one or two of the children there will adopt you for the week. That while all the children will be over the moon excited to see you, one or two will silently declare that you are especially his or hers. So, I knew that it would happen. It just didn’t happen the way I expected.
It started with a small but deep cut on David’s foot. The boys were showing off their soccer skills when David stepped on something and suddenly there was blood. As the nurse on the trip, I was asked to take a look. After some pantomiming, a reluctant David followed me to my medical supplies and a dusty, open room. As I sat down on the floor with his foot propped on my knee and began to work, I heard whispering in Burmese. Most of the whispering kids scampered off as soon as I looked up. But a few stayed including one small, mischievous, dark-eyed boy named Jacob.
The kids came back within minutes, talking louder and towing friends with them. I was engulfed in a small flock of kids shyly showing me fingers and toes. The next few hours passed in blur of bandages and bandaids and shy smiles split open to wide grins. At some point Jacob retrieved an umbrella and moved closer to shade me. I tried to pantomime that it was unnecessary, but Jacob just stepped closer.
Each morning, our team was greeted with hugs and excitement and additionally, I would be treated to a parade of newly-acquired scrapes and bruises. And Jacob was always right there. Eventually, he walked glued to my side and he sat intently next to me while I doctored. Thankfully, few of the kids needed serious medical care. It was obvious that more than anything, they wanted someone to see them, soothe them with a touch, and find joy in their presence. And they are such easy kids to find joy in their presences.
Jacob confused me at first. This hilarious kid who can shoot a rubber band further than anyone I know and who would fall over in laughter at my poor attempts. But also this kid that would sit next to me quietly for hours; our communication limited to gestures and smiles. I was confused by his eager insistence to be my friend. After all, we were only there for a handful of days. But, at the beginning of the week, I didn’t understand how much my heart could love in 7 days.
They don’t tell you when you leave Myanmar, that if you’re me, you’ll cry for 2 hours straight. When you get back, you’ll think about them every day and 3 months later you’ll still be wearing the bracelets they made you. The other day I received a letter from Jacob. I was so excited to write him back and made sure to include a bunch of rubber bands.
BRIEF INTRODUCTION
At the time of writing this, it’s been just a little over a week since returning from Myanmar. My body has finally returned to our time zone and my mind and heart have had time to process all I experienced and it’s time I finally try to share some of my thoughts and experiences with you all.
For those who do not know, I was a part of a team from Calvary Church that travelled to Agape Orphanage outside Yangon, Myanmar. We were able to meet the children that we support and spend time getting to know them and learning the story of what God is doing in Myanmar.
My goal is not to rehash every detail of every moment of the journey. It was tiring, the travel was long, very long. We visited a lot of interesting places, saw some sights both good and bad. We ate great food and met many new friends. We played games, sweated through three shirts a day, and did more crafts in a week than I’ve done in my whole life. But the details of all my many experiences are just too many to share here. So I’m going to try to share what I feel are the most important things that I left Myanmar with.
OUR ARRIVAL
We arrived in Yangon late on Saturday evening to a warm welcome of children at the airport. Right away it was a apparent that we’d be well cared for and loved during our time there. Although we were strangers, they greeted us all with warm hugs, bright smiles, and a welcoming spirit, even refusing to let us carry our own bags. We loaded ourselves and our bags into vans and started the final leg of the journey, a 45 minute drive to the orphanage. It was dark and we were incredibly tired from almost two full days of traveling, so we immediately were shown our accommodations and went to bed for the night.
As the odd man out on the trip (literally, as the only other guy had his wife with him and they roomed together) I was fortunate enough to stay in a guest room in David’s house. David is one of Joseph’s sons who also lives on the orphanage grounds – more on their amazing family later. My room was large, air conditioned, had a king sized bed and private bathroom – not bad! I wasn’t sure what to expect going in and was pleasantly surprised. I unpacked a bit but decided to just go to bed and fell asleep right away. Although I was extremely tired and had not slept well on the trip, the 11.5 hour time change was just too much to adjust to right away and I was awake by about 3am (this happened for the first 4 days).
I stayed in bed and rested as best I could but as soon as the sun was up I was out exploring with my camera. The morning was cool and foggy and created an amazing light that made photographing a joy.
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
Later that morning, after being treated to our first of many amazing breakfasts to come that week, we joined everyone for Sunday Church and got our first glimpse of what life was like for the children.
At this point I feel I need to back up briefly and talk about how I came to be a part of the group. A good friend of ours, Matt Geiger, had been on a past trip and has often spoken about his experience and his desire to go back. He’s even been working on his wife Karlyn, trying to convince her to bring the whole family for an extended stay (they have three children from 9-13 yrs old). When the opportunity to go again arose, Matt and Karlyn decided they’d go, to experience Myanmar together, and to address any concerns about bringing the family. When putting the team together, Matt asked me if I’d like to be apart of it. Honestly, I was caught off guard as I had never even considered it before. But after much consideration, prayer, and encouragement from Andrea, I decided to jump on board.
At that point I knew very little about Myanmar and what to expect of the orphanage, the people there, and the children. Perhaps it was my own ignorance, perhaps the American lens through which I view life, or a little bit of both, but when I thought of “orphans” and “Myanmar” I immediately pictured the sad, starving, downtrodden images I’ve seen on TV commercials accompanied by sad Sarah McLaughlin music.
FIRST WORSHIP
Back to that first Sunday morning in Myanmar. I was wrong. Everything I had imagined or expected was wrong. Way wrong. I knew it right away but I had no idea what to think of it. I had feelings of guilt and shame that were quickly overtaken by happiness and joy. I looked around and saw rows and rows of beautiful, amazing children with smiling faces singing at the top of their lungs praising God. They were praying together, all at once and out loud. I had no idea what they were saying but the looks on the faces of even the littlest child let us know they were serious. It was apparent from the start that these kids, while orphaned, were a part of a bigger family. What Joseph and his family have created at Agape is nothing short of a miracle.
BETTER AND BETTER…
Joseph Sang, the patriarch of Agape orphanage is a truly amazing man. I won’t go into his entire story here but know it is filled with miraculous works of God, never-ending trust and faith, and a life of servanthood and love that is matched by few I have met in this world. His family, along with some of the first orphaned children that he cared for, who are now grown, operate a whole network of orphanages (5, I believe) and care for over 200 children. They make sure they are fed, healthy, educated, loved, and taught the Word of God.
From those first moments worshipping together with the children, the experiences just continued to get better and better. We were their guests and they made us feel loved. Everywhere we went we had 2 or 3 or more children under our arms and holding our hands. Not because we asked them to, not because they were told to, but because they genuinely cared for us and craved the love of a parent. It’s really quite impossible for me to explain it, to make you understand what it felt like to be there, to be so badly wanted by someone who didn’t know you and couldn’t even communicate with you. It was simultaneously heartbreaking and uplifting in a most amazing and beautiful way.
MY TAKEAWAY
I didn’t know a lot about Myanmar before going, but one thing I had known was that their government is closed to foreign adoptions. For whatever reason, they wish to keep their own in country. A day or two of being there and I felt certain, if that policy were changed, this orphanage would be half empty in a week and I (and everyone else who has ever visited) would be needing a bigger house. I couldn’t understand why the Burmese government wouldn’t allow these poor children to be rescued to a better life. It wasn’t right, wasn’t fair. But the more and more time we spent there, the more we learned about Joseph’s story and all the amazing things his family is doing there, we learned how these children are being rescued and educated, raised to love and serve God and each other, my mind changed. I saw something in this place that doesn’t exist in the United States. Something about that community that I’ve never experienced and still struggle to describe. But for all the things they may lack, the really important things they have in spades, much more than we do here. I began not to feel bad for them, but to be jealous for my own children that they wouldn’t grow up in such a wonderful community.
Now, I must pause here to make an important point. I don’t want to falsely portray everything as sunshine and rainbows. These children are orphans. Many do not have either parent alive. Others do but are unwanted or their family is simply unable to care for them. Other stories are far worse and include abuse of all sorts. These children need us and our support. But their place, at least for now, is in Myanmar; Myanmar, where they will grow up to be a generation of men and women of change, of love and compassion for their own people, spreading the love and Word of God.
So, pray for them, support them, write letters and befriend them. Love these amazing children, with hopes, dreams, and fears; who play soccer, make friendship bracelets, play duck-duck-goose and musical chairs, who sing and dance with joy and enthusiasm, despite their circumstances; children that are more like us than they are different.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my trip, perhaps my story will spark you to want to visit Myanmar yourself. Or maybe you’d be able to offer some financial support, or even simply write a letter. If you’re interested in learning more about ways you can make an impact, please visit the links above.
I hope you enjoy the images below, if you’d like to see more please visit: jandaphoto.com/joels-trip-to-myanmar/
After returning home from my first trip to Myanmar, I was emotionally wrecked, exhausted and overwhelmed on how God chose to speak to me and how far He took me so that He could meet with me. He prepared me every way for the trip- financially, emotionally and physically. My heart said the decision to go to Myanmar was easy. My head however was not as smart as my heart.
There were a lot of tears and anxious feelings when it came to saying “yes” to God. But honestly, denying the enemy of any stronghold of my life and trusting what God was planning to do was worth every single tear. I have since been back to Myanmar for a second trip and I am still in awe and in love with my family there.
God continues to teach me so much about myself and so much about Him that I often pray that he sees me back, year after year. If you feel that God is nudging you to try out a mission, you should. It isn’t what you can do but what God can do with and through you. When it comes to what is happening in Myanmar- God’s work is astounding.
A collection of thoughts/memories from some past visitors to Myanmar.
Morning Breakfast:
During my week long stay at the Agape Orphanage I woke up early a few days to help cook breakfast. Typically a group of kids and one adult will wake up in the early hours of the morning to prepare breakfast for everyone. On top of the difficulties of preparing rice and vegetables for one hundred plus hungry kids every morning, there are occasional power outages. I experienced this one day when I arrived in the kitchen around 4am and the power was out. Gosane (aka Joan), a woman who lives and serves at Agape, was there in the dark with 4 of the girls attempting to prepare breakfast in the dark. The only light around were dull embers from a coal fire. I showed up with my headlamp, which I gave to Joan and used the flashlight from my cell phone to give the other girls light. Eventually power was restored but I left my headlamp with Joan, for the next time she wakes up 4 and there is no power.
Arts and Crafts:
Myanmar is a hot place. During the day while it was too hot to be in the sun we put coloring books and other arts and crafts items out to be used. As soon as the coloring books came out, the kids flocked to the room. From the little ones to the older ones, this was a fun activity to be part of for everyone.
Praying for Aungthroo:
While at Agape I heard some of Aungthroo’s story (pronounced In-gah-woo). He shared with me that his heart will get sad when he thinks about his parents. He misses his mom and dad and he feels lonely when he remembers them. I was able to pray for him and encourage him to come to God with his sadness. I met Aungthroo towards the end of my stay at Agape. After he shared some of his story with me, he was by my side the rest of the trip. I pray for him often and ask God in heaven to send his fatherly love to this heart broken orphan.
Kids carrying my backpack:
Jere and Esther are two girls who I fell in love with during my stay. They waited for me between meals and never let me carry my own backpack. Little Jere would not only carry my backpack but would rush to help me put my sandals on. The urgency to be a servant and to be helpful is heart melting.
Safety and Accommodations:
Before going I of course had concerns about what it would be like there. Would we be safe, or feel threatened at all? What are the accommodations like? The bathrooms? The beds? THE FOOD???
Well, I won’t go into all the details here but I can say I absolutely never felt in any kind of danger and we were well taken care of and VERY well fed. It was hot but we were comfortable enough and I could not be happier that I decided to go!!!
We had the awesome honor of being servants to the children and staff at Agape Orphanage. Matt Geiger shared the story from John 13 where Jesus washed his disciples feet.
1 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
After reading and talking about the story we had all the children and staff go through the process of us washing their feet. We could tell it made some of them uncomfortable at first, as they are used to being the servants to us. The whole experience was fantastic and we were all so glad to have shared in it.
A healing prayer service led by Ali Bruce. We didn’t know what type of a turnout to expect but had so many children come up front for prayer that it had to be cut short due to time constraints
The best birthday celebration ever, complete with a gigantic cake, fed wedding-style between Matt and Karlyn, and then shared with all the children.
