Joyful Day

“This is how we know what love is:  Jesus Christ laid down His life for us.  And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.  If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?  Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth.”  1 John 3:16-18

Today I’m overwhelmed by love.  The kind of love that reflects what Christ gave; a great sacrifice to purchase life for people who are beloved.  A reflection of this love and sacrifice was poured out by my friends last night at my Christmas party.  I’m undeserving of the grace that put so many people in my life who imitate Christ, who celebrate His coming and His gift in their lives and actions.

The gift was given for the country of Burma, a place I knew virtually nothing about 5 months ago.  It is awesome that God moves people, provides for and protects His own, and brings it about by creative means.  My story about Burma started last August….

After church on August 9, I stayed to hear a local political figure talk about loving our community.  Her talk sidetracked onto the topic of having a calling, how to discern your calling, and how she was called to the Seattle area to invest in the community here.  As she spoke, I was having this conversation with God:  “Lord, I know you called me here for a season, but I don’t feel called to Seattle forever…. where am I called to?”  My mind wandered to Joel, the missionary I stayed with in Nepal last year.  During our time with him, he felt God calling him to the country of Burma when his time in Nepal was done.  As I sat there and continued to listen, the country of Burma lingered in my mind, and I asked “God are you calling me to Burma?”

On Wednesday of that week, I sat down to lunch with my co-worker and hiking buddy Jessica who is from Burma.  I had never heard her talk about her country before, but that day without any prompting she just began to describe the great poverty of the people there and the evils of the military that abuses its own people.  I prayed that week for Burma, for the people, and for Joel’s future work there.

The next Sunday before church, I overheard a total stranger talking about his work helping Burma.  My ears perked up and I asked him if I could talk to him about what he was doing.  How random that I should run into such a person who happened to be visiting from Thailand for the week!!  I met with him and we talked for three hours about Free Burma Rangers, the organization he works for.  His story about Burma was simple and sad.  The military dictatorship there wants complete control so they attack their own people, burning down rural villages, placing land mines, and leaving people homeless, wounded, and hungry.  Free Burma Rangers trains teams of people to be medics and sends them on “missions” packing medical supplies, food, Bibles, and other supplies into the jungle for the “internally displaced people” (IDP’s). There were over a million IDP’s in Burma, and I found out recently that an estimated 50,000 more people lost their homes this past summer alone.  Nick gave me lots of info and connected me with Marci, a nurse who serves in Burma.

After 2 more months of prayer and eager anticipation, Marci came to Seattle for a visit and we had coffee.   She has been serving in Burma about 9 months out of the year for the past 5 years.  She helps at a clinic where Burmese people are trained to be medics to go and help their people.  She showed me pictures and talked about the work there.  I really really really wanted to go and help teach microbiology and medical stuff in that clinic, and we talked about going together in March.

The next few weeks were a time of prayer and surrender for me.  I was sooooo excited after meeting with Marci, but several people warned me against going because it’s such a dangerous place.  I sought counsel and a very wise friend asked me to examine my heart and wait to see if God was calling or if I was just excited about going on an adventure.  So I waited.  And then my brother got engaged.  This seemed a pretty clear answer from God because it did not make sense to risk my life right before the wedding of two people I love very dearly.  So I surrendered my overwhelming desire to go this spring and just prayed.

A month later, I read some news about a huge rice shortage in Burma because so many land mines had been planted in the rice fields that the people couldn’t harvest their rice crop this year.  It was predicted that many would starve in the next few months.  I wanted to help, so I emailed Marci and asked how I could give money that would actually go to helping the starving people.  She recommended Partners Relief and Development, and I sent off a gift.

Meanwhile, the holidays were coming up and we were planning our 5th Annual Swanky Christmas Party.  One day randomly in the shower I had this idea that I could make a “Burma Room” at the party and ask people to donate as a Christmas gift for Burma.  I was excited about it (as I am about most of my new ideas), and talked to a friend who gave me some great suggestions, but then forgot about it as life got busy.

A month went by, and one day while driving around on a quest for ski boots, the Burma room came back into my mind, a vivid reminder.  The next day, I answered a random phone call, and it was Spencer from Partners Relief and Development, calling to ask if there’s anything they could do to connect me with the work in Burma.  We talked about going on medical mission trips, and he gave me his email.  I was so excited talking to him that I forgot all about the Christmas party idea, but later that night I remembered and emailed him about it.  He agreed to send some info that I could share at the party.  The next night I mentioned the idea in my Bible study and my dear friend Margaret volunteered her graphic design skills, software, and printing stuff to help me make posters.  It amazed me how everything I needed smoothly fell into place, down to finding a huge fallen branch on the sidewalk to use for a giving tree!!  God faithfully connected me with the right resources and people in the perfect time frame for it to happen.

There are no words to express how amazingly God keeps His promises to answer prayer.  All week we prayed for the party, that the right people would come, that a manageable number for our house would come, that people would feel loved, conversations would glorify God, and that everyone would have generous and soft hearts of love for the people in Burma.

And it happened just as we asked (Matt. 7:7-8):

- So many sweet people helped with decorating, baking, and setting up for the party that it was the least stressful prep of any of the other years we’ve thrown the party

-Between 60 and 70 people came and had tons of fun!!!!

and…

-We received a total of $1534 in gifts for Burma!!!!!!  I am overwhelmed by God’s faithfulness and the kindness of everyone involved.

It is fun to be part of God’s plan!!  I am so thankful that He gives us His love for the people He has created, that He opens doors for us to love people we would know nothing about apart from Him, that He promises to answer prayer and lets us see Him do it.

Please keep praying for the country of Burma, that God will move and bring justice for the oppressed, that He will overcome evil and show His glory so that many people can come to know Him.

Merry Christmas!!