Some of you may remember reading a post before we moved to Thailand in which I interviewed Olivia.  She was 7 years old then.  You can read her interview in our blog archives.  It’s called “Olivia Speaks“.

Now she’s 8, she’s back, bigger than ever and much more mature… :0

Over to you Olivia…

Dad: What do you want to talk about today?

Olivia: “Well, dad.  I want to talk about how I felt when I came back.”

Dad:  Okay, good idea.  How did you feel?

Olivia: “When I was in the truck heading to Bangkok on our way home, I cried because I was beginning to miss Nao Mai, my little 2-year old friend and my other friends at the migrant schools.  When I arrived in Vancouver, I traveled to West Kelowna and I discovered a movie on the shelf at home called ‘Beyond Rangoon.’ I asked my dad if I could watch it.  He said ‘OK’.  I began to watch the movie and halfway through the movie I realized how I can help people in Burma even when I’m in Canada.

There is a girl in Beyond Rangoon who heard a crowd yelling in the streets while she was staying at a guesthouse.  She got dressed and went outside and then she was following the people until she got to a big group of people who were holding up signs and cheering.  The signs had pictures of Aung San Suu Kyi on them.  A girl invited her up on a little platform and she saw Aung San Suu Kyi walking down the road.  Burmese soldiers ran in front of her.  They didn’t want to let her pass but she walked right through the guns.  When I saw Aung San Suu Kyi walk through the guns, I realized even more how much those people needed help and I decided that I would be someone who would help them.”

“When the movie ended, I asked my mom and dad to come into their bedroom so I could talk with them.  I brought Hannah, my 10-year sister with me.  When they came in, I told them that I wanted to start my own organization to help raise money for poor people in the world.  Then I started crying…bawling my eyes out.  I asked my sister to finish for me because I couldn’t talk.  We called the organization MFK…Money for Kids.  I started to look for ideas on how we could raise money.  I found one!  It was selling playdough!”

“The next day my mom and I made playdough of different colors and we put the playdough into ziploc bags.  Then my older sister painted paper bags.  We put the ziploc bags in the paper bags.  We added cookie cutters and a roller in each paper bag to make them into Birthday Playdough Kits – perfect for birthday presents.  Then we brought the bags to one of the churches where we were speaking and put them on our Imagine Thailand table.  We sold them for $5.00 and we sold them all!”

Dad: Thanks Olivia.  Great story!  Time to make some more playdough…   What are some other fundraising ideas you have?

Olivia: “Selling hot chocolate and lemonade at the end of our driveway.”

Dad: Any closing remarks?

Olivia: “I feel sad about what is happening in Burma and I feel happy that I am helping them.”

So that’s it.

It’s as simple as that.

Sadness brings a response and the response brings happiness.

Feeling sad about the state of the world?

Use your talents and your heart of compassion to change the course of history.

It may not be playdough, but I’m sure you’ll think of something…

Recently, Irislee and I made a presentation about Imagine Thailand and the Burmese crisis.  After our presentation, a gentleman engaged me in conversation about the whole issue of child trafficking.  We talked about how pervasive this issue is in Asia but also that it is happening in North America.  He mentioned that it is difficult to keep the issue front and center because it wasn’t taking place in “his own backyard.”

Fair enough.

There are many international issues that  could occupy our time, attention, financial resources, and prayer focus.

Overwhelming.

However, we need to define “backyard.”  From a global perspective, we’re so interconnected that it seems foolish to assume that issues on the other side of the world don’t affect me.   The particular issue of child trafficking,  has actually moved very close to home.  Benjamin Perrin, author of Invisible Chains:  Canada’s Underground World of Human Trafficking talks about girls from Winnipeg who are trafficked to other cities in Western Canada.

Just one story of many…

In this case, for us to hide behind the “not in my backyard” argument indicates, at the very least, our ignorance of current affairs, and at the very most, our motives of  self-protection.

Admittedly, some international injustices do not affect us directly.  Burma’s lack of democracy does not change Canada’s laws.  Still I’m not sure that creates an exemption for us.  From Jesus’ perspective, we are to love our neighbours and he doesn’t just mean the people who live next door.  In the famous story of the Good Samaritan, the “neighbour” who is in need of medical attention is actually from a people group who are sworn enemies of the Good Samaritan.

Jesus’ backyard was very large.

I would even suggest that Jesus’ backyard was global.  This was made clear when his followers travelled though out the then-known world to spread his message.  Not a message limited to a certain group of people…Jesus’ concern was for the world.  In his worldview, issues of freedom, justice, and mercy become our responsibility no matter where they take place.

How big is your backyard?

This weekend, we were reminded again of the Burmese crisis through the sham of an election that took place in Burma on Sunday, November 7th.  Forcing allegiance to the ruling party, tampering with election boxes, and passing unjust laws to guarantee success has thrown the nation of Burma into a post-election frenzy that could lead to civil war.  Good information is available at www.irrawaddy.org.

In our own town of Mae Sot, 15,000 Burmese men, women, and children have crossed the border from the town of Myawaddy to escape the fighting between the Burmese government soldiers and the DKBA – a Karen army that at one time actually fought with the Burmese government.  In the border market, where some of you have been, a woman was killed because of errant mortars that have crossed over to the Thai side of the border.  Here are a few pictures from Mae Sot sent to us by Day Mu, one of our Karen staff.  Perhaps this crisis will lead to permanent change.  In order for that kind of change to happen, the people of Burma need to unite and we need to support them.

From a social justice angle, I encourage you to write your MP’s and MLA’s about encouraging our Canadian government to get involved.  Write your local newspapers, post articles from youtube and news agencies on your facebook page. It’s time for the military junta to hear that the world does not approve of their illegal activities.

Spread the word.

From a mercy  angle, give an extra donation to your favourite relief organization working in the region.  If your choice is Imagine Thailand, go to www.imaginethailand.org and click on the “donate now” icon.  Choose “International Missions” as the category.  For specific areas, choose “Projects” and then select “Thailand – Imagine Thailand”.  Send a quick email to info@imaginethailand.org informing the office of the purpose of your donation which should be listed as “Mae Sot Relief”.

Together we can change our backyard…

I’m always amazed at the strength of the human spirit.

Just when you think nobody cares, you get blindsided by someone who does.

This past weekend our family traveled to Jasper, Alberta to speak at a weekend getaway for 55  students who are training to look after humanitarian and spiritual needs of people in third world countries.  It’s a program out of Vanguard College in Edmonton.  We were familiar with this college because they sent 7 young adults and 1 leader to Mae Sot last spring to volunteer with us, and we had a phenomenal time together.  At the end of their week-long visit, the invitation came and we accepted.

Weekend getaway meant tenting.  So 68 of us in total camped in -7 degree weather, went river rafting in glacier water, and then did their version of a polar bear dip…jumping off a 30-foot cliff into the 6 degree glacier water.  Naturally, as their guest, I had no choice but to jump in.  Not that they pressured me…I just had to do it.  It was a matter of pride.  I wasn’t alone.  Once the 30 of us  swam to shore and our body parts unfroze, we made our way to the local swimming pool and warmed up in the hot tub.  The weekend was fantastic.  Great food, great scenery, great friendships, and 4 teaching sessions that we hope were helpful to the students.

What struck me was the fact that so many talented students were giving their lives to something that wasn’t financially profitable and even potentially dangerous.  Most of these students will have to fundraise for the opportunity to live in poverty, live in a culture far from home and family, and live in nations where political systems aren’t nearly as stable as our own.

All for a cause they believe is worth living for…and potentially dying for.

We met first year students straight out of high school… perhaps looking for adventure.

We met 2nd year students…home from their first cross cultural experience.

We met 3rd year students…looking for internships in cross-cultural settings.

We met 4th year students…staring graduation in the face and planning for the future.

We met staff… veterans of crossing culture, sharing their life and experience with those coming along behind.

In our years as youth pastors, we’ve always encouraged teens that the young adult years are the best years to try something new and brave.   Without marriage and mortgage, traveling to make a difference internationally is a lot more possible for young adults than those of us who have so many commitments to house and home and family.  There were those whose sense of adventure has lasted a full four years of training and will graduate with a Bachelor’s degree this spring.  They are looking for opportunities to serve around the world.  Then there were two couples that really impacted me.  One couple was married one month ago and they are in their final year of school.  We met them two years ago at a Children in Crisis course we took to prepare us for our own trip to Thailand.  At that time they were only dating.  While we were away, they were engaged, and are now married.  Instead of putting away money for a house and living in a safe area of town, they’ll head off to Southeast Asia when they get their funding in place.  Another couple is even further ahead.  They’ve already finished their schooling and are set to go to Southeast Asia in a year.  It’ll take that long to raise the amount of money they need.  Where will they head?  Just slightly north of the violent area in the deep south of Thailand.  This area has been plagued by bombs blowing up in street markets, the murder of innocent people, and the burning of schools.

Why do they go?

Because there are so many desperate people who need help, that someone has got to go.  They’ve answered the call to help.

Jesus said not to store up treasures up on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.  Instead we are to store up treasure in heaven. It seems like the Vanguard College students have figured it out.  Something…no…SOMEONE…called them to something greater than the North American rat race to financial freedom.  The sacrifices these students make will result in a legacy of people whose lives have been changed.

I don’t think all of us need to go.

But all of us need to help somehow.

With all that is going on in the world today, it is irresponsible at best and blatantly selfish at worst to put our heads in the sand and help only ourselves.  While we need to provide for our spouses and children, the level of provision may need to be adjusted.  What we feel we need is considered only a want in other countries where poverty runs rampant.  Do we really need the latest vehicles, so many clothes, the best wine, and crazy amounts of food?  I wonder how much money could be raised for charity if people gave up one bottle of wine or a six-pack of beer a month and gave the money to a worthy cause?  Just a thought…

So we’re back from Jasper, I’m in our home office typing, and in the background one of my daughters is watching Beyond Rangoon, a fictional movie about the failed Burmese student revolution of 1988.   The crisis there continues.  I’m thankful for our weekend getaway.  There is hope.  People are still living life in extraordinary ways on behalf of the less fortunate.

Thank-you Vanguard for reminding us where true treasure lies.

PS: in case you are worried that we forgot about Isaac, he wasn’t able to come on this trip

    So we’re back in Canada — West Kelowna to be specific.  We were told we would experience reverse culture shock and to some degree we have.  As we unpack our belongings from storage, I am stunned at how many clothes we own, how many toys our children own, how many home decor items collect on our kitchen table as we lift them carefully from the boxes, and how many photo albums and ‘memory boxes’ we discover.   Vastly different from our Burmese friends in Mae Sot with hardly any clothing, few toys, a home with walls that would fall over in a windstorm, and no camera with which to take pictures.   

On the other hand, we’re doing better than we expected. We’ve been welcomed back by our church and are enjoying our work as Peachland Campus Pastors.  Additionally, we continue to work with Imagine Thailand from Canada.  It helps our hearts when we remind ourselves that we are still involved in making a difference in the lives of the children we have come to love. Our blog will continue so that we can tell you stories about our experiences from this end of the world. 

As we follow the news on the Thai/Burma border, we read the sad news but the good news is not far behind:

• A federal election (that no one believes will be fair) takes place on Nov. 7. 
• 13,000(!!!) Karen people fled across the border to Mae Sot three weeks ago to escape the fighting in their villages.   
• Water systems continue to be installed.
• School resources are in the hands of 28 schools. 
• Stateless children are being documented.
• Teams and families from Finland, Thailand, Canada, and USA are scheduled to volunteer in Mae Sot this year.
• Our Karen team in Mae Sot continues to work on Imagine Thailand projects. 
• In less than one month, our friends, Dave and Lorelie Hanson, along with their three girls, will arrive in Mae Sot to take our place. 

So don’t forget about Mae Sot.   Our view may be different from here but the crisis is still the same.  We still need you. 

What do we do with Imagine Thailand?

     Our main role is to visit schools, community organizations, and churches to show them the possibilities of what could be different in Thailand if they became part of the growing team of people interested in helping.  For example, today we visited a pastor in a South Okanagan community.  He invited us to speak at his church in October and then he would like to send a team to Thailand in 2011.  We’ll help with the training and then we’ll hand them off to the staff in Thailand for an amazing adventure.  Earlier this week, we met with a youth pastor who would like to bring 40 teens and parents with him to run life camps in a number of schools in Mae Sot. 

Perhaps your church or school would be interested in a visit? 

Perhaps you’d like to book a coffee date to talk about what you can do to make a difference?

     Imagine Thailand is planning a donor conference that will take place in January 2011.  For those interested in visiting all the areas in which Imagine Thailand works, we’re setting up an official ’Social Justice’ tour.  Visiting Mae Sot, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Takua Pa will give individuals a good understanding of the needs and will create an environment where they will be able to discuss how they can become part of the solution. 

Perhaps this tour would interest you?

     Once school begins, we’ll talk to social justice classes, give ideas for raising money for orphans, and even set up direct partnerships with Canadian schools and migrant schools in Thailand. 

Perhaps you’d like to introduce us to the principal or a teacher from your school? 

Perhaps you’d like to us to come over and share our stories with your family? 

 From one family to another, we would sure love to give you a new view from YOUR living room window! 

I’m writing from Peter and Cavelle’s condo in Bangkok, hours from our Thailand departure.  I’ve been a bit more thoughtful in these final days, contemplating the situation in Burma, wondering about the future.  If you don’t mind, I’d like to share these thoughts with you.

I’ve learned that that the first major wave of refugees to cross the border came in 1984.  Approximately 10,000 came to Thailand at that time.  Refugees came as early as 1975 (13 years after the military coup), but it wasn’t until my Grade 8-9 year at M.E.I. in Abbotsford that families fled to Thailand en masse anticipating a short stay.  The first humanitarian agencies to help were Christian groups – this is often the case worldwide.  And they only helped with rice…because that is all the refugees thought they needed.

Yet here we sit in 2010 with about 500,000 Burmese IDP (internally displaced people) having fled their homes but still living somewhere inside Burma, while another 150,000 have fled to refugee camps on the Thai side.  That doesn’t include the 70,000 in Mae Sot, or the thousands more who live in other towns and cities, in this apparently temporary situation.  25 years of temporary…

Last week was an emotional week.  We visited 40 schools to say goodbye.   We also said goodbye to our Karen neighbours across the street.  We hope little two-year old Nao Mai will somehow understand why we left.  We will travel 17 hours to the other side of the world, a part of the world that has been largely unaware of the crisis in Burma. In fact, before we came here, we had no idea either.  I could almost find Burma on a map and while I knew about humanitarian crises in Africa, Eastern Europe, and parts of Central America, Burma was non-existent to me.

But not anymore…

Something has happened to me.  Like individuals throughout the centuries who have come face to face with injustice, I have become a witness.  As a witness, it has become my obligation to share the stories and to keep the flame of knowledge alive, so that injustice cannot continue to prevail and so that people with the ability to help cannot plead ignorance any longer.

What has inspired me this year is the amazing compassion I’ve witnessed from those who have heard the story…people like YOU!  As I write this 28th blog update, I marvel that you helped send us here, and that you’ve tracked with us, prayed for us, visited us, sent money for our family and for projects, and created awareness in your own settings.  You’ve become witnesses as well!  11 months after our arrival, 1000′s of children and their families are drinking clean water, preschool children are receiving a better education, boarding house children have heard the life-giving message of God’s love for them, and orphans are slowly working through a process of becoming officially and legally recognized.  Their lives will never be the same because we worked together.  Whether here in Mae Sot or 17 hours away, together we helped make a difference.  The flame has gotten brighter.

And so I have hope.  I dream of a  free Burma and and wait for political change.  Sooner or later, when the refugee camps and the streets of Mae Sot empty and the children of Burma resettle in their own country, they will be more ready and able to lead their nation back to freedom.  You have helped ensure the survival of Burma.

Thank-you for all that you did.  On behalf of the little baby we brought to the Mae Tao clinic last week…on behalf of the students at Hsa Mu Htaw who gave a dazzling traditional Burmese dance performance to our family and visitors…on behalf of New Light’s headmaster, his wife, and their two little girls who keep handing me their stuffed animals to hold and kiss…on behalf of the 50 preschool students Ellie was able to teach this year at Hle Bee…thank-you.  You’ve helped so many people.

As most of you know, we will continue to work with Imagine Thailand 50% of the time…from West Kelowna. Let us continue to work together in the months and years to come.  Let us keep the flame burning until it is a light that the whole world can see.