June and July and a little bit of August...

This will prove to be one of the most difficult blogs that I have ever done...not that I've done very many.
I'm in Bangkok, Thailand and for some reason all the buttons are in Thai and so I am just guessing at what I'm doing....   Fair warning, if something strange or weird happens, it is probably due to the language issue.

When I arrived in Yangon and walked in the door of the house we rented, my heart dropped.  Due to flooding in the previous house Naw Eh Wah (Nelly) had to rent a different house.  She had moved the day before I arrived so, needless to say, the house was cluttered with boxes, bags and piles of stuff that obviously hadn't found a place yet.  In addition to this cluttered condition, the house was pretty dirty and had a lot of little fixes to do.  The kitchen especially was appalling.

So the next day, Saturday, we spent the whole day tearing up rotten flooring, laying plastic flooring, painting, repairing wiring and installing light switches, plumbing and cleaning.  It was amazing what we were able to get accomplished that first day.  A big thanks to Ko Win Zaw, Sei Sei and Kyaw Zin who gave their entire day and their expertise for free...however we did feed them a good meal.

Take a look at what we accomplished that first day.

Also, notice the washing machine with a blue lid.  Thanks to a very generous friend I now have a washing machine and no longer need to wash by hand.

Here is a bit of fun decorating we did for the school.  There is this funny little window in the upstairs room wall, so I stuck a bear on the ledge and hung some kites on the ceiling.  The kids like the big kites.  Most kites in Myanmar are only about a foot wide and don't have tails.  They are made withtissue paper and break easily.  So the kids really like to look at these American kites.

Because of the time taken to prepare the house for living and for school, we ended up choosing an opening date the 2nd of July.  Surprisingly not a single student came all week.  We spent a lot of time praying about it and seeking if God had something else in mind.

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."

 Galatians 6:9-10

And so we decided to open up school anyways.  All the preparation was finished and I didn't want to just sit around.  We put the word out to some friends and pastors and they found some kids that weren't enrolled in any preschool yet and so we got our first two students.

This is Jonathan.

He is one of our two fully sponsored children.  My understanding is that only his mother believes.  She just returned from working in Thailand and Jonathan had been left to be raised by family in Myanmar.  When we were looking for students to sponsor a friend suggested him.  

Jonathan was very shy at first.  He likes to play quietly by himself most of the time.  He does very well when it comes to learning.  He listens and tries hard.  He has already learned most of his colors and many animals.  He can count to ten and knows many phrases like: "good morning," "open it please," "thank you teacher," "see you tomorrow," and such. 

This is Fred.

He is our other sponsored student.  He comes from a believing family.  He could talk straight for the whole 3 hours if we didn't study.  Now he mostly speaks Myanmar, but he is starting to use some English words when he talks about colors and animals.

This is Suri.

Suri is just under 2 years old.  She is a pastor friend's daughter and she is on a partial sponsorship.  Although she is so young, she does well at school.  She doesn't cry and likes to play together with the big boys.  She doesn't talk much yet, but she is able to repeat after me just about any word.  Itt is amazing how, at this young age, she can hear and repeat things more properly than kids that are only a year or two older.  This is definitely the best time to learn a natural accent.

This is Nate.

Nate is Naw Eh Wah's nephew.  He and his mother are living together with us and he is attending preschool.  Nate's mother is Ma Doe Doe and she is helping us with some cooking and cleaning and will help look after Nate's cousin when he arrives from Taung Gyi.  Nate is doing well, but is a quiet boy, but I think that with a bit more time he won't be so shy.  The other day after school we were eating snacks and visiting.  Nate looked deep into my eyes and then he made a comment to his mother that I have some kind of black spots on my eyes.  Myanmar people all have dark, dark brown or as they call them, "black" eyes.  So with my blue eyes he could see my pupil and it was as if something was wrong with my eyes.

This is Chris.

Chris is just under 3 years old.  I'm not sure yet whether he comes from a Christian home or not.  He is our fifth student and our first fully paying student.  God is faithful!

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” 

Jeremiah 29:11

Please continue to pray for five to 10 more students to attend preschool.
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