I asked her if she wanted to hear more about Jesus and she said, "Yes."

Myanmar Gospel Music Festival 2012

 

This is a friend of mine.  Her younger brother was the landlord of the house that we rented last year.  They are believers and we have been able to do a few ministry things together throughout the past year.  On Thursday morning we received a call and Naun Naun was wondering if Nelly and I could do some interpreting for an event that she was helping with. 

We hadn't done any interpreting before, but said we would try.

 Nelly and I waiting to begin.

 When we arrived we were so amazed to see so many people.  There were over 20,000 people who attended each of the 4 nights.

Our job was to interpret for the ministry teams from Taiwan and Indonesia.  The prayer teams would pray for the people and those who felt they had healing would come forward and share their stories with us.  We would then interpret these stories to the ministry teams so that they could choose those they wanted to share testimonies.

This job was a bit of a challenge, because for the testimonies they wanted verifiable stories.  So we had to question and check and question and check...

There was one boy who had his hearing restored.  At first his story seemed untrue because of an interpretation misunderstanding.  He had been able to hear when he was young but because of a wrong medicine being put in his ears he hadn't been able to hear at all for the past 3 years.

The first interpretation communicated was that he couldn't hear since he was 3 years old and so when the doctor checked him and he could speak well, his story seemed untrue.  But after further questioning I caught on that it was the last three years, not since he was three...and so it made sense that he could speak because he lost his hearing when he was 14 and could already speak well.

I want to share with you my favorite story about a 6 year old girl named Shwe Ke.  Shwe Ke has HIV and both her parents have already passed away.  She has no other family to care for her so an non-relative is caring for her.  They are Buddhist and yet they still came to this event with hope in their hearts.

When Shwe Ke was prayed for she said that the hurting of her face and glads was gone and that she knew she would be in heaven one day with no sickness.

I asked her if she wanted to hear more about Jesus and she said, "Yes."

Thankfully that night another friend, Zin Mar, had come along.  She isn't able to do interpreting, so she was watching our bags.  She is a trained children's minister, so God had brought along the perfect person to minister to Shwe Ke!

Zin Mar was free and able to spend time explaining about Jesus and salvation and Shwe Ke understood and believed!! 

I praise God for sending along this friend who had the time and ability to share with Shwe Ke better than I could have on my own. 

God truly knows and prepares the best!! 

October Update

 

 This month we have been working hard on writing our ABC's.  Now Nate, Shane and Fred can trace from A to Z by themselves.  Jonathan has a harder time with the fine motor skills, he can do most of the letters but needs my help for only a few now.

Chris is not yet 3 and has a hard time sitting very long.  He can now do from A to L by himself if I'm there to keep him on task.  It is amazing what a little praise after finishing each letter can do...just means I have to be there to praise him for each letter.

Mary will be 2 in about two weeks.  She loves writing time.  She will trace some of the letters on her own, but mostly just likes to draw.  We write her name together and talk about the letters.  She already knows most of her letters by sight.  At first we had a little trouble with her not wanting to stop writing and give me her pen.  But I have found that if I ask her to put the pens away for me, she is so excited and then it accomplishes our clean up task.

 

Fred has picked up the ABC's very quickly.  He went from only knowing the F for his name to being able to trace all the ABC's correctly in only two or three times helping him.

  

Shane was able to write most of his capital and lowercase ABC's when he came to school.  He still loves to practice alongside the other children.

This next month I am going to have the children start writing a second of each letter next to the traced one.  I'm sure it will be difficult like their first day tracing, but it is amazing teaching children and to see how quickly they catch on and learn things.

 

I mentioned last month about some of the boys being pretty active.  I am happy to be able to say that the children are now able to sit when I ask them.  They can now study for about an hour.  Of course they aren't sitting the whole time.  We do little songs, dances and games in between, but when I ask them to sit they do until the next chance to wiggle.  Of course this is not 100% of the time, but a good 80%.  

I'm so happy with how much they are learning and excited to see at the end of the year what these kids will be able to say and do. 

 In school we do also teach Myanmar.  This is the Myanmar alphabet.  

I'm getting a good practice each day on the Myanmar basics as well.

 This is Chris and the other day he dumped out the tub of nuts and bolts and used two of them as his drumsticks and the tub was his drum.  

It was so cute to watch him drumming away.

I love the imaginations that children have!!

 Here are Chris and Mary.  At times the activities that the older boys are doing are a little wild for them.   

So we get out this animal puzzle and work on it together.

 

 One of the biggest hits at school this last month was a car that I made from a washing machine box.

I had made it before school started and tried using it when we had only Fred and Jonathan, but they had no interest in it at that time.  

All they wanted to do was dump out and scatter all the toys they could find.

It is fun to see how much they have already grown and learned. They have learned how to play with one thing and then clean up. And they can play together now and talk about what they are imagining.  

The kids have taken numerous imaginary trips to the zoo in this car...

 Here Shane is driving.  He drives the most out of all the children.

In fact, outside of school he is almost always driving.  Our TV remote becomes a steering wheel and just about anything else he can imagine looks like a steering wheel or handle bars for a motorcycle.

I am so thankful for the opportunity that God has given me to teach these children!

May God bless all of you who are supporting us in your prayers and giving!

September update

 This is my Monday, Wednesday, Friday speaking class.

From the left we have June, Joseph, myself, Jessica and Rebecca.

I teach this class from 3:30 to 5:00 in the afternoons. 

I have an additional class with 2 students in the evenings from 6:30 to 7:30.  

I also have another Tuesday, Thursday class that I'm teaching for free as a trade for my visa letter.

As much as I do enjoy these classes, I hope to have enough preschool students to be able to only teach one speaking class in the future.  

But as the preschool is still small I need to teach these classes in order to have enough income to continue.

 This September we had our first birthday party. 

Suri turned 2 years old.  

Suri enjoys school, but has been unable to attend because she's been sick all month.

She has been having fevers off and on and the family is not sure why.

They have drawn blood and are checking to see what that may tell them.

Please pray that Suri will be well soon and able to return to school.

 As Myanmar is such a hot country the children chose to have ice cream for the birthday instead of cake.

Ice cream also melts faster here, so it was a pretty big mess to clean up by the time all the kids finished.

Maybe next time I'll have all the kids take off their shirts first...

 We found a building block train set at one of the supermarkets here.  It was the best $8 purchase.  The boys love it and play with it every day when they arrive to school.  We may have to purchase another set as the school grows.  Especially if we continue our 2 girls to 5 boys ratio.  School activities and play are a lot different having so many boys.  Thankfully both the younger girls do well with a bit rougher play with the boys.

 Jonathan is a bit quieter than the other boys and plays well with the younger girls.  

They call him, "Ko Ko Kyi Jonathan"...Big brother Jonathan, in Myanmar.

 Here are three of my wilder boys.  Nate, Fred and Shane.

They are good boys, just very active.  Especially Fred.  

They make school very exciting and lively and they keep me on my toes.  

I'm getting pretty quick and witty with how to direct these boys in the Myanmar language.

Often I can't afford to say it in English first and have them not understand...especially when they are bouncing around the classroom or playing Power Rangers...etc....

 Here we are learning about the sounds on the farm.

The kids' favorites are the donkey by the wagon says, "Hee hee haw," and the turkey in the straw says, "Gobble gobble gobble."

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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Departure Date

I have a departure date :-) !!!!!!!
I will fly out at 2:20pm on Tuesday May 29th, arrive in Bangkok, Thailand at 11:45pm on May 30th.
I plan to do a one day visa process to receive my visa on the 31st so that I can fly to Myanmar on June 1st.

Please pray with me for safe travels and that all my timing and paperwork will work out well.  I will now have to maneuver my way around Thailand, this is a bit scary to me as I don't know the Thai language and will have to do this process by myself...but at least I have God with me :-)

I have enjoyed a longer visit home this year and have had a good time visiting, sharing about Legacy English Center and resting.  I am very excited to get back to my Myanmar home and to start on the ministry that God has put on my heart to do.

Now that I have a departure date I can start my count down and now I need to get to some of the errands that I haven't gotten to yet.  Amazing how deadlines can help with productivity...

My Powerpoint presentation

Mingalaba (Greetings) Here is a map showing Yangon (Rangoon).  This is where I live.

Many International schools are approximately 45 minutes to an hour from my neighborhood and they charge around $150 to $200 per month and would require some kind of transportation service to get kids to school.

I plan to keep the prices at $50 per month for 5 days a week preschool.
I also would love to do student sponsorships which would come to about $500 per year for one child.

I am saddened by the amount of riches that go toward these temples and gods who have no life and then see so many impoverished and oppressed people nearby.

This is the main purpose for why I am in Myanmar.

CEF has many amazing connections for me to plug kids and families into growing environments, good fertile soil.

CEF has  good teacher training courses.  I'm excited because Jan said that I could take a training course and do the written classwork in English.  My spoken Burmese is about 90%, but writing is a different story...

Our landlord from this past year is an amazing man of God.  His family has a home church upstairs in one of their homes.

Our landlord, left, and his two sisters, right front.  Picture taken at their orphanage dining room.

U Win Zaw, Our landlord's sister's husband.  When I was trying to decide what to do next after my resignation, he suggested I start a school.  This brought back the dream I'd had 2 years earlier, to help locals with their English and other needs. 

This is a CEF Sunday school that I attend often.  It is a nearby place to send little believers from our preschool.

Singing at a Sunday school Christmas party.

Many of my friends are volunteer staff at CEF, they are all future prospects for teachers.

I appreciate all of you who are assisting me in prayer and support.    I know that you will be blessed as you bless others.

Burmese script is read like English, left to right, top to bottom.  (Pa ya tha kin gaun gyi pe ba ze) for those of you who may take an interest in languages.

A letter to summarize Sunday's presentation at Calvary

Greetings,

My name is Stacie Evensen.  It was exciting to share at Calvary on Sunday. I was thinking back and 29 years ago I started out my education at Calvary Lutheran preschool and now God has called me to start a preschool in Myanmar. 

I have chosen the name Legacy English Center, as I want the power of God to change the generations.

There is a great need for preschool education because public school in Myanmar does not start until 6 years old 1^st grade.  Also the typical family does not have storybooks nor toys and so many basic skills are not learned at home.

There is also a great need to learn English in Myanmar.  10^th grade exams for Math and Sciences are all given in English.  It is almost impossible to pass 10^th grade without separate private tutoring and even many of those who can afford tutoring fail.   Passing 10th grade is equivalent to getting our 12th grade diploma.

Legacy English Center will start with a 3 year old nursery class this year and then add 4 year old preschool and 5 year old kindergarten the next two years.  After this I hope to teach after school English classes for 1^st grades on up to 10^th grade.  I believe this will help many students achieve their 10^th grade diplomas and give them a better start in life.

At Legacy English Center I hope not only to provide education, but also to share God’s Word with the students and their families through Bible lessons and the relationships we make.  Myanmar is 87% Buddhist and only 4% Christian so there is a great need for God’s truth in Myanmar.

I also plan to provide employment and training to some local people I have met in Myanmar.

My friend Naw Eh Wah, whom I’ve known for 5 years, is a very gifted teacher although she was not able to pass her 10^th grade exam.  She has received Level 2 teacher training with Children Evangelism Fellowship.  She will be my teacher for the Burmese and Bible lessons.  She will also assist my English lessons and train to be an English teacher in the future.

There is a mother, Ma Doe Doe, whom I’ve known for 3 years now.   Her husband has been away for 3 years working in Thailand.  She has two sons that I am planning to teach in the preschool.  I would like to provide her with the opportunity to work for me to be able to afford for her sons’ tuition costs.

Another mother, Ma Po Mu, has one son.  Two years ago she asked Naw Eh Wah and I to unofficially adopt her son to educate and raise him.  It is touching to see how desperate parents are to give their children a good chance in life.  I would love to have her son attend our preschool and to give her a job at the school to be able to pay the tuition and be near her son. 

Please pray with me as I start Legacy English Center.

Thank you, Calvary, for all your prayers and support over the past 10 years that I’ve been overseas.  It is such a blessing to have you be a part of what God is doing in Myanmar.

God bless!