Myanmar - Our First Few Days

Hi, friends!

Our first few days here. Whew! I don't even know how to describe them properly. It has been good. It has been filled with lots of new things but overall we can say that God is good and He is taking good care of us. 

A "side cah", spelled in the Beka way. I think they look interesting and I'll be riding one before I leave. 

Our flights here went really well and we had zero problems with customs, visas, etc. We were elated to see our friends here. There were definitely tears of joy, mainly from Pam and myself. We have enjoyed staying with them, visiting and getting to know them more. 

They have shown us around parts of the city and I'm going to be honest, I'm having some culture shock. I knew there would be culture shock but knowing and experiencing are completely different things. I am sure The Lord will continue to help me adjust to life here just fine. A verse I have quoted and read over and over has been the following:

Psalm 18:1 - I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. 

Sunday morning we got to meet many of the kids that attend Sunday school here at Pam and Zam's house. It was nice to meet them and they are super duper cute. We also broke bread with Zam and Pam's family and that was such an encouraging time. 

Monday we toured a big portion of the school and were introduced to many of the kids and teachers. I'm really looking forward to getting to know the students and teachers more. 

We have been searching, praying and looking for housing. We looked at a total of five places and we have narrowed it down to two places: a green house and an apartment. Both are excellent options so we are going to pray, scout out a few more things about each option and hopefully decide by Friday. I hope to share a full post on house hunting here some time. 

When I moved to Korea I wrote and shared about the things that first struck my fancy there so I'm doing it again here in Myanmar. It's always fun to read it a few months down the road for a good laugh. Here are just a few things:

Electricity  |  The electricity goes on and off here. It's just a normal part of life. And by on and off I mean our 2nd day here it was off for 6-8 hours during mid day. 

I know you all are nice and chilly in America but let me tell you it is in the 80's here (if not hotter) and humid, like you can breathe water in kind of humid. Having the electricity off for those hours was a nice toasty day for us! I was in a class when the lights went out and the only person who batted an eye was me. 

Why I missed Sunday School  |  One of the boys missed Sunday school this past week. When Pam saw him in class she asked why he wasn't there. His reply: "I got bit by an eel." um ... what? He did indeed say that though. Apparently last week it rained and rained here. The boy said he was out in the flooded streets and apparently there was an eel in the flooded streets too. 

Lizards  |  I like the lizards here. I'm completely thankful that I lived in Brazil because the lizards here are like the ones in Brazil. Oh and when we went apartment hunting I felt something run under my foot and lo and behold it was a little lizard. Those little lizards also eat mosquitos and to that I say - thank you! I'll get a picture of one sometime and share it.

City Living  |  I think the biggest shock for me is the city life in general. I just came from small town Oklahoma where you could see out for miles and miles. The city here has buildings everywhere and you can't see far at all. Everything seems piled on and is smashed together. The city life isn't like Chicago or NYC it's Myanmar and I just don't know how to describe it. I have felt a little overwhelmed and a bit claustrophobic by it. When we went apartment shopping they showed us an 11th floor apartment and when I saw the view I started crying because it was the first time I could see out for far! I am positive I will adjust over time so I hope this doesn't sound like a complaint.

the beautiful view from the apartment

Hope you all are doing well on the other side of the world! Thanks for the prayers and for supporting us while we are here in Myanmar.