The other day I had the opportunity to go with some friends to a Christmas party/prayer gathering in Brno, Czech Republic. The event was hosted by a group of refugees from Myanmar. They have been here in the Czech Republic for about a year and it seems that they have been having a difficult time here so far.
In the fall I had the opportunity to talk with one of the girls from Myanmar, Hparat. She is studying English here in Prague at Charles University now and is very articulate.
It turns out that there is an incredilbe connection between us! In the 1860's a missionary from Bethlehem Baptist in Minneapolis, Minnesota (my church) went to Myanmar to bring the gospel to her people! Her people received the gospel message and have been believers ever since! Neat! In fact, Hparat's father is now one of the main pastors in their area. Plus, when visitors from Bethlehem went to Myanmar to visit, Hparat was the one who gave them the tour of their area! Wow. What a small world. God is so cool to connect us in special ways like this.
The situation in Myanmar is very difficult right now, however. Every 50 years the bamboo trees grow a special kind of flower. Apparently, the rats in the area like to eat this flower and when they do, the rats proliferate profusely. So, currently there is a plague of rats in Hparat's community in Myanmar. Sad! This infestation has caused a famine in the area because the rats eat all of the food supplies...can you imagine it?? I saw pictures of the buckets of dead rats that had been killed. Disgusting...
Praise the Lord that some of the people have been able to escape to other contries. Praise God that other countries like the Czech Republic have been willing to take them in. However, things have not been easy for the people after they arrived here. First, they were in a refugee camp for many months. They began to learn the language and were introduced to the Czech culture, but it is very different from their own culture that they are used to.
The people that we talked to at the prayer event said that they were used to living in a close-knit community. But, here the families are separated into different areas around the region so they are not able to see each other very often.
I was so blessed to get to hear the youth from Myanmar singing worship at the prayer event! It was so precious to hear them singing songs with familiar worship tunes in their native language (and in Czech and English!)
Will you please pray with me that the Lord will continue to provide for the people of Myanmar? Please pray that the Lord will bring peace to the political situation in the country, that the famine will cease, that the plague of rats will end, that the Christians will stop being persecuted, that the drug problem will stop, that the immigrants will be able to adjust to their new cultures and languages well and that the joy of the Lord will continue to be the strength of the people as they live their lives in service to our God?! Thank you.
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