Upload
cornerstoneint
View
219
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
8/9/2019 Garrisons June-July 2015
1/2
The Garrisons ! Serving with the People of Myanmar (Burma)
Greetings From Steamy Chiangmai.
A few weeks ago the two of us ventured to a location inside
Myanmar where we facilitated a week long discussion about
marriages. It was unlike any of our previous experiences:
12 couples from 5 refugee camps
9 children aged 11 and under
2 nursing babies
three languages spoken
concrete room with tin roof... during rainy season
Several husbands unwilling to talk...
The environment was seemingly non-conducive to study and
discussion. It wasn’t until the second day, when we separated the
men from the women, that the discussions became lively... it turned
out the men could talk after all.
What we found most interesting is the level of trust that is
built when women are eager for information that has been
suppressed. Basic information about health and marital
relationships. A heavy culture of shame permeates the thinking
in this part of the world... including the relationship with your
spouse. With each answered question the phrase, “We have never
heard this information... we have never talked about these thingsbefore” came soon after. Two of the couples had been married 28
and 30 years, respectively. The youngest woman (married 3
months) told the other women, “Keep talking, I need to hear more. I
may never have a chance to hear this again.”
After a discussion regarding attitudes of manipulating versus
serving our spouses, one man jumped up and said, “I realize I have
always manipulated my wife!” Two husbands stood to publicly
say they had apologized to their wives for the the rst time in
their marriage.
We talked about “soul oneness,” and the inuence it has on “body
oneness.” One woman stood during the segregated discussionand excitedly said, “I never had the words to explain this idea
before! I have needed these words to explain to my husband
how I feel!” Eleven of the twelve women expressed that, before this
week, they had never had a discussion with their husbands
regarding their feelings, their hopes, their concerns. Never.
One older woman expressed gratitude for the opportunity to
come and discuss these issues as couples, “Now that we are
hearing these things, please remember to pray for us.
Remember our situation.”
The women with the two-month and ve-month old babies
nursed and slung the babies on their backs to sleep. Two olderdaughters were washing their families clothes so that their mothers
could focus on the classroom time.
We have video of Craig participating in a Kachin ethnic song and
dance which you will be interested in seeing someday. We
photographed each couple and printed pictures as a gift.
In the end, we stood in a circle and prayed. We said goodbye.
Everyone remained in the circle. There was a lingering. A sense
of wanting to remain in the safe environment a little longer. A
sense that something signicant had happened.
Thank you for enabling us to be in this part of the world.
Dear Friends,
Two wives had nursing babies.
This couple was the most visibly engaged.
This mother held a sick child for two days.
These two girls did the family laundry to help.
~C r a i g & K a r a
M Y A N M A R P R O J E C T • J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 1 5
Myanmar
Project
8/9/2019 Garrisons June-July 2015
2/2
1. Please pray for this group of men and women andtheir families. The oldest woman in the groupasked, “Please remember to pray for us. Rememberour situation.”
2. Please pray for a great loss we have experienced. The family we have been most connected to since ourrst year in Myanmar has decided to return to the U.S.It is a big blow to us, as we have had many sharedexperiences. We are thankful for the opportunity theyhave been given... but we are sad for ourselves.
3. Please pray for the country of Myanmar to providedocumentation for those born inside theirborders. Families who have lived in the country formany generations do not have citizenship.
4. Please pray for our travel. We will travel to the US
for a brief visit in late June/July to attend a Summitevent with our sending agency, CornerstoneInternational. While there we’ll also see ourdaughters, parents, sisters and their families.
P l e a s e P r a y F o r . . .
All gifts toward our work with the people of Myanmar (Burma) should be sent to: CornerStone International, P.O.
Box 192, Wilmore, KY 40390. Please write “Myanmar Project” on the memo line. Additionally, you may make
secure donations online at http://www.cornerstoneinternational.org/staff -garrison/.
THANK YOU for your generosity towards our family and the people of Burma!
Contact us by email at:
This was the group (below). Husbands and wives and children from Kachin State, Myanmar. It’s against cultural norm to
smile for a photo. (Note the six inch step behind us. All of the men are standing on it to reach Craig’s height. )
This bamboo structure was our accommodation
during the marriage training course. At night we
tried to read while mosquitoes and other ying
critters came to visit. There was one type of bug so
large that it would shake the whole mosquito net
when it landed on top. Craig said it looked likesomething from the movie, A Bug’s Life.
Last but not least is our son, Jake, who just nished
his junior year of high school. He will be staying in
Chiang Mai with some family friends for a few
weeks this summer as we travel to the US. We are
thankful for his gentle spirit, his kindness and his
willingness to play ping-pong with his d ad. :)
M Y A N M A R P R O J E C T • J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 1 5
Partners Relief & Development paid for the traveling expenses, meals and accommodation for these families who attended.
mailto:[email protected]://www.cornerstoneinternational.org/staff-garrison/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.cornerstoneinternational.org/staff-garrison/http://www.cornerstoneinternational.org/staff-garrison/