55 churches

Executive Minister:  Rev. Robin Stoops

Website: www.abcnebraska.com

Total UM through October, 2011 - $207,316

 This fall, a group of five from ABC Nebraska joined a team from International Ministries and a group from the Rocky Mountain Region on a visit to Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.  Harry Riggs of FBC Lincoln, Brad Daniels of FBC Chadron, Gam Lahpai of First Kachin Baptist Church of America, Ron French of Sunset Hills Baptist Church, and Robin Stoops, Executive Minister, were able to participate in the ten day trip. 

One day, the team was at a market in a town four hours south of Yangon when a man dressed in a military uniform rode beside Robin Stoops and parked his motorcycle.  He was friendly, nodded hello, smiled and said, “Reverend.”  Robin was stunned that the officer knew who he was.  It was explained that the team was being observed for their own protection, but it was a new experience for the visitors from the U.S.  The team quickly understood that they were in a place with a very different culture from what they were used to.

During the trip, they were able to visit a research and education farm that provides local farmers with the latest in new methods of farm management.  This includes such things as growing their own fertilizer, introducing higher yield planting techniques and ideas for supplemental income such as fish ponds and tree production.  Also included are more holistic topics such as producing clean drinking water, developing vegetable gardens, and producing methane gas to run motors.  During the multi-week training given to each attendee is the opportunity for the staff to introduce the farmers to Jesus Christ in a country where the majority of people are Buddhist.

The photo shows the entire mission team with the farm director and one of the van drivers.  The twelve team members had an amazing time visiting with numerous local Baptist convention council members, seminaries, hospital and medical clinics, orphanages, schools and churches.  The ten days went by all too fast and they were repeatedly blessed with incredible hospitality by the people they met.

“We were blessed to see God’s hand in the lives of the Burmese people,” said Ron French.  “I pray we never forget the blessing God has given us in knowing people of different cultures and backgrounds.  We are better people for having known each other.”
 

Ten Lessons I Learned In Burma 
 

Lesson # 1: Don’t make comparisons—they aren’t fair. Before I went to Burma I had a micro understanding that all people are different, but I didn’t fully understand what that meant at the macro level. For example, I understood that we are all unique like a finger print, however I did not understand how that individual uniqueness played itself out onto an entire culture.  
 
Lesson # 2: Customs are not good or bad, they are just different. I think, as Americans, we tend to weigh the world’s differences against how we live here in America. We then tend to pass judgment on an action or behavior based on “the American way”. Cultural customs are not good, normal, or the right way, simply because they are familiar. When something is unfamiliar it is just different and not bad, abnormal or the wrong way.   
 
Lesson # 3: Make sure you take your tissue where ever you go. In much of Asia the toilets are not commodes with a seat. Many bathroom stalls do not have toilet paper so you need to have brought your own tissue. Always check to make sure you have your tissue before you leave your hotel room!  
 
Lesson # 4: Always be ready, willing, and able! My pastor taught me to always enter the church ready to preach even if you are not scheduled. “Have a message in your heart and another in your pocket.” While I was in Burma the highlight for me was an unexpected opportunity to preach.
 
Lesson # 5: Do not say you like something if you’re not ready to have it given to you. When we first arrived, we were amazed by, and wanted to remark on everything. Here in America you compliment a host on something because you want to show your appreciation, not because you want it given to you. However, the level of hospitality is so high, the people really take it upon themselves to make sure your experience is a good one. When I complemented my host on his outfit, his response was “What size do you wear?”
 
Lesson # 6: Remember that what you see is only part of the story. Just because we had certain experiences in Burma, that does not mean they are normative for the individuals who live there.   
 
Lesson # 7: Expect the unexpected. When I was growing up I had a leech latch onto me while I was playing in a lake. You can imagine my surprise as a youngster having never seen nor heard of a leech, and finding the slimy black creature attached to me—I hollered bloody murder! From that time until my trip to Burma I thought that leeches only existed in water. Again, you can imagine my horror to learn that Burma has “land leeches” and that there would not be water to separate me from them. Yuck!
 
Lesson # 8: Don’t ask someone to repeat themselves; just nod politely and smile. I think the worldwide signal for “I don’t understand anything you just said” is a polite smile and nodding of one’s head.
 
Lesson # 9: Road rules are diametrically different. It doesn’t matter how many a bus was made to hold—you can always fit one more. We saw vehicles that were filled literally to overflowing. I personally saw as many as four to a scooter or small motorcycle. There were often no stop lights at intersections or if there were, they were not working. I did not see one speed limit sign.
 
Lesson # 10: Pray, Chew, Swallow (a.k.a. Hospitality). We were taught in our training that it is rude not to eat what is set before you. Therefore, you are to eat slowly and don’t ask what something is. We were at dinner one night and the host was telling us about a mountain lion that was loose in the village and had been caught. I naively asked, “What did you do with the animal?” I was expecting to hear that they caught it and released it into the jungle, or that it was sent to a zoo. However, he calmly and matter-of-factly said, “We ate it.” 
 
Conclusion: If any or all of these lessons seem a bit weird or challenge your world view, think about how our own travelers who now live among us feel, and ask yourself how hospitable you and I have been to help them in their transition.
 
The Bible says that we are to show hospitality to the stranger, for in so doing we may be entertaining angels unaware. (from Hebrews 13:2)
 
In this holiday season how will you show the hospitable love of Christ to the widow, the orphan, the less fortunate? The Bible says that whatever we do to the least of these we do it to Jesus. (from Matthew 25:40)

Harry Riggs
First Baptist Church, Lincoln, NE