Our Sunday in the village,

One Church Service 7.30 am

• Memorial Service for Fr.
  Hezro’s Mum who died a year ago
2 House blessingsWorking with youth, children
and Men and Ladies’ groupsVisiting the Boarder’s house
and spending time with the boardersHome at 5.30 pm

What Amy says is that she is now,

Almost halfway through our “once in alifetime” journey. Today was our first experience of attending church in thevillage. The environment all 17 of us have been welcomed into is so different.
It is astounding and it feels so safe to be here. It was amazing to see how
many people got involved in the service. I am amazed at how the whole community
feels connected the people. The connections and relationships we have created
with one another and the people of this village and culture, so quickly also
amaze me. One of the most amazing things in Thandaung-Gyi is that although we
have all left our families behind we have been welcomed so specially into an
amazing group of people that consider us part of their family and make us feel
so at home. Such amazing hospitality although they barely know us. As we get
further into this pilgrimage it is great to be so interactive with the members
of the village and to experience such different things every day. There is
never a dull or regretful experience. There are many things that have been
realised and experienced this trip and I am sure there are many things to come.
Everything experienced so far has been great and it’s an amazing opportunity
that I am very glad I waited two years for.

Grace had a good day.

I had three separate breakfast meals (sorry
Mum). But in all seriousness today was a good day, it was the first day I felt
like I was able to talk to people of all ages and really connect with them (and
fingers crossed) have had an impact, no matter how small, on their lives,
because I know they sure had a huge impact on mine. Even though I was lucky
enough to be involved in the activities with the younger community, teenage
boarders and be a part of the morning worship, my favourite part of the day was
meeting five young children the grounds of Retreat House, where we are staying.
They are Nadi, Jaheelo, Jahmimi, Nikki and Popoo aged between 4-9 and they are
around every day as their grandmothers and mothers are the ladies who work
here. Until today, they have been too shy to be within ten metres of me. But
after 10 minutes of yelling out weird noises from the second story window, they
laughed enough to hang out for a couple of hours. Those five kids, their high
spirits, humour and positive aura really made my day.

Kiarah also enjoyed her day

With an early start, we headed to the
gorgeous Anglican Church. I felt like an honoured guest, sitting on chairs on
the stage with everyone else seated on the floor below. The ceiling had gold
‘lacing’ and the walls cross shaped windows. The contrast between this holy
building (which the community built using their own money) and the Karen
people’s housing is phenomenal, moving me to realise how important their belief
is to them. This journey has lead me to the realisation of the true meaning of
‘to give and expect nothing in return’. 
These people are so generous; opening their homes, feeding us feasts,
welcoming us like family time and time again. I have also noted the children
are so respectful, even when they may not understand what I am trying to say,
they still listen intently, willingly ready to learn. I have also made some new
friends, who are fourteen, eleven, and two twelve year old girls. They come and
visit us at the retreat house to practice their English, and today, they sung
me a song in English! However, I cannot say I am doing all the teaching, as
they have successfully taught me how to count to 10 in Karen. I am grateful for
this, as I can now ask children their age. I also now have a renewed
appreciation for teachers! Even though we are only teaching for a couple of
hours at a time, it is still quite exhausting. But I’m not complaining because
it is so rewarding. I love finding a common area in my life with theirs, as
their face just lights up and they use their broken English, to convey their
excitement.

Before the trip, I was worried about the
language barrier, and how it would restrict communication, but to my joyful
surprise, body language exceeds all. A simple smile goes so far, with laughter
being a beautiful way of communication, and facial expression conveying a
million words. I feel so humbled by the awe-striking views from our retreat
house, and the stunning array of colours the sun creates at the dawning and
dusking of the day. I still marvel at the way they say we come from ‘everything
to nothing’, as I feel their tight knit community, stunning environment and
loving nature means to me, they have everything. I am really looking forward to visiting the
high school, and having the opportunity to try and converse with people my age.
I feel it will be a challenge, but one I am excited to take.