We have safely returned from our all too brief visit to Yangon, Burma (Myanmar). My impressions of the city and country from our short stay are of the striking contrasts and contradicts of the place and its people. The best roads and streets are pitted with pot holes. In places it appears that both the roads and the buildings that line them have been unrepaired since the end of British colonial rule. Those who can afford the extradordinary expense of a private vehicle drive rattling, twenty-five to thirty year cars.
Our hotel had two large electrical generators by its front door that frequently fired up as the city's electical system periodically failed. The universities are all closed in response to last year's uprising. The various government ministries that dot the metropolis are shuttered after the ruling junta relocated to the hills a hundred miles north of the city. By western standards, Yangon is impoverished. The city contains many square miles of squalid slums. It also is a city of great, if somewhat tarnished, beauty with broad boulevards, landscaped parks, and historic Buddhist temples.
Despite the daily challenges of living under a caprious, corrupt, and inept political system, I found the people I met incredibly resilient and hopeful, with well a developed national sense of irony. They are generally friendly, quick to smile, and curious about foreigners.
The Baptist leaders and church members we met welcomed us with overwhelming hospitality and generosity. It seemed that every time we sat down we were provided with a feast. They are proud of both their national identity and special relationship to American Baptists as the spiritual heirs of pioneering missionaries, Adoniram and Ann Judson. Our Baptist brothers and sister stold us that their conventions and churches are growing as they reach out to their communities in wholistic ministry that attempts to address the spiritual, physical, and social needs of their neighbors.
Despite the daily challenges of living under a caprious, corrupt, and inept political system, I found the people I met incredibly resilient and hopeful, with well a developed national sense of irony. They are generally friendly, quick to smile, and curious about foreigners.
The Baptist leaders and church members we met welcomed us with overwhelming hospitality and generosity. It seemed that every time we sat down we were provided with a feast. They are proud of both their national identity and special relationship to American Baptists as the spiritual heirs of pioneering missionaries, Adoniram and Ann Judson. Our Baptist brothers and sister stold us that their conventions and churches are growing as they reach out to their communities in wholistic ministry that attempts to address the spiritual, physical, and social needs of their neighbors.
This morning we returned to Bangkok by plane. Most of the team returns to the United States early tomorrow morning. I return the following day. So, today is being spent doing some last minute sightseeing before our departures.
The photos above are of Yangon and Burma. I will post additional reflections and reports about my time in Burma in the coming days.
