View and Download here: Legacy Letter February 2013
A Very Busy Week
This was an eventful week at Legacy. We have a Burmese family attending classes here (4 girls and 2 boys). I have one of the boys in my second year English class, but all of his siblings are first year students.
Meet our Burmese/Karen Family:
Beginning from the back, left to right: Htoo Mya Shwe (2nd year), Great Aunt, Nomya (mother), Cousin, Great Aunt, Hser Nay Htoo (1st year). Second Row: Neh Blu Htoo (1st year), Hser Nay Say (1st year), Hser Nay Paw (1st Year), Jo Htoo (father). Front row: Akene Htoo (little brother), Stle Lin Shwe (1st year student and the oldest child).
Nomya’s sister lives nearby in Chiang Mai city. This past weekend Nomya’s sister (the students’ aunt) got married and all of Legacy was invited to the wedding.
We (15 of us all together) piled into a local sung tao and headed into Chiang Mai. It was a traditional Karen wedding – which means we were asked to wear our traditional Karen clothing! Abby and I had a so much fun dressing up.
The wedding ceremony was beautiful – they had several groups that sang songs dedicated to the couple… including us!! The ‘Legacy Choir’ sang two songs dedicated to the couple. We sang ‘When You Say Nothing At All’ and a Burmese love song.
The (many) flower girls
The whole procession wore white
The bride and her father, followed by all their relatives
The bride and groom!
The bride and her little niece (Neh Blu Htoo - first year student)
After the ceremony, we also enjoyed fantastic Karen cooking!!
Many of the students along with the Ajans after the wedding
When in Rome, do as the Romans. When at a Karen wedding... eat with your fingers!
It was a fun and relaxing day – which was just what we all needed at the time. The night leading up to the wedding was stressful. It was simultaneously the best and worst night since Iv’e arrived in Thailand.
THE WORST:
Stle Lin Shwe and his brother, Htoo Mya Shwe had gone to Chiang Mai to help their family set up for the wedding. They were coming back on two motorbikes around 8:30pm when Stle Lin Shwe’s bike was hit by a car. The driver with Stle Lin Shwe riding on the back was taking a right turn. In Thailand, that means you have to cross traffic (they drive on the left side of the road). The driver hit their back tire and the bike catapulted into the air, throwing the driver and Stle Lin Shwe off. Stle Lin Shwe landed with his head
down, his neck taking all the impact of the fall.
Stle Lin Shwe and his sisters Neh Blu Htoo and Hser Nay Say on a motorbike.
Stle Lin Shwe and his sisters Neh Blu Htoo and Hser Nay Say on a motorbike (before the accident). The girls were not riding when the accident happened.
THE BEST:
God used this as an opportunity to show that He is a powerful God who is full of mercy.
When Stle Lin Shwe arrived at the school he seemed ok. He was limping a bit and as I bent down to check out his limp I realized that he didn’t have any shoes. Where were they? He began to tell the story of the motorbike accident. He had been wearing thick rubber sandals – they usually last for 3-4 years of every day use. This is a similar style:
Thick rubber sandals, the same type that Stle Lin Shwe was wearing in the accident.
His shoes had been left at the scene of the accident because they had been sliced in half lengthwise. They had been sliced through the top and bottom of the shoe – it was completely separated in half! I looked down at Stle Lin Shwe’s foot. There was not even a scratch on it.
His jeans were a similar story. One leg of his jeans was completely missing. It had been torn to shreds in the accident. Again, his leg was bruised but there was no permanent damage done. No major cuts or gashes, no breaks or fractures.
Stle Lin Shwe’s bruised leg after the accident.
The jeans that Stle Lin Shwe was wearing on the motorbike. The missing leg was ripped up and shredded in the accident.
Then the two brothers began to describe the accident in more detail. They had, thankfully been wearing helmets. That is, in itself, a miracle. The culture here is definitely not to be worried about motorbike safety. Mothers with children, babies even, ride motorbikes with no extra protection. That morning, another student (Seng Aung) had had a really ‘bad’ feeling about their trip. Seng Aung actually kept the brothers from leaving campus until they agreed to put on a helmet. Otherwise, they would have been completely unprotected.
Stle Lin Shwe, riding with another relative, had been hit while making a right turn (crossing traffic) at a fairly busy intersection. The motorbike flew into the air and all three; the motorbike, the driver and Stle Lin Shwe, landed ACROSS two lanes of traffic on the dirt shoulder opposite of where the accident occurred. They were out of the way of traffic and nobody else was
hurt. Htoo Mya Shwe told me that he’d never in his life seen a motorbike fly that way, or travel so far.
Stle Lin Shwe, who landed on his head told me, “Very funny Ajan. I landed and the ground – not hard. Soft. Soft ground. Very funny”.
Now, roughly a week later Stle Lin Shwe is doing well. There is a lot of muscle soreness and he will be visiting a chiropractor to ensure that there is no permanent damage. Currently several people have examined him and confirmed that there were really no serious injuries from the accident.
His whole story shows over and over again that our God is so merciful and is protecting us even before we know we need help.
After this experience, the students have had great attitudes. There is a spirit of unity, gratitude and fun on campus. I think we have all learned more fully how God can turn even the most awful experiences into an opportunity to glorify Him.
Ajarn Hanna
The Beast is Coming Soon
Remember the didactic anecdote about the frog in hot water? The idea is that, if you place a frog in boiling water, it will immediately jump out. But if you put the frog in cold water and slowly raise the temperature, the cold blooded frog will gradually adjust to the temperature until it eventually boils to death.
While this proverb has been proven to be false, the principle remains the same. We adjust unknowingly to small or un-noticed changes until finally calamity is upon us! This is what happened in the time of the Great Flood. The people went about their lives as if nothing was wrong, ignoring Noah’s warnings, until the flood hit and swept them all to their deaths.
The frog in hot water syndrome is what is going on in the world right now. The whole world is marching steadily toward One World Government – unseen except for the few who read and understand Bible prophecy.
A recent meeting in Brussels has gone almost unreported and unnoticed except for the few who are demonized as “conspiracy nuts.” I guess that would include me since I actually believe the Bible that prophesies a world ruling “Beast” power soon to emerge on the world scene.
Read the following excerpts from an online magazine called the New American. While everyone in the US and most of the rest of the world is thinking about Christmas gifts and New Year’s parties, Bible prophecy marches on.
An important meeting was held in Brussels between Russian leaders and the European Union leaders. They discussed among other things; an economic, social and even an eventual political merger!
Did you read what I just wrote? A possible eventual political merger between Russia and the E.U. is in the wind!
That is not such a far – fetched notion. Even the Fascist Dictator Adolf Hitler cut a deal with Communist Dictator Josef Stalin to carve up Eastern Europe. Like my Grandmother used to say, “Birds of a feather flock together.” Why would it be such a strange idea for European President Van Rompuy to make a similar deal with Vladimir Putin?
If you haven’t been watching the confederation known as Europa, it is time to wake up from your slumber.
“an important event took place in Brussels, Belgium, that went largely unnoticed and unreported. Leaders of the European Union and Russia met in Brussels on December 20 and 21 for the 30th EU-Russia Summit, continuing a process of convergence and interdependence that is leading toward political, economic, and social merger.
“In his remarks at the conclusion of the summit, Herman Van Rompuy, president of the European Council, made repeated reference to progress toward the goal of “global governance,” which has always been code in globalist circles for world government. Van Rompuy stated:
“By working together, the EU and Russia can make a decisive contribution to global governance and regional conflict resolution, to global economic governance in the G 8 and G 20, and to a broad range of international and regional issues. I would like to congratulate President Putin for taking over the presidency of G 20.[1]”
The head of the European Union said that by Europe and Russian working together, they can make a DECISIVE CONTRIBUTION TO GLOBAL GOVERNANCE (code for One World Government)! Disguise it all you want with flowery sounding rhetoric, Russia is joining hands with Europe to rule the world.
And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
– Rev 13:1-2
Don’t be a frog. And don’t let Fiscal Cliffs and the smoke of Christmas blind you to what is quietly going on right now in Europe.
Leon Sexton
[1] Bilderberg-picked EU Leader Van Rompuy Calls for Global Governance With Russia, The New American, December 27, 2012, William F. Jasper
King’s Birthday Celebration
December 6, 2012 was the King’s birthday here in Thailand, providing Legacy’s students and staff with a much needed holiday. So, we decided to pack all 22 students and staff into the sung tao and one motorbike and head to a nearby lake for picnic and games.
There was quite a bit of preparation for the outing, and the students prepared all of the food for our picnic. Each portion was wrapped in banana leaves. The ajans were so excited to learn how to prepare the leaves!
First, you have to burn the outside of the leaves to make them flexible.
Then, clean and cut the leaves so you can wrap portions of food.
Making the food was fun, and all the girls helped to cook.
Vegetables with sticky rice flour went into banana leaves and were steamed to make a delicious dish.
We also had banana packets filled with sticky rice, chicken and black beans with some delicious chili sauce.
After all the food was made, we packed up and went to the lake!
Lake Huey Tung Tao!
We had fun playing relay games on the lakeside.
We ate delicious food.
And then, we went swimming!
The King’s birthday was a special treat here at Legacy. The students and staff had time to take a day off and enjoy each others company. Most students had never been to Huey Tung Tao, although it was only 6 km away from the school. It was a fun and uplifting afternoon for everyone.
