Grace Community Christian Church.

GC3 FYI Feature

Missionaries bring hope to an oppressed people

By Katherine Heerbrandt
Published by The Frederick News-Post on October 13, 2002
kheerbrandt@fredericknewspost.com

Jim Dewar baptizes
a Burmese woman

Imagine a 24-hour plane trip to a land where summer temperatures hover between 90 and 100 degrees. Where electricity is a luxury. Where roads are no more than dirt tracks pitted with potholes and glutted with ox carts, pedestrians and farm animals. A land where the average per capita income is $400, human rights violations are rampant and intertribal factions have been at war for decades.

Welcome to Myanmar, formerly Burma, in southeast Asia. It's not exactly a dream vacation destination, but then Frederick residents the Rev. Jim Dewar and his daughter, Phoebe, 16, weren't on a pleasure jaunt. For the month of July they were teachers at the Eastern Bible Institute (EBI). EBI trains men and women to work in local churches in teaching and leadership positions.

The country's universities have been permanently closed since 1991 to quell the threat of mass demonstrations. The students there are thirsty for teaching and welcome the preacher as saya gyi, or "exalted teacher." Mr. Dewar is the preaching minister at First Christian Church in Frederick. This was his second trip to Myanmar, but his first time, as he said, "in the front seat." For Phoebe, it was a childhood dream come true. It was also a lesson in tolerance and fortitude.

"At first, I wanted to come home right away. It was just too different, too depressing," said Phoebe. Her blonde hair, blue eyes and fair skin brought her lots of unwanted attention. The feeling of being an outcast lasted about 10 days, she said.

Even her dad, who had been on a mission to Burma two years earlier, reported having a difficult time adjusting. "The first day was such a culture shock that it was overwhelming. I got real de-pressed and both of us thought, 'This is so hopeless, so primitive, so smothering... why are we here?'" said Mr. Dewar.

Father and daughter were to be part of a larger group, but other members dropped out. Mr. Dewar confessed to being concerned about his daughter's safety.

"No medical care is available, so we got the recommended vaccinations, and the rest was a faith move. I let God take care of it," he said. The Dewars found an oasis in Yangon at the Ruby Inn, host to groups of missionaries and tourists. The inn, unlike most of the country, had running water, Western Hemisphere-style toilet and shower facilities, air conditioning and electricity. They found a Western-style grocery store and stocked up on Pringles and candy bars to get them through the toughest times.

But once the pair connected with their students at EBI, however, their misgivings melted away. Roughly 1.5 million people in Myanmar are Christians, even though the country is officially Buddhist. "The people here are so giving, gentle, soft and appreciative," said Mr. Dewar. "And they have such a thirst, a hunger for the word of God. We drew energy from them."

Mr. Dewar preached the gospel and taught a course on grace, based on the book, "What's So Amazing About Grace?" by Phil-lip Yancy. "Grace is a foreign concept to the Burmese," said Mr. Dewar. "The crux of it is that at some point in the escalation of hostilities, someone has to stop, stand back and forgive. Someone has to be willing to absorb the final blow and say no more."

Two years ago, the government banned construction of new church buildings. So far, EBI has been safe from harrassment, paying its portion of "tea money" to government officials. "Tea money," a euphemism for extortion, keeps the regime at bay.

The country has been ravaged by intertribal fighting and the military junta, which seized power in 1988, is ruthless in quashing pro-democracy demonstrations. In 1990, the government refused to acknowledge the results of a popular election that the opposition won by a large margin. Among the most heart-rending cruelties perpetuated by the country's soldiers is the conscription of children, particularly street children and orphans. The children are enlisted as porters, where they are mistreated, beaten and neglected, sometimes to the point of death. Others were used to flush out mines.

Phoebe Dewar teaching
Burmese students

"Soldiers would gather up children in each village they passed through and when they came to jungle trails, they would make the children run ahead at gunpoint to set off the land mines," said Mr. Dewar.

The Dewars met a group of 80 orphans who were gathered up by Baptist missionaries. When the Dewars met them, they lived in cramped quarters. World Vision, a Christian international relief organization, is building them a two-story orphanage in Yangon.

First Christian Church members had gathered clothes, candies and other contributions for the Dewars to take with them. The bulk of the donations, said Mr. Dewar, went to the orphans.

"Teaching the orphans was the most satisfying part of my visit," said Phoebe. "I will never forget their faces."

Phoebe spent her time teaching English, a language most Burmese are eager to master. Through her work, she said, discovered how blessed she and her friends and family truly are.

"We have so much here. Yet we get so caught up in our lives, lives that they will never experience or imagine. To them, we are wealthy." Mr. Dewar agrees. "The poverty there is crushing, unimaginable. Every one of us here is rich. This experience will definitely affect how I spend my money," he said.

Mr. Dewar and Phoebe describe the Burmese as smart and hardworking people. But without formal education and with a government that pours most of its meager funds into weapons of war, any hope for a prosperous future seems dim.

The United States has discouraged American investments in Myanmar, imposed economic sanctions and encouraged the junta to yield to the National Democracy League (NDL), led by Aung San Suu Kyi. Aung San Suu Kyi received the Nobel Peace prize in 1991, but has been essentially a prisoner in her own country.

A U.N. envoy recently visited Myanmar in an effort to end the deadlock between the junta and the NDL. Little progress has been made toward a democratic transition.

But Mr. Dewar is confident, like many Burmese, that Aung San Suu Kyi, the hope of her people, will eventually become the leader of Myanmar. First Christian Church devotes 11 percent of its offerings to mission work, some around the world, some in Frederick. Mr. Dewar encourages his congregation to become involved in mission work, no matter where it is. "You don't have to go on a 24-hour plane ride. For some of us a mission means going around the world, for others it means going around the block."