Attending Church in Myanmar

Attending church yesterday was a great experience. I love seeing and experiencing how different churches live out their lives as church. And also how they are the same. Here is the pastor walking up the stairs to the second story where the church meets.

It was a strange thing to sing old Baptist hymns with the tunes I knew in a language I cannot understand. Yet the language we sang in, Tidim, has a Roman alphabet that is phonetic, so once you learn the sounds the letters make, it is possible to sing along with the people. (This language does not have its own writing system. The system they use was created by a missionary about 100 years ago.) It is also fascinating to try to read music written in the “do-re-mi” style (like the Sound of Music). What a great idea for writing out four parts with a typewriter alone!

The church is about 27 years old and has over 100 people. They sing enthusiastically, and many people travel an hour to get to church. In effect they combine Sunday School and the worship service. Part way through the singing, someone teaches for maybe 30 to 40 minutes, lecturing on a chapter of the Bible each week. Then after some more songs, we heard a sermon.

It is surprising how open the church can be here. Like in other countries, they cannot own their own building. Yet they do not have to hide. And praying in public places, like in a restaurant, is something their pastor encourages as a testimony to people of one’s allegiance to Christianity.

How satisfying it is to be able to play some small role in equipping the leaders of churches to serve and lead more effectively. I pray that God does that.