Happy New Year!

for mom

Dave and I recently relocated the David family cat from my parents’ house to our little downtown Austin abode.  Mom’s been a bit concerned about his adjustment.  This is proof he is alive and well.

Rest at ease, mom, rest at ease.

Understanding Burma - great articles

To understand the current situation in Burma, you have to be familiar with the key figures in Burma’s pro-democracy movement.  Sometimes it seems like there is so much going on in that country, it’s difficult to understand.  However, the Irrawaddy News Magazine recently released an article summarizing the pro-democracy advocates as well as those against the democratic movement in Burma.  I found it helpful.  It’s called Faces of 2007 and you can check it out here. 

You may also want to read this article.  It’s entitled 2007: The Year in Review and is a concise overview of significant events occuring in Burma over the past year.

Our Wedding Day (Nov 10)

Dave and I were married less than one month ago. It was a beautiful evening. Personal. Worshipful. We couldn’t have asked for anything more. Here are a few pictures from the big day. Click Here for more pics at high resolution you can grab, print, and enjoy.

Challenging Words

“I shall no longer ask myself if this or that is expedient, but only if it is right. I shall do this, not because I am noble or unselfish, but because life slips away, and because I need for the rest of my journey a star that will not play false to me, a compass that will not lie.

I shall do this, because I cannot find it in me to do anything else. I am lost when I balance this against that, I am lost when I ask if this is safe, I am lost when I ask if men will approve. Therefore I shall try to do what is right, and to speak what is true.”

Alan Paton, Cry the Beloved Country

Now that Dave and I are married, we spend more and more time considering the future of our lives together. We constantly ask questions like, “where will we be a year from now?,” “how can we use our gifts to help the Shan people?,” “should we be more involved fighting against social injustice?,” “if so, how?” etc. They are hard questions. Because the answers often lead us to uncomfortable places…leaving our families in the States and potentially raising our own family overseas, maybe even in a country as unstable as Burma.  These are scary thoughts, even for someone who has stepped out there and lived overseas for a few years.

That’s why this quote resonates with me. I do feel lost when I compare myself to others (I think, everyone else my age owns a house…wouldn’t it be nice to buy a house and settle down in Austin?). I do feel lost when I ask if this is safe (I’m tempted to forget the idea of living in Thailand or Burma and think only of the ’safe’ American life).

I don’t know where Dave and I will be in 5 years…or even one year from now. It may be in Austin. It may be in Thailand. But it’s my prayer that we won’t get ‘lost’ comparing ourselves to others, but keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the true ’star that will not play false.’

An Inspiring Read

 

Displaced Reflections is a wonderfully inspiring look at the peoples of Burma, 1.5 million of whom are on the run in their own country, fleeing a brutal military dictatorship.  I highly recommend it.  Not only because this book sheds light on the Shan people whom I love, but because it is written in such a wonderfully personal way by a woman (Oddny Gumaer, co-founder of Partners Relief & Development) who really knows the people of Burma. 

Here’s a little taste:

We are in a refugee camp housing thousands of people who have fled a war. Bugs are buzzing around our sweaty bodies. There is no breeze to move the hot air. Little children are playing. From a house close by we hear music. Several people must be gathered together. They are singing in beautiful harmony. Praise songs. “Is there a church meeting?” I ask. “No, one family is having a Thanksgiving service,” my friend replies. “Thanksgiving for what?” “For all the good things God has given us over the past few months and for his faithfulness. Most Christian families have a Thanksgiving service twice a year to remember what God has done for them.”

     How many times a year do I conduct a Thanksgiving service to remember what I have received? These people who are singing praises to God right now are refugees who have lost everything they own. They do not even have a birth certificate. They are some of the poorest people in the world. But they are thankful. They are thankful that they are still alive, that they have food to eat and a floor to sleep on. They are so much bigger than me.

Purchase your own copy of Displaced Reflections here and learn more about the displaced peoples of Burma.

welcome to our new blog

This is the place to come for everything Dave and Faye related. We’re just two people who love the Lord, are new to married life, and hope to one day return to Thailand (where we first met) and work amongst the Shan people.  This blog will be about all those things.  We hope you enjoy.