Laying the Foundation

Mingalaba!
That's the Burmese greeting I learned this morning as we started the new day. Since all of our students are Burmese, the traditional Thai greetings don't work.  So Mingalaba it is!

I thought I would begin this post with the picture Jung took of the whole group yesterday.  It is good to see everyone in one picture!  Everyone is excited to be here at the Kalnin Learning Center.

We had a good day of Bible study today as we continued Laying the Foundation for our new Barefoot Doctor candidates.  Jim taught from I Corinthians 9:22 where Paul talks about being All Things to All People.  I taught from Luke 9:23 where Jesus says, "If anyone wants to come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me."
Jim was talking about the cross-cultural work our Barefoot Doctors do as they try to understand, and not offend, those they are trying to reach for Jesus Christ.  I asked whether we are true disciples of Jesus or not, whether we are willing to follow Jesus all the way or not.  Both sessions went well, and we are happy that we are getting the students to participate and ask questions more and more. The open-discussion learning style we use here is virtually unknown in Burma, so it is important that the students learn it is okay to raise their hands and ask questions any time they don't understand something.

 This afternoon we continued with two more classes,  Loving Those Who are Difficult to Love, and Mountains and Valleys from the end of Luke 9. At the end of the afternoon, we brought out their new copies of the wonderful Barefoot Doctor manual we use, Where There is No Doctor.  It is a fascinating book written by Dr. David Werner which helps people in remote locations know what to do about a great variety of medical needs that may arise.  We use it as our main medical text in the first year of the school, and Dr. Nilson encouraged us to get the book into the students' hands as soon as possible.  As you can tell, they were very glad to receive these books!

I'll conclude today's post with two other pictures you may enjoy seeing.  In the first, Jim and I are weighing in.  We were showing the students what we wanted them all to do.  Since they don't eat as well at home as they do here, we check their weight at the beginning of each year and then again in March before they go home.  The other picture is when I was showing them where Virginia is on the map, right after Jim showed them where the United Kingdom is.  I think they were a little amazed.

Thanks for keeping up with our blog. And thanks for your prayers.  God is doing an amazing work as He brings us all together here at the Barefoot Doctor School!
Jon