Florence Li - Sunday Services In The Camps

Today we reached the height of our trip--an overwhelming, indescribable and awesome experience for all of us. We spent the entire day in the Mae La Camp, finally meeting the refugees face to face!

The van left Mae Sot, snaking its way across streets to the open road. Though I was engaged in conversation with my fellow travelers, my heart raced as the van moved at high speed. I was a bit nervous and filled with mixed emotions. For the past two years, I had come across many Karen refugees in our local churches. The sudden influx of these people was not by accident. There was, indeed, a history behind them that I needed to know.

Their deep yearning to be American Baptist made me wonder where these people had come from. The suffering, despair and helplessness expressed on their faces drove me to search for understanding about the circumstances of their mistreatment over the last 10-25 years. There has been an amazing pilgrimage embedded in the lives of these people since Adoniram Judson set sail to Burma in the 1800s. I am thrilled to travel so far to share and experience this legacy. Such a historic footprint still impacting our life and ministry in this time!

The night before at the Mae Sot hotel, Duane gave us an orientation of this camp. There are close to 50,000 people living in Mae La, the largest of the nine refugee camps. Though one might think the number would be going down as segments of the camp are resettled across the miles, that is not the case. As more refugees leave the camp, flows of new refugees arrive daily. Duane had helped us divide into four teams to spread out and share Sunday service in four different areas.

After passing through the checkpoint, the van drove a short distance and dropped off the first group. This group was greeted by Kachin refugee leaders. We were told there are about 200 Kachin refugees in Mae La. Another mile or so further, the second group was dropped off, and another mile or so later the third group reached its destination. The fourth group, which I was in with Duane and Howard, was driven to the edge of the camp, the location of the Bible school.

A man came and opened the gate, a simple bamboo gate woven with barbed wires. For a good five minutes, the van drove on the bumpy dirt road. I prayed that the tires would not blow out on us as the van made its way over the small rocks.

We finally arrived at the Bible school—“the one and only,” famous Bible school I had often heard about from the Karen people in the local churches in the States. The Karen people love music, and they are very musical. I heard singing and guitar playing right away.

While we were waiting for the 11 o'clock service, I saw children playing and walked up to them. I showed them pictures of Karen groups in the States to draw their attention, and I gathered them around a table. I took out letters written in Karen by children in the Philadelphia Karen fellowship group. The letters told the camp children about the lives of the children in the States and what schools are like in America. As they focused on the letters, I believe a connection was made between the children in the States and the children here. Hopefully, these children in Mae La got a sense of how their peers live after leaving the camp.

Time for the 11 o'clock service came, and we were lead into the church. The place was packed with probably close to 500 people. The prelude was played by a group of violin students. Duane said it was the first time violins were used in the camp! The Bible school principal, Dr. Rev. Simon Htwe introduced us. I went straight to deliver the message using John 11--the resurrection story of Lazarus and the unbinding ministry that shows transformation from a community of sorrow into a community of hope.

I was told that the Karen people like to sing and hear the word of God, and they did not press me about leaving. Therefore, I teased them that my sermon would run for two hours; that got some laughs. I finally ended my sermon, with Dr. Simon's translation, after more than an hour. By that time, if I didn't take my seat, I thought both Duane and Howard would probably come and drag me to my seat. They had not had their turn to say anything yet.

I left the hall immediately after my message and went to the children’s service. When I got there, the service was over. The leader was able to get a small group of children together, and we sat and talked. I asked two volunteers to come forward to read the letters I brought, and after more talking, we ended with prayer and group pictures.

Dr. Simon had prepared lunch for me, Duane and Howard. As we ate, the other three teams returned from their areas. Non-stop conversation and awesome feelings filled the room. All of us shared our feelings about the wonderful experience at the Mae La Camp services.