May 2004

Myanmar reflections - Spring 2004

Dear Friends,

Springtime greetings from Korea and Hanil University and Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Knowing that our field of service is Korea, you are probably wondering about the topic of this letter—“Myanmar Reflections.” For a number of years, one of the graduate schools at Hanil University has been the Asia Pacific Graduate School of Theological Studies with a focus upon providing quality graduate theological education for church leaders in Asia and Africa. Over the years we have graduated close to twenty students from Myanmar (Burma). In December 2003 and January 2004 we were invited to Myanmar as visiting professors of theology and Christian education at Yangon Graduate School of Theology, where a Hanil alumnus, Aung Myint Thang, serves as president. We also lectured at Myanmar Institute of Theology in the capital city of Yangon (Rangoon) and Tahan Theological College in Kalaymyo in the northwestern part of the country. We visited fifteen of our alumni and saw firsthand how a master’s degree from Hanil University has enabled them to be more effective in their various ministries.

While lecturing at Myanmar Institute of Theology (MIT)we were introduced as graduates of Presbyterian-related University of Dubuque Theological Seminary in Iowa. Imagine our surprise when the academic dean of this Baptist theological seminary in Myanmar, Samuel Ling, broke into a broad smile and said, “I also graduated from Dubuque.” Following the lecture we were introduced to the President of MIT and found that she had her doctorate from Princeton Seminary. It was a joy to discover the significant role that Presbyterians have played—and continue to play—in providing leadership for the churches of Myanmar.

We spent another afternoon in Yangon with our graduate Thi Moi and his wife. Thi Moi is a Presbyterian pastor of a new church development in a Buddhist neighborhood where the work is both difficult and slow. He took us to visit the office of the Presbyterian Church of Myanmar and introduced us to the pastor’s wife who was there at the time. When told that we were related to the PC(USA) she was overjoyed, and with great enthusiasm spoke of the visit of WMD Director Marian McClure several years ago. She proudly showed us the VIP guest house for visiting pastors that was paid for by a donation from the PC(USA). For the first time she made the connection between the PC(USA), Hanil University in Korea, and the work that was being done by Thi Moi and others in Myanmar. Her parting words were, “We are most grateful for your coming, for we are so isolated here in Myanmar. Don’t forget us, and keep us in your prayers.”

Joel Tin Moe is a Baptist who serves as academic dean at the Presbyterian-related Tahan Theological College in Kalaymyo. Since foreigners are banned from visiting the Chin Hills, three of our alumni came to Kalaymyo via six- to eleven-hour bus rides on winding mountain roads in order to meet us and to have a time of fellowship with their fellow alumni.

On Christmas Day, Dan preached and Carol gave the benediction in two churches in Kalaymyo. At the first, Salem Baptist Church, everyone wanted to take a picture with us following the service. We posed for photographs at least thirty-six times. This has never happened before, and when we inquired concerning the reason we were told, “You are the first foreigners to ever visit this church!” Needless to say the Hanil alumni who were with us beamed with pride that their professors had come all the way from three countries¾the United States (Dan), Taiwan (Carol), and Korea (both of us)¾to celebrate Christ’s birth with them in this remote area of Myanmar.

Our last evening in Kalaymyo was an alumni gathering spent in the home Bawi Hu, another alumnus of Hanil. We had a delicious dinner of wild pig, fish from a mountain river, fresh vegetables grown in a nearby garden, and locally grown rice. As we sat down to eat, the power went off (a frequent occurrence in Myanmar) so we ate by candlelight. The evening ended early due to a 10:00 p.m. curfew imposed by the military government. As we rode back to our hotel (the only one in town) in the back of the theological college’s pickup truck, we looked up into the night sky. In the darkness we could see the stars shining like diamonds. As we looked into the faces of our graduates riding along with us, we could see their smiles of joy and thanksgiving—thanksgiving for Hanil University and the Asia Pacific Graduate School of Theological Studies, and joy for the opportunity to be serving together with us, and with you, in the mission of bringing Christ to the world, a world of mission where there are no ethnic, national, or denominational boundaries.

Our students from Korea and around the world, join with us in wishing you the best of God’s grace and blessing during this spring season.

Faithfully in mission,

Carol Chou Adams / Daniel J. Adams

The 2004 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 89