What an awesome experience it was serving at the Legacy Institute Youth Program in Myanmar! I left the cold, wet, early spring weather of Cincinnati and landed right into the middle of the hot, dusty dry season in Myanmar March.

Just before the Holy Days, I served at the youth program in the village of Jawk Taing, teaching the book of Daniel in the morning and an English class in the afternoon. For my Daniel class, I taught about the events of Daniel’s life during the first seven chapters, with an emphasis on how he lived in the world but was not of it. Both Eager Mopalel, a Legacy graduate, and Seng Aung, the local pastor (also former Legacy student) were able to translate the class into Burmese for the students to understand it more clearly.

For my English class, I didn't need a translator. I taught English grammar, focusing on pronunciation and teaching them new English vocabulary. Sometimes I threw in some games that got the class up and moving around all while learning about common English phrases and idioms. The class age ranged from 13 to 23, and I had around 15 students. It was great to see the older students occasionally translate and help the younger ones understand more difficult words. Finally, our days came to an end playing either volleyball or kickball. The kids especially loved kickball, which we played on a cattle pasture just outside the village.

The experience as a whole was amazing and a lot of fun. In addition to teaching classes, I was able to go on several day trips during my two-and-a-half-week stay. On one of those, we rented a short truck and drove up into the nearby mountains. Despite nearly everyone getting carsick from driving up the never-ending switchbacks, we all had fun and felt better after getting out and walking around at the top. Towards the end of my trip, we rented a short truck again and drove to a nearby elephant camp. A guide would sit on the elephant’s head and lead two or three people around on the elephant through the park. It was a treat for everyone because most of the students hadn’t gotten to do that before.

I include driving as a part of the experience. I wasn't skilled enough to drive a motorcycle out on the main road, but I did get to drive around the dirt roads of the village. Seng Aung, or another Church member, Htoo Gay, would pick me up on the bike and take me from the hotel to Jawk Taing. Whether it was driving through a cloud of ash and smoke from a nearby government-controlled burn, or getting stuck in a herd of cattle, that road always provided something exciting.

For the last few days of the trip, Earl Roemer (elder from Anchorage, Alaska) and David Bensinger (from Boise, Idaho) flew in to help conduct Passover and give messages during the Days of Unleavened Bread and visit with the brethren. We enjoyed a meal together after services on the first day, eating some fresh, grass-fed beef from the cow Seng Aung and some of the others slaughtered Passover morning. Thus my trip came to a close. I flew back on Monday, April 2, from Yangon International Airport, and arrived home the next day. I made some new friendships during my time in Myanmar, more than I thought I would. The feedback I received from teaching was positive, but I believe I learned more from them than they did from me.

It was an incredible experience, but it would not have been possible without God directing me to be in the right place at the right time to initially hear about the project, and also to all those who donated towards my expenses.