Well, honestly this post requires pictures and youtube videos, because words simply will not adequately describe.  But let me simply say that last night we did New Year’s Eve — Burmese style — at Agape Orphanage.

We didn’t stay till midnight, just 9pm.  We didn’t have permission from the regional authorities to stay later.  So the kids moved part of the celebration up a few hours.  They divided into four teams, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  Then they had a two hour plus contest to build a fire, finish cooking some variety of deep friend squash pieces — which the kids inhaled by the way — and sing and make noise and run around being as loud as they could for those two hours.  It was chaotic, mayhemic, play.  There was table dancing, Joel singing in Burmese, yelling contests, worship music, fires, and food.

What more could you want?

I have to say, it was a holy-blast watching these kids play.

Te Haw just came to the orphanage a few weeks ago, father died, mother cannot provide for him.  Aun Ong has been there a bit longer.  They found him by the side of the road, he has a speech and developmental problem so they don’t know how old he is, or where he was born.  He almost died from starvation by the side of the road, before Agape took him in.  Then  you have Abraham, you saw his story on the video, and a host of kids from whom Agape is their home.  Mix in Bible School students, who want to go back to their villages as missionaries and adults who are giving their lives to make a difference in their world.

And you look around and all you see are smiles, all you hear is laughter, a lot of joy.

It was a good New Year’s Eve.

Today at the orphanage, we will stop our meetings at 12:30pm and pray together for Calvary and our families.  That will be midnight back home.  This year we will have the chance to pray in the New Year in two places.

In this New Year, may you be blessed beyond belief so that you can be a blessing beyond compare.