March 30, 2010
Hello everyone,
It really seems like ages and ages since we last had anything to report! I suppose this is good news in that the families are becoming very self sufficient and able to negotiate the tricky business of adapting to a new country. Both men are still employed at the Surrey Recycling plant, and attend English classes in the evenings; the women attend classes during the day with the babies being looked after by grandparents.
Dave, myself and Chris had the pleasure of being invited to Eh Thanay's 2nd birthday party on Sunday. This was a very interesting experience. The party was in fact a Service of Thanksgiving, the purpose being to strengthen and encourage the family (although Kler Paw as male and head of the family was the only one mentioned) in their faith and the raising of their son.
The front room was converted into 'church', with most people sitting on rugs on the floor. The "Canadians" were offered chairs (thankfully!). Apart from us, Gertrude from their church (New Life Baptist?), and 3 others were present. The 3 pastors were seated behind a makeshift 'altar', which had the birthday cake on it as well as envelopes and gifts. The Karens mainly gave envelopes - probably with a bit of money inside. We bought Eh Thanay a modest gift and Eh Moosi looked totally puzzled when I handed it to her, so my guess is that it is not common in their culture.
The service itself went on for over 2 hours with Scripture reading, praying and very enthusiastic singing, all in the Karen language. Kler Paw made a long speech; his family also sang "their family song". There were young children in the audience who sat perfectly still throughout the long (and eventually very hot, as no windows were open!) service. Dave was asked to pray for the family; I was asked to pray for the community. Although greatly tempted to pray for at least 30 minutes, I kept it short!
Suddenly the service was over and big platters of food was brought out, all cooked by Eh Moosi. Chicken (breaded and fried), rice, spicy noodle dish, broccoli-type dish, carrot sticks, fresh peas, salad and some other dishes and condiments I didn't recognise, was served. The food was tasty. In Delia's apartment, where half the people vanished too, everyone sat on the floor and ate with their fingers. I would think some very careful budgeting and planning went into the meal and service for Eh Thanay - we were very honoured to have been included.
We had an opportunity to get to know Gertrude a bit: she carries around a big binder with photos, names, addresses and birthdays of the Karens: they are her "mission field" and she spends an enormous amount of time working and assisting them. She spotted a remarkable likeness between a family and Lu Wah. When she showed him the picture, he said "That is my uncle!". He didn't even know that his uncle was living in Surrey so that was happy news for us.
On Good Friday the 2 families will come to our place for another "traditional" Easter meal with us - I think there's quite a bit going on at their church as well. Must go - a blessed Easter to you all,
Wilna
PS: Caroline, from our church, offered to do the tax returns for the families for which we are very grateful. Thank you to Jim who so carefully steered the finances since June 2008 and prepared the T-4's.
" Unfortunately I wasn't there to witness the arrival but Chris and her
daughter Penny took Pak Gay, Lu Wah and daughter straight to their
apartment in Surrey ( a proud moment I'm sure as it had been cleaned
and everything is in place for them to just move in) - Lu Wah (wife)
was absolutely beyond being tired so a quiet apartment is just what
they need.
Marc drove De Lia, her sister Ehmusi, Kler Paw and son; I drove
Mahtoora and Delia's 2 daughters to Welcome House where they were truly
welcomed very efficiently: I was impressed. We settled in Kler Paw's
family and hard on their heels, De Lia's parents arrived but apparently
also the parents of Lu Wah (if I understood this right?!). There will
be 6 staying in the apartment until Wednesday. Some angels provided
food (rice, greens, garlic, ginger, crackers, etc) - I believe some
Chinese fast food will also be delivered so these people don't have to
worry about cooking at least for today.
Thanks again for all who worked hard, with faith and hope, to make this
moment possible. "
Wilna Parry
July 30th, 2009
Dear friends,
As you are aware, we are sponsoring 2 Karen refugee families. We are enormously grateful for the assistance of Delia, sister to Ehmoosi (one of the families) who arrived in Vancouver a couple of years ago from a refugee camp on the Thai border. Delia was featured in 2 CBC documentaries which shed light not only on the on-going 30 year struggle of the Karens in Burma/Myanmar but also the enormous challenge Delia and others like her face in adjusting to life in Canada.
I find people are intensely interested in the families and love to hear us talk about them. We hope to have their story published in the NS News and perhaps also Outlook shortly so keep an eye out for that.
Wilna Parry
Links to stories about the Karen refugees coming to Canada (click on links):
1. CBC Story - "Delia Sie - From Burma to Canada"
2. CBC Story - "Karens of Burma - A Better Tomorrow"
