Klu Moe

klu moeNovember 10, 2011My student this week is a special young lady named Klu Moe (pronounced Clue Moe). I thought I should write about her soon because she was one of the main reasons I am here. I will get into that later but first I will tell you about why she’s so special. Okay, all of my students are special and I think I might say that about all of them but Klu Moe is really, really special to me. Her English is not as good as some of the other students but she’s coming along. We talk often but usually it’s with very broken language… but even with its brokenness there doesn’t seem to be any trouble communicating. Klu is pretty quiet and somewhat shy, she’ll not be the first to speak out in class but she will still try when I ask her to and she is always paying close attention. I usually notice her repeating my pronunciation to herself while I’m talking so I know that she wants to learn even if she isn’t the most outspoken student. Her name means beautiful daughter and she really is a pretty girl and I’m sure a treasured daughter.Klu Moe is 20 years old and is in her third year at the Bible school. She comes from the same village as Hten Phaw (the first student I featured), which is Tee The Kalo in Karenni State. She has three younger sisters and one younger brother who all live with her mother, grandmother and grandfather in her home town. Her village is very dangerous because the soldiers will often steal their food and money. When she was 15 years old she watched as the Burmese soldiers killed the leader of her village, this instilled a fear in her that you can tell runs very deep. Klu Moe is a very sweet girl who exudes kindness all of the time and I can’t imagine how it must have been to see such violence but I know that the twinkle in her eye disappeared while she was telling me about it and it was disturbing to me. Her dark eyes seemed to get even darker and because of this I changed the subject, I’m sure there were several instances of fear and violence that she can recollect vividly but I couldn’t stand to see the sadness in her face any longer.Klu Moe has a sad personal story that isn’t unique to Burma but I hope that her faith and ability to overcome will encourage you. When Klu Moe was very young her father left her family and went to Thailand. When he left he told them he was going to work for the day and he never returned home. She is not sure why he left but she said that life is very hard for them in Burma and it was hard for him to provide for their family. Because of his absence her mother was very sad and incredibly worried about how they would survive with just her left to support them; for a long time they all hoped he would return. At that time in her village her family was a disgrace because her father was gone so they struggled not only to survive but also with being accepted or respected by others. Klu Moe explained that she was so sad and cried all the time after her father left. She went to Sunday School every week and once her teacher told her that God can do anything and He is very powerful. After hearing this she prayed that she would meet her father one day, if God can do anything he might allow her to see him again. This news also gave her an eagerness to learn more about God and she began to depend on His word and wanted very badly to study theology. She learned of the Bible school from the leaders in her church and was able to come in 2009.A few months ago her prayer was answered. She found out that her father is living in Chiang Mai, Thailand and he was trying to contact her. At first she was very excited and had a hard time believing that she would hear from him after so long but soon her excitement turned to anger. When she first talked to him on the phone she asked him why he would forsake her. He apologized for what he had done and she forgave him for all of the pain that he has caused in her life and eventually he came to the school to meet her. She says that she feels sad that her sisters and brother were not able to see him and she also had to give up a dream that one day her family would be together again and live happily. He has a new life and a new family in Thailand. He is also Buddhist and her prayer now is that one day he will know God and not live as a Buddhist but as a Christian. I think one day she’ll have a hand in helping him learn about God. The picture below is from the day that she met her father two months ago.When she finishes at the Bible school in 2013 she plans to return to her family in Burma. Her church is large with about 300 parishioners but right now they do not have a pastor and she is thinking she might even try to take this role. She also would like to learn more about theology and music, especially the violin and piano.I told you Klu Moe is an important reason why I’m here and that’s because when I was here in January her and I became fast friends. She was usually by my side and although her English was worse at that time I still seemed to understand her. She was the one who asked me several times “English Teacher? English Teacher?” At first I had no idea why she was repeating this all the time but I soon found out that she was asking if that’s why I was there, to be their English teacher? At that time I insistently told her ”no, sorry” but of course you all know that the rest is history.. who would have thought I would really come back to be just that? Maybe Klu Moe. Before I left in January I gave Klu Moe my Bible. I thought it might be a way for her to learn English if she compared her Burmese or Karenni Bible to my English Bible. Maybe it’s working or maybe it’s not, I don’t know. But I do know that she’s putting many miles on it with many Karenni notes and page markers throughout.When I first arrived back to the school in September Klu Moe greeted me with a big sweet grin and exclaimed “my favorite is back!” That was a day I will never forget.Please keep her and her family in your prayers as they will continue to struggle with a difficult life in Burma and as Klu Moe continues to impact the lives of others like she has mine.Jeremiah 29:11 ”For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”