Emmett and Shirley Cox:
Six Weeks in Myanmar

January 200

Emmett Cox turned 73 on October 12, the day he and his wife, Shirley, left for Myanmar (formerly called Burma). They went as volunteers with the English Language Program conducted by the United Brethren church in the capital city of Yangon (formerly Rangoon), returning to Indiana on Thanksgiving Day.

The day they arrived, a newspaper ad offered a new English class with one week free trial. Shirley spent the first week observing a class taught by Joel, an American spending a year in Myanmar with his wife, Jen, before entering medical school. Then she started teaching the new class. Attendance for the two-hour classes ranged from one to eight, though she had 18 persons enrolled. The small rooms at the Mobilization Education Centre (a registered business) didn't permit large classes.

"My students were great, and I could see progress even in the short time we were there," Shirley says. "There were Christians, Buddhists, and Muslims. We used vocabulary words taken from Bible reading in our daily chapel times and from student conversations and questions. They have studied English in school, but need help with conversation. They expressed appreciation for our going there to help them, and disappointment that we could not stay longer."

The Coxes were given a 28-day tourist visa, which was extended 14 days, though they had asked for 34 more days.

Emmett taught classes on discipleship (about 100 attending), spiritual leadership, counseling, cross-cultural communication of the gospel, and spiritual warfare. Shirley also taught a one-hour class at a Bible college twice, and for five Sunday evenings had Sunday school with two Australian and two Swedish children.

They visited three orphanages, where they gave out WWJD bracelets, candy, construction paper bookmarks, crayons, and other items.

Shirley provided some miscellaneous observations from Myanmar:

• The exchange rate when they arrived was 350 kyat per dollar, and 331 when they left.
• "Almost everything is available for purchase if you have the money. Traveler's Checks can be cashed at only one bank, and it takes close to an hour by the time all receipts and IDs are checked."
• "Communication is quite uncertain. We received one air letter, but other letters, cards, and three emails were not received."
• A cyclone off the coast of India brought extra rain to southeast Asia. "Almost every day, except the last week, there was some rain, so humidity was high, with temperatures up to the high 80s and mid-90s."
• "Small talk" in Myanmar is not about weather, but about food. "It was common to be asked, 'Have you finished your breakfast?' as we were on our way back to our room."
• "We found the people to be very friendly and kind. They are taught to respect elders, parents and teachers, so we were definitely the recipients of it. My taxi driver, a Muslim student, refused a fare because I was his teacher."

The time difference between Yangon and their home in Huntington, Ind., was 11.5 hours. So when they called home at 9:30 at night, it was 10 a.m. the next day. The one-way flight of 11,917 miles took 28 hours going, 25 coming back.