M Y A N M A R P R O J E C T O C T O B E R 2 0 1 2

Dear Friends,
Greetings from our home to yours. We
hope this letter nds you in good spirits and
enjoying the beautiful fall foliage. It is the time of
year we miss most in the US.
The rainy season is coming to an end in
Chiang Mai and has left us with orchids, owering
trees and lush greenery. We have settled into a
new house that were renting and we are trying to
adjust to the dynamics of being a family of four.
These past few months we have been
evaluating how we are doing ministry, and how we
could be doing it better. We have been consulting
with nationals from Myanmar to expand our
perspective. The following story arose from one of
our many interviews. Its a powerful reminder that
one average person can make a dierence in the
lives of many others.
Thank you for your generous emotional,
spiritual and nancial support. As always, we write
with grateful hearts,
The Garrison Family
The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just. (Psalm 37:30)
The Impact of One
The Impact of
One Righteous Father
There is a deep-seated hatred among many of the
ethnic minority people and the Burman people who make up
the largest ethnic group in Myanmar. In the northern most
state, the Kachin people are no dierent, even during their 17
years of relative peace with the Burmese government, and in
spite of being Christian. For most of two decades they farmed
their lands and prospered in comparison to the other groups
in Myanmar, but they have not forgotten the crimes
committed against them by their own government. Being
Christian, and also being lled with hatred toward your
Burmese countrymen is not only normal, it is expected.
Last week I (Kara) met a young Kachin woman from
Myanmar, named Charis (not her real name) working in
Chiang Mai, Thailand. She is part of a task-force working
against human tracking, especially children from Myanmar
held captive in brothels. She is young, intelligent, beautiful,
multi-lingual and committed to helping children escape a
hellish existence. She is involved in raids. She listens to the
horrors these children have experienced as she attempts to
prep them for court (some as young as 4 years-old). She lives
under guard in a secure compound, hidden from perpetrators.
The Thai government respects her and refers to hera
foreigner from a despised neighboring countryas top
expert.
An unexpected invitation came to Charis last month.
The Burmese government invited the Thai governments
experts on tracking to come and address them regarding
the transport of Burmese children across international borders
to be used in Thailands sex trade industry. The Burmese
ocials were shocked to discover this Kachin enemy from
their own country being introduced as an expert by the Thai
constituency.
After a long, disheartening but informative report, the
Burmese authorities apparently held Charis in awe. A couple
of them braved to say, We cant believe what you are doing
on behalf of Burman children. (They must have been
thinking of the Kachin women and children who were being
abused by the Burma Army).
(continued next page)
Photo: Stu Corlett
Photo: Stu Corlett
All gifts toward our work with the people of Myanmar (Burma) should be sent to: CornerStone International,
P.O. Box 192, Wilmore, KY 40390. Please write Myanmar Project on the memo line. Additionally, you may
make secure donations online at http://www.cornerstoneinternational.org/sta-garrison/. THANK YOU for your
generosity towards our family and the people of Burma!
Contact us by email at:
garrisoncraig@yahoo.com
A young girl from northern Myanmar shielding herself
from the sun.
M Y A N M A R P R O J E C T O C T O B E R 2 0 1 2
The Catt sons 5etv ng w ih ihe Peo e o Uyannat {Butna)
I cant believe it either, she replied. It is
because of the God who lives within me. He makes it
possible for me to do this work.
It is dicult to relay just how strategic Charis
has been in the ght against the tracking and
prostitution of Burmese
children here in
Thailand. One friend
likened her position to
that of Daniel, who
advised kings who
held his people
captive.
Whenever
someone shares an
incredible story like this
with me, I am amazed,
but not satised. I need
to dig deeper. I want
to ask you something
more personal, I began.
Of all the people in
your country, wanting
to do good works, how
is it that you have arrived at this strategic place of
inuence? Charis was already smiling, and I was still
trying to gure out what I really was looking for.
My father... the tears started to leak out of her
eyes and down her cheeks faster than she could wipe
them. My father is a pastor in Kachin State, and
from the earliest memory of my childhood, he said
to us, we will think dierently. Charis explained that
her fathers posture of forgiving and loving his enemies
led to painful rejection. Even now, my extended family
says to me, You are not Kachin! Dont you know what
the Burma Army is doing to our children?! Why are
you rescuing their children?!
We waited. She wept.
But my father said we were to live dierently,
she stated again, he is the reason I am here today.
I could not help but contrast this man to King
Solomon whom I have studied repeatedly over the past
year. Solomon sought
after justice and
wisdom, but failed to
live righteously before
his sons. Writing down
wise instruction for
them did not suce. As
a result, Solomons son
fails his rst on-the-job-
assignment as new
king, destroying the
nation.
In contrast,
Charis father
demonstrated
righteous living before
his children, accepting
rejection of his peers
and his relatives. Now his daughter advises the
government ocials of two nations.
We ask that you pray for Charis. We cannot
write her real name nor provide a more realistic photo.
She is a target for those who pursue evil.
We realize the statistics regarding human
tracking are almost paralyzing. But look at this
statistic 1:1:1000s. One father, impacts one daughter,
who impacts thousands, for what is impossible with
man is possible with God. (Luke 18:27)
The Impact of
One Righteous Father
Last month: displaced Kachin lighting candles as a prayer for peace . After a 17 year cease re, the Burmese Army has again invaded Kachin
territory, violated women and children, and disrupted the peaceful lives of rice farmers.
All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.
Edmund Burke, political philosopher, 1729-1797
Let us unite in prayer that righteous men and women in Myanmar will rise to places of inuence, and will remain there
with integrity... as well as in our own country... and let us faithfully hold them up in prayer, that they may not succumb to
moral compromise...intentionally, or unintentionally. Additionally, and arguably more importantly, pray that fathers and
mothers will be righteous leaders within their families.
Charis speaking to school children in a rural village, regarding personal safety
and the dangers of tracking.