Karen Celebrations

Sorry for the recent lapse in postings...we've nonetheless been hard at it at clinic lately and are serving more and more refugees from Burma each week.  In fact, one of the most exciting things that we've noticed in recent weeks is that we're actually reaching a more diverse group of refugees from Burma than we have seen as of yet.  There are MANY ethnic tribes in Burma, and only a small proportion of these tribes are visible in the refugee community in DFW, but of these groups, we're now consistently seeing representation from not only the Karen, but also the Ka-chin, Kayaw, Burmese, Chin, and Karenni.  Word has spread in the communities around Dallas, Fort Worth, and even Nacogdoches and Center that the clinic is available on Sundays, and folks are finding us and getting the help that they need.  We're doing a lot of case management--helping individuals manage hospital bills, insurance claims, car accidents, etc.--and also seeing a mixture of mental health, chronic and acute care health issues.  As I've shared before, though, being a part of this community has brought us many more blessings than we would have ever guessed.  Perhaps because of the hardships they've endured, the Karen in particular tend to find reasons to celebrate.  And when they celebrate, they go all out.  Last Sunday before clinic we attended a housewarming celebration, complete with a traditional prayer service and food for over 75 people, all crammed into a one bedroom apartment.  And this past Sunday we attended the birthday celebration of Julia Paw, a two-year old Karen girl in Garland.  Julia Paw's mother occasionally volunteers as an interpreter at the Sunday Clinic, and her family is one of the handful of Karen families in the metroplex to have purchased a home in the last year.  The party, which also included a traditional prayer service and a whole lot of food, was attended by about 100 Karen and even a few neighbors, who were introduced to the Karen community with open arms.  Below is a video of a Karen choir singing a hymn at the party.  The second clip is during the same hymn, you can see Ruby's foot tapping to the music.  She's in her element. :)