4. Lian

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Until recently it would have been considered a cruel joke to give a deaf person a mobile phone. Nowadays though, with smartphones and video calls, phones are a wonderful tool for the deaf to communicate with each other. 

I discovered this early on in my stay at DMI’s Muir School for the Deaf in Myanmar, when I wandered into the boys’ dorm to see what the facilities were like. All the kids were outside playing in the playground and I was alone, or so I thought. In the corner of the room, oblivious to me (and I would say just about anything else) was a young man blissfully signing over the phone to his girlfriend.

Ah, technology at its most useful!

I’d seen this young man around the school. He always came across as quiet and unassuming yet emanated a gentle confidence, so I wanted to know more about him. His name is Biak Lian Mang (Lian). He is the oldest of four boys and grew up way out in a remote area of Myanmar, mainly hunting with his father and brothers. He enjoyed the early years of his life but being the only deaf one in his family and community, he soon found himself rejected by his friends and in a very silent, lonely world. He didn’t even know his own name. Without friends, education and limited inclusion in his family, he came to really resent being deaf, felt hopeless and hated his life.

Lian went without education or any meaningful communication until the age of 13. That’s a harsh start to life! But that was when he was introduced to the DMI school in Kale. And that’s when a remarkable transformation happened. 

Simply put, Lian blossomed.

He came to life. He learned how to sign. He made friends. He was cared for. He loved school. He studied hard. And he found a faith that was life-changing. Lian is the very essence of what DMI is all about: lives utterly transformed through a nurturing community and a faith in Christ.

But that’s not all.

This quiet young man carries with him a distinction that few others have attained. Last year he was one of only two deaf kids in all of Myanmar to matriculate from (hearing) public high school. This is an outstanding achievement. And he is the first ever from the Muir School for the Deaf to reach that milestone. I congratulate him exuberantly on this and he gives a shy smile.

But this guy is a bit like an onion. Just when you think you’ve found something extraordinary, you peel another layer and there’s something yet again that makes you marvel. Lian shares with me about his faith and I’m humbled that such a young man with a delayed education can have such a mature understanding of what he believes.

It was in grade 8 that, under the guidance of Monday and other teachers at the school, he came to faith in Christ. He took himself to the (hearing) pastor in nearby Pinto and was baptised by him there. Lian emphasises that his faith is very important to him. This sort of comment is wonderful to hear but can too easily be a cliche with little substance. So I ask him what he feels is the most important expression of faith: prayer, worship, study of the Word, outreach etc? He looks at me very calmly and explains that these are all equally important to have a sound faith and a healthy relationship with God. It’s important to find balance with all these things, he explains, and apply them equally across one’s life. I’m impressed.

What about the future?

At the moment, Lian is working as an assistant teacher at the school, but where will his matriculation take him? Where would he like to go in the future? He says he would like to stay right here and teach at the school. This is not because it’s an easy choice or some sort of fallback, and it’s certainly not a path to riches. On the contrary, Lian has the opportunity and the ability to go far. But he feels such a deep gratitude toward DMI and the school for giving him the life he now has, that he wants to give back. He wants to stay on and help other kids experience a transformation similar to his own, a transformation from a life hated to a life loved. There is no greater reward.

But talking to his girlfriend is a close second so when the interview is done, he is up the stairs and blissfully back into that phone call.

~

If you would like to know how you can support Lian, any of the kids or teachers, or help meet any of DMI’s needs, please click on the ‘donate’ button below, or mail to info@deafmin.org 

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