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Servicing Neighbors: Central Union Mission on Thanksgiving Day

What is it to really be thankful?

Every year we gather on Thanksgiving to honor and celebrate this wonderful holiday and tradition. A time to give thanks to God for the harvest, and express gratitude to others for our many blessings. Surrounded by family members, loved ones and friends; eating a feast of the most mouth-watering dishes, watching football, resting and relaxing, reminiscing back over the year, looking towards the upcoming holidays. Thanksgiving.

Having returned back here in the U.S. from Myanmar after being gone for the last three weeks I was especially happy to be back for Thanksgiving. Myanmar, aka "Burma", a country that is ruled and run by an oppressive military regime. I went to Myanmar to study photography and I learned about life.

Myanmar is not your typical vacation get-away destination, as you may or may not know. Located in Southeast Asia between the borders of China and India, Myanmar is a country under an oppressive military regime currently, geographically positioned to extreme adverse weather conditions; ranging from brutally hot days which stretch into long hot scorching seasons to the opposite extreme of the rainy and monsoon season which floods the lands annually. Tribes and villages must pack up and move throughout certain regions just to contend with the extreme climate conditions. The only consistent thing about electricity in Myanmar is that you never know when it is going to go out, but you can count on it going out, that is for certain. By all accounts Myanmar is a third world country, populated by the very poor, monks, and ruled by military government. In Myanmar, government assistance means opening a main valve to allow water to flow to village wells for a couple hours a day so that the villagers can collect and physically carry a portion of their daily water needs either by a bamboo strut method, or the traditional method on-top-of their heads; this is performed twice daily typically by the woman, everyday. So you can see it is not an easy country to live in. But Myanmar is a magnificent country.

But what makes Myanmar such a magnificent, magical and so magnanimous are the Burmese people themselves and their pure genuineness. After traveling throughout the country I not only observed, learned and documented them during their daily lives but also was invited into many of their lives, if only for a few brief moments, to being invited to sit down and share authentic Burmese meals with local village families. The Burmese are kind and open, (though a bit shy to westerners at first), they are resilient and resourceful, filled with dignity and pride, and rely on sheer resourcefulness and ingenuity to get them through day in and day out. They are truly amazing and inspirational and as elegant as the longyi that is integral to Myanmar. Men and women both wear the longyi (pronounced lawn-g), a sarong-like nether garment, made from many different fabrics ranging from cotton to silk. It is basically a piece of cloth sewn into a cylindrical tube, slipped over the head by men and stepped into by the women and tucked in at the waist; and so reflective of their personal nature, culture and lifestyle; simple, elegant and beautiful.

Water supply for a local village.

Life in Myanmar for the common person is a hard life by our standards, by other country's standards as well. Myanmar does not permit the basic right of freedom of speech. Any type of outward resentment or other wise could very well land you in jail, or worse; the villages, towns and cities are filled with government informants. There were several occasions where personally I was questioned regarding my reason for being there. Daily life for Burmese people does not include the daily resources we take for granted; water, food, work, and communication: a sign of wealth and power in Myanmar is the telephone. If someone has a land-line they have moved up in socioeconomic status. Cell phones, the Internet and credit cards are prohibited in Myanmar. Transportation is a bit of everything there, public transportation consists of bicycles, trishaws (a bicycle w/ a sidecar), mopeds with two, three or four people on them at one time... it is amazing to see, pick-up trucks known as line-buses (small trucks that work as public transit stuffing 20-30 people into the bed with people hanging on outside of the tailgate), buses, and taxis (reserved mainly for foreigners) and automobiles are reserved for only the most elite, but the common Burman walks.

After a little more than 40+ hours of straight through travel to reach home by Thanksgiving, and of course you could guess, the airlines lost my bags somewhere along the way, I was more than happy to be back home on U.S. soil. But not because of what you might initially think. Yes it was great to be back safe with my family and friends, but it was different, I was different. After living with the Burmese these last three weeks they taught me what it was to truly be happy, what my life was missing. It was not all the possessions we have, but the love and life they share with each other. Other countries look at America and think we have so much. If that is the case then why are we always looking for something more? For me it is a time to start giving back.

The impact from my travels through Myanmar has made a life-changing objective in my life, inspirational to think  & act differently towards the world and others in it; giving is the greatest gift one can receive. Central Union Mission, located in Washington D.C., does this 365 days a year and now for 125 years. Started in 1884 by Reverend Latham Douglass for the thousands of homeless, neglected men who wandered Pennsylvania Avenue, many of whom were Civil War veterans. This tradition carries on for the less fortunate, poverty stricken and underprivileged. I was blessed to spend the day with the men and women of the Central Union Mission this Thanksgiving.

The men, women and children who rely on Central Union Mission need our help and support more than ever. Everyone is feeling the pain of the economy now, everyone is tightening their belts, cutting back, saving more. But now is the time when we need to do more for those who have less. If you can reach out and help those around us who really need our help. The Mission has been serving the needs of DC residents since 1884, one-hundred and twenty-five years, yes 125 years; 125 years | 125 Stories. Written and audio testimonies can be found here of people making because of the Mission's work: touching inspirational stories, click the play button on the player to listen.

Central Union Mission has some staggering numbers:

[In 2008: 152,275 nutritious meals for men, women, families and children (including regular meals, groceries, luncheons and special event celebrations); 3,121 gifts to children including clothing and toys at Christmas, new backpacks filled with school supplies, and a wholesome summer camp experience; 4,916 families with support through the distribution of clothing, furniture & household goods; 50,288 men with overnight shelter through a residential programs that include meals, hot showers, and a comfortable, safe place to sleep; 341 addicted men with help in overcoming their life-controlling problems through the 18-month residential Spiritual Transformation program; 4,408 clients with counselling services, clinical visits to individuals, and professional services through health fairs, physical exams, eye exams and private medical and legal consultations; 456 adults with literacy competency, GED (General Educational Development test) preparation, and English as a Second Language classes.]

Faced with rising food costs and lower charitable contributions due to the economic crisis, Central Union Mission had a shortfall of approximately 150 turkeys this year. We all need to reach out and help our fellow brother, won't you help. Learn more about Central Union Mission and the amazing work they do at: missiondc.org. Here you can read about all their good work and this year marking their 125th anniversary they have some fantastic events going on; click here to view the event calendar.

I was honored, privileged, and grateful to be on hand this Thanksgiving at Central Union Mission. Here is their story for one wonderful meal during Thanksgiving... You may click on the images below to view the slideshow.

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It is my hope this article will lead you to either help the Mission or find some other cause to begin giving back.

Doug Stroud is a student photojournalist, living in Northern Virginia, working around the world.