One of my biggest goals of World Love Wednesday is to learn about the many different cultures in our area. The Twin Cities is home to one of the most diverse populations in our country. Therefore, choosing to learn about those cultures is a way we are striving to he good neighbors. This month we will be learning about the Karen Culture. I have to be honest, I have not been very aware or familiar with the Karen culture, but that is part of the point of doing these Wednesday features, to help educate ourselves. But, in my ignorance I didn’t even know where to start, so I enrolled the help of a friend that knows a little more than me to help me learn. Rebekah Hansen is one of my in real life friends and blogs over at The Welcoming Mama. Before becoming a stay at home mom, she Worked with the Karen Organization of Minnesota. She was such a gem in connecting me with Karen-owned businesses, kid-friendly learning tools, and even churches we can pray for over the next month. All of the tools mentioned in the post were recommended by her.
Who are the Karen people?
I learned from the Karen Organization of Minnesota (KOM) that the Karen are an ethnic people group from Burman that have faced oppression for hundreds of years. As a result, many Karen people have fled to Thailand, and have resettled in other countries. More than 17,000 Karen people live in Minnesota, making it the largest Karen community in the United States.
Music
Voice of Karen Chiang Mai is a YouTube channel with several songs in the Karen language, including popular Karen Hymns. Music can be such a fun way to introduce littles to the sounds of new languages. In my experience, littles appreciate anything with a good dance beat.
Karen Children’s Books
I love bilingual books, and I was presently surprised to find our library had a couple bilingual Karen/English books. We were able to find digital download copies of the following through the Saint Paul Public Library:
The Hen and the Badger by Saw Powder
Huggy Elephant by Win World
Food!
I could always attempt to make some Karen Thai food, but I love finding ways to support local business, and am a sucker for trying new food. Rebekah suggested making a trip out to Karen Thai Food in St. Paul for some authentic Karen Thai food. They also offer take-out, and I am hungry from just looking at the pictures on their website.
Prayer
Finally we are praying for our Karen neighbors. Please pray with us:
Dear God,
We pray for the Karen people in Burma and Thailand. We pray that you would protect them and bring about justice on their behalf. We pray for those that have come to the United States, specifically Minnesota. We pray that you would bless them with compassionate friendships, good jobs, and neighbors that would help them in their journey of adjusting to a new country. We pray for the Karen Churches in Minnesota. We pray that they would be empowered to love their communities. We pray for strength for the pastors to continue to point their congregations to Jesus.
In Jesus name,
Amen.
Baby Devotions 
I was looking for the link to the coloring book and it does not seem to connect! I’d love it if you happened to still have that link– thanks!!
LikeLike
Oh no! Thank you so much for letting me know. I just did a little deep dive, and it looks like they have now discontinued the book. I will update that on this post. Originally, the link went directly to the coloring book, but since their program has grown in the past 2 years they have shifted away from their coloring book.
LikeLike