Fr. Kurt Zion Pala, Myanmar
I have worked with young people for most of my life, seeing them as my own brothers and sisters. Now, as I get older, I see many of them as my own children.
There are days when I feel frustrated and disappointed. There are days when I feel like giving up on working with them. Sometimes, dealing with them gives me a headache. But there are also some days when they surprise me in the most wonderful ways
Overtime, I have learned to love them as they are. Like the parable of the wheat and the weeds, we all have our wheat and weeds to deal with. Yet God loves us, with all our wheat and weeds. He never stops loving you and me. God sees the possible greatness waiting to burst out of us. And when I look at these young people, I see so much potential in them.
In the parable of the wheat and the weeds, Jesus tells us that when the servants wanted to pull out the weeds immediately, the owner told them, “Let them grow together until the harvest.” There is wisdom in letting the wheat and the weeds grow together.
The struggle between the wheat and weeds also happens within our own hearts. The weeds are not only outside us; they also grow within us. There is kindness, but also selfishness. There is faith, but also doubt. There is generosity, but also fear.
Jesus does not ask us to become perfect and holy overnight. Instead, He asks us to remain connected to Him, trusting that His grace will help the wheat grow stronger than the weeds.
The Student Learning Resources Center (SLRC) celebrated its fourth anniversary on 15 August 2026. The Center offers the Diploma in Positive Youth Development program, which focuses on leadership, livelihood and employability skills. It believes that every young person is a seed of potential waiting to be nurtured. A seed, provided with proper care and a supportive environment, will grow into a strong sapling.
Ten students recently completed the eight-month training and three-month internship program, equipping them with skills to become resilient and ready for life and work. Two other batches, with a total of 34 students, are currently completing the program. Since its establishment in August 2022, SLRC has welcomed a total of 111 students across eight batches into its main certificate program. Its Summer Program has also attracted over 300 students over the last three years (2024-2026). The Summer Program, catering to children aged 14-18 years old, includes English, Computer, Music and Art classes.
Young people in Myanmar today face many challenges, including the ongoing war in the country, uncertainty about the future, lack of educational and employment opportunities, and the threat of military recruitment and conscription. They also struggle with the effects of the climate crisis, such as extreme heat and flooding. Drug addiction and human trafficking are growing concerns, while many experience mental health issues.
We are all familiar with the parable of the wheat and the weeds. But as Asians, we maybe are more familiar with rice and weeds. Myanmar is a top rice-producing country. Rice planting involves a lot of hand-weeding, which usually occurs around 10-14 days after transplanting the rice.
Weeds compete for water, nutrients and sunlight. Farmers do not just wait for the rice to grow on its own, but they continue to watch, pull out the weeds, clear out the fields and care for the rice as it grows. Weeds naturally grow, so the farmer does not necessarily hate them. But the farmer knows that if the weeds are unchecked, they will take what the rice needs to live.
Lowland paddies are better protected from weeds, as the rice is covered in water, which suppresses weed growth, while upland rain-fed rice fields are often directly seeded, making them vulnerable to weeds.
Rice and weeds grow together. Real farmers know this. The farmer discerns what should remain and what needs to be removed. The question is not how to get rid of weeds, but how we recognize what allows life to flourish.
Our program fosters self-awareness and discernment through the Personal Development Program, Mental Health intervention, and work-life skills. Our goal is to build resilient, life-and-work-ready young people.
I have lived in Myanmar for the past nine years. I have seen people face one problem after another. As soon as one problem goes, another follows. Life is difficult. In Myanmar, we know what it means to live amidst conflict, suffering, and uncertainty. Sometimes, I find myself asking, “Lord, why don’t you act now?” And yet, God does not abandon His people. He continues to work quietly, offering every person the opportunity to grow and choose what is good.
We are called to sow good seed wherever we are.
The world already has enough weeds: violence, division, hatred, corruption, and indifference. Jesus calls His disciples to sow good seed.
Every act of kindness, every word of encouragement, every effort to build peace, every lesson we teach, every tree we plant, every young person we mentor—these are seeds of God’s Kingdom. As Christians, especially in our mission here in Myanmar, we may not see immediate results. Yet God asks us to be faithful, not merely successful.
Our task is not to control the harvest. It is to keep sowing goodness and to trust that God will bring the harvest in His own time.
Let us see others and love them as they are. As in the parable of the wheat and weeds, we have all our wheat and weeds to deal with. But God loves us with all our wheat and weeds. He continues to love you and me. God only sees the possible greatness waiting to burst out of us.
The Student Learning Resources Center welcomed a new batch of young people in September 2026. Help us bring hope and sow the good seed in Myitkyina, Kachin State. Your generosity and act of kindness will bring one young person out of hopelessness and darkness.
Featured Image above: Graduation of Batch 6 of the Diploma in Positive Youth Development, attended by students and some of their parents.
