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A unique way to say thanks to God

Myanmar couple ring up their 100th church bell donation
A unique way to say thanks to God
U Charlie Khin and his wife Daw Doris Tun Bo
Published: February 11, 2011 09:19 AM GMT
Updated: February 12, 2011 07:01 PM GMT

For many years, U Charlie Khin and Daw Doris Tun Bo from Yangon demonstrated their gratitude to God by donating bells to Catholic and Baptist churches in Myanmar. Khin, 73, a retired civil servant said God turned the Catholic couple’s lives around enabling them to own their own home and raise their children comfortably after many years of living in poverty. Their thanks to God began in 1996, when pastoral council members from Pyay diocese asked if they would like to donate some bells for a local church. “We decided after that to donate church bells to show our ‘gratitude’ to God for the graces we had received,” said Khin, a parishioner from the Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Yangon. “I would say it’s inspiration from the Holy Spirit that’s guided us to donate just over 100 church bells since that initial first donation,” Khin claimed. The couple has made bell donations across the country, not just to Catholic churches but to Baptist ones too. U Khin’s family has also donated statues of Our Lady, Sacred Heart, Divine Mercy and Infant Jesus. “I felt I had received great strength from God and was closer to Him. Peacefulness and God’s graces lived within me and the desire to donate increased more and more,” U Khin said. The couple isn’t rich. The funds needed to buy the bells came from savings from money their children had given them. Among the special donations they’ve made were their 50th bell on the 50th anniversary of St. Jude Church in Yangon Archdiocese and their 75th bell on the 75th Anniversary of Hti Tha Saw church in Taungngu diocese. More recently they donated a 100th church bell for a church in Mawlamyine diocese. The last bell they will donate will again be in Taungngu diocese, making it their 102nd donation. That’s because Khin and is wife left for the United States for good last week, to spend the rest of their lives with their five children. Related report Myanmar Catholics ready to support priests MY13192.1640

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