Helen NawMuMu

Helen NawMuMu was born on July 26, 1957, in Yangon, Burma, to her beloved parents U Tun Aung and Naw Tin Tin. She lived a life defined by unwavering Christian faith, quiet sacrifice, and a deep devotion to caring for others — a life that reflected the love of Christ in everything she did.

From a young age, Helen demonstrated a selfless determination to provide for her family. She became an au pair and traveled the world, sending support back home to Burma so that her family might have a better life. Though it was a personal burden to leave her loved ones behind for long periods of time, she carried that weight with grace, trusting the Lord to sustain her through every lonely mile. Her travels eventually led her to the United States, where she settled in Virginia, built a new life, and, in time, was able to bring her daughter Clara to be by her side.

Once settled in America, Helen pursued her calling in healthcare with characteristic dedication. She became a nurse and respiratory therapist — roles she saw not as a profession, but as a ministry. She believed that every patient she tended to was a child of God, deserving of love and dignity. She devoted her career to nursing, with a special passion for working with the elderly, offering them the tenderness, comfort, and compassion that Christ showed to those most in need. Many of them had no one else; Helen made sure they were never alone.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Helen answered the call as an essential worker, going above and beyond to train fellow healthcare professionals during one of the most challenging periods in modern medicine. Even in the face of fear and uncertainty, her faith gave her courage, and she became a quiet beacon of steadiness and hope for her colleagues and for every patient in her care.

Above all else, Helen was a woman of deep and abiding Christian faith. Her relationship with the Lord was the quiet strength behind every sacrifice she made, every patient she cared for, and every mile she traveled far from home. She was a devoted member of Calvary Burmese Church, where she found her spiritual family and a community that shared her heritage and her hope in Christ. Volunteering for church activities was never an obligation for Helen — it was a calling and a joy, an outpouring of the love she had first received from God.

Helen is survived by her beloved daughter, Clara Naw Sweet, and her son-in-law, Jonathan Lanham, and her dear older brother, Saw Evan. She was preceded in death by her husband, Saw Samson Tun; her parents, U Tun Aung and Naw Tin Tin; and her older brother, Saw George Steven.