Salvation Message Shines in Burma’s Darkest Hour
Since a military coup plunged Burma (Myanmar) into chaos one year ago, the gospel has advanced even as violence and COVID-19 paralyzed the country. “COVID-19 killed 413 Christian ministers within four months, some of them close friends and relatives,” the leader said. “Among our missionaries, four caught COVID-19 and almost died, but they have been restored and have worked hard in soul-winning outreach.”
The Tearful Struggle to Heal Battered Burma
A ministry leader in Burma (Myanmar) said he has lost 134 pastors and other workers, including his younger brother, to the pandemic or to violence from a military coup in February.
Workers in Burma Face Unprecedented Stresses
With some civilians dressed as soldiers and some soldiers dressed as civilians, it is often impossible to know who is responsible for ongoing acts of terrorism in Burma (Myanmar), the leader of a native ministry said.
Drug Addict in Burma Receives Hope and Healing
Aung Myint, addicted to drugs since his youth, was a Buddhist in Burma who had never heard the gospel before he went to prison for using drugs.
Sudden Swing in Pandemic Hammers Burma’s Poor
Burma (Myanmar) saw a dramatic upswing in COVID-19 cases in September, and the ensuing lockdowns further hammered the poor and the local missionaries serving them – even as workers were bringing more people to faith in Christ.
As Restrictions Increase in Burma, Poor Workers Grow Desperate for Food
The closure of all factories in an area of Burma (Myanmar) left a local ministry’s impoverished congregation wondering how they would survive. “Our church people are very poor, hand-to-mouth people – they have nothing to eat now,” the ministry leader said. “We distributed as much as we could. But that will help them only about two weeks. After one more week, how will they survive?”
Fired Police Officer Finds Hope for Ruined Life
A police officer in Burma (Myanmar), fired from the force after 10 years on duty due to a drug offense, was listening as a native ministry leader spoke of Christ at his prison.
The leader provided the inmates with food as well as spiritual nourishment, and the former policeman, Nyan, sensed the presence of the Holy Spirit.
As the ministry team left, the preacher had no way of knowing his impact on Nyan’s life.
Proclaiming Christ amid Conflict and Opposition
Between ethnic rebels trying to recruit them as soldiers and evil spirits threatening to afflict them, young adults in Burma (Myanmar) have a lot to fear. Besides fearing that any illness may be a sign of punishment from a malevolent spirit world, young men in Burma also live in fear of militants from insurgent groups drawing recruits from ethnic groups. “They are frightened all the time, as they don’t know when rebels will come to their village and take them from their family and from their village,” a native ministry leader said.
Spiritual Battle Rages in Addict’s Soul
As a boy growing up in Southeast Asia, Revo* was the top student in his Sunday school class, eventually becoming a full member of his church. Then came the evil spirits. Revo said he opened the door to the evil spirits when he fell in with an unruly gang: “We reveled in drunken orgies and even offered sacrifices to evil spirits.”
Bringing Sunday School to Unchurched Kids
Children’s Sunday school is a great way to teach Bible basics, native missionaries in Burma (Myanmar) reasoned, so why not use it to evangelize? The missionaries trained Bible college students to go out on Sunday mornings and invite children, most of them from Buddhist families, to what they called Good News Club.
