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.”
Schoolteacher in Vietnam Leaves Old Life Behind
“Because she was so desperate, she wanted to commit suicide by drinking insecticide,” a ministry leader said of a schoolteacher in Vietnam. She had a handsome young husband, was raising two young children and was in so much pain that she wanted to kill herself. “When holding the bottle of insecticide intending to drink it,” the leader said, “her two children were holding her and hugging her and crying.”
Gospel Grows in Laos Despite Opposition
Pei, a widow in Laos, was secretly discipled at a local missionary’s church for five months before she developed the strength of faith to tell her daughter and son-in-law about her conversion. “After saying only a few words about Jesus, both her daughter and son-in-law immediately began to violently criticize her,” the local ministry leader said.
Christians in Vietnam Count High Cost for Faith
Invited to a local missionary’s house for dinner with other Christians in Vietnam, Thuan was surprised when they were somehow warm, fun and friendly without the drinking or opium-smoking common in his village. “He had heard the gospel from the local missionary many times, but he didn’t like hearing it,” the leader of a native ministry said. Thuan could not know that accepting the dinner invitation would set him on a journey to prison.
Eternal Fruit Born from Dying Grain in Laos
Family members of a woman in Laos who died earlier this year had let her waste away in poverty, refusing to care for her because of her faith. Workers for a local ministry arranged her burial, inviting villagers they had ministered to in various community and gospel outreaches.
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.
Rival Tribes Sow Kingdom Seeds in the Philippines
Members of a tribe in the Philippines lived in tense isolation from each other due to decades of conflict that at times flared into war. Then native missionaries arrived suggesting the unthinkable – rival factions working together in community farming. For the tribal villagers, it would be a necessary evil that brought unthinkable good.
New Pandemic Wave Hits Workers in the Philippines
With the second-worst coronavirus outbreak in Asia and hundreds of cases of the highly contagious Delta variant, the Philippines saw the highest daily increase in new infections in two months at the end of July.
100-Year-Old Pastor a Balm amid Suffering in Laos
A 100-year-old church leader has long attended a local ministry’s training seminars, where he has encouraged others with his faithfulness in the face of persecution. “He has endured so much in his walk with the Lord, to the point that he was imprisoned eight times for his faith,” the native ministry leader said.
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.
