STEP OUT
IN FAITH / Rev John Thoung, AO Coordinator, Myanmar
The world has been affected by the COVID pandemic for the
last two and a half years but we here in Myanmar also had to contend with the
political situation. The political situation affected us more than the pandemic
as there was total chaos and unrest and we felt doubly burdened. Our hearts
were filled with fear, insecurity and uncertainty for the future. We have been
praying to God that He may lift our burden and give us peace and the courage to
go forward sharing the Good News to our people. People are suffering because of
loss of jobs and businesses.
One day while I was seeking the Lord for guidance on how to
move forward with the ministry, the Lord inspired me to take a risk. I felt
like the four men with leprosy as in 2 Kings 7:3 “Now there were four
men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other,
“Why stay here until we die? If we say, ‘We’ll go into the city’—the famine is
there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So, let’s go over to
the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill
us, then we die.” When they went out from the city, God performed a miracle
and their people were blessed through them.
Likewise, I decided to walk by faith and trust in the Lord
and made arrangements for a Christmas outreach programme. With the help of
Asian Outreach Malaysia, we were able to reach many people through the Gospel
of Christ. We were aware that it was dangerous for us and a risk we were taking
but we prayed and stepped out boldly in faith. Our church grew after the
Christmas outreach programme and we had to bring in more chairs for almost
every service. The Christmas celebrations was like bringing new Hope and Joy
into people’s lives. People here were sick and tired of worrying and fearing
for our future. One of the most valuable strengths in life is being hopeful.
We not only did our Christmas programme around our village
but in the surrounding villages in the Chin state as well. Our first stop was
the village of Toe Myaung in the Bago Division and there were no Christians in
this village. They watched the nativity play by our Bible students and they
wanted to know more. Many received salvation and repented.
Next we went to the Rakhine state to preach the Good News. Rakhine
state is a war-torn zone and a tough region to evangelize. But God has opened
the hearts of the Arakan Army (AA) and they allowed Christians to practise
their faith freely. I was able to share the Gospel and minister to the Rakhine
people and 6 people were baptized. People are hungry for the Word of God and we
have sent two fresh graduates from our Bible school for ministry there, bringing
the total to four.
In April we held a youth camp for about 76 youths and as we spoke
on salvation, many young people gave their lives to Jesus. 7 youths were
baptized. During the Water Festival, young people like to enjoy the festival with
merry-making, partying and drinking. The youths who attended our camp testified how they were blessed and were glad
they came. We were worried that the military would hassle us but our local
authority gave us approval, happy that we were reaching out to the youths.
We really thank God for what he has done through us. We saw
miracles and breakthroughs taking place and we saw God’s favour upon everything
we planned to do. We spent time in prayer breaking every hindering spirit of
the enemy and anointing the grounds on which we held our events. We are still
following up with these young people and please pray with us to get more Bibles
for distribution. Many people are asking us for Bibles but we do not have
enough. When we take a step of faith , in circumstances beyond our control
which are risky and laden with fear and we arm ourselves with trust in God, He
will move mountains. We give the glory to God.
Matthew 17:20-21 “Truly I tell you, if you have
faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here
to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
