Shalom House – Yangon / Ps Victor Lian

My name is Van Thawm Lian @ Victor Lian and I was born in 1981 in Tang village, Falam township, Northern Chin State, Myanmar. Unfortunately, four days after my birth, my father passed away. I had no siblings and it was just me and my mum. She tried her best to provide for me but life was hard for her, and eventually, she remarried when I was two years old. Her new husband objected to her bringing me to his home, so I was sent to live with an uncle and I lived with him till I was 18 years old. My uncle had four children of his own and he himself was poor; hence life was a real struggle.

 When I reached my 18^th birthday, I left his home and decided to look after myself and not be a burden to anyone. I struggled to find a job and there were times when I did not even have money for food. I felt so helpless, angry and disappointed to have lost my father because losing him had caused me all this misery. I really did not know what to do and I felt utterly hopeless. Unexpectedly, one of my friends invited me to attend a Christian Youth Campaign and, unwillingly, I went. It was during this time that I heard about Jesus and what He did for mankind and I felt hope stirring inside me. I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and Lord. I still remember the date and year of my life’s turning point, which was on 16/4/ 2004. I realized then that I have a Father who would never leave or forsake me and would be there for me because He loves me. It was a wonderful feeling and for the first time I had peace. I had found my Father.

Vision for Shalom Home

My perspective of life totally changed after receiving Jesus Christ. I had only one desire, that was to help the fatherless and the orphans and to give hope to the hopeless, like how I had been once. Receiving Jesus Christ into my life convinced me that the pain and bitter experiences which I had gone through have led me to have a heart to help these children. My desire was to give children back the joys of childhood, build their lives spiritually and give them a chance for a better future through education. We want to empower them to reach their full potential. In 2006 the Lord gave me another unexpected opportunity to study His Word and I did a Bachelor of Theology course at Victory Bible College, which took me four years to complete. After completing my studies, I was given an opportunity to serve the Lord for one year at Victory Bible College as a warden.

The Lord blessed me again with an opportunity to further my studies in India and I earned my Master of Divinity course in three years. I kept praying and seeking the Lord for what He had planned for my life.  In 2015 God clearly spoke to my heart: “I want you to be the hope for the hopeless”.  The Lord put in me a passion for the fatherless and orphans. I wanted to run an orphanage but I had no idea how to start and I delayed in doing anything for two years. All the while, in my heart, I felt like I was not obeying God.

 Finally, the Lord strengthened me and I started the orphanage on 12 March 2018 with two children; the Lord has added more children and today, we have eight altogether in our home. We called our home Shalom Home because we want the children to experience the Peace and Provision of God which I have been experiencing ever since I accepted Jesus into my life. I believe what our Lord Jesus says in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”  My wife Nan Ci Oo considers helping these children as one of the greatest privileges in our life for it is written in the Bible, Psalm 82:3, “Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.” The greatest service we  can do for our heavenly Father is to be kind to one of His Children. To quote Andy Stanley: “Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone.”

About the Children

The children range in age from 8 to 15 years; they come from different backgrounds. Some of them are orphans while others have parents who are not able to take care for them because of extreme poverty, or being a single parent, or because of a disability of either parent. The children are from different parts of Myanmar though they belong to the Chin ethnic group. Each child has a unique story on how they became part of the family at Shalom Home.

1.        Mi Mi Htwe (15 years old)

2.        Deborah (13 years old)

They are sisters and they are from Hpa Kant, Kachin State. They lost their father at a very young age and their mother, a single parent, is unable to support them, so she sent them to Shalom Home.

3.        Tang Tun Thang (12 years old)

4.       Ro Ti San (10 years old)

These siblings come from Matupi, Southern Chin State. Their parents are still alive but they have no work and are unable to provide for their children.

5.       Mo Le Win (10 years old)

6.       Aa Shi Chiang @ Sai Lone (8 years old)

Brother and sister come from Hpa Kant, Kachin State and their father is Chinese and mother is Chin. Both the parents were involved in drug trafficking and were drug users themselves. The children were neglected, abused and had to fend for themselves. When their parents were caught and jailed for 23 years, the children’s relatives sent them to Shalom Home.

7.       Val Nai Sang (11 years old)

He is from Kalaymyo, Sagainsg Division. His father passed away when he was eight months old. Some years later when his mother remarried, his stepfather hated him and abused him physically and verbally.  He suffered terribly at the hands of his stepfather with severe beatings on a daily basis and other forms of torture. The villagers could not stand to see him suffer and urged his mother to send him away. We were informed of his situation by the neighbor’s, and so my wife and I went to see his mother and she agreed to let him come and live with us.

8.       Khrih Hlawn Sui (9 years old)

She is from Tlortang village, Falam township, Northern Chin state. Her mother has been suffering from a disease for many years and is often in and out of hospital. Her father struggled with caring for his wife and daughter. They were also very poor and whatever they earned went on the mother’s treatment and medication. When he could not manage anymore, he sent her to us.

We thank Asian Outreach for supporting us financially and for praying for us. Every child has a right too to grow up and dream of a better future; Asian Outreach is part of their lives now, enabling us to reach out and help these children. We are so grateful for your partnership and together we will Reach, Touch and Transform the lives of these children by giving them a hope and a future. God bless you.